TriDubai

I did my first Ironman 140.6 in September 2014 on Mallorca island. That was a good and smooth day out there and I’ve reached red carpet within satisfying 10:32. Tried to beat that time 1.5 years later in South Africa but ended blowing up on bike due to wrong readings of power meter and DNFed. No other full distances since then – just one Ultraman distance race in Siberia in 2016 which went great overall in 2016 and bad in 2017.

When setting my sport goals for 2019 I realized that I really missed doing full distance. I’d chosen and strongly committed to do it again in 2019 and this time to have a better performance. The idea and actions to make myself better in anything I do – whether it’s sport or family or business etc – drives me crazy more and more in my life. Life the way seagull named Jonathan Livingston lived inspires me a lot! I’ve chosen IRONSTAR 226 SOCHI in October as the race to be – it gave me sufficient time to get ready and I was curious to test and feel 226 product we do at Ironstar.

Choosing a race is probably the easiest job. Finding a right motivation is more exciting and challenging task. I knew I needed a solid motivation that would call to trainings early in the mornings before Dubai sun hits and late in the evenings when humidity has gone (I tend to train outdoors). Think I’d found the right one which was fixed as a target A for 2019 after having a word with my coach – to finish Sochi race within 9h 10m which would have been slightly faster than the course record set in 2016. One might consider such goal as too crazy and super ambitious for my level at that time – and I was one of them – however that was something what was definitely challenging my limits and I liked it a lot. I called that #mission910 which I was happy to share with Universe through its modern media channels and started to train. Important add here that keeping my body fit, endured and healthy is my ultimate goal and I need challenges in my life to make it work. Hope this gives a bit of explanation on how and why #mission910 was born.

I won’t write about all the rollercoaster of training process I have gone through as well as race details – this post is not about that. In short training process was less challenging than I expected it to be, it was interesting, it was mostly hot and humid, it gave loads of new smart life lessons and all in all I’ve probably made about 80-90% of all the trainings prescribed by my coach (never ending process of learning to be a good student :). Race was good and thanks God without mechanical and other surprises. If you have any questions related to my training process or race itself, let me know and I will give more info

The point of this write up is to share with you the outcome of #mission910 and what it has taught me:

1. I’ve finished the race in 9h 43m and technically the #mission910 has failed. Splits – swim 1:01, bike 5:09 and run 3:28. Bike and run is where I lost precious minutes and they are definitely my growth area in the future. Why did I lose those minutes? Good question. Avg heart rates on both bike (151bpm) and run (149bpm) showing there was some room for a faster time… But not this time

2. I think this #sub10 wouldn’t be possible without setting the mission as it provided perfect level of motivation and super commitment that I needed.

3. #mission910 has brought my performance to a new level and build solid base for a further improvement

4. It’s good to become part of #singledigit club. Shoot for the moon – even if you miss you’ll land among stars 😉 

5. 5 years ago I couldn’t dream to find my name among Top 3 AG at a full distance course. With #ironstarsochi it became possible. Podium is not so important when you race vs time but it feels good to amuse the ego from time to time 😉 

6. Thanks for all your messages saying #mission910 got you inspired, guys. They inspire me in return

7. Now I can say that I tested #russiankona myself and can highly recommend you to go for it! Train more hills through. One thing touched me more than others is level of energy produced by volunteers. That was 100% genuine soulful support that gave power on the run

8. I’ve finally found cool custom-madе insoles for my super flat feet and running has become a whole new game now – so much enjoyment! 

9. #mission910 has made understanding with my coach a lot more clearer and trustworthy and has built a new bridgehead before new challenges

10. The mission gives a great boost and motivation for other life areas 

11. Last but not least – I trained 266 days and this is a cool way to make life healthy and happy 🙂 

Triathlon is about team work. I’d like to thank my super team for this, including Tri Dubai 

Thank you for your precious belief, guys! Life is going on. 

Onwards to next missions.

And again – make your vision so strong that your fears become irrelevant!

Rinat Mustafin