"You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it come true. You may have to work for it, however." Richard Bach
"Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Well, we are 10 days out from Ironman Florida, and now into “taper” mode… nothing you do at this point is going to improve your athletic ability, other than getting some rest. Training sessions are shorter, much more abbreviated, and the key really is to keep from getting hurt or sick. You tend to stay away from people as much as possible if there is even the remotest possibility of catching a cold, and you don’t want to try to do something like play golf when you have not done so on a regular basis.
As is now a custom (I think), somebody posted the following list on the BeginnerTriathlete.com forum for IMFL. People wonder about those of us who attempt such a thing… and they do it openly, so some time ago somebody came up with these reasons for what we do.
Enjoy the read --
1. There are 6.5 billion people on earth. About 30,000 of them do Ironman. That’s less than 1 out of every quarter of a million people. That’s reason enough.
2. After clicking “Submit” on the application (or after handing over that check) your first thought is “WTH did I just do?”
3. Because you tear up watching Ironman Hawaii on TV.
4. After watching the TV coverage of Hawaii Ironman, you dream of being there yourself one day.
5. To reach down and find strength you never knew was there.
6. Because you don’t get older, you get more competitive as you age up.
7. Beats watching reality TV.
8. You get to create your own “Amazing Race!”
9. For all the times you’ve heard someone say “I’d do one of those . . . I just can’t swim”.
10. Telling people an Ironman consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run…only to have them look at you dazed and ask again “now, how far is that race you’re doing again?”
11. Because you told everyone “one day I will be an Ironman!”
12. You can eat more than three times a day.
13. Wearing a form-fitting tri suit is motivation enough to stick to your diet.
14. Testing the endurance limits of the iPod music collection in your head.
15. Spectators cheering your name as you run past.
16. How many people can say they did something for 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. . . hours?
17. The volunteer at the finish line reminding you did finish b/c you are too disoriented to realize it.
18. Talking about HR zones at 3am after a night out with friends with a buzz.
19. Your bicycle becomes part of the living room décor.
20. Where else can someone ripping off your clothes in public be considered a benefit? (Wetsuit stripper).
21. To prove with hard work anything is POSSIBLE.
22. When people ask how many days it will take you answer “ONE”.
23. Hearing the National Anthem before the swim start gives you chills.
24. Being in the right place at the right time to meet a few of the Pros.
25. While on the bike leg you are playing with one of your favorite toys and justifying all the money you spent on it.
26. Peeing your pants on the bike or the run is not frowned upon but expected.
27. It’s not just a hobby but a passion.
28. The huge crowds cheering you at each loop of the run each time you pass by.
29. Showing off your compression socks and people know what you’re wearing.
30. The funny looks you get the week after when you’re still wearing your compression socks for recovery.
31. For all the 4:45am mornings when you wanted to stay curled up under the covers.
32. Chicken broth and Coke really are the ultimate power cocktail.
33. Making new friends on the run course to keep your mind off the pain you are feeling.
34. The wristband that somehow becomes your favorite fashion accessory.
35. Because you feel like a superhero in your tri kit.
36. You like the repetitive behavior . . . pedal, pedal, pedal for 112 miles only to end where you started.
37. Seeing mile 100 on the bike a feeling comes over you that no one else can understand unless they have done an Ironman.
38. The fashionable tan lines you get from your tri shorts and tri top.
39. To find out who you really are.
40. Being able to eat salt tabs like candy, especially on the run course.
41. Even when everything is hurting, you can still run!
42. High-Fives from people you don’t even know.
43. You get to tread water with 2,500 other people.
44. Triathlons make you smarter!
45. You get an awesome feeling of freedom going stupid fast on your bike.
46. Looking at your watch and seeing you are 9 hours into the race and knowing someone is already finishing.
47. Knowing that when you wake up at 4am race day, the next time you go to bed you will be a VERY different person.
48. The longer you are on the course the less per hour it costs – you know how to get the most bang for the buck.
49. You get to prove to your math teacher you really did pay attention, formulating your nutrition and caloric needs for race day.
