The Will to Win

I've been thinking a lot about this the last couple days. It all started with something I read on a fellow-cyclist's blog. He was talking about running a 5K for training. Through the course of his entry he mentioned he was going to pre-run the course. When I read this, my first thought was, "what the hell is this guy thinking? Pre-run a 5K fun run? That's kinda obsessive..." He mentioned that this particular 5K was handing out medals and that there was a possibility of winning one for his age group. For him, that was a big motivator. I thought, "that's great, but if it's for training, I, personally, wouldn't really care about winning."

So, that got me thinking...

This cyclist's will to win has gotta be very strong. I can attest for his winning ways having finished several places behind him in every 'cross race last season. But what I really want to know is, is that what it takes?? Does it take a "win at all cost" type attitude to actually win races? Does winning need to be my main motivation?

My motivation to race comes from one thing, my love of riding a bike. I've raced quite a few seasons in several different cycling disciplines and I have yet to win even a single one. Does that mean my source of motivation should be adjusted? Do I lack that "Eye of the Tiger"?

I had to write about this just to see if it got any comments. Well, you gotta have readers to get comments, but I think there's like 9 or 10 of you out there so I'd love to hear your thoughts!