Suffer, reward and how it all started

  So, despite what I said in my last post, I have decided to do another blog before the Snowdonia Slateman this weekend. As my physical love for Ironman and triathlon grows I have started reading autobiographies, biographies and other books on the topic. Furthermore, I am being frequently asked why I am deciding to do an Ironman. I have tried to tackle this question before and I still don't know how to really answer and explain why. I merely say, "I don't know, it's just something I want to do before I die". I remember first hearing about Ironman when watching the father and son Hoyt family compete but I cannot pin point when it became something I envisioned I could actually do. For years it was just something I thought about and wanted to do but saw it as an impossible a task. I am not, and never would be, naturally fit enough to complete that I thought to myself (how my attitude has changed). When I began to get a severe knee injury I had to dash the thought far away from my mind and come to realisation it was never going to happen...

Dave Scott, reigning Ironman champion, (left) during 'IronWar'
in 1989. Mark Allen (right) was desperate to take his crown.

  The book I am currently reading may help explain why I and many others take on Ironman. Matt Fitzgerald's 'Iron War' is the account of Dave Scott and Mark Allen's Ironman battle. These athletes were fierce rivals for over a decade in Ironman. Mark Allen was desperate to beat the reigning and seemingly unbeatable Dave Scott at Ironman for years, until eventually he did so in 1989. However, it was no easy feat. They battled against each other side by side for eight hours straight at breakneck speed. Allen only beat Scott by a mere 58seconds. It has since been named the greatest race of all time. The story looks at the men individually, analysing their childhood and personal life to get and understanding of these men and the incredible 'war' that they faced.
  The author includes sociologist, Mike Atkinson's research into why athletes decide to do triathlons. Although others have tackled this topic Atkinson's work was the first to offer a different solution as to the reasonings behind competing in triathlon. In his paper 'Triathlon, Suffering, and Exciting Significance', Atkinson believes that triathlon is a 'pain community'. In Allen and Scott's case he says that they had cultivated an inexhaustable appetite for a certain kind of suffering and this is done through  human physical endurance. At first I wasn't convinced by Atkinson's theory, I didn't think that I do triathlons for pain and suffering. I do them for the reward - the euphoric feeling of crossing the line. However, would the finish line be a reward if it was easy? Of course not! I put myself out of my comfort zone, make myself feel sick from physical exertion on a daily basis in order to get that euphoric and overwhelming sense of reward and pride. So maybe I do like the suffering (not at the time) as it makes the end goal so much more satisfying and worthwhile. Fitzgerald writes, "People weep at triathlon finish lines. Strong grown men who shed tears nowhere else do so openly at triathlon finish lines. People lift their arms and faces to the sky and shout at the top of their lungs. Some speak in tongues. At triathlon finish lines people allow themselves to do things they never do in the rest of their lives because they feel something they never feel in the rest of their lives. Something that not only rewards all the suffering but makes all the suffering rewarding".
  Although athletes, including myself, push our physical and mental boundaries for our own satisfaction it would be wrong to think that we do these tough events purely for our own merit. Humans beings are competitive. It takes some self-confidence, which may be wrongly seen as arrogance, for me to say that I completely agree with Atkinson. I do these events so I can look better in comparison to others. If someone challenged me to something, or did something harder, I would step it up.  (You can understand why it is good Dan doesn't do triathlons). If Ironman is no longer seen as such an impressive feat of endurance in the years to come due to popularity then people will make them longer and harder. Mike's work in the triathlon community led him to the conclusion that 'the need to suffer stems from an underlying need to feel special and above one's neighbours'. We constantly compare ourselves against others and are happier when we compare favourably. Driving a better car than someone else is satisfying. Having a better job or lifestyle is satisfying. However, proving you are tougher than a sedentary neighbour by completing a triathlon, particularly an Ironman, is more satisfying because it says more than the car does about who you are. Being a triathlete or Ironman almost becomes your personality and identity. Being called an Ironman and known as one would mean more to me than driving a Lamborghini, eating caviar, drinking champagne and being on the rich list. (Of course if I end up having it all then life would be complete). Fitzgerald writes, "A person needs to be tough to survive in this world. It is a great comfort to the soul to know that one is tougher, more courageous, more capable of enduring suffering than the next person. And the only way to know this is to prove ones capability is in a socially recognised way". Triathlon is just that. Ironman is a legal way to prove toughness.
  There is of course an inate personality trait in all of us. Some will have a weaker sense of competitiveness compared to another, mine is obviously on the higher end of the scale. I am constantly trying to better myself personally or better myself in comparison to another. However, despite all this I am not constantly competing in life and am far from arrogant or self-righteous. I do not merely do triathlons as a personal gain over another. I, like many others athletes, compete in challenging events as some sort of escape from the ordinary. Training for my Ironman goal lets me get away from challenges of life. It makes me stop fretting about work, money and bills. I think everyone needs somewhere or something that can make them do this. Everyone needs to be able to switch off from the struggles they face on a daily basis. Without sounding melodramatic, everyone needs something to live for. (I don't want any of my friends or family to mistake this for me being depressed). Mine at this present moment in time is Ironman. The NEED to complete my eventual goal is my escape. I feel great when I am training and in my fittest state and don't feel myself if I miss a session. The endorphines I gain from working out is something I crave. With me I am either pushing myself to near physical exhaustion with work, training and a strict nutrition plan or I am the opposite. When I am the opposite I am not nice to be around and once I am on that track it's hard to get the kick in the arse I need to get back into my strict routine.
  On a personal note, I know that I am fit enough to do the Exmoor half Ironman in 3 weeks. I haven't lost any fitness but I also haven't made any massive gains in the last few weeks (that I know of). I am on a learning curve and will get another crack at the 70.3 distance in September when I tackle the Dartmoor middle distance triathlon. There is no more I can do now in preparation for Exmoor except for enjoy the ride up to it and I am doing just that. I am already feeling the anticipation and excitement and with Ironman being the biggest and most well known triathlon event I have ever been involved in I cannot wait to feel the atmosphere at such a prestigious event.

  With all this said I am going to finish on how it all started. At a triathlon awards ceremony in Oahu, Hawaii, in 1977, John Collins, a keen triathlete, was complaining with his other competitors that their triathlons were too short. After some beers had been consumed the old argument of who were the tougher athletes (note not the better or faster) broke out; the runners or the swimmers. The runners naturally took the side of runners, and the few swimmers present defended their breed. John, a keen cyclist argued that cyclists deserved consideration too. The debate eventually evolved into a brainstorming session for ways to prove which type of athlete was truly the toughest. John suggested that a race combining Oahu's 2.4 mile Wahiki Roughwater Swim, 112 mile Round the Island Bike Race, and the Honolulu Marathon should do the trick. He finished saying, "Whoever won that ought to be called Iron Man". Note again that the name does not describe the most gifted or fittest, it is a title that describes the toughest competitor, the one who can bear the most pain. The best sufferer. The Hawaii Ironman is still considered the toughest Ironman, and not only that you have to qualify to get into it. This is an Ironman course I will never get to see but the feats of the Iron men and women that have come before should always be remembered. Without their need for suffering and escape from their boring lives there would be no ambition for all us aspiring Iron men. So thank you to the first triathletes 30 years ago for rebelling against your ordinary lives.