WHY?

At Human Powered Racing we have many athletes who have made Ironman Canada their MAIN goal of the 2020 season. With the move back to Penticton there was a rush to get in before it sold out (which it did). I must admit, I almost got swept up in the excitement and registered as well. The move back to Penticton IS exciting. As the home of Ironman triathlon in Canada for many, many years you can definitely make the argument that it never should have left.

For many people it seemed like the race to get registered was a finish line unto itself. Unfortunately the only real work to reach this one was laying down a credit card and forking out the race fees. I too know the rush of committing to a big goal. It is one of the things I really missed when I thought I had completely given up the sport in 2010. Now that the rush of committing has subsided I want my athletes to start committing to the “WHY” they registered (if they haven’t already) and what they want to get out of not only race day, but the journey to get to there.

There are a lot of hard days in preparation for Ironman. A lot of the ground work for this event gets laid down in the dark dreary days of the winter. If you don’t have a strong answer for why you are doing it, it makes it a lot easier to hit the snooze button when the alarm goes off for swimming at 5am or to skip that long ride on a Saturday when it is 10 degrees and drizzling outside. Having a purpose and knowing WHY you are racing will often get you out the door. You must see in your mind how you want your day to go and know that it will only go the way you dream it if you put in the work.

Find your Why! It will get you up to train on the days you don’t want to and it will be that answer that keeps you moving forward on race day when it can get really tough!