I was on an ultramarathon Reddit page when I made a comment on a post about underestimating ultramarathons, mentioning how I felt ultras were more difficult than Ironman was for me. Then there was this reply to my comment:
“How do you know when someone has done an Ironman? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you.”
This is an old joke, and probably pretty fitting for most of us Ironman finishers. The guy thought that he was pretty witty I guess, even though it wasn’t even an original joke. Some people just feel the need to belittle others. I initially took his comment as an insult and then told him to stick it, and he then confirmed his insulting nature by trying to belittle me some more. A bully hiding behind his keyboard that I didn’t waste any more time on.
But it got me wondering if it was true? Could I be a little over the top with Ironman pride? Yeah, guilty as charged. I’m proud of being an Ironman, damn proud of it actually. It was something that I never thought was possible for me. I couldn’t swim 100 yards in a pool without stopping, and the thought of biking more than a century and then running a marathon after all of that – used to boggle my mind. I would watch the Ironman race on television and think that these people were superhuman.
Most finishers feel the accomplishment is worthy of celebration. We buy the gear – and wear it. We refuse to take off the athlete wristband for weeks after the race is over. Some follow a long-held tradition of getting the “M-dot” tattoo, usually on the right calf. Talk about telling others that you are in an elite club.
But this is not the first time I got the feeling that I need to dial it back. After my first finish, I took to wearing my new Ironman Wisconsin hoodie, the one with the athlete names on the back of it, every chance I could. Another dad, who liked to raze me, mentioned that I was wearing that hoodie – AGAIN. Touché, but did I dial it back?
Heck no! One Ironman finish became two, then three, four, and currently I am up to five. I wear the finisher jackets, the Ironman hats, t-shirts, and hoodies. I drink my coffee from my Ironman race mugs. I started this blog to document the training and the racing, but there’s definitely some level of pride going into it. I want the memories to be there for me when I am older. Although I write them for myself, others visit the site, looking for race insights and maybe some inspiration. I like to write about running, triathlon, and Ironman, I’m not making any excuses for bragging a little.
At home, it may even be worse. I have a room dedicated to running medals, race posters, and memorabilia. I have a similar shrine to myself in my office at work. Guilty, guilty, guilty.
My shrine to myself at work.
I’m not sure if there are many more races in the cards for me. I may not earn another Ironman finisher medal, jacket, name t-shirt, hat, or plaque with pictures of me working hard to earn those things and that title of Ironman. I’m going through some injuries right now and realize that I will get over them, but at 60 it’s not getting easier. So I will look back on those five Ironman finishes and cherish them, and maybe brag a little about it.
As they say, “Suffer for 140.6 miles, brag for a lifetime.”
an amazing run 