After 5 months of training, taking two months off chocolate and along the way losing about 8kg, I completed my first Ironman race in Haikou, Hainan in South China. It was a blazing hot and windy day and almost 100 competitors did not finish.
It was very tough mentally but the feeling of crossing the line was great, and made even better with my wife and two brothers cheering me on.
After such a peak race, I will happily return to middle distance Olympic races and look for new challenges to fill the 20 hours a week I spent on training.
I once read a book on becoming a CEO and one tip was, “Do something hard and lonely”. Well pounding through the long course of 3.8 km swim, 180km bike and 42km run is an experience that really tests your character and determination.
Rather than a lonely experience I found it a connecting and enriching one. I read this quote yesterday that sums it up, “Loneliness is the poverty of self. Solitude is the richness of self.” - May Sarton
Swim:
Bike:
Run:
