Why I have an IM tat. September 12, 2006
Posted by anton in : Ironman , trackbackAfter I did my first Ironman in 2003, I got an Ironman logo tattoo.
It was just a few days after and I fell asleep in the chair…
Some folks think I’m some bragging,self-focused type to have that thing on my calf. “Oh, look at me I’m IRONMAN!
Couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Getting the tat had NOTHING to do with finishing Ironman. It did have everything to do with getting to the start line in one piece and with some vestage of sanity. The previous ten years of my life had been tragic, and I mean that in the classic sense.
Tragedy,Noun: Dealing with a serious theme, typically that of a noble person whose character is flawed by a weakness which causes him to break moral precept and which inevitably leads to his down fall or destruction.
My Dad died and, for awhile I lost my moral compass. My marriage shattered, I ended up in a relationship I should have never been in, lost everything, including my self respect and almost didn’t make it. There were days I wanted to jump off of something really high.
Little by little I started to come back.
I started to train for IMLP in ‘02 but my Mom became ill and died. My sisters and I cared for her. It was ugly. With the help of family and a good therapist I was able to get righted and see my situation as it really was.
“Re-called to life” if you read Dickens.
I signed up for IMLP ‘03 and despite some brief mis-steps in my personal life was able to get back what I had lost.
My Dignity,self respect, and the goodness inside that had been lost too long under a bad influence.
Training was hard…There were days I didn’t want to get out of bed, but did, because Ironman was the path back to myself.
I stood there that morning on the shore of Mirror Lake and knew… The kid was alright.
The tat was a symbol of all that, of being back among the living.
My healing was not without mis-step. With friends, Family, and the finest person I have ever met, IMLP ‘07 will be a breeze!
Comments»
I’m all for your tat but of course I have selfish reasons to be that way. I recently completed my first Iman Wisconsin and had a pact with 4 other Iman that we get tattoos together if we finished. I spent 11 months on chemo in 2001 another Iman had cancer for last years Iman and for this years, another was a girl who had no buisness even attempting Iman she was so out of shape to begin with but she finished in 16h 45m and another was 55 years old and he had lost almost 50lbs. I should also mention I completed mine with a torn lateral and medial miniscus and got turned around on the run and had to end up going over 31 miles. There are always great humanity type stories involved in life goals and yours and mine are just a few . I swore I would never get a tattoo but now I do and it seems to mean alot to my wife and daughter as they are quite proud. So thats it for now, however we are all off to Iman Louisville with another cancer survivor to add to the list , He’ll be a hard sell for a tat but we’ll get to him and it will mean so much more than just an emblem. we all get your drift so wear that art work with pride.