Give it a tri...

For me, doing triathlons is the ultimate endurance sport for so many reasons. The first is that I don't get bored or over train like I did when I only ran. I found that as an extremest I have no middle gear, It's either on or off mode and doing just 3 runs a week wasn't satisfying, so I'd run 6 days a week. After a while it became mundane and often I'd have to self talk myself do to workout. Then, with only one rest day, at some point I'd get injured and have to take time off until I healed. Then I'd repeat the process all over again. 

In 1986 when I decided to train for my first triathlon, which was a Half Ironman (19 years old and fearless), I instantly fell in love with the sport. I found that blending the training sessions for swimming, biking and running made training less mundane. It also satisfied my need to train often in order to feel "like a million bucks" everyday. The unexpected benefit was that the people, atmosphere and camaraderie at triathlons is amazing, it was 20 years ago, and when I got back into it after a 15 year layoff nothing changed but the peoples faces and race distances.

With the sprint distance races, anyone who can swim, bike and run can experience a triathlon without hours and hours of training. I'm not a coach, but I think someone can finish a sprint race with only two 30 minute swims a week, two 1 hour bike rides a week and two 30 minute runs a week. That's a total of only 4 hours of training a week. Most people could fit 4 hours of training into their lives without to much trouble. With that amount of training don't expect to be on the podium, but you will get to experience the anticipation, fear, pain, suffering and exhilaration of finishing a triathlon. 

And once you do one, don't expect to be hooked on it either. My daughter tried a "Kids of Steel" triathlon when she was about 9 or 10 years old, picture above, and didn't like it and won't do another one. She didn't expect the transitional pain from going from one discipline to another, but she could say she did one. Also, don't worry about equipment, no wet suit, a borrowed mountain bike, helmet and runners will do. I actually have a lot of respect for the beginners I see on mountain bikes doing triathlons.

Today was a beautiful day, it was 9 C and all sun. I cut out of work early, one of the benefits of being the boss, and did a swim and weight training session. For the first time this year I can see myself firming up and feeling stronger. My legs are handling more weight on the machines.  I had a good swim and of the 12 x 100's, I stayed in between 1:37  and 1:47 per 100. I realized before I got to the pool that I forgot my towel and I had a decision to make, go home and get it or use my shirt. I used my shirt and they did my weight training. It felt great to finish by 4:30 pm on a Friday. Let the weekend begin.

Swim -   1:07: 50 / 3000 meters

Weights - 43 minutes

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