Keeping Fit: Are Triathletes Healthy or Just Insane?
Is it crazy to swim, bike, and run in the grueling 12 hour 'Ironman' challenge? It's a question you must ask yourself in order to determine your own limits.
Some people think I’m crazy.
It’s not that I display any abhorrent behavior. It’s that I chose to swim 2.4 miles, ride my bike 112 miles, and then run a marathon (that’s 26.2 miles). On the same day. One right after the other. At the end of that day, some 12 hours, 28 minutes, and 36 seconds, after I began, announcer Mike Reilly proclaimed, “Mark Anderson, you are an Ironman!” That was two weeks ago.
A year and a half ago, when I did my first triathlon, I would have thought I was crazy. I told myself, “That was a lot of fun, but I’ll never do an Ironman. It’s just too much.”
So, tell me, what is “too much,” when it comes to exercise and athletic events?
You see, I did the LA Marathon a few times about ten years ago, and, after the second time, I decided another marathon was “too much.” With all the strain on my knees and ankles, and the blisters, and the walking around like a very old man for about a week after the race, I’d had it.
So the concept of doing that after warming up with an hour-long swim and a six-hour long bike ride was completely ridiculous to me. That is, until my training partner said, “Hey, I’m signing up for Ironman Arizona,” and I suddenly thought, “What the heck?”
Maybe I am crazy.
By the way, the worst part about doing an Ironman is not the race itself. It’s the training. Six months of swimming, riding, running, or some combination thereof, five to seven days per week, with hours totaling 15-20 per week. It’s a part-time job, and it consumed my winter. Granted, being in Southern California, I don’t have snow to contend with, but the many hours I spent training in the dark were not very warm. One of the hardest things about doing an Ironman is keeping yourself from burning out during training.
The interesting thing is, outside of a bit of soreness, I actually felt really good the day after the race. I wasn’t even walking funny. Perhaps it’s because of the amount of training, but I’d like to think that it’s also from the inherent advantages of the cross-training that triathlon requires. And, of course, the sense of accomplishment is overwhelming – I mean, few people can say they’ve run a marathon, and fewer still can call themselves “Ironmen” (by the way, for all you feminists, the term is considered gender-neutral).
So, would I do it all over again? Absolutely. I’m actually trying, right now, to decide which Ironman event I’ll do next year…
Here’s an interesting thing to think about – there are certain events, such as the Race Across America (a bicycle race across the United States), ultra-marathons, and long-distance ocean swims that can make even an Ironman seem like small potatoes.
So I have some questions for you. What is “too much”? And how do you really know of how much you are capable?
This is the first of a continuing column for Pajamas Media on health and fitness. I will take your questions and suggestions for topics and will consult with experts – trainers, coaches, nutritionists, etc – to promote discussions on the fitness topics that you want to talk about. You can email your questions and suggestions to pjmfit@gmail.com.
Mark B. Anderson is Executive Video Producer for Pajamas Media.
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15 Comments
1. BubbaJ:I did my first marathon last fall, and I have to agree completely that the worst part was the months of training. The actual marathon was fun. My best friend has done several marathons, and she takes advantage of all the training to do 2 marathons back to back.
Tomorrow, I’m doing a half marathon, which after a full, feels like a walk in the park.
May 3, 2008 - 5:22 am 2. Jocelyn:Isn’t all that training kind of… boring? Both for you and for those around you? In my experience, there are few things more boring than trying to carry on a “conversation” with an endurance athlete. All they can talk about is split times and types of calories consumed. When there are so many interesting things to see, do, read about and talk about, the time spent on training just seems like a waste. But that’s just me – maybe I am lazy.
May 3, 2008 - 5:30 am 3. Brent Anderson:File under “Stuff White People Like.”
May 3, 2008 - 5:37 am 4. Christina Ethridge:Ironman Coeur d’Alene should be on your list for next year (last weekend in June). You won’t regret it.
May 3, 2008 - 8:10 am 5. Mylai:I’d say it’s an obsession, a vice, an addiction not unlike any other addiction that consumes a person’s time, albeit a healthy one. some people are addicted to porn, some others – triathelons.
May 3, 2008 - 9:45 am 6. iceman:I still exercise although not as intensely as I used to. I used to run up mountains but now I live where there are only hills. I still run in the woods listening to podcasts on politics and economics and science but I miss the high of the hills.
Anyone who has done intense exercise will have felt the runners high that comes about an hour or two after. It is a great feeling. There are other benefits too although to be honest there are side affects like falling and twisting or breaking something, running out of water and drinking giardia laden water from a stream and having your dog sucked underneath a road through a pipe in a flooded area (she survived)
A few years ago I took a course of Wellbutrin for depression and ADHD and after the first dose I completely lost the desire for exercise. I had been running the Philadelphia art museums steps, ala Rocky. and loving it.
