YOU DON'T NEED TONS OF MONEY TO BE A TRIATHLETE

Training for your first triathlon/Ironman does not have to be an expensive proposition. For some people it's important to have the very best tri clothing and a top-of-the-line bike, but if it's not within your budget to have the very best don't worry about it. I did Ironman Hawaii in 1984 on a piece of crap bike with none of the tri-specific options like bike computers, titanium, aero-bars, and clipless pedals that are available today and survived the race and became an Ironman. Many others did as well, so don't let it deter you if you are on a tight budget.



In the end, it's not so much the bike the triathlete is on as it is the triathlete on the bike that will go further toward determining how well you perform. For instance, the best bike in the world will do you little good if your intake of food, water, and energy drinks is insufficient and you end up with no energy left to turn the pedals.

The amount you spend on equipment also depends on the goals you set for yourself. There are those who have a dream of reaching the Ironman finish line just once. Perhaps they have family and career commitments that do not afford them the opportunity to train year after year and basically they have one shot at it. On the other hand there are others who eventually begin a triathlon career that will last for many years and it actually becomes a way of life for them.

Some people don't really know which direction their triathlon career will follow until they've given it a try and find out what it's all about.

I will discuss the different types of equipment I feel are very important to have and others that you can do without in more detail as I continue on with my blog, Ironstruck4triathletes.

IRONMAN DREAMING? BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND MAKE IT REAL

If you are not a very fit person, that need not hold you back from becoming an Ironman. If you can't swim a stroke, that need not hold you back from being an Ironman. Never been on a road bike? Don't worry, you will remember how to ride a bike. It's just that this one will just be lighter and faster and more fun to ride.

Swimming, biking, and running.......Are you good at one of them, two of them, or maybe none of them?



Doesn't matter a bit. Ironstruck still has no doubt you can make it to the Ironman finish line. Soon, I will make you a believer as well. Swimming, biking, and running, are all learned skills. That means that the average person can learn how to do all three regardless of what their ability level is at the moment.

"IF" you are truly Ironstruck and have the desire, then you have the major component in place to begin and be successful in your Ironman Journey.

Soon you will become an unstoppable force. The more control of your life you get, the better you feel and the better you feel, the easier it is to continue on. Soon you will be on your way and will improve not only on a physical level, but will also develop self-esteem that may have been missing for a while and along with that will come a belief in yourself and you are on your way to a new improved you.

It's not rocket-science. People just have no idea of just how powerful they are and what they are truly capable on so many levels. It sometimes just takes a small nudge in the right direction to get them started and for the realization to set in...Hey! I can do this!

THE IRONMAN JOURNEY. ARE YOU READY?

Everyone's Ironman journey has a different starting point. It depends on several things that relate to your current physical conditioning and ability in the swimming, biking and running events that make up the Ironman.



You may also have issues like being overweight, smoking, drinking, drug abuse, or any number of other minor stumbling blocks that life has a way of putting in our path. I truly believe they are put there just to test us. If we resist and seek a better way of life it's not long before what was perceived as a major problem is left in a wake of self-discovery and accomplishment as you begin your journey to a better way of life on many levels.

The key to being successful in the quest to reaching the Ironman finish line is desire. People who are truly Ironstruck will find that it's call is simply overwhelming and makes our other problems not quite so difficult to leave behind. For instance, I had tried to quit smoking many times, but never could. I think it was because I never had a reason that was better than the pleasure of that smoke coursing in and out of my lungs gave me.

However, the day I decided I wanted to run and become a marathoner more than anything was the day I left my smoking habit behind. It was simple. I finally found something that mattered to me more than laying on the couch smoking 40 cigarettes a day and drinking 6 0r 8 bottles of beer and basically, going nowhere with my life.

I knew I could not keep both, so one had to go. The thing that mattered most to me stayed and the cigarettes were gone for good. You are quite capable of making the same decisions once you have become Ironstruck. Whether you are a smoker or 80 pounds over-weight doesn't really make a difference. Your past problems will disappear in a could of dust in your wake if your desire and the call of the Ironman is strong enough.