|
Rod & Custom sends a well-deserved shout-out to contributing illustrator Russell Dirks on his completion of the Ford Ironman triathlon, held on June 21 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. I knew Russell had drag racing in his blood, but was impressed when he told me, about a year ago, that he was starting to train for what is probably the toughest, most grueling form of racing around. For those of you not familiar with this one-day athletic event, it goes like this. Competitors start with a 2.4-mile open water swim. As soon as they finish that, it’s up on to a bicycle for a 112-mile ride, followed immediately by running a 26.2-mile marathon. “The Ford Ironman triathlons are held in various locations around the world,” Russell told me. "It originally started in 1978 in Hawaii with 14 individuals who wanted to see who was toughest. From there it has grown into an international phenomenon with events all over the world, entered by thousands of competitors in the hopes of winning a coveted slot in the world championship held each year in Kona on the big island of Hawaii. “The distance is intimidating—a total of 140.6 miles of racing. It’s non-stop and the transition between events is only a few minutes. There are cut-off times for each part of the competition. If you cannot complete the swim in 2 hours and 20 minutes you are done. If you cannot complete the first lap of the bike event by 1:30 p.m. you are done. If you cannot complete the swimming and biking events by 5:30 p.m. you are done. If you make the cut-off times you have until midnight to complete the race or you are DNF. Believe me, there is plenty of drama as people cut it close. This year, one of the swimmers finished with four seconds left. “When I started training last August, I could not swim. I mean I could not swim! I started swimming 2,500 to 3,000 yards in the pool two to three times a week. I trained five or six days a week. Some of my training bike rides were more than six hours at a time. I dropped 13 pounds (I don’t have much to lose, either). I developed a whole new lifestyle and diet. I am not the same dude. “The day of the Ironman, I finished the 2.4 mile swim in really choppy water in 1 hour and 38 minutes. I finished the whole deal in about 15 hours—not my race plan, but I had trouble with an injury. But it doesn’t matter; I am an official full Ironman triathlon finisher! I did things and accomplished something I never dreamed possible. Along the way, I met some great people and witnessed inspiring stories that truly humble a person. “My Ironman was a personal journey to make up for things I never did, but should have—or wanted to do, but never tried—especially after the passing of my wife Tami’s dad . It was about completion. If I can do this, I thought, I can do anything. Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die tomorrow. It’s about living.” Theodore Roosevelt: "It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
|