Chasing Failure - Low Oxygen Lies

This post is for anyone out there who thinks they can’t. For anyone with imposter syndrome.? For anyone who’s failed and wants to improve but struggles to pick themselves back up. This is for anyone who wants to start the growth journey but doesn’t know where to start. This is for you. You are not alone.? You can do hard things!

Deep down, I knew I wasn’t maximizing my potential.? I knew I could be more disciplined. I wasn’t doing the small things and maximizing my time. I knew there was room for improvement. I wasn’t applying high levels of agency and nothing was holding me accountable to a higher standard.? I wanted to be better and I wanted to learn. I always had some sort of excuse.? The only thing holding me back…..was me.??

In 2020 I made the decision to try and do something I thought I could never do. I made a 2-year commitment to train for a full Ironman. Completing an Ironman is a formidable challenge for anyone but this would be especially true for me because I was born missing a left lung and left rib cage.?For most of my life I stayed away from endurance sports because I THOUGHT I couldn’t do it.? I told myself that LIE for most of my adult life.?

So I set? a goal that would:

..force me to confront my biggest doubts and fears.

..force me to fail often, learn, make adjustments and try again.

..force me to do something that frightened me, repeatedly for 2 straight years.

..force me to push through pain and fatigue.

..force me to be more disciplined over a long stretch of time.

..force me to ask for help and be fully accountable.

I signed up for Ironman Arizona, got a coach, and went to work. I had no bike, no running shoes, no wetsuit, no gear. I had nothing but a coach in my corner and a commitment to show up everyday and do my best. He asked that I fully commit to the process and stay disciplined to what he wanted me to do. I can’t overstate how important it is to be held accountable. It’s not easy but it pushes you to have agency and eliminate barriers and excuses from your life.? It makes you more creative and resourceful. Ultimately it makes you a better person. It might take months or years but I can tell you that change is possible if you put in the work. I am first hand proof of this!? This past Sunday I completed my 3rd Ironman event in Salem Oregon.

Four years ago I couldn’t swim more than 150 yards or run for more than 3 miles without walking.? Four years ago my longest bike was 15 miles. Over the past 4 years I’ve swam 217 miles, biked 9,165 miles and ran 1,560.? I used to tell myself that I wasn't cut out for endurance events because of my physical condition. Why try to do something that requires a lot of oxygen to do? You can't do this. It took a lot of work to debunk the lies I told myself.

Confidence comes from keeping the promises you make to yourself. Start small. Make a commitment and follow through.? Even if it doesn't work out you can still learn from those experiences and try again. That’s the key. Keep trying. Keep learning. Get up the next day and give it another go.?The image below is a graph from Strava showing my fitness levels since early 2021. As you can see I started slow and eventually begin to see more growth but it took a year of training before I started to see high levels of growth. All you have to do is have the courage to get started. You can do hard things!

For those interested in doing some sort of long endurance event (Swimming, Biking or Running) and you're seriously looking for a coach, I highly recommend Trivello coaching. Coach Gerald Donnelly is the head coach at Trivello and is also a former Australian Ironman champion. In 2024 he helped me improve my overall Ironman Oregon time by 34 minutes in 8 months. I can't overstate how important his coaching and guidance was to this result.

Gerald is not only a world class coach, he's also a wonderful human being who cares deeply about helping his athletes maximize their potential.

https://trivelocoaching.com.au/