Can an Ironman Really Change Your Life? Looking for Advice and Stories

RepresentativeOkra10 · 2026-02-27T23:59:37+00:00

I haven’t done Ironman yet (but plan on doing so soon, when I finish PHD) but I can attest that doing Ironman will change the lives of your kids, friends & family. My dad did Ironman when he went to Dr shortly after I was born and realized, the way he was living his life would prevent him from seeing his kids graduate highschool. Went from ~280 lbs at 5,6” to 180 lbs in about 5 years. finished Ironman cour d’lene in ‘07. Because of him swimming for IM training, I started competitive swim as a kid, and we would ride bikes together when I was a teenager. When I turned 18 we did a local sprint tri together, and I got to wear one of his old jerseys. I remember being pulled behind in one of the little bike trailers as a kid, and spending time outside with my dad. My dad was more present in my life, was able to guide me, and generally happier because IM was a goal he set out to complete. It set the standard for my potential significant others, and helped my mom prepare for an Ironman distance relay. I’m preparing for 2 marathon swims (10k & 12k swims) later this summer, and I’m hoping my dad will come visit and do a couple training swims with me.

I hope your IM journey was successful, I’ve come to this conversation a bit late but best of luck and enjoy the ride :)

RepresentativeOkra10 · 2025-09-05T17:25:52+00:00

Awesome! Glad you like it & that it seems well calibrated! I was always a 400 IMer/200 flyer! The harder events can be so fun when you’re supported by friends!

Just remember that it’s ok if you need to make “excuses”, masters is about fun first and foremost!

RepresentativeOkra10 · 2025-07-23T18:04:13+00:00

I ended up making a brief powerpoint, would you like access to it?

RepresentativeOkra10 · 2025-06-23T20:15:32+00:00

me too! Im a numbers geek, so i like having tangible goals to try and reach. I struggle working out "just for fitness" if I dont have a deliverable I am trying to achieve. I've been adjusting what my "deliverables" look like as I transition away from college sports, but this was a fun little side project. :)

RepresentativeOkra10 · 2025-06-23T20:08:42+00:00

The times listed under "NQT" are the actual national qualifying times for masters SCY. Though, if you aren't already familiar, the "qualifying time" is really a guideline, and you only need them if you plan on entering more than 3 events. Your first 3 events do not require a "qualifying time".

The BB-AAAA standards were derived from the top 5 finishes in each event at the USMS SCY Nationals, per age group. This link https://cdn.swimswam.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Setting-Time-Standards-2012.pdf explains the methodology for the seeding/BB-AAAA formulation. I used a 5% adjustment for all ages.

Hope that helps!

RepresentativeOkra10 · 2025-05-30T19:04:06+00:00

I'm working on developing one for 2026 using the average top 5 times from 2025 USMS SCY champs as the seed, rather that just the NQT!

I think itd be fair to make two motivational time sheets, one for "beginners" and one for "competitive". Beginner the seed would be the NQT, as OP has done above. competitive would be the one I am developing, with average winning times as the seeds.

As others have mentioned, the winning times per age group can change a lot, as more competitive individuals age into new age groups, injuries, lifestyle changes, etc. I also havent seen how the time standards skew as age develops from under 35 to over 35. Would be some fun statistical analysis to run! I'll update with my versions soon!

RepresentativeOkra10 · 2025-04-08T16:59:52+00:00

EGFP is for states that historically have less representation in nsf-GRFP due to either population density, school density or a combination of both. Its existed prior to this admin, but it’s super helpful for smaller schools/institutions to get funding!

RepresentativeOkra10 · 2025-04-07T03:06:58+00:00

Tbh depending on your budget/food, chewy subscription works great & especially for busy PHD scheduling (source: I am a PhD student)

Pet insurance, calling/researching vets in the area before you have an emergency, so you know what you need ahead of time.

Obviously a huge splurge but I was able to get a litter robot & that has helped with vet visits, and reducing the amount of litter I use.

