With athletes, it's never fully understood the level to which we push ourselves. Especially in an endurance sport.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
As professional soccer players, we take our bodies to the extreme. We're the people at the gym that look like we're breaking the machines. Pushing our bodies to the limits is what makes us so strong and capable and Olympians. It's not an easy thing to consistently do over and over again to your body.
Being an athlete, you know how to train and prepare your body for a performance and you're able to do it under pressure.
I think one has to understand that there are stages in life, and that the life of an athlete has its limits. It's short, and then it stops, and sooner or later you have to accept that.
As athletes, our job is to train and compete.
I think what endurance sports teach you is to stay dedicated, stay focused, and also to understand you're going to have ups and downs, but you need to keep running right through them.
For an athlete, the biggest pressure comes from within. You know what you want to do and what you're capable of.
When you look at athletes, they have fundamentals.
When you surround yourself with like-minded athletes who are all going through the same thing as you, it gives you more drive and strength to get through those moments when you don't want to do it any more, when you think it's hard.
As an athlete, you are literally programmed to endure a specific amount of pain.
Athletic competition clearly defines the unique power of our attitude.