What I learned at the 2012 Wildflower Triathlon

What’s happenin?!  John here and I’m back with a different kind of Monday Motivator this week.  This week I’m going to chat about what I learned at the 2012 Wildflower Triathlon and how the experience left me motivated, inspired and ready to attack even more new things in life.  First off, let me say that the Wildflower is quite an experience.  Camping out at Lake San Antonio all weekend, crazy heat followed by super cold temps in the evening…..but everyone having a blast the whole time.

Now unlike the majority of crazy kids over at Kain Performance who did the Long Course (1.2 mile swim, 56 mi bike and 13.1 mile run) I just did the Olympic distance tri…. 0.93 mile swim, 24.8 mile bike and 6.2 mile run…which was enough for me this time around.   Thousands of people participated in the races this weekend and I saw everyone from 12 year olds to one gentlemen who I’m pretty sure was 79 years young.  Some people were in crazy shape, others in not so good shape but everyone was just out to finish and have a good time.

Ok so after a quick background, here are some of the things I learned at the 2012 Wildflower Triathlon…maybe you can relate to a few.

1) Camaraderie and support are “must haves” in sports and life

The genuine feeling of support and camaraderie was all over the Wildflower Tri.  People came to race, some just to support and EVERYONE would give you a big cheer or words of encouragement.  Absolutely awesome.  As a racer on Sunday, having hundreds of people yell my number or “Go Kain!” (as I was wearing their jersey) kept me motivated and kept me pushing at times when I might not have.  Do you have people supporting and cheering you on in your life?  To achieve your fitness goals and pretty much anything in life, this is a must have.  At our bootcamp in San Jose one of our chief aims is to motivate and encourage all of our members on a daily basis….but you need it outside of the workouts as well.  If there are any “debbie downers” in your life, get rid of them.

2) Challenges improve our mental toughness

Getting stronger and faster and more fit is great, but are you getting mentally tough too?  The athletes that performed the Long Course definitely had resiliency and mental toughness like no others.  I don’t care if some of these athletes have been training like rockstars and happen to be in incredible shape….the fact that they performed this triathlon and pushed themselves for 5-9 hours of activity is absolutely incredible.  Do you consider yourself mentally tough?  Can you push through when all you want to do is stop?  You don’t need to necessarily push the envelope every time you workout, but approaching that extreme level from time to time will not only make you incredibly fit, but it will increase your mental toughness.  It’s also important to note that your “push” might just be a 30 min jog or a bike ride or a 5K….but those challenges make you tougher.

3) Most of us have it pretty damn good

By far the most inspiring thing of the entire weekend was watching, cheering and applauding the Challenged Athletes that participated in the triathlon and relays.  Athletes that were missing an arm, or a leg, completed these races; not to mention one woman was actually blind and did the entire triathlon with her mother at her side….un-freaking-believable.  Chances are that most of you reading this right now have the complete use of everything on your body and are not missing any limbs.  Now perhaps triathlons are not “your thing” but isn’t it amazing that these Challenged Athletes participated?! Amazing that they had the mental fortitude to say “I don’t care if I’m missing an (arm or leg) I’m going to do this damn triathlon anyway!”  Food for thought for all of us that think we don’t have what it takes at sometimes.

4) Step out of the impossible and into the possible

Although there were many “racing” athletes out to break their personal records and push to the max, there were a lot of other athletes out to just finish.  People that may have never, ever thought they would ever complete a sprint, olympic or long course triathlon….and they did it.  Now maybe for you the start is a 3K or a 5K or a swim event, or just going on a bike ride.  The point is that you’ve got to STOP thinking about why you can’t do it!  Don’t create unnecessary roadblocks and obstacles that don’t even exist yet!  Focus on the solution and the attainment of your goals in bite-sized pieces.

And one thing remains for certain.  Step out of the “impossible” mindset and into the “possible.”

If you want to lose 30 pounds, do it.

Run a 5K, do it.

Finish a 10K, do it.

rock an Ironman….do it.

If you have a plan of action, train smart, and remember the 4 things above that I learned at the 2012 Wildflower Triathlon, anything is possible.

Action items! Your action item is one of the following:

#1: Stop procrastinating or excusing the lack of achievement of a particular goal (whether it be weight loss, starting an exercise program etc) and just do it.

or #2: Step outside your comfort zones and plan your next exercise related activity to challenge yourself physically and mentally.

Remember that we’re always here to help you out along the way so call us anytime (408) 371-1212.

Until next time, keep kickin ass and takin names! Oh and I’d love to hear your comments below by submitting a reply or using the Facebook plug-in. Thanks!

Dedicated to your success,

John Heringer

P.S. Special shout-outs to some awesome triathletes I had the pleasure to cheer on or share the battlefield with: Tim, Jody, Bastian, Jackson, Ryan, Reza, Lehon (sp), Dean, Ashley, Rob, Sid, Julia, Ashley F, and Danielle.  Apologies if I missed anyone and congrats to you all.

P.P.S. If you want to dabble in some triathlons I highly recommend Kain Performance to help you train specifically for all events.  Combine that with some great cross-training at our workouts and you’re set to jet.  And if you haven’t tried us out yet, click here for a trial workout.

P.P.P.S. Time to go take an ice bath for my hammies.