Evolution

Visit this link before you read this post:Strong Survive

"Here’s the thing that makes life so interesting. The Theory of Evolution claims only the strong shall survive. Maybe so…maybe so. But the theory of competition says just because they’re the strong doesn’t mean they can’t get their asses kicked..."

For some reason every time I watch this commercial it stirs up something inside of me. I don’t know if it is the wise old man’s voice, the dramatic music or the amazing images. It is probably all three. As an athlete who has trained for an Ironman almost 500 hours since January 1st I get what the voice is saying. I’m not a natural athlete so I consider myself an underdog. It’s been about 15 years since I was considered a favorite at a race. On August 30th of this year I will wake up done with all the training and only the test will remain.

"What every long shot, come from behind, underdog will tell you is this: The other guy may in fact be the favorite; the odds may be stacked against you, fair enough. But what the odds don’t know is this isn’t a math test. This is a completely different kind of test, one where passion has a funny way of trumping logic."

Ironman doesn’t care about you. The 2.4 mile swim, the 112 mile bike and the 26.2 mile run is almost mocking you. The 140.6 miles is just short enough to capture the imagination of those who have some fire in them and yet grueling enough to leave grown men in tears on the side of the road broken and empty. The top 5% race an Ironman, the rest of us fight an Ironman. I told my brother it isn’t a race for me…this is a street fight. I told my whole family that I will need them there because one cheer can make a difference. One familiar face can help you forget the pain and when there is love anything can be conquered.

"So before you step up to the starting line, before the whistle blows and the clock starts ticking…"

I don’t know if my moment will come out there on the roads of Ironman Louisville. I do know that there will be a moment when I realize how far I have come and all the countless hours of staring at the tiles along the bottom of the pool will matter. I don’t know if there will be an emotional moment when the long miles tucked on top of my bike staring through my eyelids and hours running with bloody toenails stinging in my shoes will make a difference? Will I wake up one day and realize that I did something special or will it not really matter?

"Out here the results don’t always add up. No matter what the stats may say, and the experts may think and the commentators may have predicted. When the race is on all bets are off! Don’t be surprised if somebody decides to flip the script and take a pass on yelling uncle."

The answer is coming. Soon I will find myself stepping into the water with a full day ahead of me. A day I have trained for dreamed of and lost sleep over. There is no guarantee that I will get to the finish. This is a mean game. I’ve learned that just because you’ve spent the money, have the ambition and did the training doesn’t mean you get a pass to the finish. You have to go out and earn it. You have to make demands of yourself that don’t seem logical. You have to ignore the screaming inside that begs to stop and the muscles that no longer want to function. You have to go to a dark place that few get to visit and fewer understand. You have to go deep into your soul and have the courage to see what you are really made of inside.

On August 30th I will go to go to that place and discover what I have inside.