Ironman- The Greatest Teacher of All!

A Tough day for most, including myself but if you focus on the positives-what an Amazing Day!

How many of you saw the Dolphins, with the Baby at the front of the pack just like Kyle Buckingham? AT Maitlands too? Great pic Stan Blumberg

Ironman 2014 was special in so many ways, it was the 10th Anniversary of this incredible event and it was definitely the toughest. Race Director Paul Wolf designed a magnificent new course that would have been enjoyed by all if the prevailing Westerly had blown, but IMSA chose this day to serve up its first Beasterly Easterly and did we suffer?

Ironman over the past 10 years has been a very special Journey for me, it arguably saved my life as I had fallen asleep at the wheel of life, was overweight, unfit, in a rut and heading nowhere fast. In 2004 my teenage Stepson passed tragically and Reece was the catalyst to me turning my life around and I used Ironman as the conduit to do so and it has been the most remarkable Journey.

That was oh so Tough!

We have all had some great Teachers in life, but Ironman has possibly been the Greatest Teacher of all for me. Yesterday was my 10th Ironman (8 x IMSA and 2 Internationally) and every single race has its own unique lessons. I’m sure you will recognise some of the 10 teachings mentioned below within yourself:

1. Perseverance- almost anything can be achieved by persevering.
2. Belief Ceiling-Ironman raises our belief ceiling and we see challenges differently now.
3. Journey-Life is not all about the Destination, it’s about the Journey.
4. Adversity-Can make you stronger.
5. Bounce Back (ability)- We need to be like Palm Trees, they can be bent all the way over in heavy winds (hurricanes) till its top touches the ground. You would think they would snap, break or buckle but they are resilient and bounce right back after the storm has passed.
6. Vision- “a picture of the future that inspires Passion.”-Bill Hybels
7. The Fog of Fear – Fear is like a Fog, it obscures your Vision, making things worse than they really are.
8. Choose friends who lift you up-Friends and their beliefs can make or break you, stay clear of the doom and gloom crowd, they will drag you down.
9. Great expectations make for great lives-Your Attitude determines your Altitude, it’s your choice nose up or nose down.
10. Choose faith over fear
11. Dare to Dream

Now many of the above are intertwined, example Dare to Dream and choosing Faith over Fear, as so many people are held back by Fear. When you buy into fears, you draw in the negative. None of us are immune to Fear and Fear will try to dominate your Thoughts. If you allow it, Fear will keep you awake at night, it will steal your Joy and your Enthusiasm. Fear is simply a bad habit, so make a decision to choose Faith over Fear and Dare to Dream.
I want to raise up all the Ironman entrants who didn’t Finish or achieve their Goals yesterday and want to highlight two amazing families, who will always be triumphant in life, even though they weren’t able to achieve their Goal & get that Finisher’s Medal yesterday.

The epitomy of an Ironman-Team Garwood!

Team Garwood- this is an incredibly inspirational family and they have taught me (us) a great deal about all of the above and life. Mom Cheryl is the glue that keeps the family unit together, supporting Father and Son. Nicky is the teenager who is challenged and would normally be unable to do what we all take for granted and Dad Kevin (like Dick Hoyt before him) swims, bikes and runs to see the Joy on his sons face and help Nicky to realize his Dream of being an Ironman, which they achieved last year-what an incredible achievement. Team Garwood have had many, many setbacks and yesterday’s hills and headwind counted them out but they Dare to Dream, they choose Faith over Fear and they have Bounce Back-ability and we look forward to seeing them back. Team Garwood, I feel for you, I know that you prepared incredibly well, I know you were so very fit and that life seems unfair at times, but you inspire so, so many and I thank you for that!

Team Boshoff-one of the bravest and compassionate woman I know Elzabe Boshoff co-wrote the amazing book “The Heart of an Ironman” and was inspired by the stories of folk who contributed to the book and this led to a Dream of her doing Ironman. Elzabe is supported by her Husband Leslie and her lovely children and by many, many friends including another aspirant Ironman Tove Kane.

A friend of Elzabe’s posted this for her, how amazing!

Elzabe has some serious health challenges, but what a spirit she displays. Elzabe has Dared to Dream, she has Chosen Faith over Fear, she has tried to wade through the Fog of Fear, she has Friends who lift her up. Perseverance, Adversity, Bounce-backabilty…. She has them all in abundance, but Elzabe is one of many who did not make it yesterday. Elzabe’s heart was beating alarmingly high and she had promised her family not to risk her health so made the wise choice and pulled out.

Elzabe’s story is one of immense courage and I want to say “Elzabe, you chose being a Participant of Life over being a Spectator of Life and Life is all about the Journey. You have Journeyed with all of the other Ironman, you are one of the Ironman family, you have put in months and months of preparation, you pushed Fear aside and you tried and I am proud of you and you have my Respect!”

I’m sure there are countless other stories of people who didn’t make it yesterday, for whatever reason but I salute you all for trying, for daring to dream, for challenging yourself and in time, when the disappointment dissipates you will see the positives, you will appreciate having tried. You are brave souls, who will see the world through different eyes in the future and I trust you will Bounce Back, wishing you all the best.

When my race (for the Podium) was run and I was struggling to put one foot in front of the other in pursuit of finishing Ironman 2014, there were many things that kept me going (which I will cover in my race report to follow). One was the amazing Port Elizabeth crowd, talk about choosing friends who lift you up, well I chose a City that lifts me up. The second was people like Team Garwood and Team Boshoff, people who are challenged far more than myself. So when I start having Pity Party’s I start to count my Blessings and realize just how Blessed many of us are, to be able to do almost anything we want to do.

Thank you Stan, for the Amazing Picture!

Well done to each and every Ironman Entrant, as somebody said we need to introduce a T-Shirt called I-Tried, as surely that is one of the most important things about Life!

-Thanks to IMSA and your Team, Volunteers and Marshalls, it was another incredible race/event.

-Thanks to my Family for their support and to the Families who support their loved ones.

-Thanks to my amazing sponsors, Isuzu- I chose the longer road once more and even though the Fuel Tank was running on empty, the Reserve Tank got me home. Thanks to Orca and Cytomax for your ongoing support.

Some of the messages/thoughts above have been gleaned from Joel Osteen’s book “Daily Readings- from- It’s Your Time.” I Trust he would be happy for me to share them.