What was your motivation to start competing in Triathlons?

I come from a running background. When I moved to Texas, my running options became much more limited, and I felt like I had progressed about as far as I could in running. This led to a lack of motivation. A triathlon specific store opened near my house, and it got me thinking about the variety and challenges involved in multisport. It was a good decision - I am really enjoying my training in all three disciplines now.

I wanted to lose some weight so I started in the gym in 1999.  That got a bit boring, so I started doing road cycling with a friend back in 2001. I wanted to learn how to swim, so signing up with Team in Training for a triathlon provided that forcing function along with a coach. That was back in 2003.

What keeps me motivated?  I like training and I like racing. I could go on and on describing the incredible life experiences I've had being an endurance athlete.

The other day I was on vacation in Oahu and ran five miles around the base of Diamondhead.  Absolutely breathtaking.  I could never have enjoyed that experience if I didn't run, and I wouldn't run if I wasn't a triathlete.

I was in Hawaii to race the half-Ironman on the big island on June 4th.  Again, absolutely breathtaking race environment.  1.2 mile swim in the ocean, then a 56 mile bike ride in the lava fields with ocean views.  Something of a crappy run on a golf course, but at least it was a unique run experience. 

Running along the Seine in Paris to the Eiffel Tower while marathon training. 

Running the Mount Desert Island marathon alongside the Atlantic in Maine. 

Riding the mountain roads in northern NY for IM Lake Placid.

Swimming in the Gulf of California for IM Los Cabos. 

Bicycling the Beeline Highway in the desert north of Tempe, AZ. I've done IM Arizona four times. Incredible.

Running the Central Park Loop in NYC every time I visit.  Once I ran the 6 mile loop twice, just because it was such a glorious spring day and hell, I could run it twice. 

Running through the Fremont Street Experience during the Rock and Roll Las Vegas marathon.

Training with my youngest daughter for the 203 mile Seattle to Portland two day bike ride, when she was a junior in high school. Then we did it again the following summer. The joy she experienced the last 25 miles riding into Portland, going faster and faster, as she realized that we were going to finish hours before her goal time. It puts tears in my eyes remembering that moment. 

This is why I'm an endurance athlete and why I train and race.  Thanks for asking.

They seemed challenging - I like being challenged.. 

Watched the same race on TV you were talking about.  Always dreamed about doing one.  Once I got out of school I packed on some weight.  On the flight during a golf trip with some of my friends I asked one of them if they still swam.  I mentioned always wanting to do a tri.  They all laughed because I have always hated running.  That kind of pissed me off. A few months later I started swimming just to get back in shape.   About a year later a friend asked me to do the swim for a relay team he was putting together.  After that I was hooked.  Signed up for a race that week.  7 years later still at it. 

The challenge mostly.  I started running (again) at 33 and deicded to do the Marine Corps Marathon as my "goal"  I figured that it would be a one and done type of thing but I kept running fairly regularlly after that.  At 36 I said what the he!! and registered for it again.  At that point I was hooked and ran 2-3 a year after that.  It had gotten to the point where I was always "training" for my next marathon, even doing 6 in a 13 month stretch along the way.  After a few years of that it had gotten to the point where I could concievably run a marathon on any given weekend and I wanted to be challenged.  So I decided that I'd do a half ironman for my 40th birthday.  From that point I became hooked on tris and here I am.

I'd lost 35 pounds and got into shape for a backpacking trip in 2005.  I remember my first workout (11/01/2004) was getting on the elliptical we'd just bought for "15 easy minutes."  Half way through that workout, I wasn't sure I'd even make 15 minutes and I really was going easy!  In April 2005, I'd lost most of the weight and the weather was nice, so I went for a run instead of doing 45 hard minutes on the elliptical.  

With the mountains behind me, I liked being in shape.  I was still running every day and my buddy suggested I start doing road races...10K's and maybe a half marathon...Nothankyou, I don't like running that much...but...I did like the idea of doing a triathlon because I like riding a bike and I liked swimming even though I never did either competitively.  

