I said after my win at Taiwan 70.3 that there "[was] SO much MORE to last Saturdays win than what simply went on in the 4h09min of racing..." I wanted to write about EVERYTHING that had gone into achieving that result, but decided to wait until after IM Western Australia as this helps give extra dimension and further "body" to all of it, maybe for some of you reading this, extra credibility too. You can read race reports for both those races below & on my website to hear about the race days themselves; what's here though, to me, is FAR more important and significant than the normal post-race waffle I might give about 'race strategy and the nutrition I took onboard etc'.
Both these race performances have been a LONG time coming and despite MANY setbacks, something I always believed I was capable of. Yes there has been a LOT of hard work and perseverance but SO many people have been involved in getting me through some very tough times and to those results... I'll try to mention as many as I can here and explain their significance. I owe a HUGE thanks to them ALL.
I should probably pre-empt all of this too by pointing out that the win in Taiwan on October 30th, was almost exactly 1 year to the day since I’d returned to training after an enforced 10 weeks of complete rest having been hit with chronic fatigue. 2007,08 & 09 had been incredibly draining years for me physically, mentally and emotionally; the stress of which had gone un-acknowledge by me. It all lead to a gradual deterioration in both training and race performance and eventually to me imploding in August of 09. I was an empty shell with nothing left inside but my faith that God was still in control and would use this for good somehow. He was, and did and I’m actually very grateful for this time as I learned some hard, yet important lessons and grew in lots of ways that I needed to. We can learn our greatest lessons from our biggest defeats, and I certainly did, leading eventually to 1 year on feeling like I had been restored and I hope, better for it all.
But back to the race report “bigger picture”…
Undoubtedly, without my parents none of this would have happened; not least because I was at the point where I couldn't actually afford to fully pay for the trip. Without their help I wouldn't even have boarded the plane to get to the race in Taiwan. But far more than this is the unceasing support they have given without hesitation in so many other ways. Always encouraging and believing in me... and trusting in MY self-belief EVEN through the really bad and low times, when MANY others didn't. Last year when I literally fell apart physically and emotionally with chronic fatigue, they never questioned or deterred me for continuing and they did ALL they could to help me try to fully rest and recover. I know I'm INCREDIBLY blessed to always have my mum, dad & brothers behind me. Coming to races to support, help and simply sharing the pressure, the early mornings, feeding me the HUGE quantities of food I consume :-) ...the list is endless, but personally NEVER goes un-noted.
My church 'family' too, have been wonderful over the last few years. Some VERY close friends have supported me, encouraged, prayed un-ceasingly and also believed in/with me when things didn't seam to be going too well. When, at 10.30pm, the night before the race in Taiwan I was STILL waiting for my bike to arrive they were back in the UK praying for me. This kind of support is hard to put a price on... you can't, but knowing I'm never "alone" when racing even when 1000's of miles away has been key to me being able to race closer to my potential. They understand my desire to use sport as a "missionary field" where I can hopefully show and speak about my faith. (You can briefly read more about this at www.ForHisGlory.co.uk ) I know they share in my delight as the results come and it opens doors - such as this blog - to speak about why my beliefs as a Christian are so important... THE MOST important thing. In particular Chris, Linda and Jen, have shared every hard and easy road as I walked (sometimes crawled) on it and I really can't thank them enough.
I'm also very fortunate to have a very big but close circle of friends most of which I've known since I was a very little kid. We've grown up (I hope ha ha) together and they've known me as the Wimbledon tennis ball-boy, footballer, the "lads holiday" boy etc... I know its quite unusual to have a large circle of friends whom have been together for over 2 decades but in recent times, when training and racing has meant sometimes 2-3 months between seeing them, I've realised how close and important they all are to me. They too have understood when it didn't make sense and never undermined what I was trying to do even if the evidence at the time didn't seam to back up what I believed. They've also come to races, helped when money got a little tight and very simply been good, solid, loving mates; even their parents have helped me at times! To quote one of them recently in jest (himself quoting Morrissey) "We hate it when our friends become successful and if they're Northern, well, that makes it even worse..."
