To give you faith...

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-25-2004
To give you faith...
1
Sun, 11-21-2004 - 6:51pm

Lessons from the IronMan Hawaii:

A little background – the IronMan Hawaii is one of the most grueling endurance events on earth. It consists of a 2.4 mile swim; then a 112 mile bike up hills and against 30 mph winds; followed by a very hot marathon (26.2 mile run) through the hot lava fields. To enter this race, you pretty much have to win an IronMan. Training for an IM takes about 30-40 hours per week for 9 months.

I watched this event on TV and saw many of life’s lessons, which I wish to share here. I will feature one of the athletes each week, along with a lesson I think you will all enjoy hearing. If you want to find out more you can always visit www.ironmanlive.com

Normann Stadler

Winner – male pro http://www.ironman.de/athletenbilder/normann_stadler_01.jpg

Story: Norman Stadler is a German athlete, dubbed Stormin’ Normann because he is a strong cyclist. He is notorious for coming out of the water and turning the course upside down on the bike. He pushes an insane speed for 112 miles, making all of the male pros suffer on the bike. But he usually fades during the marathon and has even been reduced to a walk. In 2003 he finished first on the bike but fourth overall.

2004 became a different year and different race. Normann learned from his past by training harder on the run prior to the race. But he did not change the way he rode his bike. He still worked hard to hold the same crazy pace. Winds of 30+ mph worked in his favor. His opponents and previous champions could not hold the pace on the bike and they never caught up to him on the run, much to their surprise.

The Lesson: Do not live in the past. Do not let the past affect your future. Believe you CAN win, no matter your goal and no matter what you have been through before!! Every day and every year is different.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 11-22-2004 - 9:16am

I watched most of that on tv too. It was amazing. The woman with an artificial leg. wow

EVERYone who had participated before had a different outcome than in the past. If you lose, keep trying. And every year, someone has to lose. No shame in doing your best. They all were amazing athletes....