The long road to IMC

Ancient Chinese wisdom tells us that the journey of a thousand miles begins with one footstep. Nobody - not even Peter Reid - just does an Ironman triathlon. You can do a sprint on a whim. I’ve signed up for a number of sprints a couple days before, taken my bike in to get checked and I’m off. My results were never great when I did that but I always finished the race.

IMC is a different beast. Anyone, who has any intention of doing the race, needs to be in Penticton one year prior in order to pay the $600 CDN registration that sells out in a day.

I’m an okay swimmer but I’m not ready to swim 3.8k. I’m an okay cyclist but I still consider 180k a loooooong way. We won’t go into my running but suffice it to say, I’m better at the other two events. So why do it? I’m not going to win any money; I’ll be faced heatstroke, dehydration and exhaustion; and I will be passed by countless people who will complete the event with a much better time. Worst of all, I face the possibility of something horrible happening that would keep me from completing the race. To put in all that work and not finish would be heartbreaking.

So why do it?

I believe that there is a primal instinct inside each of us that is only satisfied by wrestling with adversity. Our momentary enjoyment of any achievement is fleeting compared to the time spent in the struggle. Triathlon is not about the race. It’s about preparation. It’s about getting out of bed when you’d rather be sleeping to hit that morning workout. It’s about going home after a tiring day at work and throwing your shoes on for a run. It’s saying goodnight to your friends at 10pm on a Saturday night because you need to get enough rest. IMC is about having the discipline and the consistency to be ready when that terrifying beast is staring you down... and to face it with a smile.

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count.
It's the life in your years.

-- Abraham Lincoln