Doubts and Fears

From time to time as you work towards your Ironman goal, you mind will start working overtime and allsorts of doubts and fears will creep in, trying to derail you a knock you off stride, these doubt and fears can take many forms :-

• What if I’m not training enough?
• Am I training too much?
• I’m carrying to much weight
• I swim like a drowning rat?
• Joe Blogs seems to be so much further on than me
• I’m to slow on XXX discipline
• Etc etc …

Well for me these doubt and fears are always focussed around one main area, yes I know I didn’t do even half the training I should have last year, but my doubt and fears are always focused around the BIKE.

I am a week cyclists and see it as my biggest limiter, I am poor on the climbs, I am slow, my knees ache, my back struggles with the time I’m on the bike and my muscles pump out to quickly and so on…

But when I look at it rationally, I am training and following a plan, my plan includes endurance, strength and skills elements, I have spent the off season focussing on improving my core and generic strength. So I know I am doing what is required of me to improve and there for I should not worry, I know my training plan is balanced in away to give enough focus to this weakness but not overly sacrifice my training else where.

But I do, I still worry: -

• I’m to slow on the bike
• I’m going to show myself up on the hill climbs
• I’m not spending enough time in the saddle

But I need to squash these fears and doubts, focus on the positives and take strength and resolve in what I know I am doing.

So if you too, suffer doubt and fears on you path towards Ironman, take heart in the knowledge you are not alone.

Onwards and upwards

WW