Wednesday 16th Janurary 2008 - Have I Done All That I Can ?

Well it's the evening here in Sydney before I leave tomorrow (Thursday) for the 22 hours series of flights to New York in the United States and after completing my final training session today I felt like I was cooked (I mean I am as good as I can be).

For the last few days I have been fielding questions such as "How are you feeling ?", "Do you think you are ready ?", "How does the body feel ?" "Why would you subject yourself to this ?" and to all these questions I have replied pretty much the same. "I feel pretty good" and instead of why do it I answered "why not !".

My body has some aches but generally for all the training that I have been doing I'm very happy with how I feel physically. I have done all that I can to get ready to ride for 24 hours with the preparation time I have had.

I recall in 2000 competing for the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon on only 13 weeks of preparation (which I have been told is foolish to attempt) but I did what I could and completed the event. It took over 15 hours and I remember thinking that the body will go on and on, so it is the battle of the mind or the mental challenge that must be conquered in order to face any daunting obstacle.

So I am doing what I did back then. I am breaking the ride into smaller sections and taking each part and then adding my own personal twist. I will try to use different moments during my training apart from the bike-riding to break the mental barriers.

Time will tell but I am pretty sure that I will do my best and then let you know how it all goes.

Committing to this event on a personal level for me was a no-brainer. Sure it involved getting all the way across the world to ride on a stationary bike with a goal to complete the full 24 hours with only five and a half weeks of training but life is about taking on challenges.

The event is trying to raise funds for HealthCorps which is a U.S. "not for profit organization" that is designed to combat teen obesity.

The founder Dr Mehmet Oz is not only a friend but he is an amazing man. Cardiovascular Surgeon, Media Celebrity and TV Show Host (Discovery Channel, Oprah TV Show and Oprah and Friends Radio Show on XM Radio), Best Selling Author (of the YOU Series of books), Medical Researcher, Speaker, Husband and Father, the list goes on so you can see why I was very flattered when he accepted a position on my Advisory Board for my Childhood Obesity Project (www.bodymechanics.tv).

So I will try to post a day or two after the event ... there might be some serious sleeping with jet lag and the event kicking into full swing by then.

Tomorrow try your own mental battle and commit to overcoming any doubts you have and make a personal goal happen.