Expectations.  Funny little beast(s).  They sort of hover around subliminally in the background but they are not to be ignored, as they are indeed, the driving force of anything and everything we set out to achieve. We become what we expect of ourselves.  Moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day....we become those expectations.  Meeting high expectations of ourselves is not easy.  I will never tell you it is.  It's exceptionally demanding.  It involves rising above the doubts.  Doing the work without fail every single day regardless of whether you are feeling good or 'feeling like it' or whatever. Plainly put...HTFU.

I've been thinking a lot about this lately.  Particularly since returning home to Penticton from my first squad camp experience in St. George.  It took a day or so to realize, but having trained with the squad for almost 3 weeks completely altered the way I approached my training and race preparation, and I have no doubt that this will carry over into my racing once that begins. 

It really hit me that first day after camp had ended.  I went to do a workout in the pool for the first time without the squad and Paulo around.  On that day, on my own, I realized that it was just simply time to get to work and hit those splits. Complete focus on the task at hand.  Which is how it needs to be when you truly expect things of yourself.  Sure, having Paulo on deck initiated all of it as he certainly has very high expectations.  But it became more than this.  His expectations simply became my own expectations.  And that is critical. You can't rely on anyone else to expect things from you.  You have to expect them from yourself.  And when that happens, the term 'game on' is a serious understatement.

Paulo never sat me or any of us down and talked to us about this. Yah right.  Instead, you just get it from his coaching.  You know that when you go into a session you will give it everything you've got, because he expects that.  Not just 'some' sessions.  Not just 'most' sessions.  But EVERY SINGLE session. This subconscious awareness and/or message starts to infiltrate your own mind.  It takes over.  And suddenly you are expecting things of yourself that you never imagined.  Day in and day out. And what's more amazing, the results start to come out of the woodwork.  Higher watts on the bike.  Faster swim splits.  Longer run sessions. 

All because the expectations are higher.  The bar has been raised.  And if you want it.  If you really, really want it.  Those expectations will be met.  Every last one of them.