What we can learn from the Ironman swim

As I’m training hard and getting ready for Ironman Lake Placid, I’m also trying to up my mental game. The other day I was riding my bike inside on the trainer because it was a little cold and rainy outside. If you’re thinking riding your bike inside must be very boring, well, then yes you are right. It’s extremely boring, but a good chance to think about things.

The Ironman is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run. It makes my legs hurt just typing it. Most people will tell you that the Ironman is all about pacing and nutrition on the bike and run. That it comes down to the last 10k of the marathon. This, of course, is all true. I’ve certainly learned that in my first four Ironmans.

But what about the swim? Many people consider it a warm up for the race and unless you haven’t done your training, the swim is pretty irrelevant to your race. You’re going to get through it and it’s only one hour out of a 10 hour day, or however long it takes you.

And while it’s such a small portion of the race, I think the swim is the most important part. Imagine this: there you are standing at the waters edge about to run in with 3,000 other athletes who want it just as much as you do. Your nerves are trembling and while you have a plan set out for the race, you know there are things that are going to happen that make sticking to that plan more difficult. When the start gun sounds, you run in and you are like a punching bag getting hit and kicked by the other people swimming next to you. You try to look up to see where the next buoy is, but instead you swallow a big gulp of water and think to yourself, ‘this is harder than I thought it was going to be.’

Now you don’t have to enter an Ironman to know what that feels like. The start line of an Ironman is very much like the start line to each day because we all have fears, doubts, and anxiety. We all get kicked down sometimes or swallow a nasty tasting gulp of salt water.

The swim is the most important part of the Ironman because it’s how we choose to handle those nerves right off the bat. How we can take those hits and kicks and realize it’s nothing personal, it’s just a part of the race. Taking it buoy to buoy as to not get overwhelmed by swimming 2.4 miles. It’s how you set your mentality at the start line that is going to make you strong and carry you through to the last 10k of that marathon. Where you can get to the end and say, “I did my best.”

The fear and anxiety we may feel is different for all of us, depending on where we choose to start. But think about all that “training” you did, take it one buoy at a time, pace yourself, and have a great race. No one does it like you.

Here’s a picture my brother took at my first Ironman swim at Florida in 2005: