General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Who is willing to share their First Triathlon story (2016)? Rss Feed  
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2016-10-28 8:29 PM

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Subject: Who is willing to share their First Triathlon story (2016)?
We are low on the awesome, inspiring stories that come from all of you after you complete your first triathlon.
Please reply to this thread or send me a message if you'd like to share yours. It will be featured in the Articles section and sent out in the email newsletter!


2016-11-01 6:33 PM
in reply to: alicefoeller


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Subject: RE: Who is willing to share their First Triathlon story (2016)?
In August I completed my first triathlon. It was a sprint but WOW was it hard and exciting for me. Over the years I completely let myself go. I was overweight and turning 30. With 5 months to go before my wedding day, I decided to make a change. I knew I wanted to lose weight for the wedding but more importantly I wanted to become a healthier me. With the total support of my then fiancee (now married!) and the support (free coaching) from a friend of mine who is an Ironman, I embarked on this crazy "Tri Life" journey. My wife got me a bike for my 30th and i joined a pool. At this point I should mention- I needed to learn to swim! With my friend and now coach sending me weekly plans, I hit the road and water full steam ahead. Race day came and i panicked when the water was too warm for a wet suit. Although I lost significant weight along the way, I was nervous to be shirtless in front of everyone! I learned real fast that tri athletes are not judging and a supportive group of people. The race went great and I did better than I could have ever expected. top ten in the Clydedales! Fast forward to today- 36 pounds down- races planned for next season...oh and an ironman 70.3 in September.. you could say im hooked!


2016-11-01 8:57 PM
in reply to: alicefoeller

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Subject: RE: Who is willing to share their First Triathlon story (2016)?
When I was in my mid 40's, I started feeling creaky. I thought to myself that I was too young to be old so I decided to start getting active. I became a fair weather runner. I ran when it wasn't too hot or wasn't too cold or I wasn't too busy. As I neared 50, I felt I needed something to distract me from that milestone so I ran more consistently, more often and completed a half marathon. I really enjoyed it so I moved up to marathons, running one a year for the next four years. Then my wife and I bought a water access camp (rustic cottage) and started to spend a good portion of our summers there. This made it difficult to do any serious run training so I went back to little exercise. I started swimming a bit at the camp. The thought occurred to me that I could do a triathlon since I knew how to run, was learning how to swim and figured biking would come back to me. I signed up for a try a tri. It was short but I suffered greatly on the run. I trained a little more intelligently and moved up to a sprint. It went really smoothly and I was hooked. That was four years ago and this year I came 24th in my age group at the World Triathlon Championships in Mexico. I love the all round body fitness, the challenge of learning all three sports and trying to combine all the sports for an optimal race.
2016-11-04 4:04 PM
in reply to: #5203323


3

Subject: RE: Who is willing to share their First Triathlon story (2016)?
Well, after many years of wanting to do a triathlon, I finally did one at Patagonia Lake, AZ this past weekend. I participated in the sprint distance race. I had only been swimming for about 6 weeks but felt confident I could complete the 500m. The thing I didn't consider was sighting in the open water. I was terrible. I looked at my watch after I got out of the water and I swam a little over a 1000yds. Stripped my wetsuit off and went through T1 like a snail. Got my bike to the mount line and for some reason I clipped in my opposite foot as opposed to what I do everyday. I started to go up a small incline a few feet down the line and didn't get my other foot clipped and fell over. Was pretty embarrassing. The bike course was super hilly but I managed not to stop and just grinded out the hills in my lowest gear. During the downhills I did brake often as I had never gone that fast(38mph) on a bike and was a little timid. T2 was alright @ under a minute but I could improve. Having a running background, that portion I feel I performed the best at. Even though I felt slow at times, I had a wonderful experience. Everyone out there were very friendly and supportive. Can't wait to do more. I have Havasu and Dueces Wild marked on my calendar for next year.
2016-11-07 2:23 AM
in reply to: MikeyNC81

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Subject: RE: Who is willing to share their First Triathlon story (2016)?
This is something I shared on Facebook over two years ago, when I did a full distance (Ironman distance) triathlon as part of a relay team. This is what got me hooked, even though I ended up focusing on the sprint distance. I didn't buy my bike until about a half year after this relay race. Here's that fb post back from 2014:

Allow me one last post on my Challenge Taiwan 2014 experience.

As many of you know, I took part in a full distance (Ironman) triathlon as part of a relay team. Here I am with my team as we cross the finish line together. Since I did the swimming portion of the relay, which was at the beginning and the shortest event, I got to see many interesting things. To begin with, my first impression upon arriving at the starting line was that I had never seen so many people in such good shape at a single location! But what made the biggest impression on me was what I saw many hours later.

At the start of the race, it was a carnival-like atmosphere with crowds cheering, people smiling, and everyone frantically taking pictures. After a gruelling but at the same time enjoyable 3.8km swim, I came out of the water, ran a hundred meters or so, and passed the chip to our cyclist. I had done it! Six months or so of preparation had paid off and my time was slightly better than what I was aiming for.

I then went back to the hotel with my family to shower, eat, and rest. I eventually made it back to the starting line about six hours later to wait for our cyclist. To my surprise, the carnival scene had been replaced with what I would best describe as a battlefield scene. The athletes coming in after the bike ride looked in serious pain- both physical and mental. For the full distance triathlon (and most did the whole thing by themselves), imagine swimming for an hour and a half or so, cycling 180km, and then knowing you still had a marathon to run. The mental struggle they were going through was palpable.

One American guy (or maybe he was Canadian) sat down and just blurted out a couple of expletives. He then slowly stood up and made his way to his bag where he could store his cycling shoes and change into running shoes. Again it was like something you might expect to see on a battlefield- somewhere back behind the front lines where the soldiers stop periodically before going forward again.

For everyone that does these full distance triathlons, you have my greatest respect!
2016-12-01 1:38 PM
in reply to: alicefoeller


1

Subject: RE: Who is willing to share their First Triathlon story (2016)?
Hello Alice!

Recently i finally got off my and spontaneously signed up for my first race, and fulfilled a lifelong ambition and ran my first triathlon in Germany. Gotta admit- I'm hooked!

I wrote a post reflecting on my experience and would love to share that with the community

What Running My First Triathlon Taught Me About Life - 11 unexpectedly meaningful life lessons from an impulsive decision.

https://medium.com/personal-growth/what-running-my-first-triathlon-t... (not spam)

Best,

Tré


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