50. You finally get to use what you learned in math class.
51. Because your parents tried to talk you out of it.
52. Being there is ten times better than watching or hearing about it.
53. To fulfill a dream.
54. Boot camp and cross fit just weren’t challenging enough.
55. You can talk about chafing or saddle rash at the dinner table and not find anything wrong with it.
56. Your friends and family sitting on the edges of their seats while tracking you live on the web.
57. Because you got a C in high school chemistry but can now teach a class on lactic acid.
58. Endless amounts of energy you didn’t know you had.
59. People think your perfume smells like chlorine.
60. Your friends still love you even when you lack a social life.
61. There are the same amounts of cheers for last place as there are for first place, and the same finisher medals.
62. Walking to the swim start facing your fears.
63. Watching people pass you on the bike and seeing them again later as you pass them on the run. Conversely, watching people you pass on the bike and seeing them again later as they pass you on the run.
64. You get to be cranky, irritable and impossible to be around come race week and not catch slack for it.
65. A sprint distance was the beginning; a half-Ironman was testing the waters but not enough.
66. Because everyone knows you’re training and you can’t stop now.
67. Your co-workers think you’re nuts.
68. Your family thinks you’re nuts.
69. You Know you are nuts!
70. For everyone who ever asked you “why?”
71. For the ones that believed you can.
72. …and the ones that didn’t.
73. Building confidence in yourself.
74. Inspirational messages of chalk written on the road.
75. Finishing your last hard workout knowing “I’m SO ready”.
76. The sponge is a fashion statement.
77. Because marathons were not long enough.
78. Because ultra marathons were not long enough.
79. Glow sticks on the run after dark.
80. The 12-step program to make me stop hasn’t been invented yet.
81. Because Winston Churchill said “Never give up. Never, never, give up!”
82. To say “I am an Ironman!”
83. Being in the middle of your doubts at one point in the race – finding a new meaning of being scared.
84. Finding out that you’re stronger than those doubts you had a few miles earlier.
85. Seeing people on the side of the bike course and saying “it’s a long day – hang in there” and seeing them smile for a moment.
86. Ford inspirational mile billboard with your name in lights!
87. The feeling of ice cubes in your hat or down your tri top on a hot run never getting too cold.
88. Your gear being organized in bags and not scattered around your bike.
89. The thousands of volunteers that make it possible.
90. Learning the power of determination and commitment.
91. Finding a new level of patience.
92. Because people said you were a fighter.
93. The IV’s feel so good after the race.
94. To Try and finish before midnight.
95. Hearing people yell “you’re almost there” all day long.
96. Weekend plans are made around your training schedule rather than your training schedule made around your plans and it being okay.
97. An excuse to be bipolar on your LONG training days.
98. That moment you KNOW you are going to finish for the first time all day.
99. Being nearly almost there – for real!
100. The first time you think “Holy crap – I’m doing an ironman!”
101. Thinking you are crazy for doing this when you see a 20hr week of training.
102. Being able to neglect chores around the house because you had a 6 and half hour bike ride and are tired.
103. Indulging on dessert b/c you earned that extra scoop of ice cream or second slice of cake.
104. Sharing a smile with people wearing the finishers T-shirt the next day.
105. Running down Fourth Street Live (IM Louisville).
106. Someday running down Ali’i Drive (IM Hawaii).
107. Because you’re a fighter.
108. The Bragging rights.
109. A level of excitement you have never felt before b/c nerves are mixed in.
110. It’s not a race because you have all day!
111. You get to explore the city you live in b/c you have a 6hr bike ride!
112. Ice baths have never felt so good!
113. It’s never too late to shoot for the stars – regardless of who you are.
114. Learning the anatomy of your own body.
115. You persevere when everything, including your insides, hurt.
116. You build character.
117. Smiling for the photographers on the course regardless of how you feel.
118. Not knowing how to stop after you finish b/c you have been going all day long.
119. The energizer bunny’s theme becomes your own (“and they keep going, and going and going. . .”)
120. Watching the sun rise as you start your swim and seeing the sun set as you finish the race.
121. Having the energy to still dance to the music on the run course even though every muscle in your body is achy.
122. You know it’s not easy.
123. Lots of “pace booty”.
124. You are an inspiration to others.
125. For the love of Ben Jerry’s Ice Cream!
126. Who needs a list of New Year’s resolutions when you are training to do 140.6 miles in one day?
127. Watching the race being built a few days before.
128. Makes everything else seem so short.
129. To finish near the deadline, and having a Pro there to put the medal around your neck.
130. To see if it really feels as good to do as it does to dream it.
131. Seeing mile 25 on the run!
132. THE FINISH LINE
133. The first step after your cross the line, all the pain goes away for a split second and you think “Oh, My . . . God . . . !”
