Another You Tube clip on some of the Pros in Kona and their Dreams. Being an Alexander fan, it is hard to support Mc Cormack but I do enjoy the way he set and went after the Dreams he wrote down almost 25 years ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyDVKA61iMI&feature=youtube_gdata_player
When an Ironman enters the arena, he or she will experience many emotions and will have to push their physical abilities to the absolute limit. There comes a time in the Ironman (many times) when the competitor experiences immense pain in the heat of the battle, be it physical or emotional pain. What is the response to that pain? Well the Brain whose primary motivation is self preservation will ask the question, “Why must I suffer?” and “What is the point?”, questions that many of the spectators and people watching on TV ask themselves of the Ironmen.
In an Ironman you better have a great many reasons, as your brain will be asked this question over and over and as Lawrence Van Lingen once said, you need to know why you want to go visit some deep, dark places if you want to get through the big black tunnel/s.
The successful warrior will answer the question with the vision they have dreamt of, the vision they have painted, the vision they have prepared for and they will (hopefully) be able to convince the brain to continue to Fight, to fight off the pain or move up the stepladder of pain. Those who have made pain their ally over time and in training will succeed better than most.
Since the majority of the population lack this crystal clear vision (lack of mental training is a contributor) and have no real reason to suffer, they slow down, or even quit, as soon as the pain kicks in. Developing a crystal clear vision of why, is the secret to finding the motivation, to hanging on when there is nothing left, resulting in world class performances.
For me it’s about Burning the Boats, once you’ve burnt the boats, there is no sailing home in the comfort of your own boat, there is no surrendering, no slowing down…. I pray and hope we can all find the motivation to hang on in an effort to produce our best with what we have on the day.
I will be submitting a series of short video clips on Ironman and the IM Pros over the next week, which cover things like Pressure, Inner Strength, Dreams and the like. Hope you enjoy the read.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbCsWJRXQKU&feature=youtube_gdata_player
A short Video Clip on IMSA brought to you by Isuzu and Bolton Inc. Productions, features Alec Riddle, Paul Wolff and Seve Rademeyer.
The Riddle of an Ironman's Life 