I’ve wanted to make sure that I’m enjoying the journey and the goal in the end - completing Epic 5 - is that little bit of excitement. Whereas I learn what I can and I learn more about myself in the journey and be proud of what I’ve achieved along the way, because then how can you fail?
This week’s guest on Sparta Chicks Radio reminds me how important it is to focus on the journey, not just the destination - or finish line.
Stacey De Bono grew up in country Victoria and, by her own admission, hated riding bikes as a kid and used to wag the school cross country carnival.
Fast forward a few years and she discovered triathlon quite by accident.
A friend convinced her to sign up for a race. She did, but without checking the details and couldn’t work out why the race was so expensive.
It turns out the first triathlon she signed up for was Ironman Melbourne, just 10 months later.
A few years (and several triathlon seasons) later, a broken finger from a bike accident forced Stacey to step back from her training and work.
This gave her time to reflect on her lifestyle, her health and her goals - and it was during this difficult period she heard about Epic 5, an iconic race consisting of 5 Ironman-distance triathlons over 5 days on 5 different Hawaiian islands.
The seed was planted, Stacey eventually voiced the idea out loud to her coach and the goal was set to participate in Epic 5 in 2020, some 3 years later.
That race date has been pushed back to 2021, meaning she will have been working towards this race for 4 years by the time she stands on the start line.
What is unique about Stacey’s approach to Epic 5 is that she has decided not read or listen to anything about Epic 5 for the next 2 years until her race in 2020 (which is the complete opposite to what most of us do!).
In this fun conversation, we discuss:
* why she was attracted to team sports as a kid,
* how she discovered boxing while at University and even participated in several fights - which she only told her parents about the week before we recorded this conversation some 10 years later!
* why you need an outlet to release the stress associated with your work,
* how she discovered triathlons “by pure accident”,
* how she signed up for her first triathlon - which happened to be Ironman Melbourne - without realising what the race was or what it entailed and whether she was tempted to immediately seek a refund,
* why you should finish what you start (because you sometimes don’t know where you’ll end up),
* the benefits that come from sticking the same coach for the long term (and not coach-swapping each season),
* why breaking her finger during a bike crash was “a blessing in disguise”,
* how she struggled with the loss of her identity as a nurse and a triathlete during her recovery,
* why Epic 5 appealed to her,
* how she used Epic 5 as motivation to create meaningful, long term lifestyle changes (rather than just temporary changes for the duration of her training),
* how she reframed the disappointment of pushing Epic 5 back to 2021 instead as an opportunity to become even fitter, stronger and faster,
* the selection criteria she used to apply for Epic 5 (given her race experience and background didn’t reflect that of many other competitors), and
* why she won’t listen to or read anything about Epic 5 for the next 2 years until she achieves her goal.
What you’ll hear throughout this conversation too is how much self-awareness Stacey has.
She’s very aware of how her self-doubt is triggered and how she responds to stress in unconstructive ways. And because she has that awareness, she’s put in place certain boundaries and support systems so she doesn’t sabotage herself.
How can you do the same in your life?
Click here to listen on iTunes.
Notes and resources:
To find out more about Stacey or to say hello, you can find her on Instagram or Facebook.
Everyone else except Stacey can hear Melissa Urie talk about her experience at the 'Epic 5' in episode 14 of Sparta Chicks Radio from 2017.
