what brought you to tri?

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Just wanted to have a big goal! And a friend talked me into it.

Now I have talked 7 other people in my office to do it with me!

I suppose the initial reason was weight loss, but it's grown into something else. I was watching the Lifetime Tri on tv last August and thought, "Hey, I could probably do that!" I had been wanting to lose 10 pounds for quite a while, but could never keep my motivation up. Since I'm the type who does better if I have a concrete goal or am held accountable in some way, I thought training for a tri would be a great way to lose that weight with a specific program within a specific time period.

In my training though, I haven't lost much weight yet, but I continue on and am loving it. Now I'm to the point where I am so excited to just compete in the race, that the weight part is secondary. I love that I'm toughing it out through the running (which I hate), riding a bike for the first time since junior high, and am back in the pool regularly (which I love). My first race isn't until June 6th, so hopefully I can get rid of some of these pounds by then, but if not, I'll still finish just fine.

Kelly

Hmmm...
Mid life crisis that sounds good. it was either triathlon or go motor racing


Ian

my body could not take being beaten training for marathons any more.  I had to diversify the abuse and triathlon seemed to like a perfect choice!

I got interested in triathlons as something new. I am a crappy runner but I love to swim and I discovered that I really enjoy biking. So now I have a new sport. Now my friend and I have pretty much decided to do a 1/2 Ironman and I'm pretty excited about that.

I have no idea what inspired me. I just woke up one morning and decided I wanted to do an Iron man. I'm taking it slow and doing that in 2009 (my goal). My husband is not very supportive (I'm kind of flighty). But every time he tells me I'm not going to do it, it makes me more determined.
Kim

Just did a sprint for fun with some girlfriends, and was bit--fatally, I believe--by the tri bug.

There are a lot of other reasons why I still tri, but that's what got me started.

I love the multisport aspect--it keeps everything fresh and new for me. I don't get bored or in a rut. I'm actually not a fan of running though (as many on this sight would agree), and was struck by a previous thread (author unknown) who said, why couldn't it be swim-bike-tennis??? I'd really go for a triathlon like that!! Although maybe volleyball instead of tennis... that would be perfect!!

Dana

I got lead down the path towards doing a TRI initially due to needing to lose weight.

Last Sept. I was laying around the house sporting a good 300+ pounds, two young kids with number 3 on the way and I woke up one morning with the idea in my head that I had to do something so I could be there for my family for the long haul.
I started only swimming due to my weight I needed low impact exercise. Eventually I added biking and some running. I guess you couldn't really call it running. I could jog about 30sec. at a time then had to walk for 10min. I needed the 3 sports so I could keep my interest/ motivation up.

I kept at it and I’ve dropped 40+ pounds, I have a 5k race under my belt along with a biathlon (500m swim + 5k run). I’m going to complete my 1st TRI Sprint on May 2nd and I’m ready.
:)

Edited by jchyte 2004-04-15 7:12 PM

Some interesting and diverse responses there........

I have been running for many years but had become a little bored and felt like I needed to branch out. An e-mail went around at work asking if anyone was interested in doing a corporate triathlon a few months later so I thought "why not?"

Have completed 2 short course triathlons but unfortunately am about to go into hibernation for the winter. Will definitely keep up the running but I know the swimming and riding will be harder throughout the cooler months.........

Keep up the good work - you guys are keeping me motivated.

Luke

Family just moved to a new state, don't know anyone at all here. I've always worked out, but kind of scattered - whatever looked good that day, or which class fell at the right time - spin, strength, step, boot camp... I really felt that I needed to focus my exercise and set a goal. Marathon? Nope, I dont like running THAT much! Triathlon - that's something I could shoot for. I can stay afloat, I can jog along, and I can ride a bike - got the basics, right? I set up a training plan, and I love having a goal and seeing my times get better and mybody feel stronger! First sprint tri is May 2!

Realized I was letting myself go at an alarming rate, wasn't happy at all.  Work was stressing me out, and I had no way to release it.  Saw the annual Ironman program on NBC and came to the conclusion that a tri was going to be how I was going to get back in shape and back on track with my whole life.  So far, I feel really good, I made some real good progress in my tri life and regular life.  Its made me a lot more disciplined!!!

I had been running, but also got bored with it. I needed something to stir things up. I've always been fond of biking, and a triathlon just seemed a natural direction to go with it. It's helped me lose a little more than 10 lbs so far. I haven't competed yet (later this year), but it just feels right.

That, and the fact that I'll be able to say "I've done that", while everyone around me goes to McDonald's every day...

I got into triathlons because I am not a team player. I always hated playing on teams because I would get frustrated and disappointed when somebody else wouldn't take the sport seriously. I have always been a good swimmer and runner so jumping onto a bike to complete the mix was no problem. So now the only person I can be upset with is myself.

Mike

After seven years of competitive distance running I noticed that my knees and back were really beginning to bother me. Then two years ago I was injured training for the Disney Marathon. I took to the pool to keep in shape because I couldn't run. Once healed, I kept the swimming as part of my exercise routine. Then I thought (DUH!) Why not TRI? I've incorporated the bike at the "Y" -- so now I do all three. I am in the best shape I've ever been.

