THE IRONMAN

Triathlon (from the Greek tri for ‘three’ and athlon for ‘contest’) is an athletic contest that is a long-distance race consisting of three phases such as swimming, bicycling, and running; one after another in a continuous sequence. The start of triathlon is a mass event beginning with swimming, while the finish is usually a running stage. The stages are changed in the transit zone, where each athlete has his own place to store the equipment.

Triathlon is one of the most popular amateur sports in Europe and America. By popularity, it can be compared to the Marathon races.

The most prestigious discipline in triathlon is the Ironman Distance.

Rufat Hasanov, a 48-year-old amateur triathlete from Azerbaijan, is one of those ironmen, who has successfully completed the distance and agreed to tell R + about the peculiarities of this sport.

Rufat, you are the second Ironman in Azerbaijan. Can you tell us what exactly the Ironman’s status means?

Ironman is an unofficial status of an athlete, who completes the Ironman Distance in a timely manner.

What is the Ironman Distance then?

To get this status, the athlete must swim almost four kilometers in open water, then ride a bicycle for 180 km and finally run a marathon, which roughly makes 42 km. He must complete all these stages non-stop during 17 hours maximum. As soon as you reach the finish line in time, you are greeted with “Mr. Hasanov, you are an Ironman”. It took me 15 hours.

Quite a long distance… I guess not everyone is physically able to cover such a distance. How did you decide to do this?

When I first heard about the Ironman Distance, I simply could not believe it was possible at all, reasonably suggesting that only some superhumans could do it. It took me two weeks to study the race methodologically. I realized that it was far from an adventure but a methodological approach to training and, most importantly, the right way of life can make it possible. I do not want to sound pathetic but I had realized that this was an opportunity to test my strengths both physically and morally.

Yes, but why would a 48-year-old man with a job, family, leisure and interests need this?

It is difficult to answer unequivocally. One of the versions I fully agree with is that the endurance race is a response of an average citizen to the upcoming midlife crisis. In other words, a 40-year-old man has to make a choice: either he accepts the approaching venerable age and reasonably expands the zone of personal comfort, or he tries to combat the crisis. I believe the same choice motivates many of the participants of the Ironman Distance. Why? Officially, the race begins with three thousand people on the start line. Only one hundred people are professionals who earn for living. The remaining 2,900 people are amateurs who were preparing for this test in the intervals between their professional, family and other duties. So, one of the fairest rules for a triathlon start is that all participants are divided into age groups of five years. The largest number of participants is in the age groups 40-45 and 45-50 years. That would be my answer to your question.

So, the answer is simple: to solve the midlife crisis, one needs to get prepared for an extra-long endurance race instead of dreaming about a sports car and a young wife?

It sounds funny but it is true, or almost so. But it is not the main reason for me. In my case, the culprits were my children. I believe one of the main purposes of our living is the parenting of our children, the next generation. There is a wise saying: "Do not raise your children; they will be like you anyway. Raise yourself instead!" Most likely, my children motivated me to take part in the race. Observing the regime, the right way of life, discipline, I hoped to pass it on to my children. This was my motivation.

What does self-education mean for you? How long does it take and what is the main difficulty?

It took me exactly one and a half years, while the weekly amount of training was from eight to twelve hours, six days a week, twice a week I have two trainings. The closer I am to the date of contest, the more is the volume of exercises. Sometimes a single workout can take three to three and half hours but in general, I seldom have such lengthy workouts. I usually plan them for the weekend. As to self-education, there are several rules but they are important: proper sleep, proper nutrition and proper training regime. Practically, I did all my training in the morning. All I need is to wake up at 6 am. It is very important to go to bed on time. Ideally, early retirement at ten pm guarantees a complete recovery. Of course, this does not always work out 100%, but in most cases, I succeeded.

So, the Ironman’s secret is sticking to a healthy lifestyle and right habits?

Yes, and definitely you have to have the right training program. After all, during the week you conduct training of four different disciplines - swimming, biking, running and general physical training. Not only the volume and intensity of exercises but the right combination of training is important. My trainer was a wonderful man, an athlete and coach, Mikhail Ivanov. This was another very interesting experience, because he was coaching me remotely, from the U.S.

How was this possible?

It is quite simple: the advantages of modern technology. After each of my workouts, he received detailed data including the distance traveled, speed, pulse, oxygen consumption, climb rate. With these data, he used to build my training program so that I could gradually increase the threshold of endurance. For a year and a half, I have been receiving a training schedule every week: all I had to do was to fulfill this plan.

What about the costs of technical equipment? After all, as far as I know, triathlon is quite an expensive sport?

It is not quite true. Of course, there are quite expensive items such as a highway bike, helmet, winter bike, GPS clock, wetsuit, special suitcase for bicycle transportation, running shoes, swimming pool and gym subscriptions, coach services, etc. But believe me, I have participated in five races in different cities of the world and seen completely different athletes. I have seen athletes riding on bicycles, which cost almost $20 thousand together with the wheels. But next to this monster was standing a simple aluminum bike for $300. After all, the bike does not move by itself, its speed depends on strong legs. So, the budget is important but it is not the main factor.

What did you feel when you crossed the finish line?

Joy and grief at the same time: the joy of having achieved my goal, reached the finish line and finally I can bring joy to my loved ones, those who were supporting me and worried about me. On the other hand, I was disappointed that my result was worse than we expected with my coach. Of course, joy was prevailing. I would like to express my gratitude to those who supported me when my goal seemed like an impossible fantasy: the chairman of board of Kapital Bank, Rovshan Allahverdiyev, and the president of PMD Group, Araz Aghayev. I thank them not only for financial support, but also for believing in me from the very beginning; it was very important for me to justify their trust. Special thanks to my brother Yusif for having traveled with me and supported me in every competition. Supporting me, he invisibly drew himself in and ran across half of the Baku marathon. I want to think that very soon we will start yet another triathlon contest together. Many thanks to my wife Leila, who patiently waited for the end of this difficult story, taking over most of the domestic routine.

Rufat, you achieved your goal. What is next?

I will answer a little broader: the best that I get from triathlon is the daily dose of energy. After my workout, I feel recovered for the rest of the day in my office. This feeling is worth a lot. Therefore, I am planning to cover another Ironman Distance to improve my result. After all, the charm of this race reflects the essence of life: your main rival is you yourself.

But this is not all; we know very little about this race. You can see the elderly people, grandparents, on the start line together with everyone else. The Ironman Distance is also for people with disabilities. I have seen a man without hands who was sailing, running and riding a bicycle.

I think this the best motivation to understand that we use the capabilities of our body only by 5%. It is necessary to work on yourself to grow physically and spiritually.

What does the Ironman wish to our readers?

I am dreaming about a day when the official start of the Ironman Race will be held in Azerbaijan. To make this possible, at least 500 people from the host country should be ready to start including amateurs such as managers, lawyers, doctors, students, and pensioners. Therefore, I appeal to all readers, regardless of gender, age, social status: support for sports is not only a joy to the victory of professionals sitting on the couch. Sport is health and training every day, set high goals, reach them easier than it seems.

And most importantly: I am not an Ironman at all. I am an ordinary person who has covered the Ironman Distance.