My appetite went too and it took a month at least to wash out of my system when I ceased the medication and get appetite and desire for exercise back.– interesting
May 3, 2008 - 1:07 pm 7. Joel:I have run several(7) marathons in the last two years after 30 years of smoking. I agree that the training is the hard part. If you do it right then the race is a victory lap. I, however, love the training. When possible I run with partners and we talk about all kinds of things from religion to politics. My first marathon I trained with my two oldest children (son 27, daughter 25)and we had a great experience.
May 3, 2008 - 6:33 pm 8. Kimberly:What is too much? If I pull a Forrest Gump and “just start running”.
Seriously I think as long as you keep it in perspective why not challenge yourself. When I am training for a race, no matter what else is happening I have a goal and a reason to keep going.
Funny to read this – I just did my first-ever race today! Only a 5k, but it’s a start. And there are probably those who think that’s too much to bother with.
To me, as long as you keep in perspective (i.e., you realize there are other important things in life to do and talk about) and don’t injure yourself, you can do whatever you want. My personal trainer did a 24-hour run last weekend – a race where he ran almost 100 miles in 24 hours. Me, I can’t imagine running for 24 hours straight, unless something was chasing me, and even then I’d probably give up! But he didn’t injure himself, and he enjoyed it, so I don’t consider that crazy.
May 3, 2008 - 8:28 pm 9. John the Libertarian:I ran the S.F. marathon. Bonked at mile 16, hallucinated miles 23-26, then sprinted the last bit. Took me nearly 5 years to want to ever run after that, because I didn’t train enough. So that should be a warning: train, train, train.
Nowadays I just do hill work (easier on the joints going up hill) and core training. Yep, it’s an addiction, but what a payoff!
No doubt I’ll get back into training again – maybe halfy’s first, then on to the big race. You triathletes have my admiration.
May 4, 2008 - 11:43 am 10. John Ruberry:I’ve run 29 marathons, never a triathalon. Anyway, we are different. For instance, last year, in the ill-fated Chicago Marathon, cops were telling us to start walking towards downtown–heat had forced cancellation of the race (where the finish was) and look for air-conditioned (the cops emphasized that) buses to find us along the way. Few heeded to call, I certainly didn’t, despite seeing about a dozen collapsed runners along the way.
May 5, 2008 - 7:08 am 11. Mike Runs:I’ve run 14 marathons (Boston once), 2 ultras and a sprint triathalon. What great fun! I’m recovering from anterior radical prostatectomy and radiation last year. (Prostate cancer and a bit more.) Remarkably, my surgeon is also a marathon kind of guy…
The pay-off? I’m back to running ~12+ miles a week, spinning 2 hours a week (and ramping up). So, I’m thinking – GEE – an Ironman triathalon just might be the ticket.
The other pay-off? The self-discipline and focus getting ready for all this fun helped me learn much more about myself and others than watching TV. (I equate the tricks I learned on time management and problem solution techniques to a mini-PhD on life-management.)
May 5, 2008 - 10:53 am 12. Mark Swanson:I’m 53 and Saturday I’ll be running my third of seven ultramarathons this year (2 50K’s, 3 50 Milers, 2 100 Milers) which will put me around 50 for the last seven years. Call me almost any given day of the year and ask me if I’d like to go on a 30-50 mile run in the mountains the next day and, schedule permitting, I’ll say “sure”.
Over the course of a year I average about an hour a day of running (including the races, which can last well over 24 hours) which is hardly excessive. I’m healthier and fitter than 99% of the adults I know (not just my own age either) and get to spend an hour a day running on trails and decompressing. And I can eat whatever I want, as much as I want.
This isn’t abnormal behavior, the sedentary indoor life most people live is what’s weird.
May 7, 2008 - 11:54 pm 13. cjg of eroticalee:Mr.Anderson might I suggest that you come to Penticton B.C. Canada and have a go at Ironman Canada.It’s always at the end of August and the course is considered a good challenge particularly the cycling part.
May 8, 2008 - 2:27 pm 14. Mark Freid:I can totally relate…wrote about my first Ironman experience
http://thinkthoughts.typepad.com/think_thoughts/
Now, can’t stop thinking about what’s next.
Nov 17, 2008 - 8:30 am 15. Matty Mo:I certainly respect triathletes and marathon runners as I know I would never take that much time to train for something I don’t enjoy. On the flip side, I also find a lot of people in terrific shape somewhat annoying and get bored after about two minutes of a conversation with several of them that only want to talk about training intervals, nutrition, etc. etc. I don’t really care, just do what makes you happy and don’t hate on those of us who choose moderate exercise or none at all if that’s our choice.
Mar 30, 2009 - 6:37 am