My summer plans include two Tri's with maybe a third. I have done one indoor tri, but I'm really looking forward to my first outdoor competition.

Evelyn

I like doing new things. After getting a health club membership with my wife and going religiously so she would have the motivation to lose weight, I thought of Triathlons as something new to do. I had been a swimmer in high school and a bike racer afterwards, this seemed like a logical conclusion. Plus I am one who sets high personal goals. I hate setting my sights too low...after I accomplish something, I often sit back and think "Well shoot, that was easy, I should have done something more challenging." So I'm aiming at qualifying for the Ironman in Hawaii. I guess I can't get much more challenging than that.

I've got a few other things I'd like to do too, like bike across the United States, compete in the Western States 100-mile trail run through the mountains, take a 2 week backpack trip through the Grand Canyon. Lots of time left...I'm still a Spring Chicken at 55!

Max

I really enjoy the diversity of this site and find it ver interesting to see what motivates others ....as for me, a friend got me into running ...i remember only last year when i thought a 5k was a lot, after 2 marathons and meeting a pro triathlete, i decided to give it a shot ....XTerra on tv made me firm up my decision and talking to an Ironman veteran gave me my ultimate long term goal ....

It goes back a bit, to a little over 2 years ago, when I decided I needed to change my sedentary lifestyle.

I played sports all through High School ( varsity soccer and lacrosse ), played a little lacrosse at the college level, and did Army ROTC through college. I even volunteered for Ranger Challenge which meant doing PT 5 days a week instead of 3, on weekends, and other additional training as part of the team that competed against ROTC teams from other schools. I mountain biked and skied a lot as well. So, a very active lifestyle, and was in really good shape.

Then I got a job programming computers and plopped into a chair for the next 6 years. The onset was gradual, but suddenly one day I realized I was out of breath doing things that I did without blinking a few years before and was 45 lbs overweight ( with about 25% body fat ).

I decided I didn't like that, so I started working out, eating better for about a year. Lost about 20 lbs over that year. Then I stepped it up a notch and joined a gym about 9 months ago. I got access to a pool, so I added swimming to my biking and running for cardio ( especially over the winter ).

I'm now almost back to the shape I was at my peak, and since I've been doing swimming, biking, and running already, I saw an advert for the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon and a little voice in my head said "Hey, you could do that". That was about 2 months ago, so I started researching Tri's a little more, and found this site.

I'm registered for the Tri, and have been training solidly for about 2 months. My goal is to do 3 sprints this year. I could probably do an olympic based on where my times and distances are, I'm not registered for the 3rd one I want to do ( September timeframe ), so I may think about bumping that to an Olympic distance.

Anyway, that's my story. See my training logs, and posts here as things progess.

-Chris

My fitness qwest started a year ago when I turned the big "4-0". I was very fortunate to be fairly thin, in fact I was often called "skinny" for most of my life until the dreaded middle age crept in. I was in great shape the year I met my husband, then we got married, I went from one son to four + husband and had to cook meals.....every night! Lack of exercise, contenment of marriage soon packed on 40 extra lbs!

When an annual bike ride across the state was ending in my home town the year I turned 40, I decided that this is the year I'm riding it. So I started training on my hybrid, ended up buying a road bike, lost 25 lbs and rode my bike across the state in a week! What a great feeling!

Now a year later I've incorporated running into my workouts and am beginning to swim with my husband, and TRI's seem to be the next step! I am very inept at swimming, so my husband who was a collegiate swimmer is coaching me, but I am very nervous about the swim portion and don't feel confident that I will be ready for a "full" tri this year. I have signed up for a duathalon May 2nd just to get the feel of competition and to have a goal to train for.

My long term goals this year are to bike a century, bike across the state (500 miles 1 wk), run a 1/2 marthon in October and be able to swim 500 yards w/o stopping by Nov. So by next year I will be in shape hopefully for a full TRI!!!! (Can you tell which portion of the tri is my favorite? ;-)

Another putz who needed to get in shape, here!
Last October, I joined a gym with the desire to lose weight and gain fitness. Like others who have posted, I NEED a goal in order to stay focussed, motivated, etc. so I decided to try a sprint tri (coming up in July).
Since October, I have lost 19 lbs and defintely have gained a lot in fitness. I now own a HR monitor and am thinking of getting biking shoes (woo-hoo - what a gear-head!)

About 8 years ago I was all into body building/weight training and general healthy living. I was developing fast and the more I saw the results from my training the more motivated I became.

Then entered this girl. She wasn't at all into health and fitness like I was but she had put a spell on me and I started missing my workouts. Ever since then I have tried to get back to molding my body and pushing it to it's limits but there have been many distractions along the way.

The past couple weeks have been the closest I have ever come to where I used to be 8 years ago. I think it's all about setting a goal, having a plan and sticking to it, plus the feeling you get from accomplishing each step towards that goal. I am really excited about participating in my first triathlon and I am really motivated right now. To be honest I don't think life would be much fun if we didn't set goals like these for ourselves. I just hope that there won't be any more distractions and if there are I hope that I'll be able to bounce back fast.

I was a swimmer through college. I missed raceing, and I never kicked when I swim any how, so though I might give it a tri.