My Trek to an Iron Man

Ironman Motivation 10 Reasons I do Triathons

Last modified on 2009-08-07 15:49:51 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

A friend asked me why I do Triathlons, and I didn’t have a good answer.  After some thinking here are the reasons I get up at 5:00am on a Saturday to bike 40 miles:

1. Its Cool.  It impresses people.  Everyone knows what a tri is and it is a badge of honor and source of pride to be known as a triathlete around the office.
2. Health. I am in the best shape of my life.  It is sometimes hard to get motivated to train, but I know I get healthier each time I click into the pedals.  It keeps me from smoking cigarettes.  I had the habit for 20 years and it was difficult to quit.  All the training keeps my blood pressure low and my body not wanting to smoke.
3. I look good.  My body is in great shape.  Legs, abs, arms, shoulders, the whole package.  It’s vanity I know, but its nice to get a second glance from people driving by when I am running without my shirt on.  Plus I wear my triathlon shirts with pride.
4. It is a challenge.  To get out and do this is a big challenge.  Not just physically, but finding the time, money and motivation to do this is a challenge.  I have a wife, 2 kids, a job, house, mortgage, taxes, etc etc etc.  I have to keep motivated to run at 11:00 at night.
5. It is separate from work. No one knows what I do for a living when I dive into the lake to swim.  All they know is my age (35) and what my number is (56).  No talk of bosses or office politics.  Just conversation about transition times.
6. It gives me a reason to exercise. Running a couple miles can be like watching paint dry.  To keep me motivated I just imagine crossing the finish line and raising my arms in victory that I have done it.
7. Its not the average sport. Football, softball and other sports are good, just not my thing.  Tris are for individuals.  You are competing against your self.  There is no one that can carry you across the finish line.  You have to do it your self.  You have a lot a support from your friends and family, but you have to place one foot in front of the other to get across the finish line.
8. It makes me feel young(er). I’ll admit that I feel middle aged at 35.  All this training and being around other athletes makes me feel younger and healthier.
9. It gives me something to obsess about. I can put a lot of energy into it.  I can channel my energies into training and thinking about training, and eating right.
10. It gives me small successes to build on.  If the other parts of my life arent going so well, I can push my self a little more in training.  I may ride 24 miles one week, but then I try to ride 30 the next.  Or I run 5 miles one time and then I run 5.5 the next.

The biggest reason:

I feel good about myself.

To keep me motivated I like quotes. Quick little motivational blurbs.

• Champions aren’t made in the gym.  Champions are made from something they have deep inside them- a desire, a dream, a vision. Kelly C
• One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation. Arthur Ashe
• Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. Thomas Edison
• Success isn’t how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started. Proverb
• Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you. Arnold Palmer
• Come to the edge, he said. They said: We are afraid. Come to the edge, he said. They came. He pushed them, And they flew…Guillaume Apollinaire
• Don’t see others as doing better than you. Beat your own records daily because success is a fight between you and yourself.Mohammad Monis
• For every failure, there’s an alternative course of action. You just have to find it. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour.Mary Kay Ash
• Success doesn’t come to you, you go to it.Marva Collins
• Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you.Arnold Palmer
• There’s a very positive relationship between people’s ability to accomplish any task and the time they’re willing to spend on it.Joyce Brothers
• The first requisite of success is the ability to apply your physical and mental energies to one problem without growing weary.Thomas Edison
• A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.Chinese Proverb
• It has been my philosophy of life that difficulties vanish when faced boldly.Isaac Asimov
• The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.Franklin D. Roosevelt
• Strength does not come from winning Your struggles develop your strength. When you go through hardship and decide not to surrender, that is strength.Unknown
• Energy is the essence of life. Every day you decide how you’re going to use it by knowing what you want and what it takes to reach that goal, and by maintaining focus.Oprah
• To guarantee success, act as if it were impossible to fail.Dorothea Brande
• Adversity is another way to measure the greatness of individuals. I never had a crisis that didn’t make me stronger.Lou Holtz
• You can’t cross a sea by merely staring into the water.Rabindranath Tagore