General Discussion Triathlon Talk » IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige? Rss Feed  
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2012-11-30 9:18 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?

Finishing time is just a number and rarely tells the whole story. 

I have a friend who ran a 3:23 marathon to BQ and then ran a 4:15 (or something close to that) at Boston this year.  Unless you know that this year's Boston Marathon experienced 88F temps, you wouldn't fully appreciate the extra hour that he spent on the course. 

IMCdA was the race of a lifetime and there is a significant story behind my 13:38 finish time.  It's in my RR. 



2012-11-30 9:26 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?

We live in a somewhat insular world on these forums.  For those of us on here, or other boards, training for 10+ hours a week isn't extraordinary at all.  Upping that training to 15+ hours/week is just seen as a component of training for a particular event.

But, go ask someone who is completing their first 5 or 10k about putting in those hours.  Those are the folks who think we have a screw loose. 

There will always be a bigger, badder, tougher event out there.  It's in our nature.  In fact, that is how the first Ironman race came about - take the toughest single events in the area, and see who could do them all the fastest.

I'm currently training for my first IM.  And, there is a chance I might be a little disappointed if I don't hit my time goal.  But, I will be excited IF I finish.  Because that will show me that I was able to put in the time, effort and dedication to complete it.

As for anyone who thinks it is the "new 10K", too bad.  Go live your life, and I will live mine.

2012-11-30 9:29 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?

acumenjay - 2012-11-30 9:04 AM It's an accomplishment, but c'mon...really not that prestigious.  The # of finishers out of the population is a meaningless number.  It's a first world sport for people with a lot of time and resources on their hands.
  It is??  I don't have that much time nor the resources, but still get'r done.

  Barriers to entry are very high to have all the gear and register for a race and get a place to stay and if you have a family and a job it is a ridiculous selfish pursuit as you log hours and hours of training all the time.  There is a balance.  Of course it is great to finish, but how many people really have their life setup in a way where they can go train 12+ hours a week to hammer the race in proper fashion?  Or another question is how many people actually WANT to?  It isn't the holy grail to everyone.  There's plenty of other stuff to do.  It's a cool experience and a nice self indulgent hobby
Now you're sounding like my wife.  Anyways, just about ANYTHING that people do that does not include their spouse, bf/gf, family, etc. (read a book, etc.) can be called "self-indulgent" anyways.  Yes??

 
 and a way to stay in decent shape.  Some people get addicted and have nothing but Kona on their mind and that's cool if that's your thing...it's better than being a drug addict or some other things you could be pursuing.
  You're referring to p0rn, aren't you?

2012-11-30 9:31 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?
1stTimeTri - 2012-11-30 10:29 AM

acumenjay - 2012-11-30 9:04 AM It's an accomplishment, but c'mon...really not that prestigious.  The # of finishers out of the population is a meaningless number.  It's a first world sport for people with a lot of time and resources on their hands.
  It is?? 

Yes, with some possible exceptions.  I'm sure they'll be glad to share their stories here.

 

 

 



Edited by Goosedog 2012-11-30 9:32 AM
2012-11-30 9:32 AM
in reply to: #4515946

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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?

Meh.  I think it's ridiculous to call an IM the new 10K but to be honest, I don't care what other people think.  I haven't completed an IM yet but when I do - it will be for me.  I don't know anyone IRL who wouldn't be impressed by it but I'm not doing it for them.

I hate this continual effort to up the anti on everything and that is somehow diminishes what is, unquestionably, a huge accomplishment.  A lot of people could complete a 10K in the required time even if they had to walk the whole thing but I don't know a lot of people who could complete an IM within the time limit.

2012-11-30 9:33 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?
Everybody has different skill levels and abilities, some people have broken their back twice and had two knee surgeries and can't bike or run as fast as others. If you think that somehow takes away from their accomplishment, then you're an elitist ahole who knows nothing about overcoming challenges. What about the woman at IMAZ with the prosthetic leg who came in at about 16:20? Do you think, for her, that `just finishing' wasn't prestigious? Ask her that question and I bet you get a blade up your backside.

And frankly, I felt more prestigious finishing my second one with my wife than I did finishing my first one alone, and I was faster on the first one.


2012-11-30 9:35 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?
Maybe Ultraman is the new Ironman? lol .... 6.2 miles swim, 261 miles bike and 52 miles run. They just finished the race last weekend, I believe. Now to me that is INSANE!

http://ultramanlive.com/2008-ultraman-world-championships/2012-day-...
2012-11-30 9:36 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?

mr2tony - 2012-11-30 9:33 AM Everybody has different skill levels and abilities, some people have broken their back twice and had two knee surgeries and can't bike or run as fast as others. If you think that somehow takes away from their accomplishment, then you're an elitist ahole who knows nothing about overcoming challenges. What about the woman at IMAZ with the prosthetic leg who came in at about 16:20? Do you think, for her, that `just finishing' wasn't prestigious? Ask her that question and I bet you get a blade up your backside. And frankly, I felt more prestigious finishing my second one with my wife than I did finishing my first one alone, and I was faster on the first one.

