Remember - Ironman Started Out as a Bar Bet
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 at 9:02AM 
Some people take triathlon a little too seriously. I like to treat it as a means to an end. Specifically, it's one of many paths to take to stay fit, learn about the world, and improve yourself overall.
Ironman itself started out as an extremely ridiculous bar bet between some pretty looney guys to see who was most crazy fit. As it became more mainstream, we see people acting like it's a little too legitamite of a way to define who's the best at being a human. We've now got age groupers doping with EPO, people killing themselves trying to hillbomb faster on Strava, and zealots accusing somebody of running across the finish line with their kid at an Ironman as, "everything that's wrong with the world today." Really? Does Ironman kid crossings cause wildfires in Idaho? Because that would be news to me.
When you start wondering if the sport is helping or hurting you, it is always nice to step back and take in some perspective. Swimming, THEN biking, THEN running all in succession for 140 miles is just an invention by some guys that were probably drunk when they thought of it, taking something to the extreme. It turns out it is a great way to show off, but a little nutso to base your entire life around. If you're miserable getting the job done, then it's OK to back off a little and re-evaluate exactly what you are doing this all for.
Reader Comments (1)
This is an awesome post and a good reminder.