Iron Mind

This weekend I had the privilege of watching two of my fellow coworkers compete in the Boulder Ironman.

Ironman

If you don't know, an Ironman is THE longest of all the Triathlon distances.  It consists of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, finishing with a 26.2 mile run.  Needless to say, these people are completely and utterly true badasses.

While cheering on everyone who passed me by during the 9 hours I was waiting for my coworkers to cross the finish line, I thought a lot about what kind of dedication it takes to even compete in one of these triathlons.  I thought about how the hardest part of this race is probably not the sheer exhaustion felt in every limb by every participant, but the mental battle inside of their head.

Probably every person, from the pros to the first timers had to wage war with the mental thoughts flowing through their exhausted minds. Their heads must be bombarded with thoughts such as "If you're tired after this swim, then there is no way you are going to finish," "You aren't going to finish by the cutoff," "Why'd you  even sign up for this race?"....

You get the picture.

As I was thinking about the mental battle most likely going on with every sweaty person who passed me, I was also amazed by the diversity of people I saw.  I was expecting every athlete to be in tip-top shape,  I mean for crying out loud, their training leading up to this event could be considered a second job.  But that wasn't the case.

Of course there were those people in stellar shape who made every event look effortless, but there were those who were heavier than I am- who looked like they were not capable of competing in such an extreme event.  And then there were those who had white hair and wrinkles.

The diversity inspired me.

What do those people have in them that causes them to make such a huge decision as competing in an Ironman and actually stick to the training, and here I am struggling not to eat pizza every night of the week. 

What do they have that I don't?

Almost everyone who reads this blog knows that I struggle with following through.  I have huge goals and aspirations but have a hard time sticking with them. And I think I have found the answer to the question I asked myself.

Not only do these incredible athletes exercise and condition their bodies for this race, they exercise and condition their MINDS. When they start the incredible 8-12 hour day, they start with an IRON MIND. They have exercised their self-control muscles.

They have control of their minds and their thoughts, which translates in control over their actions.

That's the difference between those struggling to cross the finish line with 5 seconds left and me who is struggling with my desire of pizza.  They have trained themselves to put their dreams first.  They made a decision.  And they followed through.

I am sure its just as hard for them to start their Ironman training regime and it is for anyone to start a diet.  It's something different and hard.  But they decided that they would push back to any resistance and complete their goal no matter what sacrifices needed to be made.

"A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls" -Proverbs 25:28

I was definitely very inspired by the athleticism I saw on Sunday, and yes, I will be doing the Boise Ironman 70.3 next year.  But I learned a lot from each athlete that passed me by. I learned that anything is possible if you believe in yourself and you give yourself a chance to succeed.

I am speaking to myself the loudest when I say, give yourself a chance. 

Don't give up before you have a chance to see results.

Go. Make. It. Happen.