Take the Hits: What Sport Teaches You About Not Quitting
Why resilience is not motivational, it is practical
Resilience is often spoken about as if it is something inspirational.
A mindset. A way of thinking. A kind of inner strength that some people have and others do not.
That was not how I experienced it in sport.
It was far more practical than that.
Because in elite sport, things do not always go well.
You get things wrong.
You get criticised.
You are under pressure from people above you, around you, and sometimes from outside the organisation altogether.
There were times when the head coach was under intense pressure, and that pressure filtered through everything. Every decision, every interaction, every piece of communication carried more weight.
And when you are working in that environment, you feel it.
There is no stepping away from it.
You have to deal with it.
Alongside that, there were plenty of moments where things did not go the way I expected.
Opportunities that did not materialise.
Roles I did not get.
Situations where I felt I had done enough, but it was not recognised in the way I had hoped.
At the time, those moments feel personal.
It is easy to question yourself.
To wonder whether you are good enough, whether you are on the right path, whether it would be easier to step back and do something less demanding.
But what sport teaches you very quickly is that none of that is particularly useful.
Because the environment does not pause for you to figure it out.
You either keep moving, or you fall behind.
And so resilience becomes less about how you feel, and more about what you do next.
You take the hit.
You adjust.
You carry on.
Not because you feel motivated to, but because that is the only way forward.
That is what I mean when I say resilience is practical.
It is not about staying positive.
It is about continuing to operate, even when things are not going your way.
Over time, that becomes a habit.
You stop expecting things to be smooth.
You stop seeing setbacks as something unusual.
They become part of the process.
And that changes how you respond to them.
Instead of stopping, you keep going.
Instead of overanalysing, you focus on what is next.
That is what I took into business.
Because the same patterns exist.
Things do not always land as you expect.
Ideas do not always work.
Opportunities come and go.
And if you treat each setback as something that requires a full reset, you never build any momentum.
But if you treat it as part of the process, something to absorb and move through, then progress becomes far more consistent.
That is resilience.
Not a feeling.
A way of operating.
100% of the shots not taken are missed, so better take a shot at what you want to.
These are not out of the world numbers but I believe in this a lot. You got believe first that you can do this and then mind will somewhat follow.
I ran a 100 KM Stadium Run(250 laps) on 24th January in a time of 9:15 whereas the goal was 7:30. I blew up in the second half pretty badly and didn't consume much calories after 55 KM mark and around the 90 KM mark I was peeing dark brown blood and after the race I was having blood in my spits as well. Then I ran a 50 KM race on 8th February where I had goal of running it under 3:45 but ran 4:17 as I chose to run a 2.5 hour run on 7th February. Both of these times internal monologue choked me up big time as I was falling way off my expectations. But after this both the upcoming races I was able to maintain my sanity for long enough.
On 1st March I randomly ran my first ever marathon on fully flat surface and this was my first attempt at 42.2 since I started running. No specific marathon training, no specific speed workouts, no long runs on PMP. Ran a 2:48 on basically sheer aerobic base that I have built and ran 1:22 & 1:26 for 1st & 2nd half.
Then on 7th March(a couple of days ago) I attempted again a 100 KM Stadium Run(250 laps) at the same venue. Ran 8:12 for the 100 KM, improved by 63 minutes in a span of 6 weeks. Even though I had ran a marathon 6 days prior to this effort. My Coros Pace Pro clocked 70 Km in 5:01 but then I had to deal with the fatigue. Gut issues after 39 KM mark and still learning. I know I can run this distance under 7:30. Swinging for the fences approach and nobody lets to tell me that this can't be done. I believe now in taking shots because 100% of the shots not taken are missed, so better take it when the body is healthy. Sometimes we think next time and the next time never comes- might be family obligations/responsibilties, health issue, injury or can be any other thing. If time & health allows, go for the MF thing.
This is my story from 14th to 20th March what I did.
I can walk off from the sport of running now as I have achieved my long term goal of running 175 mile week in training. In the last 7 days- I have run 294 KM(182.7 miles) and that only on singles. I am proud of myself. I know you can understand the enormity of doing this on singles and this much of volume and that it was not slow and included fast paces.The point is this wasn't even planned as I had 2 races in a span of 6 days. Marathon debut on 1st March for which I ran 2:48 and 100 KM for which I ran 8:12 on 7th March. Now I am thinking did I really almost ran 300 KM in a week span and don't feel much fatigue. I can run Sub-3 for marathon tomorrow. I don’t sell myself short in running now and have to apply this in other facets of life as well.
I had a goal of wanting to get a qualifier for team India for 2026 100 KM World Championships. But I couldn't get it. The best part is I am self coached meaning I am my own guinea pig and run the experiments in the lab. Experiments can be done when A goal is not on the line. So I tried and learnt that psychologically is big limiter for what we can achieve in our lives. I have been running for 5.5 years and this 7 day training experiment/block has unlocked a different level for what I can do. Even though I don’t believe in limits and believe anything can be achieved but a lot of the times one can’t visualize or turn that into confidence when the work hasn’t been put or there is no proof/evidence of work.
If one doesn't try & test, unknown territory remains unknown and the hidden potential would remain a hidden treasure.
If I wouldn’t have tried this, I would have the same belief regarding training and the amount of confidence I have for my own self.