On doing epic stuff

Thank you for joining us again at the end of this week. We’re almost halfway through November and Christmas trees have popped up all over the place. This time of year most of us are starting to take some strain and we need to try especially hard to stay patient with each other. In 5 weeks it will be mid-December and you’ll hopefully be able to take a well deserved break. Keep going, you’ve got this!

Onto this weeks topic:

This past weekend, I (PJ) participated in and finished my first official Ironman 70.3 in Mossel Bay. This is the half-Ironman distance, where you swim 1.9km in the ocean, bike on the road for 90km and finish it off with a 21.1km run. All in one go. Crazy I know. I started training for this race in December last year and the race itself took me around 7 hours to complete. This gave me PLENTY of time to think about is needed to do something challenging like this. After the race, the second thing Shinell told me was that this had to be the article for this week.

So I reflected on what I learned through the experience and how I think these learnings can apply to attempting any challenging, epic thing in life.

Here we go:

1. Anybody can do something epic: The first thing I noticed about the 2 500 athletes that entered the race was that there was no “type”. I expected to see hundreds of thin, young, Olympic athletes. Boy was I wrong! The people I saw were normal people, athletes that come in all shapes, sizes and ages. Yes they are all in good shape, healthy and well prepared, but they look like people that you would meet everyday. I found this heartening, since I myself am not a fantastic athlete. In fact, I’m not a natural at all. My athletic abilities are completely below average. I need to work very hard to improve on any discipline, be that tennis, cricket, running, golf, cycling, surfing, swimming, CrossFit, whatever. Shinell is the “natural” that makes everything look easy, not me! So don’t talk yourself out of trying if you don’t think you fit the picture.
2. Everyone gets scared and doubts themself: Irrespective of how many epic things they’ve done in the past, everybody I spoke with leading up to the race were at least slightly nervous about how it would go. We hear this in many of the coaching conversations we have as well, where vastly successful people tell us that very often they don’t really know what they are doing. I spoke with a middle-aged lady on the beach prior to the race who is terrified of swimming in the ocean. She was visibly shaking. But I saw her on the bike ride afterwards with the biggest smile, telling me that the swim went great. That was her day made! Don’t wait until you don’t feel like an imposter before you try – mastery happens when we lean into the fear.
3. You will need help along the way: Like I said earlier, it took me 12 months to prepare for this race. (In fact, I was training for the same race to be held in Durban mid-2022, but this was cancelled due to the floods that hit the city. So our preparations were lengthened). Throughout the entire preparation process I had a coach that gave me guidance on my training plan. She has done many triathlons and knows exactly what she is doing. On my own, I would not have been able to prepare as well. I also trained with a group of people that are experienced in this sport. Each time we got together they would share valuable tips and tricks that made the process easier. Whatever you are trying to achieve, make use of the knowledge gained by people ahead of you on the road – get a mentor, a coach, a trusted adviser. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel, but lean on people that can share their hard earned wisdom.
4. Be where your feet are: Don’t get ahead of yourself. Don’t worry about point 10 on the road if you’re only at point 2. Pay full attention to the next thing you need to do. I saw a couple of people fall of their bikes on the ride. This happens in a split second when you don’t pay attention to the road or the riders around you. Yes have a long term plan, but don’t forget to stay in the here-and-now while you are executing this plan. Success is a cumulative process which happens one millimeter at a time. Ask yourself: “what is the next thing I need to do?” and then do that really well.
5. Run your own race: We’ve said this a million times and I’ll say it again: comparison is not your friend. If you are constantly looking at what other people are doing, trying to chase them or hanging back to wait for others, inevitably your race will not go according to plan. Have your own gameplan and stick to it. If you pay too much attention to how quick, pretty, successful, lucky or whatever other people are, you will forget to do your own work and you’ll psych yourself out. Run your own race.
6. Epicness is a team effort: There will be days that you don’t feel like showing up. For me it was the dark, rainy winter days in Cape Town. I can tell you first hand that squeezing into a wetsuit to swim in a freezing pool in the rain is not what I consider fun. You will need encouragement and support along the way. I’m lucky to have a very supportive wife and son. Shinell supports and encourages me. So do my parents and friends. My training partner in Pretoria, Lee was a source of encouragement everyday. So was my coach. Even the fellow athletes, supporters and volunteers along the race route were a great source of support. Whether you are training for a race, starting or running a business, studying or learning a new skill, get people around you that want to see you succeed. And then also be that source of encouragement when others want to attempt something epic.
7. Know why it matters to you: I did this because I wanted to see if I could. The challenge excites me. It wasn’t to win a medal or get accolades. It is me versus me. And I won. I also did this race to show my son that tough things are possible when you are disciplined. I hope he learns that he can also attempt difficult things by watching me. Before you start anything tough, ask yourself why it matters to YOU. This will go a long way towards you sticking with things when they inevitably get tough.

I don’t know what your aim is, but I do hope that it is a high aim. And that you go for it. Hopefully the things I’ve learnt over the past 12 months can be of use to you. Go for it!

Thanks for reading. If you know anyone who can benefit from this, please share it with them. Have a great weekend and GO BOKKE!

Here is a pic of me on my way to look for sharks (luckily I found none and they didn’t find me!):

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