A guy with 2 prosthetic legs kicked my arse at IM WI 2007.  Uneffingreal.

2012-11-30 9:37 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?

goran007 - 2012-11-30 9:35 AM Maybe Ultraman is the new Ironman? lol .... 6.2 miles swim, 261 miles bike and 52 miles run. They just finished the race last weekend, I believe. Now to me that is INSANE! http://ultramanlive.com/2008-ultraman-world-championships/2012-day-3-overall-results

But, it's not prestigious.



Edited by 1stTimeTri 2012-11-30 9:38 AM
2012-11-30 10:15 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?
cgregg - 2012-11-30 8:50 AM

I still know a ton of people for whom completing a regular ol' 5k fun run is a pretty big deal, so no, I don't think it has lost its prestige.

 

For many people, it is simple inconceivable that someone could even do it, much less that person actually believe that they could do it themselves.

^^This.  It always depends on who you talk to.  If you spend your time in extreme endurance chat rooms, Ironman has been lower on the totem pole for half a decade.  If you talk to your next door neighbor, however, Ironman will always hold the prestige because, as the first response said, We're still talking about only .00007% of the population (not counting multiple finishers), and most people get giddy about a half marathon.

Unlike grade inflation making a 4.0 GPA year by year, nothing is making it easier to swim, bike and run 140.6 miles.  Even those nice bikes you have to actually pedal up the hills!!

2012-11-30 10:27 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?
A lot of people wear their 5K tshirts as a badge of pride - and rightly so.  I remember how awesome it felt to run my first continuous mile after being unable to run for more than 60 seconds.  What percentage of the general population ever runs a 5K, anyway?  I work with 8 other guys in my immediate shop and I'm the only one who has.  It's not being objective to surround yourself with exceptional people and then believe you are average. 


2012-11-30 10:36 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?

To me finishing Ironman never had "prestige".

It's a personal thing. It resides inside you. It isn't to project outward. You go do it, it's cool, you own it, you use the lessons going forward. That's it.

I acknowledge the perspective of a different culture, the culture that does the race in some part because of how it may alter other peoples' perception of them. It is an accessory to bolster their life story. They wear it on the outside, sometimes literally in the form of tattoos and so forth.

That's fine also.

However, the drawback is high bars are meant to be raised. That is why there is a bar in the first place. It isn't static. Each person tries to clear a succesively higher one.

So, if the motive to complete Ironman is to acheive some conspicuous "ultimate", some lasting final word on how impervious you are to fatigue, how goal oriented you are, how tough you can be, how you can get through anything- if that is your motive, visit a children's leukemia wing.

Then the entire endeavor is reframed into the act of selfish vanity that it is, not that there is anything wrong or bad about that, it just isn't the final word of ultimate-ness in the human experience. It's a fun and generally healthy, intense hobby.

2012-11-30 10:42 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?

I'll say the same thing I always say.  Completing an IM while tough is not what draws my awe; what does is the grueling training, day in and day out; the 3-4 hour training sessions; the weekly training volume; the planning that goes into it; the amount of time and energy devoted for months and months.

If you look at as just the race itself, it's just one day, one finish line.  I look beyond and I think that anyone who commits that much of his/her time, energy, blood, sweat and tears over how ever many months inspires awe, as it should.  I don't know if prestige is the right word, but I have mad respect for those who do the training whether they make it to the line or not.

2012-11-30 10:55 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?
Jorgito22 - 2012-11-30 7:58 AM

is just finishing an Ironman not considered a outstanding accomplishment  in SOME CIRCLES,

Yes, and it has always been that way

will there now be a certain finish time that would be considered a great feat outside of just finishing?

Now? Again, always has been that way

2012-11-30 10:58 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?
Zero2Athlete - 2012-11-30 8:27 AM
It's not being objective to surround yourself with exceptional people and then believe you are average. 



It's true but when you have exceptional athletes around you you feel like a loser. In my case most of my friends are elite athletes and I'm not so fast compared to them so I don't consider myself a good runner. However when I talk to people outside of this circle of friends they are in awe of my mediocre accomplishments. Depends who you talk to, I guess!
2012-11-30 10:59 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?

There are many things that take dedication, training end persistance to become good at/to accomplish it.

Those that do have a certain character that carries most likely through everything in their life.

All of those accomplishements deserve a certain amount of respect and are prestigous.

