What Is Your Ironman?

When a friend first suggested we do a triathlon 13 years ago, I was quick to recognize I did not own a bike nor could I really swim. I hadn’t even been running regularly for a full year. Can you relate to these thoughts? But what if you could only use your arms?

I prefer the short triathlons, known as “Sprints” which usually consist of about a 1/2 mile swim, 12-15 mile bike and 5k run.  Conveniently people often picture Ironman when I mention triathlon, which is 6-8 times longer: 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and a full marathon – 26.2 miles.  I have a hard time imagining myself doing any one of these events by itself, let alone trying to do all three in just 17 hours. But Minda Dentler, a paralyzed orphan from India, was the first female wheelchair athlete to successfully finish the Ironman Triathlon World Championships in this allotted time, doing the swim, bike and run with nothing but her arms.

Minda’s sister Janeen is a good friend of mine, who said to me:

I’ll be the first to admit I can be pretty good at finding excuses.  But hearing Minda’s story causes me to ask, where in my life am I finding excuses to prevent me from doing something I know I should? As she said to herself during the race,

“Focus on what you can control, and that is your attitude and your effort”

What is Your Ironman?

Enjoy~