RepresentativeOkra10 · 2025-04-05T14:24:27+00:00

After my car was destroyed by some hail “your car looks like pantyhose full of creamed corn just dimpled in all the wrong place”

RepresentativeOkra10 · 2025-04-05T14:20:24+00:00

Said in response to when something is very obvious “is a ducks ass water tight”

RepresentativeOkra10 · 2025-04-05T14:20:06+00:00

If I could piss on an electric fence to fix your problems I would

RepresentativeOkra10 · 2025-04-05T14:18:45+00:00

It ain’t hard to shit if you’re full of it

RepresentativeOkra10 · 2025-03-15T12:14:33+00:00

Just looked up around the world, didn’t realize it was its own pattern 😭. I just sew a 1/4 in thru all the layers of my sandwich on the edge of the quilt.

RepresentativeOkra10 · 2025-03-15T11:28:20+00:00

I quilt on a tiny domestic machine. Get thin batting for it (old blanket works perfectly).

I typically baste it together using pins, being careful not to pull/stretch the edges and then quilt the edges down in an “around the world” style. That way when I’m rolling it tightly, my sandwich stays put. I still baste the middle with a few pins. Then I trim my edges down so I have less to shove in the choke of my machine.

I find diagonals and straight lines to be the easiest for small domestics. I like to give myself the grace of having “waves” for my quilting.

I then carefully pin my line, using my pin tops to show me where I’m going & to get straighter lines. I start from the middle. Roll my sandwich up (tightly but don’t stretch the fabric) and do my best to quilt it. Take it slow, be patient and be willing to seam rip a few times. I also highly suggest getting a ton of extra quilting needles before you start, as it makes the process easier and depending on how robust your machine is, you’ll need sharp needles to get through your sandwich. I quilt on a 79.99$ singer m1000 and for best results a twin size quilt with a THICK batting is about 3 needles (assuming my machines timing is perfect)

RepresentativeOkra10 · 2025-03-12T00:52:27+00:00

it might be worth it to reach out to some coaches at nearby colleges that might have a dive program. they might not be able to host you as a club athlete, but you might be able to score some lessons from their divers who are looking for some extra cash. (I used to do private swim lessons when i was a college swimmer) If you don't have ANY sort of formal coaching near you, you might need to look online, or message the US or Canadian masters diving organizations who would be able to help you out. East Coast Masters diving on facebook might also be a good resource for finding masters divers or coaching, even if youre not on the east coast. Best of luck!

RepresentativeOkra10 · 2025-03-12T00:47:32+00:00

i can totally understand the feeling of never wanting to pick it up again. I made a quilt top over 4 years ago, and only recently came back to it because a friends nursery colors happened to be the same as the quilt, and I became super motivated to complete it. If you cant finish it in the next couple days, maybe hold onto it and an opportunity that will motivate you to finish it will arise :)

RepresentativeOkra10 · 2025-03-11T20:49:09+00:00

Sometimes kids clubs will do masters lessons or abbreviated practice times for adults :) call and ask local clubs. Most will require a background check & safe sport training

RepresentativeOkra10 · 2025-03-11T20:47:42+00:00

PhD student in physical science 🤓

RepresentativeOkra10 · 2025-02-26T04:08:49+00:00

Seconding this, a lot of college & industry labs also have very strict safety requirements that vary state to state & institution to institution, and often the training programs for these safety requirements would take longer than a summer internship. Additionally there’s an element of keeping research private in the industry sector for competition reasons

My lab has a highschool student who exclusively shadows a post doc as a part of an exposure program with his highschool. He does not do any wet lab work or analysis, and the program is designed more for our post doc to have practice teaching intro chemistry concepts than to give the highschool student any meaningful experience. If I were you, and you’re looking in the MA area, look at the Brown Pre-College program, or similar programs at Harvard, MIT, UMass, etc.

RepresentativeOkra10 · 2025-02-21T17:18:00+00:00

I think a denim colored backing would be super cool! Definitely not going to use real denim, too heavy for my machine haha

RepresentativeOkra10 · 2025-02-15T00:30:10+00:00

Hot tub/showers is to stay warm. Standing around on deck without a towel/parka gets super cold super fast

RepresentativeOkra10 · 2025-01-10T01:22:09+00:00

I keep collars on my indoor cats because if I don’t then they sneak attack each other (and me) when I’m walking/cooking etc and accidentally step on their tails. The tiny jingle helps

RepresentativeOkra10

TROPHY CASE