A few years ago The Queen and I ran into an acquaintance while picking up our race packets for the St. Luke's Half Marathon. Let's call him Mike because, well, that's his name. Mike was "getting ready" to race Ironman St. George, and was just 6 weeks out from his race. He went on and on about how ready he was because, you know, he had "done" all three distances before. And by done them, he meant he has swam a 1.5 mile swim, rode his bike 80 miles one day, and has completed many a marathon. I reminded him that the Ironman swim was 2.4 miles and the 112 mile bike was a bit more than the 80 he said he had previously completed. To be fair, Mike had completed a good number of standalone marathons.
Now Mike is not the leanest person you would ever meet. And in case you know nothing about the Ironman St. George race course, all you need to know is the race is now an Ironman 70.3 because the long course was just too much of a challenge (becuase Ironman should be easy?). To say the course was hilly is an understatement. Put these two facts together and race day would be a challenge for Mike.
I wished Mike luck and went on my way ...
OK, that last sentence is bullshit.
Truth be told, I don't remember the exact wording, but I basically told Mike there was no way he would be hearing Mike Riley at the finish line calling him an Ironman. No, he would be finishing his race by handing his timing chip to a volunteer, not crossing the finish line after a 26.2 mile run. Not a matter of if he would fail, but a matter of how far he would make it before calling it a day.
Mike made it to mile 30-ish on the bike. I am sure he heard my voice in his head when he handed over the timing chip and sat down in the support van. That must have really sucked.
As hard as it may be to believe, I'm pretty sure Mike doesn't like me anymore.
Now I know what some of you are thinking right now - Jon's a real f'in a$$hole for saying such a thing. You need to support people in their efforts; Everyone can't be fast; He paid his money and can do what he wants; And on, and on, and on ...
I admit, I could have handled the situation differently. I COULD have wished him luck, told him he would be fine, make sure you properly fuel your body, etc. Yes, I could have said any and all of those things without upsetting my acquaintance. I would have come off as the supportive friend. It's what people do, right?
No. Not in my world anyway.
I said what I said for one very important reason (at least to me) - respect for the distance. See, I have no problem with someone racing a long distance endurance event and either completing the distance in a "slow" time or having something happen and not completing the course. Not only am I fine with it, but in my little side training business I have worked with people who's goal was to simply complete the Ironman distance in the 17 hour allotted time. And when they do it, it is pure awesomeness. Everyone has their own goals, their own desires. Whatever it is YOU want to do, I'm cool with it.
What I am NOT cool with at all is thinking you can just half-ass your training and muddle through the day. One hundred and forty point six miles is a long day. Heck, just running 26.2 miles or riding a century is a long day. And don't get me started on long swims. I did the 3 mile distance at Steelman OWS one year and wanted to quit somewhere between miles 2 and 3. Problem was I happened to be in the middle of the lake so walking off the course wasn't an option at the time. Never doing that again.
Preparing for an Ironman is no joke. My first full Ironman was at Lake Placid in July 2005. I started training for the race on January 2 of that year. I remember sitting down with Bill and getting that first week of training and thinking he was crazy. The amount of work he had me doing is what I expected to see during peak weeks, not the first week of January. Funny thing is, everything I did those first three months were more about getting fit enough to train for the training I would need to do for the main event. Come race day I was ready (Thanks again Bill!!!).
You just can't wake up one morning and decide you will go out and go 140.6 miles on Saturday. It takes time and dedication. It takes focus and determination. It takes patience and persistence.
Now let's say you signed up for an event that you had all good intention of completing. Because of the popularity of the Ironman you need to sign up for most events in North America a year in advance. Sometimes you can do it online, but for other events you are better off going to the event and volunteering the year prior to make sure you get a spot for the following year. I've done that twice myself.
The problem is, a lot can happen in a year's time. You can suffer a major injury for example. I have experience with this as I had to back out of Ironman Coure D'Alene last year due to injury. Didn't take much for me to realize that I just had to skip the race and move on.
The other thing that can happen is you simply lose your motivation to properly prepare. I totally get it. The IDEA of becoming and Ironman is much different than the day-to-day reality of doing the necessary work to complete the Ironman.
There are times you are going to give up social activities to ride your bike. There will be times you just don't want to swim, let alone do a 3 x 1k main set. And I don't know anyone who craves a 2 hour run off the bike. The body will hurt and you will get tired. Real tired. All of this is part of the Ironman experience. This is what is necessary to do it right.
Do it the right was and there is a very high probability you will successfully complete the distance. At the end you will either be a one and done, checking the Ironman box, or you will fall in love with long course racing.
When I crossed the finish line in Lake Placid at the end of Ironman #1 my family and friends were there to meet me. The Queen, knowing me as she does, looked at me and said "this isn't done, is it?" I looked at my feet and squirmed like a child caught with his had in a cookie jar. Nine years later the flame is still lit.
I know I am not the fastest, but I have a respect for the distance. I enjoy the process, I crave the work. I love the feeling of being Ironfit. If the drive to go long - the drive to put in the necessary work to race long - leaves me I'll call it a day. I have too much respect for the sport, for the distance, to have it any other way.
Getting back to Mike, my problem wasn't with his desire to race the race. My problem was with the lax attitude he had towards proper prep for the race. Back to what I said earlier, the idea of being able to call yourself an Ironman is much different than the reality of the work needed to cross the finish line. I find it rather arrogant to think that you can just half-ass it and expect to muddle your way through. I have much more respect for someone who says they can't do it and gracefully backs out than shows up thinking they can fake it enough to succeed.
My point is a simple one - if you decide you want to do an Ironman, respect the distance and put in the proper training to complete the Ironman. If you can't or won't do the work, don't do the race.
Thanks for reading.
Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon
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