Failure is NOT an option
As a triathlete, the bike is my weakest part. Mentally, it crushes me…
There is a little bit of a back story about why. You see, I got hit by a car in my first triathlon on the bicycle section. It was a minor accident and I was able to get up and finish the race with some serious road rash and all bones intact.
BUT…
I have dealt with years of fear and anxiety over riding my bike. (The bike I am riding in this picture is the same frame with the scratched paint and minor dents)
Anyhow, years later my husband decides to sign up to participate in an Ironman 70.3 with two of his friends. Their wives and I were sitting around drinking a cup of coffee when we decided we needed to train for something. We agreed to do a triathlon relay together!
I immediately volunteered for either the swim or the run, but definitely NOT the bike. So, three families trucked it to St. George, Utah in May of 2019 to have an adventure.
Races are addicting people… the camaraderie, the energy, the music… all of it gets you pumped up! So despite some challenges, our relay team finished the race!!
Well, that evening we were all reminiscing about the events that played out and long story short, we decided a relay wasn’t the end of our triathlon story.
Fast forward to this year, 2020, and I am walking around a triathlon expo in New Zealand.
The next day I find myself at the starting line of another Ironman 70.3, but this time, I’m doing the entire thing! Swim 🏊♀️Bike 🚲 Run 🏃♀️
A combination of nerves, excitement, and determination was pulsing through my veins. The days leading up to the race I found myself holding back the feeling of wanting to hurl because of overwhelming anxiety.
Anyhow, I went into this Ironman 70.3 with the intention of finishing within the official time limit. No other goal… JUST FINISH.
It’s important to note each leg of the race has its own time limits with an overall limit as well of 8.5 hours.
I started out strong. The temperature was great, the swim went well, and I was ready to rock and roll on the bike.
Somewhere around 35 miles into the bike race, I started having feelings of self-doubt and mental fatigue. I was constantly looking at my watch and asking my husband if I was going to make it (he was the most amazing support person ever).
His response was calm and simple, “If you stop pedaling, then you won't finish.” Funny,not funny!
The entire time I kept chanting, “failure is not an option, failure is not an option,” over and over again.
You see, in my past, I would have let self-doubt defeat me. I would have believed the lies I would tell myself, “I wasn’t good enough,” or “I didn’t train hard enough” and so on...
I had a long history of giving up on myself.
This time around, I refused to succumb to mental defeat. Physically, I knew I could finish one pedal stroke at a time — relying on God’s strength and not my own to get through the mental anguish. If I had relied on my own efforts, then I never would have even got on the bike in the first place. God was my guide.
I share this story with the hopes of inspiring you to not give up on yourself.
Friend, there are so many things in this world wanting to take you down intentionally and unintentionally. However, today you have a choice!
Live your dream. Live out your purpose.
Contact me at www.honesttalkinternational.com and let me help you find your joy!!
XOXO 💋