The difficulty is to normalize and compare them.

How does finishing an Ironman compare to a non-stop 15hour call-of-duty session?

What about a gold-medal in pistol shooting versus running the comrades?

 

We can't normalize and compare the achievements unless we tried ourselves and even then due to personal history we will find some challenges harder than others.

But I (personally) consider anything that involved ACTIVE participation of an individual an accomplishment.

All this beeing said it comes to the ususal items in live, that perception is in the eye of the beholder.

I know that I am excited about the thought toeing a Half-Ironman starting line in 2013.

For me that will a huge accomplishement, that no-one I know (other than this forum and through tri-friends) has accomplished.



2012-11-30 11:10 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?
TheClaaaw - 2012-11-30 8:22 AM

But a deeper question I have is this: "if the luster os off, so what?" Sure, as a blog writer and conspicuous racer by my size, I certainly get feedback from others that is encouraging. But I have set my goals for me. I don't care if someone else thinks it's not good enough. Really, the top athletes are always the most encouraging to the slow plodders like me, so that's not even an issue. But as to whether it will be less a big deal to vast amounts of peple who just want to know what the trend or "it" thing is supposed to be, I couldn't care less. I have a very short list of people I am trying to impress. It starts with me and ends with my wife and kids.

THIS x a million! 

2012-11-30 11:18 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?
timf79 - 2012-11-30 11:59 AM

How does finishing an Ironman compare to a non-stop 15hour call-of-duty session?

maybe triathlon needs a prestige system like CoD

2012-11-30 11:19 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?
goran007 - 2012-11-30 11:58 AM
Zero2Athlete - 2012-11-30 8:27 AM It's not being objective to surround yourself with exceptional people and then believe you are average. 
It's true but when you have exceptional athletes around you you feel like a loser. In my case most of my friends are elite athletes and I'm not so fast compared to them so I don't consider myself a good runner. However when I talk to people outside of this circle of friends they are in awe of my mediocre accomplishments. Depends who you talk to, I guess!

This is why it took me a long time to get used to being accepted into the community. I still have angst over not belonging here. That, for me, will be a bigger milestone than any mileage number.

On the lighter side, this reminds me of the worldly wise advice of a certain oersized lasagna loving feline, who said "to feel skinnier, hang around with people who are fatter than you." I feel like shamu after leaving a race. If I needed the comparison of others to feel better, I would spend more time at the casino, or denny's. I tend to better in life when I seek to be around those who set examples I would prefer to aspire to.

2012-11-30 11:33 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?
Jorgito22 - 2012-11-30 5:58 AM

With the recent articles about the 500,000 person to finish an Ironman, list of the toughest endurance sports  (Hawaii I believe was mentioned but not very high) and all the conversations about how the Ironman is the new 10k....So it had me thinking is just finishing an Ironman not considered a outstanding accomplishment  in SOME CIRCLES, will there now be a certain finish time that would be considered a great feat outside of just finishing?(outside of the Pro finish time )What would that time be? and  how would you categorize  finish times (ex: sub 9 = pro)

this is just merely a topic to discuss

Just curious of people's thought

Really, only 500,000 people have ever finished an Ironman?  Dude, that's how many people run marathons in the US on a yearly basis.  So I don't know about prestigious but if your number is right IM finishers are definitely a very exclusive group.  Wow...

2012-11-30 11:36 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?
I think it should be a WTC rule that you get your finish time tattooed under your Mdot tattoo


2012-11-30 11:39 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?

I think it's only prestigous if you do more than one.  I'm thinking 4?  That's the coolness transition point. 

2012-11-30 11:42 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?
The few people who know I like to run triathlons don't really care at all.  The even fewer who know I'm going to be training for an IM think I'm basically nuts.  I'm not sure how I parlay that into prestige.....but whatever.  My kids think it's cool, so I'm good with it.
2012-11-30 11:45 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?

Left Brain - 2012-11-30 9:42 AM The few people who know I like to run triathlons don't really care at all.  The even fewer who know I'm going to be training for an IM think I'm basically nuts.  I'm not sure how I parlay that into prestige.....but whatever.  My kids think it's cool, so I'm good with it.

That's what's great about kids, is they think your cool if you can just talk like donald duck or burp the alphabet...

2012-11-30 11:48 AM
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Subject: RE: IM Finish...has just finishing lost its prestige?

I'm with Acumenjay and Tom on this one.  Who cares what level of "prestige" an IM has?  I don't do triathlons for prestige.  The people I train with, and the people I race with are the only people I care to even discuss triathlons with anyway.  My goal is to crush their dreams, and I want them to know it.  Other than that, I couldn't care less if anyone else never even knew I raced triathlons.



Edited by tri808 2012-11-30 11:50 AM
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