How have you surprised yourself with this sport? (Page 2)

well, just over a year ago I was terrified of being in water over my head & couldn't swim well at all (Hated being in a pool over my head, with any other swimmer in the same lane, and always took the lane next to the wall). Now, I've done 3 tri's, and really work for my space out in that open water!! I'm shocked and awed by what I've accomplished, not so much from a physical level but from facing this fear I've had since I was young.

I'm still in the training stage, but I've registered for my first race next year.

I'm one of those folks that proves skinny doesn't mean you're in shape. Given my families unfortunate tendency to up and drop dead, I knew I had to do something, but I am awful about exercise for good health... I needed a REAL reason. (Cause you know, premature death isn't enough...) So, I was thinking about it the weekend I got home from the beach this year - I'd seen ads for the VB Sandman somewhere along the way and it was rattling around in the back of my head, so I decided to do a tri.

What is absolutely shocking the hell out of me is that I am seeing real, tangible improvement, and each discipline keeps building on the others. For the first time ever in my life, working out is actually relaxing for me. I love this, and can't wait to post my first race report.

i'm 21, and my story is a little, um, younger than many of ya'lls. in the 4th grade i got frickin fat. in the 7th grade i decided that i wanted to destroy people so i started playing football, lost a ton of weight, got in shape and did indeed destroy other people. alot.

since then i've moved from sport to sport (done well in all of them) such as rock climbing, tennis, raquetball, airsoft milsim, (illegal) building scaling/speedroping descending and i've been a runner all along.

more than any of that, i've been a cyclist my whole life, always riding rode and have quite a bit of enough experience on the track (ya know, that frightening 250m oval with a 47 degree bank?).

tris have done is compelled me to do two things: stay with one sport (while tossing all the others aside), and actually training.

all i did after high school was compete. tennis was the only other sport that i spent time on to actually improve. i was just as good if not a lil better than all my cohorts at whatever we did, so i never strove to beat my PR. i never really trained. tri's have taught me what it is to train again (i'm certainly not new to it, but i haven't since HS football) and have reintroduced that commitment back into my life. i have a responsibility to myself and i have laid down much partying to make this happen. instead of going out with friends to be a heathen (HURRAY HEDONISM) i follow a VERY strict schedule that balances work, school, training and church; in that order (i know church should be first, but at least i'm honest).

so in short being a triathlete is awesome. and assuming you are (or are in training to be) you are awesome. pat yourself on the back.

I totally agree with all of the above. I have only been training for 5 months, but I love it. The passion, drive and enthusiasm of those on this site is addictive and inspiring.

THANK YOU ALL

One thing this site has done for me besides the wealth of info is I HATE to have yellow in any of my days on the ol training log. Something that simple. I used to smoke cigarettes and I am also a firefighter. No too smart. Last year I turned thirty and just decided I wanted to get back into some resemblence of my old self. Here I am now and I am improving consistently. In the sport of triathlon the sky is the limit. Although I like team sports I have always liked the idea of battling myself.

yes! another youngin'. I'm 20

excellent. i figure i'll have years of tri's behind me at a time when most age groupers are just picking up the sport.

I quit my research job 6 years ago to devote myself to raising my autistic son and it has been a lot of work, and worry , and stress, both emotionally and financially. I slipped into depression. I always exercised as a way to relieve stress. But training for my first tri this year gave me something, other than my son, to get my head into. The training, then completing my first event, was the most exhilerating feeling. I did it initially for myself, but my family has benefitted as much as I have...I am happy, recharged, and ready for anything. Even though I am not training for anything in the near future, I have found that the level of training has helped my depression so much that I've been off my medication now for 3 months with no problems. I'm feeling great. Totally addicted, and now my husband, who did tri's in college, wants to start doing them again!

Besides living a healthy lifestyle, which in and of itself is a great gift to your kids, you've given them the greatest gift of all...a positive role model. I think it is awesome that your kids are involved. My kids are 5 and 8, and both just recently learned to ride their bikes without training wheels. We rode our bikes every single day over the summer, and it has become a favorite activity to do as a family. My daughter wantes to race with mommy. My son now has an activity that he can do with neighbor kids which is HUGE since he is autistic and has very few friends. Maybe as they get older and see mommy and daddy competing it will rub off on them like your kids!

What has suprised me most about the tri lifestyle is how many things I used to think were utter crap are actually true. Power of positive thought? Check. Exercise as antidepressant? Check. Exercise is addictive? Check (and how!).

I am suprised that I haven't quit yet, suprised at how utterly addictive the races are, suprised at the things I have learned about myself and the internal changes that have happened. I'm also suprised at how much I dislike road biking...I love the bike, but the cars scare me. I'm suprised that instead of saying "well, obviously triathlon isn't for me," I wind up thinking "well, I'll just ride the trainer most of the time, and work around the fear."

I am really driven, I guess classic Type A -- anything less than perfection for me has always equated to an utter failure. But with tri training and racing, I'm proud of just getting out there, and it doesn't matter that I am BoP working slowly towards MoP. It doesn't matter that I will probably never podium. Of course, I am working towards getting faster/stronger/better, but it has to go at the pace it has to go at, I can't rush it. That is such a drastic departure from my basic personality type. I'm competitive when I see somebody in the lane next to me and try to outswim them...but if I'm slower than that person, it doesn't ruin my day or make me quit or make me angry or anything that my old self would've felt. It just inspires me to work harder. That is an amazing and welcome suprise to come from training. And it's much cheaper than a psychologist.

Great stuff, Kori. You're really hitting close to home here. At bedtime last week, my 7yo daughter wanted me to "tell me a story about your triathlon" instead of reading a book. She's so focused on little things (why I was nervous at the start, how deep the water was, what order did I put things on in T1), but it was cool.

When I think of the effect it has on my positive role-model-ness, I remember my dad who started running around age 40. I got to view him not just as an authority figure and guy who goes to work every day, but as an athlete - as someone who worked hard to achieve personal goals. We even did a couple tris together back in the mid-80's.

Exactly how it will affect your/my kids is probably unique for everyone, but as long as your training is balanced with the rest of your life, it can't help but be positive.

Totally cool that your 7yo is really noticing those things. It is really sinking in. If there is one thing I do as a parent that is right...I hope it is this!

My mom started a new career at age 57. I am 35 and I still look up to her! I looked up to her when I was 5 and she was teaching me to ski. It doesn't matter how old we are...we still look up to our parents for the most part. I hope that is true with my kiddos.

Yeah, I fired my doc. I don't need a pill to feel happy anymore when there's tri training! Now I see an Naturopathis doc. and that is working so well!

(Disclaimer: That is what's working for me, personally. Depression is a scary and dark thing for many, many people. Medications are great, and life saving in some cases. Exercise alone isn't for everyone.)