Last weekend the boys competed in the All-school athletics trials. Nationals are in Adelaide in December so both boys were keen to make the team. Oscar played a smart card and put all his eggs in one basket knowing the 3000m was his best chance of qualifying against kids who are training full time for their athletics who have more speed than him over the 800 and 1500m. The 3000m was on the Sunday so he was hoping that he would be fresher than the others, who may have raced the 1500m the day before.
Louis however threw himself into everything, the 1500 on the Saturday, he chose to race up an age group and have a go at the 3000m in the under 15s on Sunday which was followed a couple of hours later by the 800m. He was confident about his 1500 and 3000 but the 800 was one he wasn’t expecting to win, so he wasn’t fussed about racing tired.
As I have written previously Louis’s motto in life is “Believe, Be Brave and Never give up.” While there are times when self-doubt kicks in when other kids are faster and sometimes his bravery is tested when he is playing soccer against bigger players, however I have never known him to ever give up.
If you choose to live your life by a motto then it is important to live truthfully to it and that it reflects what is important to you. For Louis when doubt kicks in he does things like write believe on his forearm (this kicks his mind into saying I’ve got this I’ve done it before”, he has Believe written on a poster above his bedroom door (Ted Lasso style), all of which is supplemented by his will to win. I always say some people like to win, some people want to win, Louis has to win. When he was five he made the Ricky Bobby comment after at his birthday party when his team came second “dad you don’t get it, if you don’t win you might as well be last!”
The competition on Saturday was a lot tougher for Louis than he thought, really having to dig deep to win. This checked his confidence quite a bit. Likewise, his time was slower than his race a few weeks earlier so again the doubt started to creep in. This may have been because he went out too hard and couldn’t kick over the back end, so he was able to rationalise it in his race review and move on.
For Sunday he loved the thought that it would be wet and windy especially if it meant others would weaken because of it and he went with a more conservative plan for the 3000m, keeping his brother just ahead of him. With 1000m to go he made his move on his competitors going passed them and then working to hunt down Oscar. While he didn’t catch him and Oscar raced his usual smart race, chasing him gave him a focus. The result for Louis was a massive PB and renewed confidence for the 800m, where he felt the pressure had been lifted and he could just go for it. But deep down the hunger to win all three titles was super high.
The 800m was crazy. At the 300m he was second last, at the 500m he had moved to first, at the 700m he was back to 3rd and looking out of it. But his motto wouldn’t let him quit. He dug deep (as you can see from his face)– was brave and never gave up, running down the leader to cross the line .04seconds ahead. The photo finish showed the 2nd place getter was more interested in getting his finish time than giving it everything for the win.
So, as we move into the triathlon season I think there is scope for many Lakers to be brave. Those at the pointy end of the races I think it would be good to get together and race open. The field depth isn’t there at the pointy end so it would be great to have more lakers in the open wave. Last year the boys did it at the Oz Day race and I think this year it would be good to get all the Laker girls to race open and put themselves at the front of the race.
If there are other barriers that have held you back, it would be good to adopt the be brave mantra and take them on. It might be open water swimming in the Lake or Ocean, riding in the bunch or racing a park run. Create your own Motto to live by and see where it takes you.
I grew up Idolising Trevor Hendy of Surf Lifesaving Ironman fame and his Motto of Dream, Believe, Create, succeed has stuck with me my entire life. I am sure there are plenty more out there the key is to find a motto that resonates with you and letting it steer you through life’s challenges.