So You Want to Do an Ironman...
Here's the ONE thing you need to know.
I’ve noticed a shift happening in the triathlon landscape.
Once upon a time, athletes who wanted to do a triathlon would sign up for a local sprint or Olympic. Then, if they enjoyed that, they’d consider working their way up to a 70.3 or Ironman someday, or perhaps not at all.
But that doesn’t happen much these days…
Almost every new triathlete I’ve spoken with over the past year has an immediate goal to do a 70.3 or Ironman. I’m always shocked to hear that, for many athletes, a long course triathlon will be their first triathlon. (Not something I would advise, but I digress.)
In fact, a recent poll of newsletter subscribers showed that 50% of you plan to do a 70.3 or Ironman in the future. (If you’re new here, please fill out this short survey.)
I suppose it’s not altogether that different in the running community. Many athletes start running because they have an end goal in mind. They want to run a 5K. They want to train for a half marathon. They want to do a marathon.
The bottom line is that no matter what it is that you want to do (a marathon, an Ironman, climbing Mt. Everest, or whatever feat of athletic insanity is popular these days) there’s ONE thing you must know.
It’s your why.
Why your why is important
I remember when I decided to do my first Ironman. People said, “You need to find your why.”
Honestly, I thought that sounded a bit silly. It’s cliche- a bit too airy-fairy, “get in touch with your feelings” for my taste.
But after some reflection, I realized that your why is kind of like your North Star. It’s a reference point for your decisions and actions. It focuses your efforts and keeps you moving in the right direction.
Is it your motivation? Sure, but it’s much more than that.
As we learned in this post, motivation is the driving force behind our actions, but motivation is also fickle. It comes and goes based on our mood and emotions.
Your why comes from deeper within. It’s a reflection of your thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes.
In this way, everyone has a why. Even if you don’t know what it is yet.
German philosopher, Frederick Nietzsche, said, “He who has a why can endure any how.”
Think about that for a moment.
The idea is that you can endure (almost) anything as long as you know why you’re doing it.
Your why provides stability and direction in chaos and times of trouble. It pushes you to keep going, even when you want to quit.
The reason this is so important, for Ironman specifically, is because at some point during the day, you will want to stop.
You will second-guess every decision you’ve made within the past 6 months that has led to this moment and decide that triathlon is stupid.
You will feel like you can’t keep going.
That’s when your why can help save the day. It’s the sole reason that will determine whether you make it to the finish line, or not.
One of my favorite books about mindset in sports is Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance, by Alex Hutchinson. He talks about our physical limits like pain and muscle fatigue and examines how our central governor (the brain) tells us when we need to slow down or give up.
“A suitably versatile definition that I like, borrowing from researcher Samuele Marcora, is that endurance is ‘the struggle to continue against a mounting desire to stop.’” – Alex Hutchinson
If that isn’t an accurate description of doing an Ironman, then I don’t know what is.
When your body breaks, your mind takes over
“No one casually does an Ironman, although some people might say that… There’s hard work, commitment, and sacrifice, so think about why you chose this.”
“Figure out your why and make it something you can hold on to. You need to dig deep and do some soul searching.”
“When your body breaks and your mind takes over, you can let it ruin your race or you can let it give you that extra bit of gas you didn’t think you had.”
This amazing quote isn’t my own. It came from a friend, Robin Barth, a triathlon coach I interviewed for an article in Triathlete Mag.
As a writer, I’m a sucker for a standout quote, and this one is brilliant for a few reasons.
It captures the intention and consideration that should go into the decision to do an Ironman.
It suggests that for any worthwhile challenge we need to do some soul-searching to find our why.
It reminds us of the incredible power of the mind to persevere and overcome when the body may fail.
Word choice is important here.
“There’s hard work, commitment, and sacrifice, so think about why you chose this.”
It’s a reminder that the decision to do an Ironman (70.3 or any other challenge) is solely yours. And it’s something that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It should be done with thoughtful consideration.
“Figure out your why and make it something you can hold on to. You need to dig deep and do some soul searching.”
To find your why, you need to do some self-reflection. Is it something that’s going to help you push through when you get to mile 20 of the marathon? If not, it’s probably not your why.
“When your body breaks and your mind takes over, you can let it ruin your race or you can let it give you that extra bit of gas you didn’t think you had.”
In any extreme endurance event, there’s going to be a point when you approach your physical limit. But in reality, your physical limit has a much higher ceiling than you realize. This is because our physical limit is affected by our mental limit.
