Why does getting fit need a finish line?

Why Ironman

T–252 WEEKS

Like many, I’ve been infatuated with Ironman ever since watching coverage of the Ironman World Championships long ago. Running marathons and doing shorter triathlons made me feel even more connected to it. So did visits to Kona.

There’s just something wonderfully outlandish about the whole thing: swim 2.4 miles, bike 112, then run a marathon.

It’s huge. A little ridiculous, really.

And that’s part of why I find it inspiring.

But that’s not really the goal.

I’ve loved training for shorter triathlons—the variety, the camaraderie, having something out there that I was working toward. Looking back, most of my biggest fitness accomplishments have had a goal attached to them.

Apparently, “I’d like to be fit” isn’t quite enough to get me off the couch. I started training for my first marathon from zero miles a week. Now that got me off the couch.

There is also a special feeling these goal have given me in the past. The incredible runners high after my first half marathon, and the elation after my first sprint Tri.

Give me something slightly unreasonable to aim at, though, and things get more interesting.

For years, an Ironman wasn’t realistic. Work, family, time, and life generally had other ideas. Now the timing feels right.

So I’ve given myself five years to do interesting things…on the way.

That’s far longer than anyone needs to train for an Ironman. But I don’t want five years of progressively longer bike rides. I want to have other adventures along the way and gradually build the kind of fitness where Ironman doesn’t feel like something I’ve crammed into a training plan.

I’ve long dreamed of backpacking from Yosemite to Tahoe with my son, so I’ll aim for that first. Then a local half Ironman. Then a European bike tour with my daughter.

Conveniently, a few bucket-list adventures fit pretty nicely into a long-term Ironman build.

There will certainly be setbacks. And eventually there will be 140.6 miles waiting at the end.

Will crossing that finish line have some enormous meaning?

Maybe. But that’s actually not why I’m doing it.

I want to feel very fit. I want to do something that’s been on the list for years. And I want to be a role model for my kids.

I’ve learned that having a big, slightly outlandish goal can get me moving toward things that matter to me.

So I guess for me Ironman really isn’t a finish line - it’s a target to enable a whole journey.

What big goal has gotten you to do something you probably wouldn’t have done without it?

Feel good.