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