CRAIG PRODUCTIONS LLC

The following writing was sent to me by a female Ironman figure competitor who I have come to know over the years from her personal journey competing.  Her husband, Brandin Haynes wrote it for an english class he was taking and I was so moved by it I wanted to share it with you.  So with both Kim and Brandon's permission, I submit it below to you for your enjoyment in it's entirity.  My hope it that it will motivate and inspire you as you train for the stage.

Brandin A. Haynes   

5-17-2010

English-101

J. Delay

Paper #3

                                                Soldiers, Recruits, and Determination

            The alarm sounds, and like reveille wakes the troops, this soldier is prepared for battle. Not a battle over territory or ideology, but an internal struggle of uncompromising will, strength, and determination in the face of adversity. She squints her eyes, and her pupils dilate as the first rays of morning sun embrace her face. An internal spark flickers, igniting a kindling of desire. The flames of determination begin to fill her as she prepares to wage war on the many obstacles she is about to face, and neither man nor beast dares to stand in the way of her goal. This morning marks a new beginning, as does every morning, and this war-zone is the dimly-lit confines of a gym weight-room.

            Upon entering the battlefield, a blast of humid, musty air invades her nostrils, and the clanging and clacking of the weight-room plates are in perfect cadence. Surveying the equipment, our heroine hones-in on her first target. Excitement begins to bubble in the pit of her stomach in anticipation of the pain that she is about to endure. Contrary to popular belief, determination is a visible, an almost tangible concept. To see it, one only needs to look into the face of our heroine as she pushes through the pain. Her eyes are fixed on the horizon, focused on what must be a pleasurable experience, something to distract her from the agony. Jaw clinched, she  keeps in stride, one repetition after another, despite the beads of sweat that are rolling down the contours of her face and to the floor. As fatigue sets in, and her muscles begin to burn, our warrior calls-in reinforcements from the ranks of determination. Much to her relief, the reality of failure disappears, thanks to this new found cavalry of internal fortitude. Adrenaline is rushing through her veins now as her heart beats like a machine-gun. Victorious, our femme-fatale may have won the fight, but she hasn't won the war. Many enemies remain, and she zeroes-in on another victim. Foe after foe falls to the heroine, and an almost euphoric sensation erupts within her, due to the on set of endorphins, coupled with her determined focus to achieve a goal she set-out to accomplish.

            Many months before these battles were executed, a plan-of-attack was put into place. Like a general commanding her troops, our warrior takes command of her destiny, armed with a three-staged plan for success. The first stage is obvious, identify the goal. This seemingly simple task  must be precise, realistic, and will become her motivating factor in the face of adversity. Also important to note is her need to keep a detailed mental picture of the goal at the forefront of her mind, capable of maintaining her focus when she is faced with obstacles. Stage two requires a great deal of forethought as our general must evaluate the amount of time needed to reach her goal, in conjunction with the amount of effort she is willing to devote to attain her goal. Finally, stage three is the most time consuming and exhausting, yet the most rewarding. This step is known as the action stage. Through a daily regimen of focus and determination, inch-by-inch her goal becomes more attainable. 

            In the civilian sector determination is classified as a firm purpose or a fixed position, and is in relation to the word determine. Though these examples are adequate for day-to-day use, they don't display the needed emphasis to describe the internal fortitude and intense motivation required to reach our heroine's goal of physical fitness. In the late fifteenth century the Latin noun, “derterminare” was defined as a “fixed direction toward a goal,” which is far more accurate in describing a gym soldier of her magnitude.    

            Now, there is an obvious difference between gym soldiers and gym recruits. Gym recruits are soon-to-be soldiers that have only a drive to accomplish some goal, any goal for that matter. Yet drive is only a small component in the process of determination. Gym recruits have yet to

implement the three stages of success, as described earlier. They unfortunately waste time and energy in an effort to gain progress, lined-up like hamsters on a wheel, eager to go nowhere, sweating and working hard but lacking a plan, and a well defined goal. This is an unthinkable travesty to our warrior, punishable by court-marshal. She knows the difference between drive and determination, the necessary desire and planing involved to execute and complete her daily missions in route to her overall goal. Our general is aware that it takes more than an aimless drive to reach your destination, you must know WHERE you are going in order to get there. You don't spontaneously jump into your car and drive without a clue to where you are going.  In addition, some gym recruits tend to congregate near one another and often have strong jaw and tongue muscles. It's this display in lack of focus, that raises eyebrows about the determination of gym recruits, and their need to simply jump into the car and drive.

            Determination can be seen on a daily basis, in many animals and many people. Take a small business owner who's up to her eyeballs in IRS taxes, for example. Each day she plugs away at her job, committed to her customers, working tirelessly, determined to earn the chance of a brighter tomorrow and the opportunity to break even. How about a single, working, mother of two difficult teenage daughters? Despite the daughters' troubles with the law and their own selfish, demanding attitudes, their mother thanklessly provides all the necessities they need, displaying  much determination of patience and love. Lastly, is a woman who is the survivor of a grim, sexually assaulted childhood. Determined not to be a lifelong victim of some derelict's macabre fantasy, she refuses to let this event consume her psyche.

            So, like the business owner, our heroine is able to work tirelessly toward her goal, like the single mother she is determined and patient with the obstacles that stand in her way, and like the mistreated child she is determined to take control of her own life. Our warrior posses all of these traits because she was, and is, all of these women, and most importantly to me, she is my wife!

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