Couch to IRONMAN: 3 Lessons From Completing ‘The Hardest Day In Sports’

Each year, athletes worldwide compete in ultra endurance triathlons called IRONMAN, which consist of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run in a single day. As someone who had never played a varsity sport, here are the lessons and moments that defined my journey.

Up until very recently, the life of a human on this planet has been a complete drag. It was 110 degrees when I stood in the master suite of an enormous castle in Hyderabad, India and realized ‘I’d rather be the poorest person today than the richest person 500 years ago.’ We still have work to do, but even some of our poorest have better access to sanitation, healthcare, instant answers to questions from most of recorded history, protection from far less violence than the media might like to portray, and of course, air conditioning.

Despite our fortune, so many of us choose less comfortable lifestyles. The path to where I am took thousands of hours of strenuous physical exertion in rain, sleet and snow. There were moments when ankles were sprained, toenails turned black, and shirts were soaked with blood. There were opportunities missed that might have made me closer with my family, more successful in my career, or more prosperous in the elusive ‘lady department’. Days that included 6 hours on a bike saddle or 4 hours hitting pavement in 90 degree heat were not uncommon.

It’s difficult for any person to truly appreciate their deepest-held assumptions on life and how the world is ‘supposed to work’ until those assumptions prove themselves utterly incorrect. For several decades, an entire generation of children were beaten over the head with the notion that good grades and expensive degrees that certify one’s ‘passions’ were the most appropriate paths to success. And why not? By the time our economic growth peaked in 2000, we had federal budget surpluses, lucrative prospects for internet startups, and a very healthy S&P 500.

The tragedy of these and other assumptions didn’t become clear to us until the successive economic crises of the 2000s, when we began to discover that not all internet companies are worth more than their tangible assets, not everyone is economically suitable for a home or student loan, and that financial institutions and utilities don’t always behave in the best interests of the economy, or even of themselves. And beyond economics, we also learned that the developed world cannot be a bystander for the poorest areas where violence breeds.

Three years ago, I stood 20 minutes from the scene and watched newscasters describe the violent deaths of 20 small children and 6 adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. Despite not knowing anyone personally, I joined rest of the country in having difficulty detaching from the tragedy. From a park bench a few weeks later, I wrote the heading ‘Lowest point ever?’ and listed the words ‘car stolen’, ‘root canal’, ‘overweight’ and ‘marriage proposal declined’. As a master’s degree laureate, an employee at a respected international company, and a trusted friend to many, I wondered if these were the right outcomes for an idealistic young person who always did his best to please the people around him.

Those who have experienced trauma know that it can be a powerful catalyst for change, and the question ‘what am I willing to ask from myself?’ had yet to occur to me. My ambitions began modestly with 30 minutes of continuous running, and never exceeded the next milestone. As I developed healthier habits and sought interesting events to participate in, I met giants whose shoulders I could stand on. I got know a former Division-1 runner well. Around the same time, I had the opportunity to work for an IRONMAN finisher. In 2014, I met someone who completed it with one leg. Steve Jobs said ‘You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future’ and with each mentor, run or ride, the excuses began to fade and the dream became reachable.

Success rarely comes without failure or temptations to quit. A number of loved ones took great expense to attend my first attempt at IRONMAN, which took place in August 2015 at an elevation of 5,400 feet in the foothills of Boulder, Colorado. While the swim and bike portions went exceedingly well, I began to experience convulsions in my calf muscles in the 8th mile of the marathon that gradually spread throughout my legs and rendered me unable to stand. After 10 or so hours and their fourth intervention at mile 13, the medical team dismissed me from the competition citing severe cramping from insufficient sodium intake and elevation.

While the pursuit nearly lost its significance, I had to recognize the uncertainty of having the unique combination of health and means to attempt the race again. Voices of doubt remained through mile 130 of the Cozumel event three months later, but the mind has a tendency to be a terrible master. Despite minor injuries, I was warmly greeted by thousands of cheering Latinos as I crossed the finish line at a modest trot at the 13 hour and 32 minute mark. At this moment, ‘delayed gratification’ bore a new meaning.

In these challenging years, I have embraced the position that character must begin from within and work its way out, as opposed to the materialism that so many pursue in its place. There is no question that I still want the trophy wife, the luxury sedan, and the colonial style home, but pursuing them will only interfere with my journey towards success. I've seen happiness in the slums of Mumbai. And I've seen millionaires ride subways in New York. What I truly admire in others is the kind of maturity that only emerges from endurance of the mind, body, heart and soul. To be powerful, yet benevolent. To be admired, yet enable others to be just as much or more.

Aside from a hefty medal or bumper sticker, the ultimate reward is what you will discover about yourself. Here are three lessons from my journey to IRONMAN:

1. Positive habits have compounding properties. Every day, our inertia challenges us to be less than we are capable of being . To eat less healthy. To distract ourselves. To respond hastily to things that upset us. To sit. The war will not be won in a day, but each of us has the ability to pick a battle with ourselves. And once we begin to win them, it makes way for the habits that can define our victories.

2. Extraordinary things can be achieved without extraordinary abilities or resources. I did not have the coaching or club team to prepare for this, nor the experience or evidence to suggest it was possible. But research from individuals like Malcolm Gladwell suggests that the wealth and fame from which multi-billionaires and world class athletes benefit can be reduced to a combination of remarkable effort and circumstances. Unfortunately, many of us only have immediate control over one of those factors. A disciplined exertion of effort can become easier if we are able to…

3. Quiet the noise. Whether positive or negative in their intent, most of the external stimuli that we experience on a day-to-day basis at work or at home represent how other people believe we should think or behave. Should we succeed in asking of ourselves and limiting external influences, each of us has the ability to do things that inspire others.

In doing so, it helps us to find the good.


(Completing an IRONMAN would not have been possible without the support of colleagues at Corning Incorporated and Sikorsky Aircraft, my parents Wanda and Wayne, Marc, Jessica, Sylvia and all of my friends, siblings and family. Being in your lives has been my greatest blessing — thank you for turning a dream into a reality!)