GTWD

"The reason I'm telling you this is that I didn't want to miss a day's training. I always tell young athletes the same thing, 'Wherever you go, whatever you do, what must your top priority be? Running'.

"In my life I do a lot of things but I never forget my training. Athletics is in my blood. The top priority must always be training, training. This is a discipline. You have to do it." -Haile Gebrselassie

and

"Looking back, I recently added and logged my mileage over the years and found that I was able to average over a 140 miles a week throughout the 1970s..." -Frank Shorter in his autobiography, Olympic Gold, A Runner's Life and Times

These quotes are marvelous because they epitomize what it takes to be successful. Gebrselassie has held world records from 5k up to the marathon, won World Championships and Olympic golds from 1,500m to 10,000m and is generally referred to simply as "The Great One." Shorter meanwhile won gold in the marathon in 1972, silver* in 1976, has many other big cities marathon titles and is considered one of the greatest US distance runners of all times. Both owe their success to remarkable dedication and consistency to their sport.

I posted these because this is the time of year when it helps to get a friendly reminder of "what it takes." While coaches, athletes, and physiologists can argue over which workouts are the most effective at what time of the year, the one thing most everyone will agree on is that it all comes down to consistency. Just get out the door day after day, week after week, year after year.

With having been said, Merry Christmas! Relax, enjoy time with the family, but dont forget to train. :0