If you think you can’t, you won’t. Despite all the metrics that insist you have enough fitness to persevere and keep moving toward the finish, if you think you can’t, you can’t. It’s really that simple.
But if you think you can, and you know why you want to keep going … well that will give you the extra bit of gas you didn’t know you had.
Why do you want to do an Ironman?
This is an interesting question because the answer is different for everyone.
I recently saw a reel on Ironman’s social media in which they asked athletes why they wanted to do an Ironman. Their answers ranged from inspirational and humorous to thoughtful and poignant.
“To be an inspiration for my daughter.”
“To push myself to be my best.”
“To get to know your limits.”
“Because it’s now or never.”
“Because it’s a just fantastic thrill when you cross the finish line.”
The secret is that there’s no right or wrong answer. It just needs to mean something to you.
So is there a wrong reason to do an Ironman?
Yes, there are wrong reasons to do an Ironman, just like there are wrong reasons to do anything in life, really.
These include:
To prove something to other people.
Because it’s the next step in a “logical progression” as a triathlete.
For FOMO (fear of missing out).
Because all your friends are doing it.
Dr. Jim Taylor wrote an excellent article for Triathlete where he talks about good and bad reasons to do an Ironman. I’m paraphrasing here, but he explains how doing an Ironman won’t bring inner peace or contentment.
“If you’re looking for answers to your life’s questions at the finish line, you will probably end up frustrated and unsatisfied because those answers will, ultimately, not be found in an Ironman, or any finish line really.” – Dr. Jim Taylor
Doing an Ironman won’t make people like, or respect, you more.
Doing an Ironman won’t help you love yourself.
Doing an Ironman may help you swim, bike, and run away from your problems for a time, but the race has to end at some point.
So if those are the wrong reasons to do an Ironman, then what are the right ones?
Here’s a few:
To learn how to overcome adversity and become a more resilient person.
To push your physical and mental limits.
For the pure challenge of conquering the distance.
To do something you didn’t think you were capable of, and to inspire others to do the same.
What’s my why?
My decision to do my first Ironman wasn’t grandiose or philosophical. If I’m being honest, it wasn’t even incredibly thoughtful.
I made the big decision while out on a long run, a particularly bad run actually. It was in the heat of the summer in Florida- horrifically hot and humid. I kept looking at my snail’s pace and was getting frustrated.
All of a sudden, I had a realization.
If I can get through this spectacularly awful run, then of course I can do an Ironman!
My why was less about pushing my limits, because I knew it was something I could do. I didn’t really care about the title that came with it. I didn’t do it for anyone, or in honor of anyone, or to inspire anyone.
My why was really just about conquering a new challenge. I wanted to do something I’d never done before. I wanted to cover this unimaginable distance and see what it looked like on the other side.
Lessons Learned From My First Ironman Triathlon
My heart is racing. A bead of sweat drips from my brow. Years of training have led to this point. Finally, the moment has come. I take a deep breath. With a click of the mouse that sounds like a cannon blast to my ears, I’ve signed up for my first IRONMAN.
Here’s another thing to keep in mind. Your why can change over time.
As I type this while sitting on an airplane headed to Phoenix for Ironman Arizona this weekend (the reason why there isn’t a voice-over today) I’ve been giving some thought as to my why.
The unselfish reason is that I want to do this race with Matt. Last year, he supported me at Ironman Florida, so this year was his turn. We talked about whether I should sit this one out. You know, be the spectator-wife holding up a giant photo of his head.
But he knew I wanted to do another Ironman, and he wanted us to do it together.
Also, he doesn’t want to see his head that big.
The selfish reason is that I want to see if I can do it better than I did last time. That’s it really.
Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t. But I’m sure going to try.
Basically, my reason for doing triathlon in general is for the continual pursuit of personal improvement. That’s in addition to the opportunity to train outdoors, go on amazing adventures, and make some pretty incredible friends, of course.
Ultimately, when thinking about your why, remember this.
It doesn’t need to matter or make sense to anyone else, as long as it matters to you.
Wales next year to see how far I can push myself and get out of my comfort zone!
“Doing an Ironman won’t help you love yourself.”
And yet, this is why so many people take on these kinds of challenges!
I’ve met people who suddenly decide to train for a 10K race, having never run for more than 10 minutes in a row. They go at it too hard, get shinsplints or injuries, suffer hard, and quite often quit early on. Not only do they not follow a reasonable training plan, they don’t have the motivation nailed down. Because like you say, they haven’t figured out a good enough why.