134. Hearing Mike Reilly say “Patrick Hight, YOU! are an Ironman!”
135. Getting the M-Dot tattoo
136. The 140.6 sticker for your car.
137. The Medal!
138. The finisher Hat and Shirt.
139. After realizing you really finished, your first thought be “I think I looked down for my finisher photo!”
140. Because I say I can!
140.6. The feeling of accomplishment!
2. After clicking “Submit” on the application (or after handing over that check) your first thought is “WTH did I just do?”
3. Because you tear up watching Ironman Hawaii on TV.
4. After watching the TV coverage of Hawaii Ironman, you dream of being there yourself one day.
5. To reach down and find strength you never knew was there.
6. Because you don’t get older, you get more competitive as you age up.
7. Beats watching reality TV.
8. You get to create your own “Amazing Race!”
9. For all the times you’ve heard someone say “I’d do one of those . . . I just can’t swim”.
10. Telling people an Ironman consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run…only to have them look at you dazed and ask again “now, how far is that race you’re doing again?”
11. Because you told everyone “one day I will be an Ironman!”
12. You can eat more than three times a day.
13. Wearing a form-fitting tri suit is motivation enough to stick to your diet.
14. Testing the endurance limits of the iPod music collection in your head.
15. Spectators cheering your name as you run past.
16. How many people can say they did something for 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. . . hours?
17. The volunteer at the finish line reminding you did finish b/c you are too disoriented to realize it.
18. Talking about HR zones at 3am after a night out with friends with a buzz.
19. Your bicycle becomes part of the living room décor.
20. Where else can someone ripping off your clothes in public be considered a benefit? (Wetsuit stripper).
21. To prove with hard work anything is POSSIBLE.
22. When people ask how many days it will take you answer “ONE”.
23. Hearing the National Anthem before the swim start gives you chills.
24. Being in the right place at the right time to meet a few of the Pros.
25. While on the bike leg you are playing with one of your favorite toys and justifying all the money you spent on it.
26. Peeing your pants on the bike or the run is not frowned upon but expected.
27. It’s not just a hobby but a passion.
28. The huge crowds cheering you at each loop of the run each time you pass by.
29. Showing off your compression socks and people know what you’re wearing.
30. The funny looks you get the week after when you’re still wearing your compression socks for recovery.
31. For all the 4:45am mornings when you wanted to stay curled up under the covers.
32. Chicken broth and Coke really are the ultimate power cocktail.
33. Making new friends on the run course to keep your mind off the pain you are feeling.
34. The wristband that somehow becomes your favorite fashion accessory.
35. Because you feel like a superhero in your tri kit.
36. You like the repetitive behavior . . . pedal, pedal, pedal for 112 miles only to end where you started.
37. Seeing mile 100 on the bike a feeling comes over you that no one else can understand unless they have done an Ironman.
38. The fashionable tan lines you get from your tri shorts and tri top.
39. To find out who you really are.
40. Being able to eat salt tabs like candy, especially on the run course.
41. Even when everything is hurting, you can still run!
42. High-Fives from people you don’t even know.
43. You get to tread water with 2,500 other people.
44. Triathlons make you smarter!
45. You get an awesome feeling of freedom going stupid fast on your bike.
46. Looking at your watch and seeing you are 9 hours into the race and knowing someone is already finishing.
47. Knowing that when you wake up at 4am race day, the next time you go to bed you will be a VERY different person.
48. The longer you are on the course the less per hour it costs – you know how to get the most bang for the buck.
49. You get to prove to your math teacher you really did pay attention, formulating your nutrition and caloric needs for race day.
50. You finally get to use what you learned in math class.
51. Because your parents tried to talk you out of it.
52. Being there is ten times better than watching or hearing about it.
53. To fulfill a dream.
54. Boot camp and cross fit just weren’t challenging enough.
55. You can talk about chafing or saddle rash at the dinner table and not find anything wrong with it.
56. Your friends and family sitting on the edges of their seats while tracking you live on the web.
57. Because you got a C in high school chemistry but can now teach a class on lactic acid.
58. Endless amounts of energy you didn’t know you had.
59. People think your perfume smells like chlorine.
60. Your friends still love you even when you lack a social life.
61. There are the same amounts of cheers for last place as there are for first place, and the same finisher medals.
62. Walking to the swim start facing your fears.
63. Watching people pass you on the bike and seeing them again later as you pass them on the run. Conversely, watching people you pass on the bike and seeing them again later as they pass you on the run.
