How

"If you have it, you don't need it...if you need it, you don't have it...if you have it, you need more it...if you have more of it, you don't need less of it...you need it, to get it...and you certainly need it to get more of it...but if you don't already have any of it to begin with, you can't get any of it to get started which means you really have no idea how to get it in the first place...do you? You can share it, sure, you can even stockpile it if you like....but you can't fake it...wanting it, needing it, wishing for it...the point is if you've never had any of it...people just seem to know..." Old Spice and commentary. 

What is it?

Money? Happiness? Enlightenment?

No x 3. The IT in question is experience. An element of success that you simply cannot do without. Consider the role that experience plays in creating confidence. Knowing that a task, effort, drill, time, distance, speed can be reached as a result of your personal empirical demonstration, makes it possible to repeat. You know how it's done. You know the effort level necessary to achieve and you understand what it feels like. 

There is some very good news following. We can practice this. We can practice success. We can rehearse the requisite skills necessary to achieve. We can visualize ourselves as winners, champions even. Every time we engage with the positive, the affirmative the power of yes, we enhance our winning potential. We take a step closer. 

Remember the trite old saying that it takes money to make money? Same deal here, it takes energy to move and energy squared to move fast. And once you have that sexy sensation of speed and power, you never want to let it go. So we practice the big picture, the holistic, the all-connected mash-up of mind, muscle and machine to add a feather or two to our experience caps. 

I want to get to the crux of the race in a hurry, even an Ironman. I want to start my management of movement as soon as possible in order to accommodate the flow. If I have a knapsack full of understanding about the suffering threshold necessary to execute, my chances, and choices will reflect that knowledge. I am accustomed to this level of output, no need to panic. Measure and manage, breathe and relax, keep it steady and strong. As longs it takes. I have done it before, this is not a virginal attempt. That is what practice, drills, sessions, workouts and progressive overloading is for. To be ready for this.

Experienced. Having been here before. Knowing. Understanding. Wise. 

Every time we step into our dojo we bow to the challenge in respect of the sacred journey. Upon completion of every race we do the same - turning to thank the course, the hills, the distance and our fellow competitors for the opportunity to reveal ourselves to us, to unveil the truth. Experience is IT.

And if you have it…you don't need it. And you can't fake it Paleface.