Ironman

Saturday night and Sunday morning I watched this documentary on the Ironman Triathlon Championship in Hawaii.  It was the most inspiring thing I've seen in a long time.  These competitors swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run a marathon - 26.2 miles.

The documentary was really dramatic, with copious amounts of slow motion and dramatic music.  The beginning was all about the professionals who were competing to win this race.  That's right, they not only make their living by getting sponsorships for racing, they actually are expected to run a race like this and win it.  This blew my mind.  

But there are also roughly 1700 normal people in the race as well. People who are teachers or nurses or full-time moms in their regular life, but spend a significant amount of time training for this race that is held once a year on Hawaii's big island.  

You have to qualify at another Ironman triathlon to even get into this race.  Then you have to compete each leg of the journey within a certain time limit in order to keep going.  The total time limit for the whole race is 17 hours. Starting at 7 a.m., you have until midnight to cross the finish line. Many of the "normal" people used every minute of those 17 hours and still others were still running at midnight when they found out they wouldn't be allowed to finish.  The winner? He finished in eight hours and ten minutes!

Of course the documentary was really good at picking out the most compelling stories. There was a father/daughter team where the father was in his late 70s.  Another gentleman was 80 and finishing his 21st Ironman triathlon championship.  A mother of four was competing after being in a bad car accident a year or so ago.  A man in his 40s was back after battling cancer. Let me tell you, I cried a bunch.

I hope to compete in a triathlon next year.  Nothing like an Ironman, but what is called a sprint-distance triathlon.  The distances vary, but it usually consists of something like a half mile swim, 11 or 12 miles biking and a 5k (3.1 miles) running.  I just think it would be a fun new way to challenge myself. I've always been a pretty decent swimmer, so I figure why not? I'll keep you posted.