You Know You're an Ironman When......
This past weekend my incredible girlfriend did her first Ironman triathlon in Madison, WI. Obviously, as a huge Tri Geek I went to the race with her for the weekend and was race support and caretaker for her. As a follow up to last week’s post, I wanted to write another one that is just as aptly titled. Here goes: You know you’re an Ironman when….
1. The pain of an M-dot tattoo pales in comparison to the pain you felt at mile 104.
2. You hear a gunshot and dive under water, not for cover.
3. You know that a “special needs bag” is not for the mentally challenged.
4. You are able to consume a Subway footlong while riding a bike.
5. You see someone else ran a marathon and think, “Oh, that’s cute.”
6. You watched a House marathon on USA while on the trainer.
7. You grab the leash and your dog hides under the kitchen table.
8. You’re the first one in and last one out at Master’s practice.
9. Speed work on the track is 4 mile repeats.
10. You have dreams about the Queen K.
11. You have dreams about Ali’i Drive.
12. You dressed as 1989 Mark Allen for Halloween. Your TG friends thought Mark Allen was actually at the party.
13. The cashier at Costco says to you, “Didn’t you buy that tub of peanut butter last week?”
14. Your RHR is well under 50.
15. Your long rides consistently take you across time zones and state lines.
16. You put more miles on your bike than your car during peak training.
17. The muscle definition in your legs rivals that of artistic depictions in medical books.
18. Your runner friends think you’re slow with your hour and a half 5K time. Until you tell them you swam it. In the ocean.
19. Your training race is just over 70 miles long.
20. You routinely find gels in the laundry. (thanks Bridget McCrea for that one)
21. You ride your bike to the start of a marathon….100 miles away. Just for training.
22. You wear out running shoes in a month.
23. You can eat 8,000 calories in a day and still lose weight.
24. You fit every one of these stereotypes too.
25. You shed a tear when you hear Mike Reilly say “YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!”
There you have it. A list I think fits every Ironman out there. I admire every one of them. They are truly inspirational, motivated, and in most cases, total whack jobs too! Add to the list if you like here, @ me on twitter or whatever you like. Happy training to all!
****Disclaimer**** I am not an Ironman. I prefer to go balls out for a couple hours in Olympic Distance events, eat and then go have beers in the afternoon. Pacing is not my thing.