I'd seen the Ironman coverage on TV and even guarded for the swim portion of a triathlon way back in 1982/3/4?  

Here it is my 11th season.  I'm just getting back into training with my first sprint in 3 years this Saturday (on way too little training).  I've done all distances as well as marathons, ultra-marathons, century bike rides, and open water swims.  

I've recruited a number of people to the sport (and to BT) and I've mentored triathletes.  I'm proud of the protege's who have stuck with the training in spite of weight or fitness plateaus. I'm proud of the protege's who've adapted to aging and injury.  

I was a new college student in the fall of 1982, going for my first marathon, and got injured along the way. I did it anyway, and blew up in spectacular fashion at the predictable 19 mile mark. But the rehab from that injury put me in the pool. I'd been a decent swimmer, though never did it for competition. The guys in the pool told me to get a bike (I had one, but it wasn't all that nice). So in the spring of '83 I bought my first decent bike -- a Trek 560 with Suntour Cyclone. Then I went to Alaska for the summer, and entered a 10K when I got back.

Then ABC Wide World of Sports happened, and I knew I wanted to try it. At that time the race calendar was sparse, and didn't start until late June, which gave me exactly one race each year before I shipped off to Alaska for the summer. But I pointed my training all year towards that one event, and I did pretty well against all comers. Then graduation happened and I suddenly had a summer-full calendar from which to choose... Why not pick them all?

That gets us to the spring/summer of 1988, and I was whole-hog for many years.

I was a runner 30 years before switching to triathlon.  I have a younger brother that did two full Ironman races in 2002 but was focused on improving my 5K PR at that point of my life and didn't give up on that until about 2008.   After giving up on ever being about to break 17:00 minutes in the 5K again I started doing marathons.  I focused on Full Marathons for about two years but really wasn't very good at anything over about 17-18 miles so I focused on 1/2 marathons until 2012.  I did an Ultra Ragnar Relay in 2013 with four of my cousins and one sibling but I was getting in a training rut and after my Ragnar in September of 2013 I to 10 months off from running.  In June of 2014 I was reading our company newsletter and there was an article about the "Triathlete Community" in our global company and had the contact for a Scottish man working in the UAE.  I contacted him and got added to a unofficial Multisport and Endurance Sport Facebook group.  I had considered doing triathlons in 2012 because of my younger brother who had done the full Ironmans but didn't have any one to mentor me or help me get into the sport. The FaceBook group of people in my company that were doing Triathlons was really great.  The Scottish man in the UK was transferred to Houston in 2014 but not before qualifying for Kona at Ironman South Africa.  The dozen or so triathletes in the company were very active on the facebook groups following the Scott's training and preparation for Kona.  I think they were living their dreams vicariously through the him because after Kone in 2014 the group's activity has been about zero, but in August of 2014 I really impressed with the group and decided that I wanted to find a small local Sprint Tri to sign up for.   It was too late in the season to be ready for the last fall races of the year, so I looked to the spring and found a 70.3 race in my hometown of 5,000 people that was set for the following April.  I really didn't know if I could do a 70.3 but knew I needed to start somewhere so I started with my strength of running to get back in shape and did an 8 weeks training program for a 5K.  I made a lot of progress in 8 weeks but was NOT in running shape after 10 months off when I did the 5K but was first place over all out of about 40 participants.  I then started an 8 week training program for the local 1/2 Marathon.  By the half marathon my running legs were coming back and I finished 2nd over all in that race out of close to 300 people.  I then spent about 3 weeks trying to figure out how to train for a Triathlon. and new year 2015 got a 4 month gym membership to the only place in town with a pool and started swimming.  I also pulled out my 20+ year old mountain bike that I hadn't been on in about 10 years out of the garage and started riding.  Training when really good and after a few weeks I went a head and signed up for the 70.3 triathlon.  I got up to about 10 hours of training a week before my first race and found that I really liked rotating the running with cycling and swimming.  I feel that I did really well in my first 70.3 and decided that I would give the running a break and focus on Triathlon for a while.  I have now done two 70.3 races and am looking for my next race.