Others like Wayne who has been a great mate, fellow tri-geek to waffle tri-world chat to, share dozens of website links about the latest bikes :-) GREAT massage therapist and also massive help during some tough times in the last few years. His treatment of my legs before Taiwan was critical I'm sure, to my legs feeling SO GOOD in that race despite the mammoth journey I made so close to race day. It's little things -well actually to me they're HUGE- like his giving me free treatment and helping so much when I was injured earlier this year, that kept me going when sometimes I didn't feel like it. When I've been feeling a little low, their belief in me has restored mine or simply given it added strength when maybe mine was waning. I know particularly with Wayne that he's struggled himself with his training and racing recently so I hope that my results will give him a little personal satisfaction too and encourage HIM to keep chasing his dreams.
I am also, very blessed to count one of the worlds current greatest athletes (in ANY SPORT in my opinion) as a close and dear friend. It's says something of what she has achieved in triathlon and increasingly beyond it too, in such a short space of time that as I write this she has just received an honorary doctorate from Birmingham University and today is preparing to meet the Queen to receive an OBE! [It's often said that the BIGGEST stars need only be know by their first name so...] Whilst Chrissie has been destroying world records, beating most of the men in the world and racking up World Titles she’s also been a CONSTANT supporter, encourager, adviser and friend. Earlier this year literally HOURS after she broken her own world record she emailed me to wish me good luck for the race I was soon to do! This kind of thing is what all the on-line wana-be's and "haters" don't know about her. They don't see her fighting my little corner whilst they write complete rubbish about her, as they hide behind on-line pseudonyms; but I can't tell you how much it helps to have her also showing complete belief in me, even when things were going REALLY badly at times. Others previously very close to me have ended up very negative and un-supportive, but when I’ve have the best in the world saying otherwise its helped pull me through and I can't thank her enough. She deserves her royal honour and continued success in the future more than anyone I can think of.
The more I think about it, the more people spring to mind. Friends overseas who paid for me to have a holiday with them when external issues left me exhausted and emotionally drained (thanks to my American "family" for that!). There are SO many and it stirs up within me a deep sense of gratitude, love and humility when I stop and take it all in.
Sponsors too, have been very supportive and this year PureTri, Powerbar, CompressSport, ProVO2, Greeper and DC Leisure have really made things much easier when it comes to equipment, kit & nutrition that I quite simply couldn't afford on my own. It's nice to be able I hope, to repay them if only a little so far with the results and increased exposure of recent times.
Finally though comes the single most important influence and helper and the one who deserves ALL the credit for anything "good" I'm ever able to achieve... as a Christian I KNOW (as I wrote in my IM WA race report) its ALL a gift of Gods grace; I simply get to enjoy it... When things have fallen apart, it’s been my faith in Jesus ALONE that has kept me going, given me hope and purpose both in and beyond triathlon. I explain this on the website I linked to earlier and I hope you'll take the time to read it... because its not just what suits ME and helps ME, my faith isn't a crutch I lean on when the #### hits the fan; its truth, its real and I hope I can continue to share this and show it through how I train, race, speak, think and live. The bible speaks very clearly about endurance (Hebrews 12:1-2), but importantly, enduring with a purpose and NOT wasting the suffering that we ALL go through (1 Peter 4:11-16). Knowing this truth makes suffering, failure, hardship and defeat (as well as victories and good times etc) things I'm actually able to rejoice in... I know that seams like a complete oxymoron, but it’s true. And just by way of an example, consider that not less than 7 years ago I did my first ever Olympic triathlon at London finishing not far off 3hrs. A lot has changed since then (I'm nearly twice as fast now and as I write this I'm currently ranked in the top 30 guys in the world for Ironman and 70.3 racing); weaknesses have been turned into strengths (Hebrews 11:34). I've seen so many answers to my prayers and His hand SO CLEARLY at work in my life during this time, but I've only become increasingly humbled by my awareness that its all a gift, and I need to look after each opportunity, this body I've been given, every word I get to speak and use them as God wants me to... to reveal HIS glory :-) Soli Deo gloria
So you see, it’s certainly not as simple as swim, bike, run but nor does it come to watts, heart rates and energy gels :-) I know that Taiwan and IM WA don't make me a big "star"... they are only 2 reasonably decent results, but I certainly hope the start of more. Whatever though, Gods in control and I'm just happy I get to see a little of "the ride". I hope next year I get to share more of this with you all.
