Beginner Triathlete - EPIC Race Reports articles

A middle-of-the-pack triathlete takes on the iron distance for the first time at Rev3's inaugural full distance race

Pain shows us how strong we are. After last weekend I am convinced of this. After 151 training hours of swimming, biking, and running, I flew to Sonoma County, California for the race.

My First Half Ironman Experience-A Slow, Fat, Old Triathlete. Here is my story of my first, and probably only Half Ironman. I’m an almost 52 year old, VERY Athena triathlete.

California 1/2 Ironman: The run was my biggest fear. Prior to training, I had never run more than two miles at any given time.

I cried the morning of the race when the "Star Spangled Banner" played, but I wasn't alone. IRONMAN is electric!!

Ironman Couer d'Alene 2003 - Inspirational first ironman triathlon devoted to his wife battling cancer.

At one of my last swim sessions the week of my first Ironman, one of my training partners told me how she was envious..."your first Ironman is fun, you have no pressure and no expectations!"

It is my opinion that even though everyone else considered her a triathlete, she did not consider herself one. I think she still felt like she had no fitness direction and had given up on triathlon.

I just had a couple of problems, I could count the number of triathlons I had contested at zero. Secondly, I could count on one hand the number of times I had been swimming in the last 17 years.

If you are calm while everyone around you is losing it, you probably don’t know what the hell is going on.

My lungs were burning and my legs were hurting but I had the biggest smile on my face as I ran on the red carpet and received my Ironman 70.3 medal.

My race report is different. My motivating factors go back seven years. I have lived in denial for seven years. Depression. I registered for Ironman Texas even though I felt like a complete failure.

I thought of all the times I didn’t attempt something I wanted to do because I was too afraid of trying something new or of failing completely.

An age-grouper's journey of training for and completing his first Ironman

Athletes were buzzing around, adding last minute things to their transition bags. The sidewalks and grassy areas are filled with spectators and cameras. Announcements were being made.