I wasn't supposed to podium at Ironman Chattanooga. And I most definitely wasn’t supposed to qualify for Kona. Well, at least that’s what I believed because that’s what my past told me.
I’ve completed 5 Ironman races and in both 2015 and 2018 I made nutrition choices that resulted in severe GI issues. Those races were painful just to make it to the finish line. I came in 18th and 19th age group rankings, respectively.
When setting goals, so often we look to our past to see what we’re capable of. We’re looking for proof of what’s possible. But if we always look to our past to show us what’s possible, our future is limited by what we’ve achieved in the past. There’s no “normal” progression and there’s certainly no “right” way. My past would tell me I’m not even a top 10 age group finisher.
What if we didn’t need proof? What if we didn’t rely on our past to provide evidence?
What if instead we set goals based on imagination and butterflies? The best kind of butterflies: the ones that tell you your goal is perfectly big enough. Feel the flutters and go for it anyway.
In setting a goal for Ironman Chattanooga, that’s the path I took. I asked myself this: what would be awesome to achieve? I answered my own question with: getting top 5 in my age group. And then I asked myself this: what would be awesome and blow my own mind? My answer was: an age group WIN. Cue: butterflies and nerves. That’s how I know the goal was perfectly audacious enough to chase.
As soon as I let my past be in the past, I could set my sights on setting a goal based on what I wanted to achieve. It was not about what I’ve already achieved and more about the possibility of something new.
It was fun, scary, challenging, exciting, and worth it.
Because impossible is temporary.
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