Why would anyone do this?

I was looking around on the internet and found these race reports by people who have finished double and triple ironman triathlons. These events consist of a 4.8 mile swim, 224 mile bike, and 52.4 mile run for the double ironman. The triple ironman consists of a 7.8 mile swim, 332 mile bike, and a 78.6 mile run. These athletes do these enormous distances continuuously- for however long it takes them. Thhey don't even stop to sleep.

I have always been intresed in what it takes to do ultra distance races, but these distances sound insane. In the race report I read for one of the people doing the triple, she was hallucinating, falling asleep on her feet, and towards the end she needed to have somebody help her sit down and stand up.

I don't think I would ever do an event of this magnitude unless someone was holding a gun to my head and threatened to shoot me if I didn't participate. The stress on the body after an event like this seems unbelievable.

I do admire, however, the level of mental toughness it would take to complete an event such as this. I would get SO bored doing nothing but swimming, riding my bike, and running for 2-3 days nonstop. I also would never be able to cope with the lack of sleep and there would be SO many times that I would want to quit.

It must feel like such a huge accomplishment crossing the finish line after an event such as this. I'm still unsure, though, the reasons for competing in an event such as this. Why would you want to do all those things to your body?

I can see why you might want to for an ironman or something. The event is over within the same day, and you would feel such a strong feeling of accomplishment; but to keep going and foing for over 2 days straight? I just can't imagine!

Me and my Schwinn are friends

Note: I actually found a picture of my exact bike on the internet. Isn't it pretty? (If you are a triathlete with a $1,000,000,00000 high-tech bike don't say anything!)

I rode my bike (my blue Schwinn) for almost 3 hours yesterday! (2 hours and 55 minutes to be exact!) I didn't start out the bike ride wanting it to be that long. I was originally planning only to do a 2 hour bike ride. I wanted to get some bike riding done because I want to get ready to do an olympic distance triathlon this summer.

It was a beautiful day outside when I rode my bike. It was sunny and almost 70 degrees! We havn't had a nice day like that for at least 3 weeks! Normally, I don't enjoy riding my bike as much as I enjoy swimming and running. Yesterday, however, was the best bike ride EVER.

I basically just rode around the streets near my home. I rode up and down 3 times this really long street, and up and down some cul-de-sacs several times. I was loving every minute of this bike ride! Untill I got home, I didn't realize I almost went 3 hours. I thought I went just a little bit over two hours. Time flies when you are enjoying yourself!

I am guessing I covered at least 20 miles. My cycling computer is broke, so I am not exactly sure of the distance I covered. Howver, with my average speed about 8 miles an hour, maybe a little slower since the ride was so long, 20 miles would seem about accurate.

Don't laugh at my slowness. Laughing at people is not nice! It's okay to laugh if you really feel the need though. I will probably laughat my slowness when I re-read this blog in a couple years.

The only thing that really hurt on this bicycle ride was the muscles in the tops of my legs (quads?) about 2 hours into the ride. I am a little sore today, but not a ton. I slept very good last night!

I have also realized that all this working out and everything has become a part of my life now. A year ago, when I first started doing triathlons, I would have never realized I would continue with the sport so long. I have done workout routines before, but have always quit after a couple of months. With triathlon and swimming, however, I am enjoying myself so much that I don't want to quit.

If I don't get in my daily (except for one day a week I take off to recover) workout, somehing feels very weird. Working out is starting to feel as natural as brushing my teeth.

I have also realized that although, I love doing races, they are not the most important thing anymore. When I first started doing triathlons, I worked out mostly so I could get ready for the next race. Now I enjoy a good workout as much as I enjoy a race.

Speaking of races, there are two races coming up that seem really awesome. The first one is the Columbus International Triathlon and Sports Festival which takes place July 19-20. On July 19th, there are 3 open water swims. The swims are distances of .75K, 1.5K, and 3K. They have the swims staggered out so that you are able to do each one and the swims do not overlap with one another.

They also only charge $25 for the first distance you swim and $5 for each additional distance. That pretty much forces you to do all 3 distances! You could do only one distance if you wanted, but who would do that?

The next day of this fesival, you have a chance to do a choice of various distances of triathlons and duathlons. Of course, I would like to do the international distance triathlon. A whole lot of swimming and a triathlon! How fun does that weekend sound?

Speaking of fun weekends, on the third week of January next year, just a couple of hours away from home in Indiana, there is the Chili Hilly which is a two day race cosisting of five distances. On the first day you get there, you would do a 10K race, and later that night, a four mile race.

When you wake up the next morning (in one of the awesome camp-style cabins they provide) you get to run a 5K race, followed later by a 10 mile race, and a 1 mile race. That sounds really cool to me! I would definatly have to train a lot to do this race-but the training would definatly be worth it. As a bonus, you get a free sweatshirt when you register. Sweatshits are the best thing ever. I'm always freezing cold and they keep you soooo warm. I wear sweathsirts all the time (except in the summer when its actually warm outside!)

Wow! That was a long post. I think I have finally said everything I wanted to say today. I really hope I can do those two races.