Ironman in Perspective

This was sent to me by one of my IMAZ buddies...I had to post it. What an amazing way to look at it! ~ Author unknown.

Ironman in perspective

IM is not about the swim, the bike, the run nor the time. IM is about discipline, commitment, perseverance and doing three nearly impossible things on a given day that many cannot think about doing in a lifetime. IM races allow us to laugh, cry, be confident, be humble, feel great and later feel terrible all in the same race. We feel sad when we think we will not finish and later feel joyful and relieved when we do. During the race we swear that we will NEVER do this race again, shortly after the race we think we may do the very next one. This is not just a race, IM is about how we live our lives. We are committed to fitness but realize life is about balance. We know what we have to do to have in the "race of our life" but NEVER truly have the time or the energy to do everything we want to do in our preparation. Our families are deprived our attention and time during the hours of training and our friends are the beneficiaries of that commitment. We all realize that there is a balance between race achievement and our real life commitments. As an Ironman you have the unique perspective that allows you to know that for the rest of your life, you can deal with ANYTHING that comes your way. Judge yourself by the way you deal with the adversity in your life and ignore those who wish to minimize that. You never quit during your IM race and that is because of who you are.