All my life, I have lived with parents that are equivalent to the best superheroes known to man. They have been the greatest role models and I could not have asked for better figures to look up to growing up.
However, just recently, I started to live with THE Iron Man. Don't get me wrong, it is not meant to be taken in a negative way. Actually, it is pretty cool living with Iron Man. But first, let me clear things up. NO, my mom is not suddenly married to Robert Downey Jr. My mom and dad are still happily married, 25 years later. The only difference between before and now, well, that would be that my dad has now trained and competed in not one but TWO Iron Man Triathlons.
This lifestyle of his…it is not an easy one. It comes with rigorous hours of training and preparing your body for miles and miles of physical activity. To explain a triathlon or a half Iron Man, it is swimming, biking, and running. His recent half Iron Man consisted of 1.2 miles of swimming, 56 miles of biking, and 13 miles of running. I have seen him get up at four in the morning to begin his workouts and then continue his day like he did not just finish training for 2 hours without stopping for a breather. Quite frankly, I get winded walking up two flights of stairs. In the end, he knows it is worth it from the time on the screen as it gets shorter and shorter and he gets faster and faster.
Not only did his everyday fitness lifestyle change but his diet changed too. If you asked me, this was hell for everyone in our family. My dads diet consists of spaghetti squash and chicken breasts EVERYDAY. That is not an exaggeration. I open the fridge door and all I see is spaghetti squash, spinach, and chicken. Do you know how painful that is? What does a girl have to do to have a giant burger with cheese and extra bacon show up in her fridge? At the end of the day though, at least he gets to say he is the healthiest person in the family. Sorry I would rather eat 20 chicken nuggets, dad!
I don't only call my dad the "Iron Man" because he has completed two of these triathlons in the last year or two. I call my dad this specific superhero because he also makes time to clean the dishes, do the laundry, drive the kids everywhere, and be there whenever anyone needs him. He does all of this all while training and going after his goals that he wants to achieve. He is the perfect example of showing someone if you want something, go get it. Trust me, at least once a week I get woken up asking if I am ready to start training for my first Iron Man. Maybe next year!
While writing this I realized not only was I trying to show everyone how dedicated one has to be to live this lifestyle and how amazing it can feel to achieve this fitness goal, but I also realized that it is almost a thank you post to my dad for doing everything that he does for my family all the while achieving these fitness goals that take a lot of time and energy. (Do not worry mom, you will get your time to shine!) But, thank you, Dad. Thank you for being the ultimate superhero in my life. You truly are Iron Man.