Hi from Michigan/My Story

I have decided to try a sprint triathlon this summer, which is a partially impulsive but partially practical decision.

A few years back, I started to get into running. It began with volunteering races with a good friend, which inspired me to start trying races myself. I ran my first half marathon in September 2023. I had signed up from a half in March of 2024 which I was never able to run due to a hip injury a month before the race. After months of PT I got back into it, signing up for another half in December 2024, only to once again have significant hip problems and having to stop my training in November 2024. Months of PT and several doctor's appointments later that led to a diagnosis of adult onset hip dysplasia (in my early 30's, lucky me!) my body is feeling good and I am ready to start training for a race again, however knowing my diagnosis now I have been nervous about committing to another race.

A few weeks ago, I randomly came across a pinterest article about triathlons and started reading. When it comes to hip problems, biking and swimming often come up as good exercises to make up for lack of being able to run/walk/squat heavy/etc. Plus biking can help strengthen the hips as well. Reading through the article and knowing the medical professionals I work with have recommended biking and swimming while I work through my issues (but not owning a bike or having access to a pool at the time meant I wasn't doing those things) I figured a sprint triathlon would be a good way to get back into racing, with more focus on other activities that aren't as hard on my hips. I still plan to work toward getting my mileage back up and hopefully running another half in the near future, but for now I bought a bike and plan on getting a membership to the rec center at the university down the street from me to train in the pool in the next couple of weeks.

I'm going to give myself a couple weeks to get acclimated to swimming and biking since I'm inexperienced, and then start the real training in early May. Aiming for a race scheduled for late July!

If anyone has any tips, words of encouragement, or is from the metro Detroit area and knows of any groups that train together/is looking for a training buddy, don't hesitate to reach out