My Heroes!

For mass swathes of the population, the thought of walking to the shop rather than taking the car is challenging. To swim 3.8km, bike 180km and then run a marathon is unfathomable. However, that's what nearly 2000 intrepid people were doing in Bolton today. Unfortunately, I wasn't one of them but I knew 4 people that were and decided to go along to 'cheer' them on.

Two of these people have achieved legendary status. I respect few people as much as Scott Balfour (he reads my blip so I gotta be nice about him). Scott is one of the best age-groupers in the world and has qualified for Hawaii, the world champs, on numerous occasions. More importantly, he introduced me to the sport, and has positively influenced 100's of others as a coach and a teacher too. I even suggested to Rosemary that he should coach her and that relationship works well.

I nearly missed Scott going past on the run, catching sight of him at the last moment. I chased after him, camera in hand, screaming like a mad lunatic. I knew it was a good day for him as he looked happy and relaxed! Boom! Scott went much faster than many people half his age and qualified for Hawaii again. Chapeau Obi Wan Balfoury!

Next up is Dave Clamp who I worked with briefly a few years ago! Dave is a deca-ironman, yeah....doing 10 of the things in a row! He's also mega-fast for his or any other age. Dave's engine is a good one but when he's in the zone, his mind is exceptional. Dave, in his own small way, reinvigorated my passion for the sport and helped me believe that I can go as fast as I could 15 years ago. I'm a wee bit off yet....but I still believe! Boom! Dave qualified for Hawaii too! I only got two glimpses of him...once finishing the bike leg and then in the last mile of the run. He even managed to shout "hiya Andy".

Ironman is a distance that will usually bite ya on the bahooky if things aren't 100%. That could be fitness, the mind or even a small misjudgement in pacing. The day was especially humid and energy sapping. Seeing Laura from my club, Manchester Tri, coming in off the bike suggested that things were tough for her. She'd suffered had a stress fracture earlier in the year so prep was far from ideal. The frustration of knowing she wasn't going as fast as she is capable of when fully fit was etched on her face, or maybe it was simply sufferation.

It was the same with Rowan from my work. I had placed myself at the top of a short climb which was forcing many of the competitors to walk! A perfect place for a bald man with a camera to locate himself. Rowan's face was a picture but he still managed to run all the way to the top.! He didn't
appear to enjoying himself though, especially as he had 35km to run at that stage. Strangely, I would have happily swapped places with him.

For me, the aim of Ironman is to do the distance as quickly as you can. Simply completing the distance, whilst highly challenging, doesn't infer doing ones best. That doesn't mean to say that if you go slower than expected marks failure. Any small misjudgement, lack of preparation, a small niggly injury.....challenging weather conditions and bad luck can all influence the outcome. Tiny errors can result in big time losses too. I know Laura and Rowan didn't achieve their finishing time goals.

In Buddhism, an important principle to recognise is that of impermanence. An achieved goal disappears as soon as it's gained. Sometimes success leads to a feeling of emptiness after the initial joy. Failure to achieve goals can lead to many negative feelings. It's much better to focus on process, doing the basics well and then concentrating on the small things. Doing so means that there's no end points but simply transition to the next stage of the journey with just a little bit more experience.

Scott and Dave are not only exceptional athletes, they're highly experienced too, having done more races than many athletes have done training sessions. That's not to say they don't get things wrong but that they make fewer errors than most. Others who may not be satisfied with their performance usually become better athlete's as a result of a hard day racing Ironman.