Why I call it IronMind instead of IronMan
My last race of this year was the IronMan 70.3 in Weymouth. This race was much more mentally challenging than physically. It was brutal and epic. Here’s a run through of my race day.
3:15 AM: Thunderstorms woke me up. Blizzards, the roaring sound of the thunder, heavy rain. This surely kept me awake.
4:15 AM: Getting up, preparing my breakfast in the hotel room. Feeling a bit scared but still determined.
4:30 AM: Power-cut in the hotel because of the thunder. Well, now I’m feeling a bit more scared and unsure about the whole thing ;) Trying to get ready in a dark room was a bit of a challenge but luckily I had my head-torch with :)
5:15 AM: On my way to the transition area to put my hydration and nutrition into the transition bags and pumping up the tyres of my bike. I’m lost on words to describe you what the weather scenario truly looked like. Heavy, heavy pouring rain, storms up to 37 mph, thunderstorms, there were water puddles everywhere…it was crazy! I arrived completely drenched and cold already at the transition area.
Trying to keep calm, not engaging with others athletes because they were making me nervous. People were saying: “We don’t have any business being out here under these conditions. They should call it off. etc etc”
6:45 AM: Lining up at the swim start, looking at the waves and boom: I’m starting to panic and tears are falling down my face. For those of you who don’t know yet: I am terrified of open water swimming! Ok, what to do now? Breathe….just slowly breathe in and out and calm down. That worked.
7:15 AM: IronMan cancelled the swim because of high danger due to the thunderstorms. BUT the race will start on the bike in 40 minutes. Imagine the following scenario: ~2.500 penguins making their way back to a small tent to get changed and ready for a bike ride ;) Insane.
The loner that I am, I tried to stay away so I went to the side line, got rid of my wetsuit there, went to the portable loo and then made my way to the tent. Such a good and smart decision! :D Whilst the others were trying to get changed franticly with all the other thousands of people and queued for the portable loos next to the tent, well, I was ready to go.
8:45 AM: They called my name and I started the IronMan 70.3 on the bike. Time to rock’n’roll.
This bike ride was insane. With so many other cyclists on the road, water pouring down on us, head- and sidewinds up to 37 mph …me wearing glasses…I mean, come on LoL Most of the time I couldn’t see a thing. The first part was actually ok but the second part of the bike leg was nearly impossible. I had to slow down. My only thoughts during the second part of the bike course were: “Safe and sound. Get to the transition safe & sound. You’ve got this. Slow down. Safe & sound.” Man was I scared! So many times I was thinking to myself: “Why are doing this? This is too dangerous out here. It’s not worth it risking an injury. They should call it off.” And then I forced myself to stop this negative downward spiral and thought: “Stop it. I love doing this. It’s called IronMan for a reason. If' it’d be easy, there’s no point in doing it. Cycle slow & steady so you make it to the run. My favourite part.” Cycling slowly and steadily brought me back to the transition area and guess what: I was even 17 minutes faster than last year when I had perfect conditions! Still not sure how this happened :) Well, I finally bought myself a proper race bike which I loooove :) What a difference it makes.
Time for my favourite part: The RUN! Wow, I felt so relieved when I racked my bike again and finally could start the run. Slippery roads, people walking, everybody was wet, exhausted and clearly beaten by the weather. I loved it :D The good thing was that at this course, the run is a 2.5 loop. Which means that I had either super tailwind or super strong headwind. Sounds fair ;) The people cheering us on, the view over the fast moving clouds and the sea just made it the perfect location. As always, I did my thing. I concentrated on my race, ran my tempo and didn’t care what others were doing. I started in a steady pace. Again, thinking: Safe & sound. I want to make it to the red carpet safe and sound - the time didn’t matter to me.
Funny story: I was passing two runners on my second lap. One of them looked at me up & down and said to his mate: “Nah, she looks too fresh to be on her second lap or last lap.” If only they knew ;) Why did I look fresh? Because I was having fun! I love running, I love challenging myself and I was simply grateful that I made it through the bike leg despite the thunderstorms! There wasn’t a single reason why I shouldn’t have felt happy & grateful.
Ok, last round, I can hear the people cheering and screaming, I can hear the music from the finish line…the red carpet is so close now. I start the last engine and increased my pace. I love to give it my all at the end of the race, sprint through the finish line. What a feeling when I turned on to the red carpet! Goosebumps, relieve, gratitude, joy…all the good feelings :) I hear the IronMan staff saying my name. Yes! I DID IT AGAIN! I DID IT! :D
Yes, it was challenging on a physical level but I’ve done harder things physically. This time it was a real mental challenge. Trying to stay calm at the swim start, the chaos after the swim got cancelled and then cycling and running through 37 mph winds and pouring rain was a matter of being lucky enough not to crash and not giving up. Giving up would have been the easy way out. But what would I have learned from this? Nothing. That’s why giving up isn’t in my vocabulary. It’s most of all a mental game. And I didn’t let the negative/easy-way-out thoughts win. For that, I am endlessly grateful and proud of the mental strength I gained.
And that’s why I like to call it IronMind instead of IronMan. It all begins in the mind. Sign up for my FREE Self-Discovery ebook if you’d like to start building your mental strength and to see where it’ll take you.