What is the Big Deal with Ironman Triathlon?

There have been some posts and comments on some other blogs, and they got me to thinking.

Ironman training and racing (and there is a big difference in showing up and doing it vs. actually trying to race it) is a vehicle that I have come to know and love as a way for me to explore my inner depths. Period. It could have been something else, I suppose, and I honor the many different paths people take to find themselves and work towards whatever state it is they think they are working towards.

The state I am working towards is a perfection of mind and body. Not in the sense that I want to be perfect; rather I am seeking to get that connection where mind is body and body is mind and everything is clear and I can practice my little piece of serenity in modern society while setting a good example to others of how they might be able to use the same vehicle to do the same. If anyone can learn from me and how I'm approaching my life work, great; if not, well spend your valuable time someplace else!

So I understand that my particular approach might not apply to those who don't take the whole training/racing so seriously. That is a perfectly valid choice. Sometimes when I read about others struggling to fit in their training, what I think is why isn't that person content to be good at the other things in their life? Be content and proud that you are a great parent; be content and proud that you are a good student; be content and proud that you are a wonderful employee; be content and proud that you are just a great person?

I am a good employee and think I've gotten as good as I can at it, especially considering I only have a few years left in me to do it. I will never be a great parent--I do not have children. I believe I was a good student; now I am a student of life. I work continuously at being a great friend. I believe that when I've been in the position that I am a great lover.

I believe that to be truly happy, you have to be content with the trivialness that is daily life. So why do I seek to push myself physically and mentally? I guess I don't have a lot of the other distractions that many others have--children, formal studies, etc. I have just always been driven to try and excel at whatever it is that caught my fancy at the time. I got pretty good at playing the piano. I can sew really well. I can cook really well. I've done pretty well in my career. Every time I push myself to excel at something I learn something new about myself, and it sure makes the daily trivia a bit more exciting!

Is Ironman itself a big deal? It can be. In the big scheme of athletic pursuits, it's a fairly big deal. But it's nothing compared to preparing to successfully climb Mt. Everest. Without oxygen. You could argue that rich people pay an entire team to get them up there, but you do have to use your own legs :) Yet I really believe that anyone in reasonable health that wants to commit to a long stretch of training can complete an Ironman triathlon. It might take several years, but it can be done. If I really want to climb Mt. Everest, I know I can do it. I just don't really want to (yet). But if I decide I want to, then I will prepare like nobody's business, because that's just how I personally do things. I don't believe in half-ass commitments. All or nothing, baby. That is how I got the name Crackhead.

Now something may come up in my life that makes it difficult to impossible to continue training at the level I prefer. When that happens, I will learn to stay content with what I can do and will take my experiences and bring them to that new table. If I thought all I'm doing right now was physical, well, hell, what's the point of that? It's the mental training that I'm after now. I really believe executing the physical training is easy. If you are training within your limits, and doing the other stuff well enough (nutrition, sleep, recovery, attention to technique), then you shouldn't feel badly doing the workouts. And if you've set them up to support an appropriate level of goals, piece of cake! Beyond that, it's mental. It's execution. It's commitment. It's desire. It's focus. It's what you are doing.

If Ironman isn't important to you, don't do it. If setting appropriate goals is beyond you, don't do it. If learning from the experience is not your cup of tea, don't do it. If you think it's all about bragging about how many hours of this and that you did, don't do it. If you think it's all about having the gear and being a member of an elite, don't do it. I think many people do it for the wrong reasons, but that's OK, because IMNA and others running races need the money to keep putting on races. There's nothing wrong with trying something out and then deciding it really just isn't your gig. It's not for everyone! But it's also not the greatest thing since sliced bread, either. It's is just a way, a Tao, and some people accept it like that and for others it's just a "hobby."

There's more than enough room in life for a myriad of approaches to the same thing, including Ironman. If I've made anyone feel that their way is less "valid," my apologies--accepting everyone as human and fallible and individual is one of the things I am working on every day. But by the same token, if you look at my way and don't like it, that's just fine, too. Be happy with your choice.

Whatever we are doing right now is our choice--it is of our making. I will honor your choice if you will honor mine.