Come on!!

What a day, it's Friday and there are open skies. A beautiful amazing week end looming. I am slowly but surely finding that motivation is such a diverse term it has so many different shapes and forms. And just as you think it's over another one opens up, just like a lucky packet.

Doing the training for Ironman it probably has to. Sometimes it's a new bit of kit. This my friends, is the kriptonite you hear about in a superman movie! The weakness.  You walk into the candy shop/ Tri shop and your eyes light up with all the possibilities. You purchase your bit of kit and boom you can't wait to take out that new toy for a trial run, no matter how tired you may be.

Sometimes the motivation is when you start seeing changes in your body. My vice has been the veins in my legs. They start to show themselves after about 3months of hard graft. As soon as you get of the bike your legs are pumped, you like what you see. (so vain sorry for the pun) This then motivates you to make even more changes. Push harder and do even more. Sometimes the motivation may be hearing of a friend also training for a Ironman that did a 180 km bike and a 20 km run in one day. This then motivates you to up your training and go even further. Being competitive is not always a easy thing, you strive to be better always.

 Sometimes the unknown motivates me, how far can I go, how much more can I do. When its snowing and not many other people are out, its unknown and pushing yourself through that motivates me.
Sometimes it's the weather, I might be tired as a dog in a hurdle race, but if the sun is shining I'm all over it. You never know when it will come again living in London.

It could be a word of encouragement, somebody can have a supportive word that can push you to go harder even when you feel low. Just a simple you doing great bud, keep it up. All these things mean a lot when the chips are down.

But sometimes and this is more often than not, I get motivated by realizing how Blessed I am.
Sounds weird. I'll tell you a story about a woman that was born paralyzed from the waist down. She lived in Africa some where, where there was no medical help, to make her life a little bit easier. So from a young age she needed to pull herself everywhere she went. No wheel chair no crutches just hands knees and torso. Some missionaries came to her village and helped her where they could. They loved her, and did all they could to make life that little bit easier for her. A few years earlier her parents threw her out on the street by leaving her at someones door step, because she couldn't work or walk. She needed a operation desperately. These missionaries showed her love for the first time ever in her life and started finding the funding for this operation. Now the church was about 3 km away from where she lived, she so badly wanted to feel that love and be surrounded by people that care that she crawled to church every Sunday, pulling herself 3 km there and back.
Now I believe some people obviously tried to help her, but can you imagine crawling on a dusty road on your knees to feel that love and compassion. Long story short they got her the operation, she got healed and is now walking and is a mother as well.

Now when I go running or riding or even swimming I think of things like her story and I realize that this woman is a conquerer. She is much more than a Ironman or anybody I have ever met. This motivates me, because I am able to walk I am able to do so much. I however have no right to ever feel sorry for myself, not only in training but in life.
I hope to one day use this ability to help people like that woman. But that is probably the biggest motivation, even if you aren't doing it for her, I just feel if I push more I'm able to use what I have been given to the best of my ability, as she is using what she was given to the best of her ability!

You see in life there are many facets. In my life I need to be more career minded and less Ironman minded. Everyone I believe has something they can work on.

We have all been given abilities. What are you doing with yours. Squeeze that thing I'm sure there is more!!

Much love God Bless Ad