The Power of Consistency

The power of consistency never fails to amaze me. When I started running umpteen years ago, it was sporadic. It took me a long time to realize the difference between a good season of racing and a bad season of racing was in the consistency. It wasn't until I trained for Beach to Battleship back in 2012 that it really clicked. Working on a day to day basis to get in each and every workout, made me stronger and more confident than I have ever been. And still, I have floundered since that season. I saw the results, coming in two and a half hours faster than I expected, and yet I have never gotten back to that same consistency in my training.

Until now. Interestingly, I would have told you that the difference between the fall of 2012 and the seasons that followed was that there was a lifelong goal on the line. And that's probably true to some degree. Having that goal, knowing that I didn't want to have another DNF like I had in 2004, I worked harder. I refused to skip a workout unless ordered to by Coach. I put in a consist effort across the board, whether it was swimming, biking or running. But, that doesn't explain what is happening now.

When Zane suggested we continue a streak, hell, when he suggested we start a streak, I was in from the first moment. We biked one day, then the next, then the next and so on. Maybe it is as simple as that. I don't worry about tomorrow. I get in today's workout. I get it in because I have to. If I don't the streak dies.

But more than that it has become a habit. Working out today, ensures I will workout tomorrow because it is what I do know. It is what Zane and I do together.

Still, there is more to it than habit. There is more to it even than consistency in working out. Consistency seems to build consistency. Or maybe consistency builds habit and habit builds more habit. What I have found that there is more to working out consistently than getting in the workout. It seeps over into other areas of my life. I have become more efficient at work, at keeping my house, at managing our budget. I have become more consistent throughout my life without any extra effort.

There is a power to consistency that goes beyond what I ever expect. Tomorrow will be day 52 of our biking streak but if I pick the rest of my life apart I see consistency there as well. It is day 52 of getting up and getting dressed in something other than workout clothes. It is day 52 of sitting at the computer and responding to emails. It is day 52 of playing with the dogs even when I am too tired to go outside and run them around the yard. Consistency built in one area of my life has changed the rest of it. That is the power of consistency. And in turn, that is the power of sport.