31. Iron Man Mental Toughness for Every-Day People

31. Iron Man Mental Toughness for Every-Day People Endure It Sports Club (ranked 6th internationally) owner and Ironman Top Ranking female competitor, Sara Fix, joins Kefi L!fe to mentally inspire all of us to our personal finish line!  Sara competing in Ironman with daughter Olivia cheering her on   Today's Lexi:  Σίδερο — Sídero (Iron)   Sara being interviewed   In this episode:  This week Sara Fix, a fiercely competitive and mentally sharp athlete, shares her story of participating and placing in 28 Ironman Triathlons, and now preparing for her 30th, only 3 weeks away.   Ironman is one of a series of long-distance races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation, consisting of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22 mile run raced in that order.   Today, Sara, an athletic champion in every way, talks about the mental grit associated with one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world.   As a 7th place ranking female in her age group in the world, Sara is privy to information that can address mental toughness in athletics and in life, and this she does during the episode.   Sara addresses the process of Ironman participation and qualification.  How does one qualify for an event like this?   She tells us about workarounds to obstacles and the most exhilarating moment in Ironman.  How does training for a race like this parallel life?  Sara’s 3 Tips to succeed with athletic events and specifically Ironman. 1 - FAMILY FIRST!  Attack your fitness preparation and execution goals by including, not excluding, significant others. Involving loved ones will create and inspire a long-term lifestyle sport vs a conducting a short term goal.  People often think they should hide their training and activity level. They try to fit it in and end up frustrating themselves and their family. The key is to expose the hard work. Make a calendar for the family to see. This way your family and loved ones know what you are doing, and they see the sacrifice. I agree your training should not be on their time it should be early mornings, evenings when things are winding down, times when your family is doing something that does not require your attention. If, you fit your training in and they see you are doing it when it does not affect then they are more receptive. Then there are no secrets, and you can ask for help on days you might need a little more time. Sharing in the journey also allows them the opportunity toget involved… maybe take a swim, ride, or a run with you. Finally, encourage your family to come watch your events they will then have a visual of what compromise, dedication, hard work and commitment to a goal looks like. They will enjoy seeing that you too can work hard. It’s called walking the walk- leading by example and it is priceless 2 - LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE  Surround yourself with like-minded people who help to create camaraderie and community.  This will ensure it becomes lifestyle long term goal.  Honestly there is nothing you can do for long periods of time without support. Triathlon training has a reputation for being selfish. This reputation started years and years ago. Like any sport golf, tennis, swimming, horseback riding and skiing they take lots of training to be good and there are existing outlets that have been established like clubs, resort, schools, and training centers allowing community around these activities.  Triathlon unfortunately did not have those establishments in place so, people originally spent the hours swimming, biking, and running alone. All you need is your equipment and a road. So, people did not have to join clubs, resorts etc. to practice.  Training can get alienating and isolating. So, I along with others created clubs and put training groups into place to provide community, camaraderie, and assistance in perfecting people’s ability to swim, bike and run. Historically, look at any sport it becomes mainstream and “normal” when you can join a gr