I can’t promise you that you’re going to shave minutes off your personal best, or seconds off your 100m splits. Hell, honestly, I can’t really promise you anything. If you’re new to triathlons, I’m there with you.
In fact, I’m writing this the day before I’m to start my 9-week training plan leading up to my first sprint triathlon. I’ve been getting into swimming, running, and biking shape (in that order) for the past three months, but still haven’t competed in my first triathlon.
Five years ago to the day, I put the last nail in the coffin for my lower back. During my youngest’s first birthday party, I threw out my back for good. I’d been struggling for about four months with excessive pain in the lumbar region and pain which radiated down my left leg, tightening my gait and left me with a limp. After the party, I was bed-ridden until my wife called 911 in order to get me to the hospital. I was 34.
In the years after back surgery, which was wildly successful (I walked without pain later that day), I struggled with pain for a couple of years due to weakness and too much overall body weight.
One night, while watching a documentary, I heard a phrase that literally changed my life: “Stop worrying about what you take out of your diet, and start worrying about what you add to it.”
Slowly, but consistently, kale and chard and salads and green juice started replacing everything else. I still ate (eat) cakes and the occasional donut and cookies and cakes (did I say cakes already?), but they became fewer and farther between. But a life without warm apple fritters isn’t a life at all; I’ve never been interested in fads, diets, or wildly depriving myself. My meat consumption waned dramatically, and fresh vegetables and fruits started becoming the foundation of what I ate.
Five years later, I’m 45 pounds lighter, even though I wasn’t really fat to start. I’m 6’4” (okay, 6’3.75″), and now oscillate between 185-190lbs.
Swimming, Riding, and Running
Growing up in suburban Southern California, I starting swimming before I could walk, and grew up in pools, lakes, and the ocean. For a year somewhere in there, I swam on the local swim team before baseball took over my life. But I’ve always been a swimmer, and whenever I could find a gym or pool to swim laps, I did.
One thing that’s remained pretty constant my whole life: I’ve ridden my bike(s) everywhere. It was the way I got to school every day from 4th grade on, always was the preferred mode of transport in college, and have been a bike commuter for long stretches in my adult life (essentially, whenever possible). BMX, road, commuter, tandem, fixies, mountain…never met a bike I didn’t like.
Running was always the hardest for me. I was always a big kid, and it just never came naturally. Around 13 or 14, I was tired of being the chubby kid, and realized that I hadn’t seen too many runners that were fat. In the course of a few months, I went from 9:00+ miles to sub-7:00.
I was a baseball player, too, a pitcher to be exact, and starting with HS baseball we ran a ton. That continued all through high school, and doubled or tripled when I got to college. That’s what pitchers do when they aren’t throwing; they run. Sprints, fartleks, and lots and lots of miles.
Years later, I still love all three sports, and I’m so excited for my first triathlon. If you’re reading this, I’m glad to have you here. If you’re on the same journey, please be sure to leave comments, share your experiences, and enjoy. Maybe we’ll see each other on the road! Cheers!