Why triathlon?

So why a triathlon? About 8 years ago (when I was about 325 pounds) I actually competed in a duathlon. Well I didn't actually compete. It was more like participating. It was a 2 mile run, followed by a 12 mile bike ride, followed by another 2 mile run. I was so over matched and unprepared it was embarrassing. I had done the race with a friend of mine. He did great, I didn't even finish. So it was with that thought that I started thinking about participating in a triathlon.

For me, triathlon is the ultimate test. You need to be good at three different disciplines, swimming, biking and running. While many people are good at one or two events very few are good at all three. It is the challenge of becoming better at all three disciplines that motivates me.

I live in an area with a very active triathlon community. I would see the lines of bikes streaming down the road every Saturday morning. I would come upon them when I started riding on Saturday mornings. So in March of 2008 a friend of mine convinced me to start swimming with a coach she was using. Now swimming was the one thing that had kept me from considering a triathlon. I was not a swimmer. If I am in a pool I can swim, but not the way you need to swim to compete in a triathlon.

So a friend of mine and I started training for our first triathlon in May of 2008. We trained for two months for the first race. And after a near death experience in the first race (strong current, cold water, high winds and first open water swim) we finished the race and decided to do another. So it was with that start that I was bitten by the triathlon bug. I ended up participating in 6 triathlons in 2008. Since I am over 200lbs I entered every race I could as a Clydesdale. My goal with every race was to finish uninjured and to not finish last.

I did manage to finish every race uninjured and was a mid pack finisher in my division. In 2008 completed 3 sprint races and 3 Olympic races. All in all I had a very good first year in triathlon. I decided I wanted to race bigger races in 2009 and challenge myself even more. So I set up a plan for 2009.