Ironman Maryland Is Underway

I’m up early thinking about my friends Jim and Katherine swimming their asses off right now at Ironman Maryland.  They should both be well on their way to swimming 2.4 miles for a little warm up this morning.

I know exactly what they’re going through and hopefully they are relaxed as I think that is always the key to the swim.  I have the “Swim Finish” pulled up for Maryland and it’s really cool to listen in and watch what’s going on.

IM Maryland

I can’t wait until they add more cameras to the scene.  It’s amazing how many people told me they watched me at the finish and I’m sure there would have been interest in watching before the swim and seeing who’s in the crowd, etc…

Here are a couple things I’ve heard while watching this morning:

– They just said some guy is competing in his 100th IRONMAN today!  He’s finished every IRONMAN from around the world at least once.

One hundred Ironman’s?  That’s just insane.  I mean, that’s 3 a year for 30 years.  Is that even possible?  Maybe they are including 70.3s?

– 800 of the 1,500 competitors are in their first Ironman.

– The 12th ranked competitive eater is racing today

– First swimmer out of the water in 50:10.  Bill Bishop from Chicago and he has a pretty big lead.  The announcers seemed kind of blown away by his time.

 

Enjoy the Lifestyle of Triathlon #IML

If you want to wear those sweet-ass high-riding orange shorts at Hooters, you’d better be prepared to serve your share of rowdy patrons.  

In the middle of our daily triathlon-group-text today, Wasky slid in a very simple, yet powerful zinger, “Just enjoy the lifestyle.”

That wisdom materialized as we were discussing which (if any) Ironman Jim and I will be doing this year.  Maryland and Louisville are both on the table, and Jim is leaning toward taking the plunge with an attitude of not chasing times and simply . . . enjoying the lifestyle.

So enjoy the lifestyle, huh?  Getting up at 5:30 to ride five hours on hilly terrain?  Hmm . . . that’s at tough one, but there is so much about triathlon that is awesome.

Like wearing race shirts and other cool gear, for example.  I was sporting my Ironman New Orleans 70.3 shirt while raking cups at a water stop on Saturday and received some genuine props from several runners.  “Ironman, so cool.  I ‘respect’ that, man.”  They respect that, and I feel the love, but on some level that makes me feel weird.

Speaking of respect, it sorta reminded me of an awkward incident as I was flying back into Nashville on 4th of July last year.  I was jostling in my seat as the flight attendant said something I couldn’t quite hear over the speaker.  As we made our descent, I reached up to turn on my overhead light and suddenly everyone around me was clamoring to shake my hand and saying “Thank you” with heart felt looks of respect.  I uncomfortably responded with “You’re welcomes,” but had no idea why.  Later I found out she said, “Will anyone who has served this great country please turn on your overhead light so we can thank you on this day of independence.”

Man, did I feel like a jack-ass.

Anyway, yeah, triathlon does bring joy to my life.  Cool people, with passion and drive. I’m a dreamer, so it’s nice to be around freaks who push the limits.

And there’s no denying that training forces you to be a better steward of your body.  You just can’t abuse yourself, or workouts and races become nightmares.

But, do I enjoy the lifestyle enough to suffer the pain of 140.6 miles under a hot Louisville sun?

That is the question . . . and the answer lies somewhere in my desire to train, and whether the lifestyle means wearing cool clothes or actually hitting the pavement.  Do I love it enough to reduce the pain of the race by training harder?

We’ll see.  Ironman New Orleans was not fun, but I wasn’t ready.  The next few weeks will go a long ways in determining my answer on Louisville.  My decision to enjoy the lifestyle is approaching a deadline.