假日閒聊
（感謝洪雅慧女士跟南禪讀者分享三鐵心得）
雅慧：明年想去參加ironman 70.3的比賽😂。
半寄：介紹一下！
雅慧：就是鐵人三項比賽，Ironman 是標準的鐵人三項比賽，海泳3.8公里，騎車180公里，跑步42公里，Iroman每年4月份會在澎湖舉辦，叫Ironman Penghu. 是一個難度很高的三鐵賽事。比賽成績優異的會有參加夏威夷Kona的世界錦標賽資格。
參加鐵人三項大部分的人需要克服的都是自己的心魔。
因為比賽需要自己完成。
所以是練心。
體力也是其中一項考驗。
比個三鐵賽事，好像其他的運動都覺得不難了🤣。
體能會變超級強。
感覺都不會累。
半寄：是啊，高難度的越過去，其他就不困難。
雅慧：累了休息一下再走，就是鐵人三項的最高境界🤣
比的不是速度，比的是耐力跟心魔，比賽當中會一直跟自己對話，很好玩的🤣。
半寄：可以理解，然後一路盯著自己
我在修行中也是這樣。
雅慧：能撐到終點的才能成為真的Ironman🤣，無堅不摧，
比賽當中的變化，跟人生百態很像！
所以才會吸引人去一直參賽🤣。
樂趣比玩單項比賽多。
還有在三項不同運動當中的轉換也是一門學問。
我覺得很有趣。
練了鐵人之後，看到那一些只有跑步很厲害的人，在跑步項目一直很有優越感，來學游泳一直很氣餒。
三項裡面最難的其實是游泳——
看似簡單。
對，就是需要轉換，放開心，才能學得到新的東西。
這也是鐵人三項的奧秘。
很多人只看到的是比賽結果。
我看到的是當中的學習過程。
半寄：會成功的運動員，也一定是具備腦力的，這是一定的。
雅慧：那個過程如果有腦力的運動員，會進步很快，也會很享受在備賽跟比賽的時間。
就是一直需要思考很多東西，不是表面上看的只是體力活🤣
那其中的心態轉換才是重點。
只有去參加才能體會，沒有辦法言傳的🤣
恭喜🎈洪雅慧女士11月9號完成台灣單車騎乘四極點。
比預定時間提早一個小時抵達。
半寄
（台灣的東，西，南、北四個最尾端的燈塔😂。
從福隆遊客中心騎到富貴角燈塔，台南國聖燈塔，再到鵝鑾鼻燈塔，及11月14號的北高）
Holiday Chat
(Thank you to Ms. Hong Ya-Hui for sharing her triathlon experiences with NanZen readers.)
Ya-Hui: I’m thinking of joining an Ironman 70.3 competition next year. 😂
Banji: Tell us about it!
Ya-Hui: It’s a triathlon. The full Ironman is the standard full-distance triathlon: a 3.8-kilometer open-water swim, a 180-kilometer bike ride, and a 42-kilometer run.
The Ironman race is held in Penghu every April and is called Ironman Penghu. It is a very challenging triathlon event. Athletes who achieve outstanding results may qualify for the World Championship in Kona, Hawaii.
For most people who take part in triathlons, the biggest challenge is overcoming their own inner demons.
This is because each competitor has to complete the race on their own.
So, it is also a form of mental training.
Physical fitness is another part of the challenge.
After completing a triathlon, other sports seem much less difficult. 🤣
Your physical fitness becomes incredibly strong.
You feel as though you never get tired.
Banji: Exactly. Once you overcome something highly challenging, everything else becomes less difficult.
Ya-Hui: When you get tired, just take a break and then keep going. That is the highest level of triathlon wisdom. 🤣
It’s not about speed. It’s about endurance and overcoming your inner demons. During the race, you keep talking to yourself. It’s a lot of fun. 🤣
Banji: I can understand that. You keep watching yourself and paying attention to your own condition all the way through.
My approach to spiritual practice is the same.
Ya-Hui: Only those who can make it to the finish line can truly become Ironman athletes. 🤣 They become unstoppable!
The changes and challenges during a race are very much like the different situations we encounter in life!
That’s why people are attracted to competing again and again. 🤣
There is more enjoyment in a triathlon than in competing in just one sport.
Also, learning how to transition between the three different sports is an art in itself.
I find it very interesting.
After training for triathlons, I noticed that some people who are excellent runners have a strong sense of superiority when it comes to running. But when they start learning to swim, they become very discouraged.
Actually, swimming is the most difficult of the three disciplines.
It looks simple, though.
Yes, you need to learn to make transitions and keep an open mind. Only then can you learn something new.
That is also the secret of triathlon.
Many people only look at the final race results.
What I see is the learning process along the way.
Banji: Successful athletes must also have strong intellectual abilities. That is essential.
Ya-Hui: Athletes who use their brains throughout the process can improve very quickly. They also enjoy the training and competition much more.
You constantly have to think about many different things. It is not simply physical labor, as it might appear on the surface. 🤣
The key is how you adjust your mindset when moving from one situation to another.
You can only truly understand this by taking part yourself. It is something that cannot really be explained in words. 🤣
Congratulations to Ms. Hong Ya-Hui for completing Taiwan’s Four Extremes cycling challenge on November 9.
She arrived one hour earlier than her scheduled time.
Master Banji
(The four lighthouses marking the eastern, western, southern, and northern extremities of Taiwan. 😂
She cycled from Fulong Visitor Center to Fugui Cape Lighthouse, then to Guosheng Lighthouse in Tainan, and finally to Eluanbi Lighthouse. On November 14, she also completed the Taipei-to-Kaohsiung cycling ride.)
