The One Thing

I was obsessed with researching Ironman information, nutrition, and any tips or programs I could find on the internet with regard to Ironman races. I would have done it all day long if I could! I stumbled across a very inspiring and informative website (www.cruciblefitness.com) which I think I may cling to for a bit. Rich Strauss is the author of the below-mentioned material.

"The body will do amazing things, when driven by the single-minded focus created through clarity of purpose. In short, identify why you want to do this to yourself and then commit your head to driving your body to the edge of your physical envelope. In the words of Jack Palance in City Slickers, it's the One Thing."

He outlines how to go about determining that One Thing. It is my goal that within the next two weeks I will determine what my One Thing is...although I'm thinking maybe having Two Things wouldn't be bad...afterall, more is better...isn't it?

So how do I determine my One Thing?

* Identify why you want to do the race before signing up. Are you doing it for you or to prove something to someone else? Be completely honest with yourself. "I'm a doing this Ironman so I can earn a unique title that is mine forever." One Thing = title of Ironman.
Take that One Thing and mate it with your race goals and expectations: "The title is important to me, not the time. I want to finish with a smile on my face."
* Remind yourself, daily, of your One Thing and the race goals and expectations you have built around it. Through this process your One Thing will provide clarity of purpose to your training. When the Phunometer is pegged during a 6 hour long ride, you'll know why you are still out there.
* In your mental rehearsals before the race, visualize the conversation between Mind and Body when the Body begins to question the Mind's commitment to the One Thing. Prepare your rebuttal beforehand.
* On race day, continually remind yourself of the One Thing. Focus completely on its accomplishment. Remember, you can never disappoint your friends or family. They will be proud of you regardless. However, you can let yourself down. In the end, the best we can do is follow our commitment to our One Thing.

He also makes three points he makes with regard to Ironman-How-To. It kind of jumps the gun, I have a lot of other things I need to focus on at the moment, but it's also good to be proactive and put these principles to practice in my current training.

Principle #1: Ironman is not a triathlon, it's a quadathlon(?): swim, bike, run, eat/drink. On race day only 20% of your focus will be on your physical performance while the other 80% will be on how to maintain that performance.

Principle #2: Ironman is not about racing, it is about making good decisions. Use the OODA Loop: Observe the situation, Orient yourself and determine possible courses of action, Decide on a course of action, then Act. Go over, around, under or through the wall.

Principle #3: Show up with a well-made, well-rehearsed plan and expect it to not survive first contact with the race. Be prepared to improvise by "racing in the now." It's a very long day and you have all of it to fix a problem. Do the best you can, right now. The rest of the day will take care of itself when you get there.