The IronMan

Now, for those of you  (like me) who don't know what an IronMan is, let me tell you.  Basically, it is a 2.4-mile swim, followed by a 112-mile bike ride, followed by a marathon, 26.2-mile run.  Which if you are as disconnected from the world of endurance as I am, probably sounds like no big deal.  At least it didn't to me.    I figure well that's about 140 miles and I can drive 140 miles in a little over 2 hours so how hard can it be?

Pause.  I have a little advice for you folks out there reading this.  There are only two ways to accomplish anything amazing in life.  The first way is to be totally naive with an absurdly sunny outlook on everything.  These kind of people have a bad rap, but they don't deserve it!  They are actually some of the most incredible people on earth and are capable of pushing themselves harder than most would.  They are capable of enduring hardships simply because they choose not to fully feel the weight of what they are experiencing, instead they instinctively focuses on the positive and blocks out the negative.  Incredible!!  This is what allows them to plow through difficulty without really acknowledged it or giving it any space in their heads.  Wonderful.

The second way to accomplish something great in life, is to be tough.  Really tough.  Now these folks are really amazing.  They are self-declared realists, but not the kind that always spouts off the negative side of things.  These guys will never bring you down.  They are actually really smart people, who are able to at the same time fully see the world for what it is, in all of it's shadowy darkness, in all of it's difficulty and turmoil, and are tough enough to say screw you I am doing it anyway.  They use their perceptions to plot a course through the difficult rough world and get it done in spite of the hardship.

So basically, you better be really naive and plow on not seeing the hardships.  OR  You gotta toughen up to the point where hardships, though very real, aren't going to take you out and make you give up.

Naive or Tough.  problem is you cant make yourself more naive, so you better just go get tougher  ;)

OK.  So now that we know what an IronMan is we can learn a little about where it comes from and who's terrible idea it was to combine these three grueling events into one insane race and then put the world championship on one of the hottest and remote islands in the world.  Kailua-Kona Island: Hawai'i

For some more info on who dreamed up the idea of a triathlon in the first place, check this out:

http://www.triathlonhistory.com/

For some more info on the IronMan and where it came from, read this stuff:

http://ironmanworldchampionship.com/media/history-of-ironman/