Ironman is About What You Do Today, Not at the Starting Line.
Thursday, September 2, 2010 at 9:04PM
“What you are is what you have been. What you’ll be is what you do now.” ~Buddha
If the training was easy, then anybody could be an Ironman. The difference between the hopefuls and the world's endurance elite is in how far they'll go to get the job done. The world will constantly throw roadblocks in your path. If it isn't inconvenient training locations and late night parties, then it's amputated limbs, ALS, insulin dependent diabetes, even cancer. We've seen it all and we've seen people beat those difficulties to get the job DONE.
I'm writing this after sweating like crazy on the 10th floor of a hot hotel room, after cranking out an hour on rollers while watching 300 - the movie about Spartan warriors. They remind me of how you have to have a single-purpose focus, the dedication, the drive to win. That's the drive that makes you drag your bike and trainer up the elevator and not give a sh*t about the looks the other people give you. They're not Ironmen. Except that one guy - he looked at me with a knowing smile and nod... He's one of us.
It's not the getting up and throwing on the running shoes for the Saturday morning run after a nice breakfast that makes the difference. That's easy, no matter how far you go. It's the running in a cold rainstorm and heavy wind, barely making it to work on time that defines who you really are. You did it because you said you would. You did it because it's on your plan. You did it because you are separating yourself from the zombie-world around you.
This is what it takes. This is what is revealed at the starting line. Your Ironman race starts today.
Reader Comments (7)
Awesome article!!
Last night, as I was putting an ice packet on my sore hammie.. My wife said to me "Why do you want to do this to your body?" I was speechless..
To me, it's also about setting of a goal and sticking to it. With all of crazy things happening in life, the only thing that is constant is the training. My plan is to qualify for and running Boston in 2012. Which requires me to shave 40 minutes off my current marathon PR. Along the way to this goal they are going to be sore muscles and miss days due to injuries. But keeping at the goal will make me physically and mentally stronger.
Every time that I'm thinking about skipping a training day or to quit my goal.. I think about the intro to the performance of the week (Dodgeball), with Lance says "I'm sure you must have a good reason to quit" then I put the shoes on and go for the run..
Coach, thanks for keeping use motivated..
Great article. When you are a triathlete, training is not optional. Write down your goal, share it, stick to it, get it done. The only choice is - where am I going to swim, bike, run today, not if. Gratitude for daily inspiration from ZenTri.
Its doing event after event going from a 100 mile bike race to Hood to coast 200 mile relay to a short intense cyclocross season opener last night and having them all kick you ass and loving it....I was so not ready for short and intense last night I I popped after lap one but kept riding for the rest of the race knowing I was being beat bad telling myself...this is training for the next race not this race
Being a master in endurance sports is combining strength, awareness and relaxation which after a while, we all realise we can apply to our lives. Eventually as we become masters of our craft we begin to train for our lives, not just live to train. We apply every principle of going with the flow, dealing with challenges, reaching a goal only to apply a new one, pushing ourselves to find our full potential and the self-awareness we learned during our athletic training to our greater lives. That, for want of a better term, rocks.
Awesome Blog!!! I needed to be reminded of that. I am constently getting up at 4.00am and still not having enough time to work out and make it to work by 7.30am. People at work think i am crazy. I am very self aware and get imbrassed all the time when people find out i ran or biked to work that day. I do not like the way they think i am crazy. It would be too easy to just fit in with the rest of the Zoombies and work be my whole life with no joy. Riding to work today after a run in 40mph gusts is my idea of real living and not staring at a screen all day.
I've been burned out since my 'A' event in July. Been struggling to hang on, to just make it thru September and a more social 70.3 on the 26th.
I read this piece....and burned out no more! Fired Up! Thanks for the jolt.
C
Nice, motivating!
Last February, in the middle of training for a marathon, I was running along side a major thoroughfare in a KC suburb. It was snowing so hard I could barely see 400 m ahead. I was around mile 15 or so and was feeling every step, I was beat. I passed through an intersection in front of people sitting in their warm cars awaiting a green light... I just burst out laughing and got a surge of energy. "Just look at this idiot" I could hear them say...
Awesome. Love your site. Keep it up.
Siv