Last Sunday I watched a telecast of the 2016 Ironman competition on NBC Sports. As I watched, I thought about how profoundly sports can draw us in and tug at our heartstrings. If you’ve ever gotten a lump in your throat and butterflies in your stomach and so overcome with emotion that the tears start flowing without warning, then you know what I mean. This triathlon was my Stanley Cup. You catch me? So that was the impetus for this post. Maybe you have to be a hardcore sports fan to truly understand. But the inspiration for this one came from wanting to explore the connection we feel to the athletes and my connection to one in particular during this race. This is also a commentary on how some sports, like running, can be a metaphor for our own personal growth. Many times physical changes coincide with emotional changes. And often times it helps to have people we admire to help inspire that growth.
Endurance sports are sports of experience. In a race we’re battling against the clock, but in the long run, time is very much our ally. This has to be one of the top reasons I love running so much. I’m in much better shape now than I was ten years ago and I still have a good chance be in even better shape ten years from now. Who wouldn’t like thinking about that? It makes us realize that there’s actually things to look forward to about aging. I’m not under some illusion that we don’t lose certain things as our bodies age. Strength, elasticity, flexibility; we reach a peak and then decline. But then there’s so much we gain. Mental strength and endurance for starters. “The glory of young men is their strength but the splendor of old men is their grey hair.”(Proverbs 20:29 ESV) . This means that wisdom is far more valuable than we tend to give it credit for. And for that, I look forward to getting older. Crazy right?
I honestly don’t know if I would have this perspective if I didn’t run. Running has taught me that what I loose in strength and speed I gain in mental toughness and endurance. I’m downright gritty! And I haven’t peaked yet, not by a long shot. The thing is, in order to stick with it, you have to have a level of determination that just comes easier with maturity.
This image couldn’t capture that sentiment more perfectly. This is Hiromu Inada, a competitor at the 2016 Iroman championship in Kona, Hawaii. At 83, he was the oldest finisher and at that age, probably the easiest to root for. But then again, maybe age is just a small piece of the puzzle. It may have much more to do with his perseverance and the fact that he’s just an interesting dude. Inada didn’t get into the triathlon circuit until the age of 69. That fact alone gives hope to those of us who tend to get distracted from our lofty dreams. Those of us that watch these big events on NBC sports and think maybe one day… But you know, 5:30 am seems to come way too early. That dreaded alarm taunts with a cold dose of reality. Oh yeah, I actually have a full time job… and family obligations… and that project around my house so… maybe 4 miles will do just fine this morning. Now I don’t mean to contradict myself. I know I discussed the importance of making time for physical activity in my previous post. But there is a difference between fitting it in to your life and having it be your life. It just seems like such a rigorous training schedule would be more feasible after retirement, after some of those commitments have been freed up. Maybe I’m just making excuses, but all I mean to say is that it’s never too late to start something great. It’s never too late to become an iron man. That’s actually the title of an article in which Inada’s rocky journey was the subject. I don’t know if he was truly waiting until after retirement to start training. I would actually love to learn what his life was like prior; what his family life was like and what his career was. For now I just imagine that he was very hard-working, maybe even a bit of a workaholic. That’s not to say he didn’t spend a lot of time with his family as well. Maybe he was even inspired to start training buy a grandson or granddaughter. I can picture them going on five mile runs together on the trails in Yachiyo, Chiba, Japan. All this is imaginative speculation of course. The reality is pretty fascinating on its own. Inada’s first Ironman competition was Ironman Japan at age 77. There, he failed to make the cut off time during the run. And then in a previous Kona Ironman he was forced to end his race in the water due to an onset of hyperpnoea. Then, following some successful finishes, he suffered heart break again. During the 2015 World Ironman competition he missed the cut off time by 6 seconds. 6 seconds, rarely do those two words hold such tragic significance. But that undoubtedly made his 2016 finish so much sweeter. And that is why we root for people like Hiromu Inada. The proof of his determination lies not in his successes, but his defeats. His resiliency and resolve is certainly something to be admired. Although, he doesn’t compete for our admiration. He has the reward of knowing what it feels like to push through pain in order to feel the elation of victory. And that, like Inada, is truly remarkable.
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