8 MONTHS...LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN!
It occured to me on my long run yesterday that it was exactly 8 months until my date with Ironman. Exactly 243 days. I had completed my training plan 2 days before, the training plan that was going to get me to the start line at Ironman Switzerland and the training plan that was hopefully going to get me to the finish. I felt pretty good about it, very much business like. Yesterday for some reason the magnitude of the whole thing set in and filled my mind with the usual questions...'am I ready to do this?' 'will I be ready to do this?' 'why?' 'what if I don't finish?' 'what if I do finish?' 'is this enough training?' and many other questions.
I think these questions are natural, especially for first time ironman competitors. I also just read an article about the increasing number of people that are DNFing in Ironman competitions. I have my own thoughts on that. I think there are a number of reasons the number of DNF's are up:
1) like climbing Everest as more people do it the respect for it diminishes. People think if that many people have done it it can't be that hard. People forget about the amount of work that needs to go in to the preparation for this and turn up unprepared.
2) Because of our 'fast food, drive through mentality' people want the big prize and they want it now. Why wait 2 years, I'm going to take the express lane and save myself all that time.
3) Many people understand the physical side of Ironman, but people forget about the psychological side. People are surprised when their mind starts to go through stretches where it tries to convince you it's had enough. This catches people off gaurd and they are not prepared to deal with their mind.
4) Despite all the training advice out there, there are still people who turn up at the start line overtrained, fatigued and not in the best position to start.
5) Not wanting to be critical of all those who have DNF'd, of course Ironman is still a mass undertaking and there are many people and will continue to be many people for whatever reason just get beat on that day. Whether it be physical problems that they could not forsee, weather, mechanical, equipment, etc. The race just wins.
Item number 5 is what Ironman is all about for me. That is one of the things that draws me to it. I am determined to put myself at the start line in my best possible condition. I am determined not to beat myself. I will be as prepared as I can be. Then it is up to the race... it is up to me to turn in my best performance on that day. I don't expect to conquer Ironman, I think there are only a few people who ever have, but I want to embrace it and if the racing gods are on my side and I can turn in my best performance on that day, I will not only see the start line, but I will also see the finish line.
With this in mind I have two goals for Ironman Switzerland.
1) To get myself to the start line in the best possible place, both physically and mentally. Hopefully this brings on a smooth transition in to goal #2,
2) To see myself to the finish line. Time...that is up to the race and up to my ability to accomplish goal #1.
Cheers for now,
Brawn of the Oasis
It occured to me on my long run yesterday that it was exactly 8 months until my date with Ironman. Exactly 243 days. I had completed my training plan 2 days before, the training plan that was going to get me to the start line at Ironman Switzerland and the training plan that was hopefully going to get me to the finish. I felt pretty good about it, very much business like. Yesterday for some reason the magnitude of the whole thing set in and filled my mind with the usual questions...'am I ready to do this?' 'will I be ready to do this?' 'why?' 'what if I don't finish?' 'what if I do finish?' 'is this enough training?' and many other questions.
I think these questions are natural, especially for first time ironman competitors. I also just read an article about the increasing number of people that are DNFing in Ironman competitions. I have my own thoughts on that. I think there are a number of reasons the number of DNF's are up:
1) like climbing Everest as more people do it the respect for it diminishes. People think if that many people have done it it can't be that hard. People forget about the amount of work that needs to go in to the preparation for this and turn up unprepared.
2) Because of our 'fast food, drive through mentality' people want the big prize and they want it now. Why wait 2 years, I'm going to take the express lane and save myself all that time.
3) Many people understand the physical side of Ironman, but people forget about the psychological side. People are surprised when their mind starts to go through stretches where it tries to convince you it's had enough. This catches people off gaurd and they are not prepared to deal with their mind.
4) Despite all the training advice out there, there are still people who turn up at the start line overtrained, fatigued and not in the best position to start.
5) Not wanting to be critical of all those who have DNF'd, of course Ironman is still a mass undertaking and there are many people and will continue to be many people for whatever reason just get beat on that day. Whether it be physical problems that they could not forsee, weather, mechanical, equipment, etc. The race just wins.
Item number 5 is what Ironman is all about for me. That is one of the things that draws me to it. I am determined to put myself at the start line in my best possible condition. I am determined not to beat myself. I will be as prepared as I can be. Then it is up to the race... it is up to me to turn in my best performance on that day. I don't expect to conquer Ironman, I think there are only a few people who ever have, but I want to embrace it and if the racing gods are on my side and I can turn in my best performance on that day, I will not only see the start line, but I will also see the finish line.
With this in mind I have two goals for Ironman Switzerland.
1) To get myself to the start line in the best possible place, both physically and mentally. Hopefully this brings on a smooth transition in to goal #2,
2) To see myself to the finish line. Time...that is up to the race and up to my ability to accomplish goal #1.
Cheers for now,
Brawn of the Oasis
posted by Brawn of the Oasis at 11:14 AM
3 Comments:
Starting IM without respecting the race is super frustrating for me. I thought about whether I should do IM 07 or IM08 and I decided on the latter because I don't want to show up disrespectful of the distance - that's stupid and dangerous.
On a completely unrelated subject, I remember you mentioning that you went to Israel for a triathlon last year. Do you know of any other triathlons in the Middle East-North Africa region?
oh brother... how I feel your anxiety... and went through exactly the same thing last year in preparing for IMCDA... I was going to show up prepared... and I was never going to quit!
The plan is your plan... keep it focused, keep it fresh, and keep it in front. The training will start to feel like a job at some point and frustration will set in... but the prize is the ultimate coming down the chute. I also will be at IM Switzerland in '07 and will be not just physically prepared this year... but mentally, which is definitely the most difficult part your first year.
oh brother... how I feel your anxiety... and went through exactly the same thing last year in preparing for IMCDA... I was going to show up prepared... and I was never going to quit!
The plan is your plan... keep it focused, keep it fresh, and keep it in front. The training will start to feel like a job at some point and frustration will set in... but the prize is the ultimate coming down the chute. I also will be at IM Switzerland in '07 and will be not just physically prepared this year... but mentally, which is definitely the most difficult part your first year.
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