I was doing a weight loss challenge with a few guys at work and I started to like the results I was getting from runnng and cleaning up my diet, and the guy who started the challenged me to race a sprint tri in Carpenteria with him, so I jumped in with both feet and signed up for one a few week later
(woofully under trained for the bike and swim
) and totally got me butt kicked
(2nd slowest bike spilt on the day less than 10 mph and finished in the bottom 10 overall
) but the support and the vibe I got from my fellow triathletes just blew me away. And the sense of accomplishment and pride just stoked a fire deep inside me. I worked to get better, saw the results, saw my body change, gained a ton of confidence, and just enjoyed the ride as I kept finding out if I could go faster and longer. I'm now in my 7th season, have raised my USAT scores a good 20 points, have 3 Ironmans and 11 Half Ironmans under my belt and the fire still burns just a bright. Triathlon is such a cool sport, where a MOPer like my self can get sponsorship opportunities, rub elbows with the top athletes in our sport
(and every pro I've met are ridiculously down to earth and generally cool people
), and even compete in the World Championships
(Kona Lottery 2007, got to love it
).
Bottom line triathlon and the triathlon lifestyle is fun, exciting, unpredicable, and very rewarding on a personal level. I was a fairly competivie runner back in the day and a never had anywhere near the results in Triathlon
(best is 7th in my AG
), but I take far more pride and enjoyment out of Tris than i ever did as a runner when I was winning my AG
(and even 1 race Overall.
)