“You. Are. An. Ironman.” Those four words are compelling for endurance athletes who dream of hearing them when crossing the finish line of their first long course triathlon.
It means they have finished an event consisting of a three-point-eight-kilometer swim, followed by a 180-kilometer bicycle ride, followed by running a 42.2-kilometer marathon. This must be accomplished consecutively, before the cut-off time at midnight. It is widely considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world. (Wikipedia) The Ironman event was first conceived in 1978 with a field of fifteen competitors. Now, Ironman events worldwide attract thousands of participants who compete for a coveted entry in the annual world championship event in Kona, Hawaii. Professional and amateur triathletes – male and female – between the ages of twenty to eighty-five, compete together on the same course. The Ironman brand has become iconic; finishers tattoo the logo on their bodies to commemorate their accomplishment. That tattoo represents more than something physical. It represents everything it takes to become an Ironman: time, support, money, and most of all, courage.
The extraordinary physical training required to become an Ironman is critical, but it takes a lot of time. The athlete must commit to six to nine months of regular swimming, cycling, and running, with progressively longer training sessions on weekends. Most of the athlete’s free time is consumed by a schedule of two training sessions a day, six days a week, with one day reserved for recovery. Beyond the hours spent training, athletes must plan bike routes, prepare nutrition, maintain their gear, and do a lot of laundry, while meeting their work and family obligations. Athletes must be organized and disciplined with their time management to fit that much training into their lives.
Understandably, the Ironman training schedule has a significant impact on relationships. Family life must adapt to a partner or parent who is out of sync with normal life and must be in bed by 8:30 p.m. so they can be at the pool by 5:30 a.m. When every electrical outlet has a different training gadget charging, and the smoothie blender needs constant cleaning, families often feel that the Ironman training lifestyle has taken over. The athlete’s partner ends up carrying a heavy load, both figuratively and literally. Aside from being a sounding board for all things triathlon related, partners also carry the load of helping an injured or completely spent athlete return to being functional. They also become “sherpas” to help manage the amount of equipment that accompanies an athlete to a race. At home, the impact of Ironman training is clearly visible: the living room features an indoor bike trainer, the kitchen has an entire cupboard dedicated to bike bottles, and the freezer has a strange assortment of ice packs. Relationships can be tested unless the athlete’s partner is willing to participate in the Ironman training lifestyle.
All the extra equipment and nutrition required to become an Ironman means family budgets are also strained. Race entry fees for an Ironman event are several hundreds of dollars, plus the cost of travel and accommodations at the race destination. The most basic gear includes a wetsuit, swim goggles, bicycle, helmet, and running shoes. An athlete training for Ironman usually does a few triathlons as part of their training, which means more entry fees and travel costs. It also means they no longer use the most basic gear, so they have a gym membership, swim training tools such as a pull buoy, paddles, fins and a snorkel. They have a carbon fiber triathlon bike fitted by a professional and mounted on a trainer that has a power meter and the ability to synchronize with their training software. Riding outdoors requires a bike computer with GPS capability to track distance, speed, pace, power output, and calories while providing route directions; sometimes on a second bike. For the run, they need a watch to monitor heart rate as well as distance, pace and speed. Every three or four months, they replace running shoes, and potentially have a pair of carbon-plated shoes for speed workouts. The cost of training for an Ironman adds up quickly, but all the expensive gear and technology means nothing if the athlete doesn’t have the will to do the training.
It takes courage to commit to an Ironman training program, and an incredible amount of will to stay with it given the time, cost, and demanding lifestyle. This is a solo sport that tests each athlete without giving them the comfort of a team for support, so each athlete must rely on their own motivation and drive. It takes courage to swim in open water, or to ride a bike for six hours in summer heat on unfamiliar roads. Athletes must face the prospect of having a flat tire or crashing the bike on every outdoor training ride. They need mental strength to push through the feeling of wanting to stop on a ninety-minute run after riding one hundred kilometers. And it takes dedication to get into the pool at 5:30 a.m. in February. That dedication comes from having the will to start the journey in the first place and the courage to keep going when it gets hard.
Becoming an Ironman means finishing the race before the cut off time; athletes who miss the cut off have done the training and the race – but won’t hear those four, magic words. Not every triathlete is willing to make the commitment and do what it takes to become an Ironman. There are shorter distance triathlons that satisfy their interest in training for and competing in multisport events. The motivation to become an Ironman is unique for every individual who makes the commitment to do it. Some want to know how far they can push themselves physically and mentally. Others are celebrating overcoming an addiction, or injury, or disease. And some are simply compelled by wanting to hear those four words that signify they have done something extraordinary; something that can never be taken away from them. “You. Are. An. Ironman.”
Article written for a university course for a general audience who may not understand what an Ironman is in the first place! – Sandie Orlando
