The Happy Turtle's Journey to the Start: An Ironman Tale

For those of you that believe that you have to be sleek, slim, cut and fast to be an Ironman, think again! Some of our bodies just don’t fit that mold but we have the guts to set our intention, make a plan and see it to the end. In my heart, I believe that turtles CAN fly! The turtle society is not just challenged by fitness, but by the time limits imposed by race companies insisting we keep up with the status quo so they can get to the bars before last call. Well, I suppose there has to be a cut off or us turtles might be out there for days enjoying the sun on our backs. Some stare at the turtles on the course wondering why it even embarks on such a journey and what purpose it has. It is old, weathered, wrinkled, and slow no matter how you twist it. I just know that you can train a turtle and the turtle might teach you a thing or two along the way. We are old and wise and we have a shell that cannot be broken. We want a taste of victory just like our other friends. I cannot find another creature that I am most like. Join me on my journey from start to end to help the Happy Turtle win again!

Friday, December 30, 2011

Studying: Ironman 101

Well, I have spent the last few days with my nose glued to 2 books that I received for Christmas.  They are must reads for any Ironbound athlete or anyone that is looking for a cup of inspiration.  The first book is called 17 Hours to Glory by Mathias Muller which I was very excited to dig into as I thought it was going to be about other triathletes that completed the Ironman close to the 17 hour cut off.  That is exactly what it was not!  It was a book about inspiration and extraordinary athletes that perservered to qualify and set records at the Ultimate Ironman in Hawaii.  The stories were about many of the top professionals and inspirational athletes with disabilities and their journey not only to get to Hawaii, but to set personal and course records as well as their journey to the TOP.  In the end, their trials and tribulations are not much different than the average Joe triathlete.....just a lot faster!  I hurried through that book and was excited to get to the ordinary athletes in the second book called YOU ARE AN IRONMAN by Jacques Steinberg which was a story of ordinary people who decided to take on an extraordinatry feat and it so happened that the  5 people that Steinberg chronicles were training to do the Arizona Ironman.  Both books were full of stories of people searching for greatness within themselves or finding a way to make themselves great.  It was about the decsion to take on the challenge of something big and the journey toward it.  I could relate to so much of what each athlete was going through and was happy to read a book about ordinary people.  I highly recommend both books.

Warning:  If you are looking for pure confidence, you might want to find some other book to read as there are many trials and tribulations including bike crashes, accidents, overuse injuries, bad luck, fears and phobias and environmental factors that might cause you to think twice about training for the IM.  However, I am not going to let fear control me.  It is part of the package and the difference is that a champion faces his fears and conquers them head on.  Happy Reading. 
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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 9, 2012 at 5:17 PM

    I've thought about picking up a copy of You Are an Ironman. Next time I have some time for pleasure reading, maybe I will. I recently read Iron War (see my review on my blog here: http://wp.me/p23TIf-1m) about the 1989 IM World Championship. Like 17 Hours to Glory, it's also about the super-elite, but I found it very inspirational. They might go a lot faster than us "common folk," but face the same types of challenges!

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