IronMan - the journey...and what I learned...

Ashleigh's words "IronMan journey" inspired me to start this quest, to take on a goal that quite honestly, I doubted I could achieve. (before IronMan, I had not even met anyone that had done it; except for my brother Andrew, who has completed 3 IronMan triathlons in New Zealand).

Looking back, the journey was everything that Ashleigh said it would be....it was a fantastic journey.

I believe it was such a great journey because training for 'a first IronMan' is such a daunting goal and the training and time constraints so intense, that learning about yourself and the challenges you face are magnified for you to clearly see.

So this is what I learned;

1: Dream big and challenge yourself; I now believe that if you know before you start that your goal is achievable, then you are not aiming high enough. There must be some doubt in your mind to keep you focused and excited.

2: Break your big goal into small manageable goals (if you have set your goal according to point 1 above, then the big picture of where you are headed will overwhelm you)

3: All your limits in your life are only between your ears; we limit ourselves by poor thinking and by poor goal setting. The mind is a very powerful thing, you need to make sure that your mind is working for you and not against you.

4: Always think and talk positive...fact; no further explanation required

5: Its easy to deal with small things when you have a big goal. With a big goal in mind little things do not trouble you. You are able to deal with them quickly.

6: You have loads of people in your life that want to see you succeed, theycold be friends, doctors, store salesmen and colleagues - don't be afraid to ask them to help you - they want to!

7: Share; you don't know who you will inspire (thank you again, and again, and again Ashleigh)

The best products that I encountered:

1- Hammer Perpetuim endurance fuel....you are at a disadvantage if you start an endurance event without it, but with it, you can go far...

2- Carbon fibre bikes...once you've ridden carbon, you will never ride aluminium again.

3- moisture management running tops (yes, I was 'old school' t-shirt runner)

And that's it....everyone learns something about themselves and about life in their first IronMan...my training friend Ally's journey is taking her to Brazil completely unexpectedly...

where could you go?....

what could you learn...?

what could you discover...?