Is being tough worth it?

Stole this from Joel but it hits so close to home that I had to post it over here.

“You’ve got to have the mental toughness and confidence in yourself where you believe that you can take those days off and you can recover and you can run great,” Salazar said. “A lot of what we see in athletes that just train all the time and never give themselves adequate recovery is often portrayed as toughness. What I’ve realized over the years is it really is a weakness. It’s an insecurity that you’re not good enough to recover like other athletes: I’m not good enough to do that; I need to keep training; I can’t take time off; I can’t take easy days.”

-Alberto Salazar

Side note... I want to be like Alberto... amazing abilities as an athlete which then are parlayed into those of an incredible coach. He is an innovator and tinkerer. Always messing around to find that which works best and advances the athlete most.

I did not have the security within myself to ever take a break nor was I provided with the guidance to do so.

Smarter, better, and most importantly faster.