To lose or is it a win?

The Olympics have always fascinated me. It doesn’t matter if it is the summer or winter Olympics, in fact I love the sports that don’t appear on the prime time schedule. Maybe that is one of the reasons why Triathlons hold such a close place in my heart. The press makes such a big deal about the Bodie Millers or the Michael Phelps of the world, but it is the guy or girl from the far reaches of this world or it maybe the neighbor down the street that pour there lives into a sport that many in this country know very little about, that inspires me. They do this because of a passion that drives them, with very little financial backing or very little chance of winning a medal they press on because they understand it is more than about winning, it is about the experience.  They ultimately know they will not win, so they know going into it they will lose.

Or do they?

Sure they won’t cross that finish line first or receive that perfect score from a judge, but they walk away saying they are an Olympian and tried their best playing at such a high level. Occasionally one of these no names hits a home run, like the USA Men’s hockey team did in 1980, or Eddie the Eagle the ski jumper also back in the 80’s or even sadly the luger who lost his life late week. But in more cases all who compete never win a medal or make the headlines.

So why do they do it?

In the Ironman world the is a father/son team very well known for the feats they do together and to me this is the reason why they do it. This father/son team are the Hoyt’s, Rick and Dick to be exact. Rick was born with many challenges in his life, bound to a wheel chair the doctors told his parents to put him away in a hospital and go on with their lives. Well that didn’t happen. To make a long story short. Dick, the father provides Rick with his arms and legs for athletic events. There are plenty YouTube videos that focus on these two and if you watch them you will understand why the Hoyt’s and others do it.

In 210 days I hope to join this group of losers. I will not win the Ironman that I am competing in. I won’t even come close. In fact I will not win my age group and once again I will not even come come close. So why do I want to do such a thing that will place me in such pain for 17 hrs (hopefully less) not to mention the pain I will feel for the next days and maybe weeks?

Because I CAN!

Will I be a loser? In the sense of not crossing that line first, yes. But I will be able to call myself an Ironman, just like that poor guy from the far corners of the world calling himself an Olympian.