Triathlon!!! If I can do it, anyone can :-)

riverjib

Hi ladies!! My wedding day is next June, so weight loss wasn't my top goal for this year...but I needed to lose weight and get in shape anyway. I just graduated from college thirty-plus pounds heavier than I ever have been in my life. My fiance is a triathlete, so on a whim (stressed out before midterms while scarfing down a pizza) I signed up for a race with him that happens to be this weekend.

Four months later, I'm almost down to my pre-college weight. Admittedly, when I started I couldn't actually picture the race, but investing $138 for one event was motivation to at least try to get some cardio in during a 22-credit semester! My sister (MOH) said we needed to start wedding dress shopping this summer, which helped motivate me more.

I started by running and spinning, and eventually joined the YMCA. I was a slow but semi-fit (though slightly chubby) runner, and swimming really woke me up. I could run a very slow 6-7 mile run, but I couldn't swim more than 50 yards without gasping for breath and taking a break! It was really disheartening. But I watched men and women of all ages swimming past me, and decided I had no excuse.

That was all it took. Granted, the out-of-shape, seriously pot-bellied 50+ year olds in the pool were once serious swimmers with real talent and technique, but they were swimming past me. I needed to get better, and I did. After I graduated in May, I started working in hours more training than I thought I'd want to do...when you're trying to do three sports reasonably well, boredom disappears. I mean, I always loved running, but trying to master cycling and swimming made it more interesting. And suddenly I was doing ALL three sports better.

My first race is an Olympic distance triathlon, and my start time is officially 31 hours from this minute. I'm nervous as hell for no reason...I'm not going to "place" or anything, but I want to do well. That's what has happened to me lately...for the first time in my life as someone who works out, I care about my time being better than it was last week.

And just like that, the pounds melted off. I figured I'd start looking for dresses in August for my wedding next June, and hope to be at least within a few sizes of my goal. But now I'm just really proud of my body and what I've accomplished with it.

I don't have the inspirational story I've witnessed at my fiance's races...I've seen war veterans, 80-year-olds, and a host of amazing stories including one from the NYC tri last week--this kid was on the brink of death, had open-heart surgery last year and miraculously lived, then challenged his cardiologist to race with him!!! Link here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/19/sports/19racers.html

But if you want to lose weight, get in shape, and really enjoy the process, sign up for a triathlon and start training! I

AdeleDazeem

Good luck!  Come back afterwards and tell us how you did!!

Shtallionchick14

Good luck! I can't wait to hear how it goes. I really want to do a triathlon, but it's the running, biking and swimming part that worries me.

tychandler

Good luck and congrats on making on the training.  My fiance has been wanting to do a triathalon.  I want to drop 40lbs that I put on in the last year.  So he suggested we do it together. The thing is I'm a poor swimmer, but I'm using this as a motivation to change that.  Hearing your progress is truly an inspiration, hopefully in a few months I will have a story to share too. 

loving2011

Good luck! Let us know how you do!

riverjib

Thanks ladies!!! I DID IT!!! It was as awesome an experience as college graduation and even up there with the proposal :-) Everyone was amazingly supportive, and I felt myself actually tearing up a few times (I'm NOT a crier) as the volunteers, spectators, and my "competitors" cheered me on. The whole experience was so much more exhilarating than I expected, even after building it up in my head.

In the last half mile of the run, I ended up alongside a woman who was flagging like I was...I wanted to finish strong, but I didn't think I had it left in me, especially in the ridiculous heat and humidity. I thought she was in better mental shape than me, but she was clearly in the same boat. So I just said, "we're almost there." We ran together, panting and dying in the heat, and in the last .1 mile she said "Go ahead! I can't sprint," and I just said, "nope, we're in this together," and we ran together to the finish.

Seriously, I'm not an overly emotional "chick flick" kind of person, but I felt a powerful emotional connection with my fellow racers today. It was truly awesome. I couldn't have anticipated this at all...when I posted this two days ago, I was just psyched that I had trained so hard for this race. I had no idea how amazing the overall experience would be!!!

Forget about personal trainers, gyms and nutritional plans for the sake of losing weight and getting in shape, and all of that. Try triathlon for the sake of all of that (losing weight, getting in shape, etc.) and you'll something totally new...a whole community of people who are rooting for you just to finish with a smile...and you'll be rooting for them, too. I think I've been lucky in my life to have amazing people around me, but today I found something that made my life that much richer than it was yesterday. I'm not overstating this :-)

Tychandler, do it!!! If you have questions, message me! I'm from Queens, and I know a lot of people in the area, and lots of awesome resources.

To anyone reading this, don't doubt your abilities. As a spectator (and now a newbie triathlete), I can promise you that whatever your limitations are, they can be overcome. And even if you don't find yourself addicted and looking for the next race, your life will be better for having accomplished this even once :-)

If anyone wants advice or has questions, PM me! I'm clearly not the expert, but my fiance is an elite triathlete who knows his stuff and has taught it to me.

And since we're in the "getting in shape" forum, I can tell you this: I like to be active, but I'm bored easily. I've been a runner off and on, because I can ALWAYS find an excuse for not being able to run. And I'm a poor student, so I can always use the "can't afford a gym" or "no time to work out" excuse. And I'm not a dieter, ever. For those of you who are as difficult as me, here's a great way to find something engaging and inexpensive enough that you'll not only WANT to do it, but money won't hold you back, either. And it's easy to find people to train with if that's your thing, too.

I never weighed myself, since my pride got in the way. I used to be active and thin, and I really put on the pounds as a full-time student supporting myself. I suspect I was in the 160-170 range, though I didn't step on a scale until I was running again for a while and somewhere around 152 in May. Today I'm 132, lean and muscular, and most importantly, happy.

Laur0813

That was a really inspirational story..  Congratulations on everything you have accomplished! 

tychandler

An amazing story, you must have done the triathlon at Flushing Meadows Park.  I am so inspired.  PMing you now