Indiana Jones, God and Ironman

I can't believe that winter is finally here. Yay for snow! The one drawback to snow is stupid drivers. 4WD does not give you permission to be an idiot on the road - are you listening, driver of the beige Yukon?!?

So, while I was stuck in a big mess on the road I got a chance to listen to the stories on NPR. They were talking about the Lost Ark of the Covenant - and not just the movie. There is a legend in Ethiopia that the Ark of the Covenant was moved there after it was stolen from King Solomon. The Ark is kept under constant watch by a monk (except when he has to go pee when he really does leave his post) because people are not allowed to view the Ark. As I understood the reasoning behind it being kept hidden is that humans are not ready to be that close to god. The other point that was made was that people shouldn't be allowed to view the Ark because it might contain proof that god exists. And IF it could prove that god exists, it might also prove that god doesn't exist. So, in order to prevent proving or disproving the existence of god, the ark is kept hidden away from the public. For the thousands of people that visit each year, there is no doubt to them that they are closer to and artifact of god. For the millions of people that live around there, this means nothing to them or their beliefs. Faith is a very powerful thing - faith alone in the existence or non-existence of something trumps physical proof when it comes to our beliefs. We don't have to know the answer to believe that we are correct.

So, I don't mean to debate the existence of god here, but this got me thinking about the mental aspect of endurance sports. I've read so much about the mental ups and downs of Ironman races and how mental lapses can make or break the race. I've been debating whether or not I'm ready for an Ironman race, and wondering if I have the faith in myself and my abilities to complete the race. I know physically my body can get through the race, but I'm not sure that I can keep my mind in the race long enough to finish the race.

I signed up for two half-ironman races this summer so that I have the first race to prepare for my second, "A" race. It's an issue of faith. I want to do well, but I don't have faith in myself to have to perfect nutrition plan, pacing and endurance to finish. I am not a person with a lot of faith, I need proof before I can accept something, its the scientist/engineer part of me.

But, this plan will not work for an Ironman race. I know that physically I would not be able to do two iron-length races in a season, and that I'd be setting myself up for injury/burnout. But, how do convince myself that I can do this?

That said, I'm about 95% sure that I'm going to (try to) sign up for Ironman Wisconsin in 2008.