Nelson Mandela recently celebrated his 94th Birthday and we will do well to remember the remarkable human spirit and leadership he represents. Just before being released from a 27 year Prison Term, he remarked about the Prison Warden. “ My spirit and beliefs had never been locked in that Prison. My body could be contained but the story of my dreams could not. He didn’t understand that the only Prison that takes away a man’s Freedom is one that doesn’t allow that man to Dream.”
My Kona Dream:
I have finally arrived in Boulder, Colorado after a very tough and soul searching 10 days with 80 days to my dream race the Kona Ironman World Championships on 13 October 2012.
It is 2AM on Tuesday morning in Boulder and Jet Lag is competing me with me for sleep and recovery time, but this year I am prepared and determined to win that battle and many more.
Another huge battle will be the battle of the bulge and yes, even I have to battle what is out there tempting us to enjoy the instant gratification of what is really nice right now. However, if we are to have a chance at reaching our weird and wonderful Goals, we have to be committed, to have Faith and say no to the temptations and yes to the important.
The sports nutrition part is easy as I have access to the finest products around courtesy of Cytosport, but it is the day to day eating, the temptations that are the real challenge. You walk into a Supermarket and there are 100’s of temptations, many cleverly placed near the till points where you end up queing, staring and often succumbing to temptation. I have to keep asking myself W.I.N. (What’s Important Now) and I stare the temptation down and ask if it will take me closer to or further from my goal? Need I answer?
I know I have an opportunity to fine tune my body into a lean, mean racing machine (aim to drop 5kg), but it will take immense courage and sacrifice, but this is the culmination of a 27 year goal and I am prepared to pay the price over the next 80 days. Strangely enough it is like anything in life, if you consciously work at something and focus intently then within 12-14 days it becomes a habit, a way of life and then there is so much positive momentum you start enjoying the process. The alternative is too ghastly for me to comprehend… fortunately for me I have had a very clear big vision picture that helps fuel my journey, to help me bear the struggle, to overcome the obstacles, to persevere through the Valley of preparation, of perseverance and to reach the mountain top.
Many people have asked me how I hope to do in Kona? What if you don’t achieve your Goal having sacrificed so much? This is something that I have thought about immensely over many years and for me it is quite simple, so I will try and explain and hopefully you will understand.
Once upon a time I fell asleep at the wheel of Life (for a Decade) and I ballooned to 103kg, it was soul destroying finding myself in such a rut. Fortunately it wasn’t fatal but you could say I was on Life Support just surviving each day, awakening without excitement, wondering what is next, how will I survive? Unfortunately it took the tragic passing of my 19 year old Stepson Reece to jolt me awake and while he was fighting for his life in Hospital on the real Life Support, I decided there and then to choose the high road, to transform, to dream again and I dedicated this to Reece.
In the words of Jon Gordon in his book ‘Training Camp’ I have a Life Mission.
I want you to know it wasn’t easy and it was a long, long road. You see there is no instant formula for change no matter what the weight loss marketeers tell us with their before and after pictures. My vision was crystal clear if you like and it didn’t matter how long it took, I was committed to trying and I was prepared to take that first step. Setting a Goal and taking that first step requires courage and it requires Faith to persevere through the many setbacks and obstacles that people will encounter while they are trying to achieve their Goals. The key was knowing what I wanted and why?
I think everybody has a desire to achieve Goals but here is the crux of the matter. You can either act upon it and do what it takes, in other words pay the price… the price of sweat, tears, sacrifice and deferment of gratification. You can either go for it, transform and achieve, or you can sit on the couch, watch television, with the knowledge that if you are not consciously creating good habits, you will be defaulting to bad ones. It’s a simple mathematical equation, either you are getting better or you are getting worse. Which do you desire?
Remember that Life begins at the end of your Comfort Zone! To be working on creating good habits is uncomfortable (although only for a very short period…. It takes 2-3 weeks to break a habit) and being uncomfortable places you either at the edge or beyond your comfort zone. Nobody and I mean nobody has ever achieved a goal of significance without being prepared to challenge their comfort zone and while I’ve been challenging mine, it is time to step up the ante and stretch it a little further.
I am ready to seize the moment. I am not going to allow fear of failure get to me, as it did when I was younger and I won’t allow fear of failure to define me. As Jon Gordon says, fear of failure exists, but we can overcome it with Faith.
My faith is growing and hopefully one day my Faith will be greater than any position, time, or performance. Even if I fail by worldly standards I am still on my path (life’s Mission), I still get to learn from the experience and I am one step closer to achieving my Goal.
Even though I have a Vision and a Dream, it is the Journey, not the Destination, that has mattered most to me. I have learnt more from my Journey along the way, than the awards themselves. I believe I have grown as a person, also within sport and business as a result of the Journey. I am no longer thinking what if I win or lose? I am no longer thinking what if I make a mistake, an error of judgement in the race?
However, I am thinking of preparing to the very best of my ability, to seek and spend time in the hurt box and to give it every ounce of sweat I have available on race day, to achieve the very best I can with the talent that I have been Blessed with. My Goal set way back in 1985 was to qualify and participate in the Kona Ironman World Championships and it has been a long hard road, that has almost been derailed a dozen or more times, but I have persevered and with the support of my Faith, my loving wife Michelle, my awesome family and children, my late Father, my work colleagues, my friends and training partners, support from strangers too and the support of Isuzu, who have been unbelievable supporters I look forward to standing on the start line on the 13th October in Kona, Hawaii, not forgetting the loyal support of Orca, Cytosport, Oakley, Online Innovations, Acsis and Action Cycles over the years.
When race day dawns I will line up for the dream race of my life. I hope to define that race with mental strength, with confidence and Faith, with the knowledge that I have prepared to the best of my ability and that I will have left nothing out there and hopefully close to ten hours later I will cross that finish line elated, but finish that race I will and I will define it by knowing that regardless the outcome I will have given my very best. I will be prepared for any hand I am dealt and I will play the game with good or bad cards to the very end. Just being in Kona and crossing that Finish Line will ensure I am a winner (in my mind) and have remained committed to my Goal and have persevered through the Valley of preparation, in an effort to scale my Everest.
I realise that this is my one shot, yet I refuse to focus on the outcome or result of that one shot. I will simply focus on the moment, I will not focus upon the past or the future, I will remain in the moment and focus upon that one opportunity. Success and rewards are merely by products for those who are able to seize the moment and are dealt a playable hand, not for those who look beyond it. Ironically Jon Gordon says to enjoy success you must not focus on it, you must rather focus on the process that produces success.
So to get back to the question of what am I hoping to achieve, well the truth is I am hoping to inspire people, I have no expectations, I will focus upon the process and in the words of Abraham Lincoln, “prepare and one day your chance will come”! So I will plot my plans and I will prepare to the best of my ability, but I do not determine my steps, so come race weekend I will surrender control and accept the cards I am dealt.
Hopefully I will be prepared for any eventuality and just as East London 70.3 could have turned out to be one of my worst days in sport if I allowed the cards (5 punctures) to dictate my destiny, in hindsight it was one of my very best days in sport because I was prepared to take the blinkers off and realise that there is far more to life than winning races. Simply being able to partake is a Blessing we should never, ever take for granted and for me my Life Mission is to encourage others to never, ever give up on your Dreams.
In closing, it gets tough out here and it can sometimes be depressing when you are having a bad day, so please feel free to send me a message, or words of encouragement, they will be greatly appreciated.
Till next week… now let me try and get another hour or two of sleep. Good Night and God Bless.
PS You can follow me on Twitter (@alecriddle) for short, snappy updates/pictures.
The Riddle of an Ironman's Life 