BECOMING AN IRONMAN

Just recently I was asked the question “What is the secret to becoming an Ironman?”

Well, I can tell you what “I” think the secret is, but I’m sure there are many people out there who have their own thoughts on this subject.

There are many, many amazing athletes who have crossed the Ironman finish line. They are incredibly fit, toned, and would make fine models for a sculptor in search of the perfect male or female physique to mold in clay and preserve forever.

Is this then the key to becoming an Ironman? Is the title “Ironman” reserved for the super-toned, super-fit, super-athletes of the world?

No. A thousand times no.

The secret to becoming an Ironman is not found in a testosterone-charged weight room with its crescendo of clanging plates and “watch me” grunts.

It is not found in the endless lengths of a pool punctuated with hundreds of dizzying flip-turns, or out on some distant, forlorn highway as the miles pass beneath the whirring wheels.

It is not found in the rhythmic cadence and wispy breath of the cool early morning run as the sun rises over the misty river.

It is not found on the highest shelves of the vitamin store or in a buzzing blender as it pulverizes the secret ingredients of a favorite recovery shake.

It is not found among the racks and racks of high-end clothing, eye-catchingly crafted running shoes, or super-slick wetsuits with their promise of message-bottle buoyancy and the speed of a slippery seal.

It is not found down at the local bike store with its rows and rows of gleaming bikes featuring feather-light frames, wind-cutting aero-bars and beveled brake pads.

Yes, most certainly all of these things may be a part of the Ironman journey, but it is not necessarily where the true secret of becoming an Ironman is found. You can have all of this and more, but lose the power of passion and in an instant the Iron Gods can crush you like a bug on the Ironman highway.

The true secret to becoming an Ironman resides in the confines of the heart.

It is in the heart of the 250 pound woman who loses 100 pounds and three years later crosses the Ironman finish line and in the doing changes the course of her life for the better, forever.

It is in the heart of the father who tows, pushes, and pulls his disabled son 2.4 miles in the ocean and 138.2 miles overland so together they can cross the Ironman finish line, their prize a cosmic bond and their legacy the inspiring of a generation.

It is in the heart of the South African triathlete who fails six times to complete the course but loved every minute of the Ironman experience and never gave up, and the seventh time reaches the finish line.

“Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill

The secret is in the heart of the accident victim who is told the chances of ever being able to leave the confines of a wheelchair are very slim….and then a few years later crosses the Ironman finish line, and in the doing reveals that perhaps the power to heal can be found in the unwillingness to accept “what is” and strive instead for “what can be”.

So…I believe the secret to becoming an Ironman is indeed found in our hearts. It’s that mystical inner spirit that once awakened can do wondrous things. It can make the impossible, possible, the unthinkable, doable, and the unreachable, reachable.

It almost seems there is no finish line too distant or to unattainable for the person who begins to believe in themselves and the power they have within to become more than they ever thought possible.