I have a friend who just took part in her first Ironman event race. If you don’t know what that is I will explain. An Ironman Triathlon comprise a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a full marathon 26.2-mile run. The event is raced in that order (swim, bike, run) and without a break. If that doesn’t sound insane I can assure you many do this very race each year.
There are eight Ironman races in the United States annually, with an average of 2,000 finishers. That means there are approximately 16,000 Ironmen and women each year. So over 25 years (the race has been around since 1978 but did not reach mass popularity until the late 1980s), that's about 400,000 finishers. The youngest to finish as of two years ago was 13. The oldest woman holding the current world record was obtained at age 82.
You must finish the 2.4-mile swim in a maximum of 2 hours 20 minutes. The race requires you to have completed both the swim and cycle within 10 hours and 30 minutes, and you have 16 hours and 50 minutes to cross the line altogether. Only if you finish within this time, can you call yourself an Ironman finisher. Imagine the training, mindset and the willpower to dedicate yourself to such a grueling event.
My friend trained and overcame many obstacles along the way such as learning to swim in open water with hundreds of other swimmers surrounding her, to ride a bike as fast as possible downhill in the pouring rain and finding the courage and stamina to continue. This was my friend's first Ironman race, and she did not finish. As disappointing as it was she could not continue. Her motto has always been, "if you wait until you're ready, you never will be." She knew she may not be ready for this event but did it anyway. It would have been easy to beat herself up for not finishing the race but instead she found all the positive lessons from the experience. So much was learned including all the fears she overcame during the training and the race itself. All this training made her a better athlete but in addition, she lived a dream that began when she was fourteen years old. She is already planning her next Ironman and I know she will accomplish it soon.
How often do we have dreams we put aside because we have self-doubt, fear or just don’t think they are worth the effort? Children believe in dreams. They aren’t afraid of failure and will try to achieve what they want many times because they don’t berate themselves or believe in failure. They just want to attain the goal. Sometimes we have dreams we may not achieve or quit before we even try. They become broken promises to our self. We look back on them with regret. Many of you may still have that dream. If so, look for a way to make it come back to life in another form. It may not be as daunting as an Ironman, but for whatever reason it got left by the roadside of life.
A good way to start is to make a list of the things you can do now, then what you would like to do and finally the items you think would be impossible to accomplish for whatever reason. By writing these lists you can narrow down the items and possibly see all the incredible accomplishments you can make. The purpose it to find the positive in your life. We all can be unbelievable hard on our self and easily find failure. It takes courage to look for the good and see the wonderful things that surround us even when we don’t believe we are achieving as much as we should. Look at what is a true accomplishment in your life. Redefine what is meaningful. People can be motivated by what they can gain and not by the struggle it takes to get there. Find the spark that gives you the edge to overcome the pain of the struggle, so you can have the drive to achieve what you desire.
“Believe in yourself, your abilities and your own potential. Never let self-doubt hold you captive. You are worthy of all that you dream of and hope for.” - Roy T. Bennett
Robin is a published author and writes for a variety of blogs and publications. As a certified master coach and ACE personal trainer, Robin specializes in helping people who are on a journey for change. Her work includes helping women though life transitions for self-improvement and to create personal balance physically and mentally.
www.robinannegriffiths.com
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