Only four days from Ironman Lake Placid, I enter the toughest part of Ironman competition: the waiting and mental games. Training has taken you as far as it’s going to, and all that’s left to complete is a few light workouts and waiting. This is when the little voices in your head really start to ramp up with all the self-doubt; where little aches and pains in the body seem to be amplified tenfold; where aching knees after a 45-minute run warn of horrific pain after 26.2 miles; when voices remind you that age 40 is not age 20.
I had hoped two previous Ironman competitions and 30 weeks of the most disciplined training regimen I’ve completed would silence the voices. I had hoped that meeting all of my race goals this year including the Kinetic 70.3 in under 5:30, a half-marathon in 1:30, and reaching my first podium for an Olympic-distance triathlon would silence the voices. I had hoped that a frenetic schedule covering the San Diego Comic Con for my job last week would keep my mind occupied and silence the voices. Here we are, four days before the race and the voices are chattering.
New Ironman athletes often dread training activities like 5-hour bike rides and 3-hour runs. The truth is these tasks are easy compared to the mental preparation for race day, especially in the final days and weeks when waiting is the only activity left and second-guessing is a daily chore. I don’t have an easy answer of how to shut off those little voices in your head other than to constantly chant “Shut the f#@k up. Go out and do it.” Scientific it’s not, but it’s the best I’ve been able to do.
To all my friends who are doing their first Ironman this weekend, just know you are more than ready for this and you will soon be an Ironman. For those who’ve done an Ironman before, just tell yourself you’ve done it before and you can do it again. My goal for this race was to complete it in 11 hours or less, but I’ve decided to throw that goal out the window and just go out there to enjoy myself. No expectations. If I do it in 11 hours or less that’s great. If not, so be it. I hope everyone has a great race, and I will see you at the finish line.
