By Dr. Rob Bell
Are you prepared for what might be the next big race of your life?
Mental Toughness Coach Rob Bell recently had a short conversation with Brad Bloom, Publisher of Shout! OUTDOOR LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE to discuss how athletes, professionals and quite honestly everyone who has performance goals can grow beyond adversities. He talks about the importance of focusing on the process rather than the results. We have to let go of mistakes and move on. As he say’s it’s not about the setbacks – it’s about the comeback.
Listen to this ten minute conversation to find some practical advice to build your mental fitness with mental toughness.
Now read an excerpt from Rob’s book No One Gets There Alone. This excerpt is copyright by Rob Bell. Used by permission.
It was May 7th, a Saturday evening at home, my kids were five and seven years old at the time, so this was sort of a relaxed Disney movie night.
I was checking my email after putting them both to bed and one of the emails was for a nearby ½ Ironman. I hadn’t considered racing a ½ Ironman, and while it was on my bucket list, it was not on my immediate radar of things to do.
Besides, this race was in exactly two weeks!
1.2 mile open water swim, 56 mile bike, and then a 13.1 mile run = ½ ironman.
I laughed it off at first, but was intrigued at the same time. I felt the need to check my schedule the next two weeks and see if I was even in town during the race day.
The oddest part was that I didn’t even own a bike and haven’t ridden a bike in over 10 years. The reason I hadn’t signed up for these types of races previously is because of the biking. I do run and swim and strength train at least five days a week, but with no immediate goals. Frankly, I was also not in any type of “racing” shape.
How was I going to complete a race of this distance with no training and no bike?
The decision to commit to the race made me examine my past, present, and future self. Did I have the confidence I needed to sign-up?
One of my strengths in my past has been the ability and set a goal and reach it. I’ve run in a number of races before and have trained extensively for these, but these felt like another lifetime ago. Some of my meager, yet personal accomplishments that gave me confidence included a sub 20 minute 5k, a 3:20 marathon, a tough mudder, and a handful of ½ marathons and 10k’s. I also managed to break 1:00 barrier in the 100 Freestyle.
One of the toughest things is being able to come up with a vision of who we want to become. Not what, but who? I want to become someone with no regrets and don’t want to sit on the sideline of life and not go for it. I also have an extreme love for my kids. I want to model for them that importance of having a vision and the mental toughness to execute.
Most importantly, examining who I want to become in my future self became the biggest driving force for me signing up.
I signed up for the race on May 21st, with less than two weeks to train and prepare for a ½ ironman.
No one gets there alone.
My friend Bill Van Valer provided a bike for me to race and train on for the two weeks. I obtained the services of a mental coach John Brubaker to help with my focus and confidence strategies. I prepared by doing two-a-day workouts either biking, running, or swimming. I rested two days before the event and was prepared as I could be.
However, this race would be life changing.
The swim portion of the race went fairly well, but at mile 32 on the bike portion, I was beginning a climb on a very small hill. The race was outside Indianapolis and this was the only hill on the course, and probably in all of Indiana.
The bike I was borrowing for the race had GatorSkin® tires, which are the ultimate in tire protection, so I need not need to worry about a flat tire. This was a relief because my bicycle maintenance was certainly not up to snuff for not having biked in ten years.
Near the top of the hill, BAM! My back tire went flat.
I had none of the necessary materials needed to change the tire. No bike tube, cartridges, levers, or fix a flat, nothing! The Boy Scouts were probably turning over in their graves for my lack of preparation.
I assessed the damage and panic set in. I needed to re-focus, prioritize the issue, and find a way to fix the tire. A house was nearby, which I ran to borrow their phone and call the race team, director, somebody, anybody. I was not in a good spot.
I returned back to the side of the road, all the while, bikers are cresting the hill and passing me. I felt helpless. Where I was stopped, however, on top of the hill, meant that every biker was at his or her slowest pace. If I had blown a tire on a flat stretch or a downhill with speed, the ending of this story may have been different.
After waiting for about ten minutes a biker actually stopped at the top of the hill.
He saw my issue and asked me if I had anything to change the tire, and I sheepishly answered him that I didn’t. He handed me his tube, levers, and cartridge to fix the flat.
The racer #215 who gave me the changing tools, Brian Rismiller, continued on, and I told him I would find him and get him his stuff. It felt like a Disney movie scene where he’s riding off and I’m yelling, “I’ll never forget you.” The first issue was solved, but how long would it take me to change it? Under these conditions, this was the worse possible time to try out my tire changing skills.
Just then another biker stopped and asked me if I knew how to change the tire and in my most honest voice, said “no sir!” He dismounted his bike and said, “Well let’s get you fixed.”
The saint who stopped to help change the tire was named Glenn Maenhout. He was a complete stranger racing his own race, who stopped to help someone else who was ill prepared. It took a ton of mental toughness for him to stop his entire race to help out a stranger. WOW!
I thanked him so many times and watched as he fixed the tire. The entire ordeal took about 20 minutes, and unfortunately the clock doesn’t stop. If I had to do it myself, it would have taken me at least another 20 minutes and much, much more stress, which would have affected my overall performance as well.
If it weren’t for these two guys, my race probably would have finished on the top of the hill, because I’m not sure I could have changed it and still completed the race under the allotted amount of time.
Even though the ½ Ironman was an individual event, no one gets there alone. Over the next few days, as I continued my keynote speaking and told the audience and other coaches, athletes, and friends about Brian and Glenn, a strange thing occurred. I realized the greater impact of the generous, kind, and selfless acts that they performed. I knew it was a huge moment, but after sharing the story the impact set in.
I then began to ask myself “Rob, would you have stopped?”
Would YOU have stopped?
Want to explore more about taking your faith outdoors on a bicycle? Read more inspiring and challenging content in the Pedal, Race, Run department of Shout! Outdoor Lifestyle Magazine.
