Toughness

Without doubt, toughness is one of the greatest assetts an Ironman triathlete can hold.

But I have known guys who were so tough a cat couldn’t scratch them and they only ever put in mediocre Ironman races. Because they were dumb. They were uncoachable. If they were a working dog on a rural property, their owner would have shot them. Toughness without self control is as useful as an ashtray on a motor cycle.

Toughness alone is not the key. I have two friends who are ex SAS soldiers, both retired as officers who spent years training the best of the best. Both of my friends have raced Ironman.

These two guys have both told me what they search for is a balance between toughness, patience, coolness and the ability to think things through before acting.

Rick Charlesworth, the coach of Australia’s women’s hockey team to three consecutive Olympic Gold medals, in his book “The Coach”. He describes his definition of “mental strength”, as resilience, the ability spring back from shock, depression or upset and keep going.

What I’m looking for in my “ideal Ironman athlete” is -

The toughness to “guts it out when conditions are at their worst”, in training and racing, without even thinking of complaining. Some athletes actually enjoy being tested in the very worst conditions, they look forward to being tested.

The intelligence to instinctively know when it’s time to modify the plan. A slight change in plan may save a race or even save a life.

The courage to step out into the unknown, to “give it a go”, to face fear and overule it. The courage to work toward a goal which everybody around you tells you is “out of your league”.  The courage to hold back in training instead of racing the others, so there is more in the bank on race day. 

 The committment to do “all of the little things right”, eg. the core strength work, stretching, refuelling, alternative therapies, equipment maintenance, visualisation, resting and balancing their life with other interests.

And last but certainly not least, the toughness to dredge the bottom of the barrel in the last 20km of the run when the results are truly decided. The ability to overule all of the body’s, cries for relief.