Accidental Triathlete

Discovering New Passions: From Rowing to Weightlifting

Many of us stumble upon our passions by chance, and oftentimes, it's the trials and tribulations that define whether we stick with them or not. For me, it was rowing that captured my heart at 14, and held onto it until I was 22. But when my rowing days came to an end, I found myself at a loss. Slowly but surely, I began to rebuild my relationship with fitness. I took long, contemplative walks and found solace in weightlifting. I was actually nerding out on weightlifting. I even bulked for the first time since high school (canon event, no one interfered…until I was drinking eggs.) It wasn't until a year or two later that I realized walking was the most cardio I'd been getting since college. It's funny how life works out sometimes, isn't it?

Finding Strength in Unexpected Places: Embracing Manual Labor

During a particularly challenging time for my family, I made the decision to move back in with my parents. At the time, I was struggling financially and unsure of what path to take in my professional life. My parents were in the process of purchasing my grandma's sprawling 10-acre farm, which presented a unique opportunity for me. I began to assist my dad with his tile installation business, and to my surprise, found myself drawn to the tactile nature of manual labor. The satisfaction of a hard day's work was accompanied by a restful night's sleep, and I couldn't be more grateful for the experience.

Triathlon Inspiration: Following Adventurous YouTubers

Upon my return, I was inspired by a couple of fellas named Beau Miles and Jonne TIlli. These are both guys I followed on Youtube. They both would go on these athletic adventures and take me along for the journey through their little movies. They sparked curiosity in me. I wondered if I could swim the local river and bike the trail off the end of it. The river is one I grew up tubing down with friends. Most people around here do. It takes a few hours to float down the whole thing. It seemed like a fun challenge to just swim it instead. The trail is long and separate from any highway, making it a pleasant ride. This would be a 3.7-mile swim and a 50-mile bike. I had done the bike once when I was 15, but I’d never so much as swam end to end in a lap pool with any semblance of “technique.”

Diving into a New Challenge: Swimming

I jumped in the river soon after the idea percolated to see what swimming upstream and downstream would be like. Without much sun overhead, in the evening, in Florida, even in clear water, no thank you! I decided to start looking for a lap pool. There are two options around here for lap pools. Both are 25 yd pools. One is at the park, with atrociously irregular hours and seasonal conditions. The latter is the local YMCA. The YMCA would end up costing me around $40/month, but this was so fun, who cares?! My first swim at the Y was a total of 600 yards, in 25-yard intervals. Once I realized where I stood as a novice in this sport, 3.7 miles became a longer swim than I expected, clocking in at 6,512 yards. When I came to understand that’s like crawling 65 football fields face down with the possibility of drawing in the turf, I decided I needed to take seriously the task of learning to swim decently.

From Novice to Triathlete: Embracing the Journey

I opted not to join the master's program as it would cost an additional $50/month. Instead, I chose to take the self-coached route and spent hours watching tutorials on YouTube and listening to podcasts. While searching for swimming techniques on the Apple Podcast app, I stumbled upon the That Triathlon Life Podcast. The show is hosted by two professional triathletes, Paula Findlay and Eric Lagerstrom (who are now engaged), along with their friend Nick Goldston, an amateur triathlete and professional musician. They specialize in training for the 70.3 distance (half Ironman) triathlons and post new episodes once a week. I became a regular listener and found myself getting hooked on triathlons.

Swimming has been the most enjoyable part of my journey into triathlon. Although I'm not a fast swimmer, it's what makes it fun. As a competitive rower, I always felt pressure to perform and this affected my self-image for the past few years. I still struggle with getting caught up in numbers, but being a beginner in a lap pool feels like being a kid again trying out a new sport. Had I had too much pride, I’d say that I probably looked pretty stupid in the first few months. But in my view, I felt pretty courageous.

Finding Joy in Variety: Training with Swimming, Lifting, and Biking

I started splitting my training between swimming and lifting to swimming, lifting, and biking. With this generalization of training, my skills in each would take slower to develop but I found a new sense of enjoyment in the variety I was privileged to day-to-day.

Fully Committing to the Triathlon: Embracing Running

As I began to realize that this project would take longer than expected, I decided to fully commit to the triathlon and start running. Signing up for a local "sprint" triathlon would give me extra motivation to train with a deadline in mind and experience being called a "triathlete." After several months of training, I downloaded an 8-week plan from an app/software called Training Peaks, which is widely used by athletes in the triathlon world. The mastermind behind Training Peaks is Gordo Burns, a legendary figure in the world of triathlon, whom I enjoyed listening to on the Rich Roll Podcast.

Triumph and Nerves: My First Triathlon Experience

When I participated in my first triathlon, I experienced the same nerves I used to feel during regattas (rowing races). It's a feeling I believe everyone should have the opportunity to experience at least once. All the hard work and dedication culminate in an intense feeling of readiness as if saying "I've trained for this. Let's see how well I can perform." However, the most nerve-wracking part for me was the group open water swim. At the starting line, over 60 men charged into the dark waters of the Gulf of Mexico to swim a quarter mile together. My first time was disorienting, and I found myself yearning for the expertise of more experienced triathletes as they swiftly moved from buoy to buoy and back to the first transition.

Despite being slow in the water, I was able to maintain my pace on the bike and run, resulting in a first-place finish in the 20-24 age group. There was no other participant in my age group that day, but I was still presented with the winners' hardware.

What Followed? Spreading the Triathlon Bug

For me, that moment alone on the podium wasn't just about the shiny medal or the empty victory in my age group. It symbolized a much more resounding personal triumph. I had come a long way from the unsure young adult who moved back home, uncertain of his path. Triathlon had become a new passion, and it taught me the value of getting back out of my comfort zone and the joy of embracing challenges head-on.

As I continue my journey in the world of triathlons, I am reminded of how far I've come and how much further I can go. And what’s more, as I prepared for my second triathlon, I had the privilege of taking a friend along for the ride. Just as others inspired me through their athletic adventures, I was able to ignite the same curiosity and passion in my friend. Together, we dove into the open water, pedaled along the scenic trails, and pushed ourselves to the limits. Because in the end, it's not just about the finish line; it's about the growth, the camaraderie, and the pure joy of the journey itself. Here's to the countless more adventures that await, and the knowledge that the best is yet to come. More on that pal’s journey in a future article.