SINCE WE LAST SPOKE

Back at the beginning of the year, for those of you who used to read my blogs, I mentioned that I had signed up for an Ironman Triathlon which would see me swim 3.8km (2.4 miles), cycle 180km (112 miles) and run 42.2km (26.2 miles). I did a podcast with a lad called Evan who Is really into endurance sports and I decided I wanted to test my mental game by putting myself through my paces. Well, back in October, I completed the challenge in Barcelona with a good friend of mine, Johnny Hickling.

Like with anything, the real challenge is not on the day of the event. The real challenge is every single day leading up to the event. Ensuring your training is right, making sure you actually go out and get it done, wake up at silly o’clock to cycle for 6 hours so you make it to your football game or lunch with friends on time, Getting into the water even though it might be freezing just to get your set done. There were so many times where I thought, ‘not today’ but on every single occasion, I found a way through it.

First of all, I wanted this, I wanted this badly. I wanted to challenge myself mentally and I also knew it would be a challenge physically. That really motivated me because I had never pushed my limits like this before and I certainly did not want to fall victim to them. The days where I just simply did not want to go out and train, I made sure I did. Every single time I was stepping over a hurdle which was just increasing my mental capacity that much more.

I would listen to podcasts about people who live very challenging lives and that would show me that what I was doing meant absolutely nothing in comparison. The beauty of it is, it is a challenge personal to me, like everybody else’s challenges are personal to them. The day itself was amazing. 12 hours of swimming, cycling and running just to cross the finish line and always be known as an ‘Ironman’. It still has not quite sunk in and I think that is because there was so much build up, 8-9 months of training with my amazing coach Sam and then a weekend in Barcelona which came and went very quickly. Straight back into work the following week and back in the gym enjoying my training. Nothing has happened yet to make me realise the achievement but I am sure at some stage, it will.

What has happened, however, is that every so often since the day of the race I have had small bumps in the road where I may see a challenge but immediately remind myself what I went through to do the Ironman and how I overcame many obstacles to do it, making what was in front of me at that moment, seem like nothing. I have indeed opened up a whole new dimension of possibilities in my mind because of what I was able to do back in October. That was the plan all along and that has served me perfectly.

Oh, I also got myself a tattoo! The Ironman logo on the back of my calf. A permanent mark that will always mean so much to me and where some people see a tattoo, others see the Ironman logo, I see a reminder of perseverance, mental strength and achievement.

What can you do to test your mental capacity and strive to increase it at the same time?

YOU’RE PERFECTLY CAPABLE.