Believe

With only 4 weeks, 5 days, 14 hours, and 37 minutes (give or take) to Tremblant, it's hard to focus on anything else. I have one more Olympic race this weekend at the Muskoka 5i50 to mix up my training a bit. My goal is to improve from Guelph Lake earlier this year. I went into that race tired and didn't have the energy to race like I can. Hopefully a mild taper this week will make a difference.


Now to the more relevant stuff.


"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - Eleanor Roosevelt.


If you're doing an Ironman, it likely started out as a dream. Whether that dream was to finish, have a best time, qualify for Kona, or be a Champion, it is the reason you will be at the start line. 


I truly love the psychology of sport and learning what it is that makes people tick. There are hours of interviews with Ironman athletes online and hundreds of different reasons for why they are there, but they all have one thing in common - they believe they can do it. 


To be any level athlete you have to believe you can do it, but it's what you believe you can do that makes you a champion. Craig Alexander, Simon Whitfield, Chris McCormack, Natascha Badmann, Chrissie Wellington, the best athletes in the sport all dreamed they could be the best. They believed they could train the best, deal with pain the best, and push themselves harder than anyone else. 


Goals are what gave them direction toward reaching their dream. Goals should be stepping stones to make sure you stay on track. I dare everyone to set goals - beat a personal best time, run through every aid station, have faster transitions, I even had a goal to smile when I crossed the finish line because I was tired to looking like a grumpy asshole in my finisher photos. It's good to keep your goals simple and in your control. You can control your pace, your effort, your emotions, your focus, going to practice, eating well, but you can't control other racers, wind, waves, heat...etc. If you focus on the things you can control, the results will follow.


All you need to be an Ironman is to believe you can.