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You'll notice a few things. Those temperatures are in Fahrenheit (not Celcius). The race starts at 6,000 altitude. I'll be starting the 3K (swim was shortened due to combined air and water temp) dark, cold water swim at 5am. I'll be starting the 123 mile, 9+ hour bike with 14,000+ feet of climbing in the upper 30's. The warmest it will be is 55 degrees. Then I will run a mostly off-road marathon with almost 4000 feet elevation gain, finishing at 9,000 feet.
This event will be my greatest athletic accomplishment IF I reach the finish line. But it will require a tremendous amount of physical strength, mental toughness, troubleshooting, proactive thinking, and luck.
~150 miles (2.4 mile swim, 123 mile bike, 26 mile run) ~18,000 feet elevation gain, 5 mountain passes to climb and descend, including the iconic 48 switchbacks on the Stelvio pass. Karel will be there for all 15+ hours as he is my support crew during this self-supported event. Karel will also be running the entire marathon with me (carrying as much as he can to support me nutritionally throughout the run).
These conditions scare me. I don't enjoy cold weather. Ever since I signed up for the event in December, I've had this event on my mind, especially the swim. It's kept me motivated, focused and dedicated to my training. For the past 9 months, a day hasn't gone by that I haven't thought about the difficulty of this epic event.
It wasn't too long ago that I was deathly afraid of descending on my bike on anything that resembled a hill. I have learned to embrace the wind while riding my tri bike, but it still makes me nervous. I've conquered a few cold water swims, despite being very uncomfortable.
A lifetime of personal growth (and discomfort) has got me to this point. Riding in the windy conditions on the big island of Kona at the Ironman World Championship (5x), swimming in the cold lake water outside of St. George, Utah, descending mountains in France in the Haute Route Alps and attempting my first Xterra off-road triathlon in Czech Republic are fresh in mind as each of these events put me in a "first ever" experience (which was scary)
With every challenge that I've faced in my personal and athletic life, I've learned that I am more capable than I give myself credit for. The limits that exist in my mind are often what hold me back. I'll be the first to admit that I am not a risk taker. I like to plan, research, strategize and practice before I attempt something new. Whether it's from a fear of failure or a fear of the uknown, I've become more comfortable taking risks.
While I feel physically prepared for XTRI ICON (well, as prepared as I could get), I've spent the last week getting my mind ready for the mental and physical suffering and struggles that I will experience during this 15+ hour adventure.
You can follow ICON XTRI on Facebook and Instagram and track me live HERE.
I hope that I can inspire you to pursue your big scary goals. Whether athletic, career or personal, don't limit yourself to what you think you can't do. I hope to inspire you to step out of your comfort zone in order to discover your physical and mental limits. And when you find your limits, dream a little bigger to see what else you are capable of achieving.
Here are a few powerful ways that can help you push yourself past your limits.
- Address your limiting beliefs. It's easy to avoid doing things you don't believe are possible. It's easy to think you can't accomplish something. Your thoughts impact your actions. If you don't know your self-imposed limitations, you can't push past them.
- Chase your passions. When you are passionate about something, you'll find the motivation needed to put in the work. If you don't love what you are doing, you will struggle to find the energy to step outside of your comfort zone.
- Set realistic goals. If you don't know your destination, it'll be difficult to get there. While it's good to feel challenged by a goal, your goal should be somewhat realistic and attainable. It should stretch your abilities as you follow a measurable plan to get there but it should still remain possible.
- Be ok to fail. Stretching your comfort zone is all about facing your fears and not being afraid of failing. Struggle is part of growth. Failure is part of success. Failure means you are trying and you are learning.
- Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Anytime you do something for the first time, you will feel discomfort. If you want to challenge yourself, you need to embrace discomfort.
“The fears we don’t face don’t become our limits.”
-Robin Sharma