Dr. Michael Zabel, a cardiologist at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, talks about training for his first Ironman 70.3 triathlon in 2008. He will answer questions about heart disease prevention and treatment during a WellCommons chat on Feb. 2.

If swimming for 1.2 miles, cycling for another 56 and then running a half-marathon can be considered therapy, then Mike Zabel is eager to get better – and fast.

Zabel, a Lawrence cardiologist, figures he’s simply following doctor’s orders, even if they’re his own.

“I’m trying to do what I tell all our patients to do,” Zabel said. “They’ve got to exercise their hearts. Hearts are designed to work.

“Now, I don’t honestly recommend a seven-hour race – for most of my patients – but it’s the same concept.”

Call it concept or call it crazy.

When Zabel shows up by 5 a.m. Sunday at Bloomington Beach at Clinton Lake for the Ironman 70.3 Kansas – alongside another 1,500 or so triathletes, from relay participants to world-class Ironman professionals – he’s certain he’ll be lining up for the longest and most demanding race of his life.

His first marathon was tough. A soggy, cold and hilly Boston Marathon in 2007 was tougher. His three Olympic-distance triathlons stretched his endurance to the limit.

Now Zabel’s going for more, and he well knows what he’s in for. Looking at it clinically, the physician with Cardiovascular Consultants – a former chief of staff at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, where he remains on staff – doesn’t blink in calculating the health effects.

Swim 1.2 miles in a lake. Pedal 56 miles throughout rural Douglas County. Run 13.1 miles.

Rest. Recover. Repeat.

“Some smart guy once said, ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,'” he said, noting that his cardiovascular system would be tested at maximum pressures during the race. “And that’s kind of what triathlons are like. They do tear your body up when you’re doing them, but if you recover right, then you’re stronger than you were before.”

Zabel, 46, said he was drawn to Ironman’s 70.3-mile distance – considered a “half” Ironman, but still longer than the shorter sprint and Olympic distances that continue growing in popularity – because of its accessibility.

The cardiologist’s schedule still allows time to train for a couple hours a day, whether it’s jumping in a lake, tackling a long run or rolling through sections of the “Iron Cross” course southwest of town.

But don’t think he intends to stop at 70.3 miles. A full Ironman triathlon – 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run – is in his sights, although he has some other business to tend to first.

Finishing Ironman 70.3 Kansas, for starters.

“It’s a challenge,” Zabel said. “One of the exciting things about doing something like this that I’ve never done before – doing a new distance – is just: Can you do it? Well, I don’t know; I’ve never tried before. I mean, I think so, but I don’t know for sure.

“That’s part of the allure.”