Having "Fun" During An Ironman Race

This is such an interesting thought to me.  How exactly DO you make an Ironman race fun?

As I think back to my first two, I can remember four fun things about the races.  The time before and after each.  During the race?  Not so much.

But maybe that’s a lie.

There were moments, I’m sure.  The swim, for example.  Wisconsin was fun in a “going to battle” sort of way.  Louisville was fun from a “relax and enjoy the outdoors” angle.

The bike at Wisconsin was kind of fun at the time, but really fun in retrospect.  Till this day it’s my favorite bike ride of all time.  Louisville’s bike was more of a consistent effort sort of thing that I don’t recall being “fun” but it was sort of okay.

The run at Wisconsin was my first marathon, so it was fun in a new and exciting kind of way. There were tons of people and great memories as I “ran” in and around the University of Wisconsin campus.  That was my stomping grounds back in the day and I’d rarely seen those places sober, so it was definitely exciting (other than the pain).  The Louisville run, on the other hand.  Not fun.  I wasn’t ready and the heat destroyed me.  One question kept piercing my mind was . . . why?  Why would I do an Ironman?

Now, I’m facing my third, Ironman Chattanooga, and you know what?  I think I’m going to try and have more fun.

I think a big part of that solution is simply keeping your head up a little more.  Soaking in the beauty of the bike course and looking into people’s eyes as you run.  It makes the race a more connected experience, and really, that’s the key to life in general.

The other big, big, key to having fun during an Ironman (at least for me) is staying within your limits, especially early in each discipline.

I have ruined many a swim, bike, and run by starting too fast.  It becomes survival and surviving really isn’t that fun.

There is a very fine line between giving your all and pushing yourself over the edge.  I fall for this a lot and hope that writing it down might actually convince me to live in the space just below the edge more often on race day.

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