64. You get to be cranky, irritable and impossible to be around come race week and not catch slack for it.
65. A sprint distance was the beginning; a half-Ironman was testing the waters but not enough.
66. Because everyone knows you’re training and you can’t stop now.
67. Your co-workers think you’re nuts.
68. Your family thinks you’re nuts.
69. You Know you are nuts!
70. For everyone who ever asked you “why?”
71. For the ones that believed you can.
72. …and the ones that didn’t.
73. Building confidence in yourself.
74. Inspirational messages of chalk written on the road.
75. Finishing your last hard workout knowing “I’m SO ready”.
76. The sponge is a fashion statement.
77. Because marathons were not long enough.
78. Because ultra marathons were not long enough.
79. Glow sticks on the run after dark.
80. The 12-step program to make me stop hasn’t been invented yet.
81. Because Winston Churchill said “Never give up. Never, never, give up!”
82. To say “I am an Ironman!”
83. Being in the middle of your doubts at one point in the race – finding a new meaning of being scared.
84. Finding out that you’re stronger than those doubts you had a few miles earlier.
85. Seeing people on the side of the bike course and saying “it’s a long day – hang in there” and seeing them smile for a moment.
86. Ford inspirational mile billboard with your name in lights!
87. The feeling of ice cubes in your hat or down your tri top on a hot run never getting too cold.
88. Your gear being organized in bags and not scattered around your bike.
89. The thousands of volunteers that make it possible.
90. Learning the power of determination and commitment.
91. Finding a new level of patience.
92. Because people said you were a fighter.
93. The IV’s feel so good after the race.
94. To Try and finish before midnight.
95. Hearing people yell “you’re almost there” all day long.
96. Weekend plans are made around your training schedule rather than your training schedule made around your plans and it being okay.
97. An excuse to be bipolar on your LONG training days.
98. That moment you KNOW you are going to finish for the first time all day.
99. Being nearly almost there – for real!
100. The first time you think “Holy crap – I’m doing an ironman!”
101. Thinking you are crazy for doing this when you see a 20hr week of training.
102. Being able to neglect chores around the house because you had a 6 and half hour bike ride and are tired.
103. Indulging on dessert b/c you earned that extra scoop of ice cream or second slice of cake.
104. Sharing a smile with people wearing the finishers T-shirt the next day.
105. Running down Fourth Street Live (IM Louisville).
106. Someday running down Ali’i Drive (IM Hawaii).
107. Because you’re a fighter.
108. The Bragging rights.
109. A level of excitement you have never felt before b/c nerves are mixed in.
110. It’s not a race because you have all day!
111. You get to explore the city you live in b/c you have a 6hr bike ride!
112. Ice baths have never felt so good!
113. It’s never too late to shoot for the stars – regardless of who you are.
114. Learning the anatomy of your own body.
115. You persevere when everything, including your insides, hurt.
116. You build character.
117. Smiling for the photographers on the course regardless of how you feel.
118. Not knowing how to stop after you finish b/c you have been going all day long.
119. The energizer bunny’s theme becomes your own (“and they keep going, and going and going. . .”)
120. Watching the sun rise as you start your swim and seeing the sun set as you finish the race.
121. Having the energy to still dance to the music on the run course even though every muscle in your body is achy.
122. You know it’s not easy.
123. Lots of “pace booty”.
124. You are an inspiration to others.
125. For the love of Ben Jerry’s Ice Cream!
126. Who needs a list of New Year’s resolutions when you are training to do 140.6 miles in one day?
127. Watching the race being built a few days before.
128. Makes everything else seem so short.
129. To finish near the deadline, and having a Pro there to put the medal around your neck.
130. To see if it really feels as good to do as it does to dream it.
131. Seeing mile 25 on the run!
132. THE FINISH LINE
133. The first step after your cross the line, all the pain goes away for a split second and you think “Oh, My . . . God . . . !”
134. Hearing Mike Reilly say “Patrick Hight, YOU! are an Ironman!”
135. Getting the M-Dot tattoo
136. The 140.6 sticker for your car.
137. The Medal!
138. The finisher Hat and Shirt.
139. After realizing you really finished, your first thought be “I think I looked down for my finisher photo!”
140. Because I say I can!
140.6. The feeling of accomplishment!
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