Here’s How I Ignored David Goggins’ Method to Win My First Triathlon

Mindfulness is the fourth sport.

Photo submitted by author — author is featured.

As my legs cramped with fatigue and dehydration, running uphill on a hot and humid spring morning, all I could think was, “I’m going to finish this fucking thing,” and believe it or not, over the last six months, I don’t know if I’ve thought a happier thought.

The steep AF hill I was climbing was a literal representation of the metaphor I had lived for the last several months. Even though I was training for all three sports in the Sprint Triathlon distance — a half-mile open water swim, a 20-kilometer road bike race, and a five-kilometer run — the mental preparation for an event like this was really the fourth sport.

You see, shortly after my first — of several — bike wipeouts during my early months of training, my low-key fear of bike riding morphed into a constant general nagging anxiety. I realized I had to change my Triathlon race prep strategy from “win” to “finish” (“quit” wasn’t an option).

So, when I was in the agony of leg cramping and feeling like I was trudging through the mud after hopping off the bike after almost an hour of pedaling over the rolling hills of central Ohio — I knew that only five kilometers stood in the way of me and personal victory.

And this is the story of how I overcame some major mental blockages to achieve this life goal (without too much negative self-talk), win first place, and turn trauma into triumph.

Mental Race Prep and Mind F*s

Friends and colleagues have commented on how impressive it is to see me juggle all the things over the last few months:

• Being a single mother (50% of the time),
• Training for a triathlon,
• Working a full-time day job leading a team at a Fortune 100 company,
• Writing a blog, and
• Teaching yoga classes multiple days per week.

Not to mention the investment of time and energy I’ve made in a new relationship after ending a marriage of almost two decades.

Being a single mom at forty, sustaining a household on one income, and trying to hold my life…