Mental focus

Last night I was studying my bible "Going Long" - it's about training for Ironman.  My training will start to taper / reduce in a couple of weeks but that doesn't mean the work stops.  I have to make sure my "mind" is focused for the event and ready to adapt to the conditions.  A couple of key questions were posed; why are you doing it? What would it mean to achieve this goal?  As I was running my 10km this morning a 6am I used the time to focus on those questions.
There are a couple of answers to the first one; to raise money for a fantastic cause that friends and family have benefited from - Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres.  If you know anyone suffering from Cancer then get them along to Maggie's, it's a special place.  Everyone knows someone who has suffered and I was delighted this morning to read that Jennifer Saunders had won her battle against breast cancer.  The second answer is I wanted to do something that stretched my physical and mental capabilities.  In training for Ironman it has taught me a lot about myself and opened up a whole new world - who knows what's next but one step at a time.
As for what it would mean to me to achieve this goal well I don't think I will really know the answer until it's complete.  But I think it will prove to me that you can achieve whatever you want as long as you have the desire, a plan, support and dedication - there are no short cuts.  Between now and the event I will continue to prepare my mind as everyone says 50% of Ironman is down to your mental strength and focusing on the first question in the darker moments will get me there.  Thanks for your continued support.