You need inspiration

You need inspiration.

Someone or something to inspire you.

To get you motivated.

To make you believe in something better.

Something bigger than yourself.

For me, it was always sports.

Ever since I can remember, sports have been a mainstay in my life.

Started with playing soccer.

Then tennis, basketball and golf.

Eventually started watching these sports and fell in love with them.

Finding teams and athletes who became part of my childhood.

My GOATs.

Steven Gerrard.

Rafael Nadal.

Tiger Woods.

And my main one, Kobe Bryant.

I’ve learned so much from these individuals.

From Gerrard - never forget where you come from.

Lay it all on the line.

You don’t need to go anywhere else to make it big.

Why can’t you do everything?

From Nadal - grit.

Grind.

Never give up.

Never stop.

Don’t let setbacks define you.

Tiger - killer instinct.

Crush your competition.

Be mentally strong.

Most of life is in your head.

If you get your mind right, you can do anything.

Then from my hero Kobe (RIP) - Mamba Mentality.

Hard work.

Determination.

Never being satisfied.

Going again and again, even when you’re at the top.

Focusing on the work.

Not the outcome.

All of these athletes defined my childhood.

They taught me lessons that have stuck with me to this day.

We all need those.

Positive role models who we can look up to.

Stories of greatness that can inspire us.

However, no one is perfect.

Everyone is flawed, including all those individuals.

You don’t have to copy everything they do but rather take the best from each of them.

That’s what I’ve tried to instill in my life.

Lessons from so many.

Which brings me to today.

The day Liverpool became champions of England once again.

An incredible journey.

One that was completely unexpected.

No one thought this team could compete for a title after Klopp left.

Enter Arne Slot.

The Tactical Dutch Maestro.

He inherited this team, bought no new players, and has taken them all the way to the top of England.

This year has had its ups and downs.

But every week, they kept fighting.

Kept showing up.

Kept giving it their best.

Now they’re officially the most successful club in English football history.

You can’t help but be inspired by them.

By Salah.

By Slot.

By the whole team.

They showed grit, perseverance and fight the entire season.

There’s so much to be learned in that.

Sports is the best drama on the planet.

And the players involved do more than just play a game.

They inspire millions around the world to be better versions of themselves.

Which is part of why this journey feels so exciting to me.

Inspiring people on their own journey to achieve more than they think possible.

Someone told me this week that my journey has inspired them.

Seeing me go through this process has helped them believe they can do more.

It’s amazing to me.

Never considered that would be part of my Ironman journey.

And yet here we are.

Doing my best to inspire people along the way.

Wherever you get it from, just know this.

You need inspiration.

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This week in training - (Follow me on Strava here):

Swimming - 5.9k - 1 x 2500, 1 x 3400m. Two more swims this week. Got my longest distance to date with only 400m left till the full Ironman distance. Consistency is paying off and improvements in the pool have been the most noticeable since the beginning.

Biking - 127.8k - another 100k bike week. Good progress this week, including 80k at 850m of elevation over 3 hours. Trying to get outside this week so let’s see how it translates.

Running - 27.7 km - good run week. Got to run outside with a run club which was a nice change of pace. Zone 2 running going well, feeling good for the marathon next week. Key will be nutrition so let’s see how that goes and need to remind myself to pace properly throughout.

Notes from Week 16 of training:

• Really happy with the workouts this week, including two highlights - one being the 3400m swim and the other being 80k at 850m of elevation on my long ride.
• Nutrition was solid this week. Felt good all week up until the long bike ride given all the gels and carb water. Curious to see how this goes once I get outside on my longer rides.
• Swimming was good this week. Longest distance to date. Almost at the full Ironman distance which is crazy to me considering it’s only been 4 months since I started training. Consistent pace around 2:00/100m and am sure I can improve that once I get to open water swims in my wetsuit.
• Biking has been good, happy with my longer ride even though some of it was in zone 3. Have to remember to keep it zone 2, especially as I get outside.
• Another good run week. Feeling good for the marathon next week. Don’t feel as ready given the distance but much better prepared in terms of pacing and nutrition. Have to remember to stay in zone 2 throughout and not overdo it, but really excited for next week.
• Movies - watched Sinners (incredible movie that’s so worth watching in theatres - so original, awesome soundtrack and great storyline). TV shows - watched Laid (meh rom-com show), Your Friend and Neighbours (decent watch), and Senna (so good so far, really inspiring).
• Happy with where I’m at, especially considering my weekend. Did 3.4k in the pool Friday, 80k with 850m of elevation on the bike Saturday and ran 16k Sunday. That used to terrify me and now it feels like a normal weekend. As I told my mom, never thought I would be the guy to be up at 7 am on a Sunday ready to run, yet here we are. Incredible what you can accomplish if you put your mind to something, be patient and keep showing up. Rest week upcoming given the big day next Sunday. Looking forward to it and will be a good test, especially with my race day nutrition.

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