Why We All Should Run an Ironman

the iron man

it’s a 140.6 mile triathlon consisting

of a 2.6 mile swim

112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run

the distance from goshen to cortland is

approximately 164 miles

depending on which highways you take

this will make sense later just stay

with me

my father completed his first ironman at

the ripe age of 49

having spent years training for it i’ll

never forget the pure bliss in his smile

and the tears in his eyes as he crossed

the iron man finish line

for the first time completing his race

at

16 hours and 30 minutes

he had only 30 minutes to spare before

being pulled from the race

watching the finish of the race that

night i felt

inspired there was courage in the face

of fear

and in doubt there was dedication there

was humiliation

loyalty fortitude but most of all

sacrifice at the time i didn’t really

understand

why one would sacrifice so much of their

being to this

intangible title

i wasn’t always the thin athletic kid

it began with running a catalyst to

weight loss

to fit a beauty standard that changes

every 10 years anyways

running took me hook line and sinker

the feeling of my feet striking the

pavement the way i would feel airs

through my lungs and out my mouth every

bit of it

became a drug to me to be transparent

the motivation to run in iron man

came to me in the beginning of 2019

after watching my father complete his

looking back i really had no clue how

far 140.6 miles

actually is

so i started swimming and biking and i

fell in love with each for their own

reasons

swimming made me feel calm it gave me a

sense of peace

my arms would open in big circular

motions

and my legs would kick yet the movement

itself

was completely silent biking made me

feel intense

darting down the heritage trail as fast

as i could the constant

pushing and pulling of my petals until

the burn in my quads was too much

and the sweat was dripping into my eyes

gross i know

it is a great honor to say i’m training

for my first iron man

this statement however carries a

tremendous weight

insurmountable challenges always do it

carries a level of pride

but with that pride comes fear

doubt and anxiety so the question

must be asked why

i never even gave my why a thought until

i was writing this talk

i do believe i have found it yet i

believe an individual’s why

is subject to change a why is important

for will be the thing that keeps you

going when most will quit

the iron man has set me onto a path of

self-discovery

all while giving me a reason to work

harder than the day i did previous

i’m not sure what else i seek on this

journey but i’m certain i will find it

in many ways the iron man has molded me

but in more ways it had shed false

layers of skin

i had been wearing for far too long

i went swimming before school at the gym

and ran with the track team after school

i was cycling on the weekends constantly

working out

people were starting to see the changes

physically and mentally

i was truly functioning like a machine i

didn’t really get tired

i was on top of everything my grades

were good i was eating healthy

i was getting good gains in the gym but

all that changed

covet hit it looked a lot like a car

breaking down in the middle of a highway

i lost all motivation all my races were

canceled i wanted to quit i felt burnt

out quite frankly

i didn’t think this was still my dream

but it became such a big part of my life

i felt like i was losing myself as i was

losing faith

i knew i wouldn’t be able to give in it

just wasn’t an option

i put way too much time energy and even

money into this

i sacrificed too much by now

it was at this point i had to change my

mindset

which was falling into the dangerous

tunnel of poor me

why me mentality so i didn’t change the

dream

i changed my attitude i chose to look at

this as an opportunity

rather than a step back i took more time

to bike

i ate a more nutrient dense diet i got

more sleep

i shed a burnt out mentality it was like

finally taking your car for an oil

change

when it was already 500 miles overdue

cova has not been the biggest bump in

the road not even close

looking back it was probably a good

thing covid caused my little car to get

an oil change

because my race was going from 140.6

miles

to 164 miles

running in college was always a touchy

subject for me because while i wanted to

i feared i wasn’t good enough it wasn’t

until a student teacher became one of my

new school coaches

he told me he ran for cortland which was

where i already planned on going

i reached out to the head coach of the

school and told him my whole story

about iron man training and running more

miles than you could believe

we set up a video call and shortly after

introducing ourselves he explained

i could not run in college and train for

an ironman

all aspects of it being nearly

impossible and he was right

i never thought about it my stomach sunk

and my heart shivered

i was left at a crossroads having to

decide if i should let the past two

years

fade into a mere memory or continue on

to my dream

it turns out cortland is 164 miles from

goshen

and it is with pride i say i will be

spending the next four years running as

part of their team

i like to think about it as my new race

the iron man is still in vision

just a much greater one within this

decision i have learned it really

isn’t about the end result it was a

tough decision

yet the iron man still serves me purpose

i have learned that simply getting to

the start line of the iron man

is an epic journey of self-discovery

i found we must sacrifice to grow often

it is the pain anguish and fear people

choose to avoid

that i choose to immerse myself in

i train for my future my need to satisfy

the goal

that will always weigh heavy on me if i

don’t

after his ironman my father said that

everyone has their own

iron man within them and to this day it

stuck with me

my story is just one of many that shows

why we should all run our own iron mans

setting a desire for something so great

within myself has allowed

me to become comfortable being

uncomfortable

it has set me onto the pursuit of

seeking who i want to be as a person

and discovering who i already am

we should all run our own ironmans to

better ourselves

to find who we are but most importantly

find who we want to be thank you