To Ironman or not to Ironman

So heading into this whole Ironman thing I had a good feel that I would handle the race fine and then move on to the next big thing. This lead to thoughts of "maybe I will do two in one season", or "hmmm would be cool to do a double Ironman". All of this came to an end on Sunday's Lucky 7 workout (70 min swim, 7 hour bike, 70 min run)in the pouring rain. Well actually it did not rain the entire time just for the swim and the first 45 miles of the bike. It was one of those days where you know it needs to get down but you really have to dig down deep, like to China, and find the motivation to get through the day.

So all of this lead me to this blog post and how Ironman is sooo much more than a 12 hour race a couple times a year, or a double which would take a full day. Ironman is the training time, the prep time, all the laundry, the bike cleaning, rainy 55 degree Sundays getting up at o' dark thirty to go workout for 7 hours, and don't forget the HUGE cost associated with doing these type of events. I more than alot of people I know have the mental capacity (of a fly) to be able to do these long sessions and not be bothered at all. Even this Sunday there was no hesitation getting out of bed or driving to see if anyone would even show up. I just did it, why? because I had to do it. It was on the schedule and when the cannon goes off on race day the only thing that seperates us is the quality and quantity of training time. Now for different people this can mean many things. For instance someone who finishes in 16 hours does not mean that they trained any less than someone who does the race in 10. The difference is that those that go in under trained pay dearly for missed sessions. There is no hiding not being properly trained for an event of this magnitude.

This leads me to my point that to do Ironman you must commit 100% of your being to the race. Weekends, family time, money are all things that are required of a successfull finisher. These are things that are precious to everyone and especially to those around us. It is true what they say that both spouses need to be on the same page when it comes to Ironman. You simply can not fake this race. It takes 8, 9, 10 hour weekend training sessions, 15 to 20 hour training weeks, early mornings and most of all it takes time away from loved ones. So what the conclusion that I came to this Sunday in the pouring rain is that this sport is my passion but I don't want it to be my obsession. I enjoy training (sometimes alot more than racing) but up until now I have been very open to new events and I would like to keep it that way. I don't want to lock into an Ironman race every year that requires countless lost weekends to put in the proper time. I do however want to continue to challenge myself and experience different races of all kinds. Doing an Ironman and having already completed two ultra marathons I have the confidence to put my name on the start list of any race of any distance. What I don't want is to be a slave to a goal (such as Kona) that becomes an obsession that makes you lose perspective on why we do this sport. With that said this does not mean that I will not do more Ironmans or not attempt a double at some point or try and qualify for Vegas or Kona. It simply means that I enjoy trying new things in and out of this sport, wether it be a new vacation destination or a race in a place I would never go to in a million years. I want to stay open to these oppurtunities and not get locked in to countless hours of mindless Ironman training that someday instead of being new and exciting will just be routine.