If I have the power to convince you to do anything this year, it’s to get off your butt and try something new. Do something you’ve never done before. Set yourself a goal that makes you a little uncomfortable, then create a plan and smash that goal. Why? Because you’ve got to step outside your comfort zone to experience magic. And when you experience that magic I’m referring to, you feel like you can conquer the world. It feels pretty awesome. How do I know? I experienced that awesome feeling just a week ago. Let me tell you about it.
Ever since I had baby number one, I’ve wanted to do a triathlon. I’m not sure why. It was just one of those things I’d wanted to give a go. With equestrian and netball being my previous sporting endeavours, there was no particular connection with the sport of triathlons. It was just something that provided challenge, and demanded discipline, and was therefore a good solid goal for me to tackle. So, I entered the recent Mangawhai Triathlon, hosted by Sport Northland. I put a plan in place, overcame any obstacles I could fore-see, gained the support and enthusiasm of my fantastic hubby, and did it.
By entering the triathlon I had given myself a long-term goal, which immediately created short-term goals – my weekly and monthly exercise plan. To bring myself to peak fitness for the event, which requires fitness and endurance in three mutually exclusive disciplines (swimming, cycling, running), I had to fit a minimum of six exercise sessions into my week (2 sessions of each discipline). Each exercise session needed to be between twenty and forty-five minutes long. Some I could do around home, while others needed me to head to the pools or a safe patch of road for cycling on.
This was the hardest part – getting my head around how I was going to fit it into my week. Before you even think about framing me as one of those lucky people who has the time, let me point out that I co-run a small business, in which I work full time, and I have two little kids under four. I knew it was pointless trying to ‘find’ the time to fit it in – it was about ‘making’ the time. And this meant some 4am wake-ups and some 1030pm bedtimes. But with the support of my family, and some effective and strategic planning, I made it work. And, if it came down to it, I know you could too.
So. The night before the event arrives. I head to Mangawhai with a couple of friends who are also competing for the first time. We head to the venue, check out the routes we needed to know, and discover some other crucial details for race day. We head back to our accommodation, gorge ourselves on a wonderful carbohydrate-rich meal, do last minute preparations, and hit the sack for the a good nights sleep.
But sleep didn’t come. Nerves kicked in as my mind worked overtime. What had I gotten myself in for? Was I ready? What would happen if I had gear failure, or if I got lost? Had I bitten off more than I could chew? I finally convinced myself to partake in some visualization practice to help calm my frantic mind. I thought if I could mentally run through the sequence of events that would confront me the next day, and how I hoped things would pan out, that relaxation would follow. I visualized, I relaxed – a little – but I still only managed a few winks of sleep.
Next thing I know my alarm is buzzing. It’s race day! I can do this, I can. I’m ready. I’ve done all the preparation. What’s the worst thing that can happen? I put on my armour; I’m ready to battle this out. Just stop me! I get my breakfast down into a pit of swarming butterflies. We make the last minute toilet stop and head to the race start. My hands are gleaming with nervous sweat. I glimpse around at all the other competitors, they all look as nervous as me – except for Sam Warriner. How cool is that – I’m in a race with a world champion!
We head to the race briefing, put our swimming caps on, and next thing the starter hooter goes. And we’re off. The waters cold, and crowded with male and female competitors, but I come out in one piece, in about the middle of the bunch. I find my bike amongst hundreds of others, hop on and go. This was the part I dreaded. I always felt like it was my weakness, but suddenly I find myself overtaking others, men included, whilst traversing the hill sections. Yippee, my training has worked. I whizz downhill to the final transition area where I park my bike (after having a nose to tail with another unsuspecting competitor – how embarrassing), and set off on my final stage – the run. Bam, double-whammy stitch. You’ve got to be kidding! My body feels strong but my stitch is hindering me. I try to rid it, to no avail.
So I just push through. I’m almost there. I can smell home. The spectators clap as we run past. One final hill confronts me. I beat it. I’ve forgotten about my stitch, home beckons. I grasp my greenstone pendant as a gesture of gratitude for getting me through. I pace down the final stretch of hill, and feel a sudden burst of energy. I lift a couple of gears and stride towards the finish line. Out of the crowd I hear my three year old daughter yell ‘Go Mumma’ as she reaches for my hand and runs the last fifty metres with me. Wow. I’m home. I made it. I feel fantastic. What an achievement. It’s amazing what you can do when you put your mind to something. I reckon you should branch out, get yourself uncomfortable, and experience some magic. Just like I did.
