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After a collegiate distance running career, Kyle Pawlaczyk began racing triathlons in 2009. Kyle recorded two top-10 finishes in the Ironman 70.3 series in 2010, his first season as a pro. He resides in Charlottesville, VA.
This column will follow Kyle as he faces the challenges associated with becoming a viable professional in the sport of triathlon.
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A Day in the Life
Being a pro triathlete is even more boring than you might have thought
By Kyle Pawlaczyk
A few years back, movie director Kevin Smith (of Clerks and Chasing Amy fame) published a book entitled "My Boring Ass Life." The book was a collection of Smith’s blog posts, which chronicled his day-to-day existence as a father, husband, and movie director. The book featured some funny episodes, but was, for the most part, boring.
Perhaps that’s what made the book interesting in itself. I always imagined that a director like Kevin Smith spent his days going to awards shows, writing scripts, or sitting in the director’s chair on the set of his new movie. The idea that a Hollywood director lived an existence that was as uneventful and mundane as mine was both refreshing and eye-opening.
Being a pro triathlete is similar. If you follow triathlon on the Internet, you might get the impression that pro triathletes do nothing but receive massages, eat unappetizingly healthy meals, and “tweet” at Lance Armstrong. All of this is sandwiched between four-hour bike rides in Hawaii/Tucson/San Diego. Maybe this is true for some pros, but my life is somewhat different. Like Kevin Smith, day-to-day life often seems mundane, and often falls into a regular, predictable pattern.
To illustrate this, I figured I’d give you an inside look at how my day unfolds as a pro triathlete.
4:55 AM: Alarm goes off. Hit snooze.
5:00 AM: Alarm goes off again. Snooze.
5:05 AM: Alarm goes off a third time. Find clothes that pass the smell test, get dressed, and head downstairs.
5:20 AM: Head out the door, consuming my nutritious pre-swim breakfast of S’mores Pop Tarts.
5:40 AM: Arrive at NOVA Aquatics for swim practice. Put on Speedo, which is still cold and wet from previous swim. Get ready to dive into cold pool. Debate the merits of switching to duathlon.
5:45 AM: Practice starts.
5:55 AM: Decide to try breaststroke during our IM warm-up. I’m greeted at the wall by our coach, Mark. Smirking, Mark asks, “What the heck was that?” I stick to freestyle for the rest of the set.
7:15 AM: Done with swim practice.
7:25 AM: Get “Everything Bagels," toasted and with butter, from Einstein Bros.
7:45 AM: Pick up bike and running shoes from my place of business, Endorphin Fitness. My shoes have given the cycling studio a peculiar smell, which I hope is gone before the shop opens.
8:15 AM: Arrive home. “Breakfast #1” was nearly an hour ago now, so I pour myself a bowl of Smorz cereal.
8:25 AM: Pour second bowl of Smorz cereal.
8:35 AM: Pour third bowl of Smorz cereal. Doze off with roommate Tyler Johnson (former duathlon national champion) while watching The Today Show.
9:15 AM: Decide that it is probably time to go for a bike ride.
9:15 - 10:30 AM: Prepare for my bike ride by working on my laptop and watching old episodes of Reno: 911!
10:45: Depart for bike ride, only 1.5 hours later than expected.
10:45 AM - 3:00 PM: Bike ride on route 5 east of Richmond. It’s flat, quiet, and I only need to stop to eat my PB&J sandwiches and take a “nature break.” It is one of those “TSP (time spent pedaling)” rides, where I just head out, turn the cranks, and enjoy the day.
3:00 PM: Arrive back at the house and prepare for transition run off the bike.
3:00 - 3:30 PM: Prepare for transition run by snacking, answering e-mails, and watching another episode of Reno.
3:30 - 4:15 PM: Transition run on Richmond’s Buttermilk Trail, part of Richmond’s famous XTerra course.
4:25 PM: Shower to remove the peanut butter/sweat/foot odor smell from my person. Depart for run practice.
5:00 - 5:45 PM: Coach run practice for Endorphin Fitness’ extremely dedicated youth competition team.
6:00 - 7:00 PM: Assist with run practice for EF’s equally dedicated group of adult triathletes.
7:20 PM: Grab dinner on the way home from practice. Dinner is usually something nutritious, like a frozen pizza with actual vegetables on it.
7:30 - 8:00 PM: Prepare and eat dinner.
8:10 - 9:30 PM: Play Mario Kart Wii with Tyler and Cory Scott (my other roommate and collegiate cycling national champion. Cory pushes 5 W/kg at threshold and is currently looking for a team; interested parties please contact me).
9:30ish PM: Bed.
There you have it. A typical day as a pro triathlete. It is a day full of training, interesting smells, S’mores-inspired food products, and bad television. I don’t train six hours per day every day; I chose this particular day merely to show off. Many days I train less than this while working more. Things tend to follow a pattern, but it’s a lifestyle I enjoy and wouldn’t trade for anything.
Boring? Sometimes, but things get a bit more exciting once race season picks up. On that note, this season’s race schedule is somewhat finalized. Check out my race schedule here. Action begins with Ironman 70.3 California on April 2. To everyone else that is opening their season in the coming weeks, good luck! Hope to see you out there.
Follow more of Kyle's journey at his blog: Kyle Pawlaczyk - Pro Triathlete
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