Inked

It is one of the most hotly argued subjects in the triathlon community. The decision on whether you get an Ironman tat once you've completed an Ironman race.

It does appear sometimes that sorting out the differences of the Palestinian dispute would be easier. Both sides have strong cases for their argument, which include

For

• It is a hell of an achievement that you want commemorate
• It's your body you can do what you like
• When you're old and wrinkly, it'll be something to tell the young uns

Against

• You look a bit of a cock
• It's a corporate brand, just like putting Adidas or Coke on your body
• It's just showing off

There does also appear to be some rules about getting the M Dot tat

• You have to have completed the race within the cut off
• It has to be an Ironman branded race
• It can't be a half distance race

After completing Ironman wales in 2011, I seem to have achieved the necessary requirements to be able to have the M Dot ink.

I've often dabbled with the thought in the past of getting a tattoo, but have never followed it through. Being a proud Welshman I've thought about dragons, Celtic knots and other icons to celebrate my nationality. But I've always shied away from completing the deal. But now I have the motivational factor to get it done.

Here is the design I came up with, and I have to say I'm pretty impressed with it.

The concept of the design is pretty simple, but with some imagary to tell the story. The Ironman logo is self explanitory, I believe the dragon is very Welsh in its essence and the spines down the dragon's back remind me of the chainring of a bike.
Whilst doing research on tattoos I found the following passage which I found very interesting, which was taken from here)

What a Dragon Tattoo Represents on a Man

A dragon tattoo design on a man typically signifies raw power. Like dragons, men are the guardians of that which is sacred, such as women and objects of great wealth. But this must be tempered with wisdom, lest the greed of dragons overpower the man's soul and turn him into a ravenous creature with an insatiable appetite. Men who get dragon tattoos view themselves as being revered for their wisdom but feared for their tremendous power.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's how I view myself!

I suppose the only thing left is getting the damn thing done.

After getting some advice from a few inked friends, I decided to go to Kyle at Tat2U Studio. I booked a day off work and got myself in there 

Now, it has to be said that I don't consider myself to have very much of a pain threshold, which obviously could have an impact on the 2.5 hours I'd be spending under the needle. But, what the hell I was in there now and I'd paid my deposit so there was no way I was backing out.

Obviously, I was anxious as the work was started. But I was pleasantly surprised in how little pain I was experiencing. In fact the 90 minutes (which is how long it took) was very pleasant. And, here is the result of that 90 minutes work

I'm very happy with the result, its just a shame my arms are so damn skinny.

All that leaves now, is deciding on what to have for my next one