I heard that the best marriage proposal is at the finish line of a triathlon. So why not.

First of all the full I am racing in September is not my first triathlon, or my first full, second of all that has nothing to do with the topic......

I was a BMX kid growing up, then a roadie. Went to have braces put on in my early 30s. The dentist and his assistant were triathletes. They were in their 50s and still racing. We talked bikes while I was in the chair. They talked about triathlon too. I decided to try it. Then not long after met a well known pro and was coached for 2 years. Learned a ton. Now I coach myself.

I ran and rode regularly, and people kept asking me if I did triathlons. I thought triathletes were crazy and that was something I could never do. Then, I stranded myself about a mile off the coast of Belize. I hadn't swam in years, but I wasn't going to spend the night in the middle of the sea, so I swam for it. Then I realized I could do a triathlon.

That's awesome

My story is basically I was a swimmer the last two years of my HS career, wasn't much of a runner, and hadn't ever ridden a rode bike and a friend of mine had done a couple triathlons, about 6 months out he challenged me to do the first Ironman 70.3 Syracuse. I of course didn't have a bike but he was selling his old one (an old beater I paid $20 for, but it did the job. So I thought, if he can do it, I can do it.

The first year he beat me by a good 30 min (I was a back of the packer for sure), the bike I had the gears were very touchy on it, I had no bike computer and the pedals were just platform pedals (not even strapped pedals), my bike time was horrible. I felt like complete crap after for a good 3 days, thinking I was never going to do that again. A few months later I had decided I wanted to try a Full distance and was looking at races, I signed up to volunteer at IMLP in 2011 and registered the next day for 2012. In the mean time I had signed up for a local sprint and the Syracuse half again.

Between years I obviously had a lot more time training and I also got a new bike (my current tri bike) and the second time at the Syracuse race I had cut over 50 min off just the bike portion of the race, beat my buddy and felt a lot better after the race, I was officially hooked.

In 2012 all I competed in was the Syracuse 70.3 for the third time (and third variation on the run course), and also completed IMLP (near the end, but I finished which was my goal).

Until about December I hadn't done anything tri related (I did a local marathon my brother challenged me to compete in), occasional swims and rides, and didn't even think about doing anything competitive until one day I just decided I needed to get back into it, and do it now rather then later. That is when I searched for races that were somewhat close and found they were all closed out all ready except for the Foundation slots, so I signed up for a Foundation slot for Ironman Chattanooga with the intention of completing the race again and helping those in need through the fundraiser.

A girl I was dating was doing Beach 2 Battleship Half, I went to watch and quickly decided I wanted to be in the race not on the sidelines. 365 days later I was there.

I always thought it would be cool to do one, but didn't have an "in" and it seemed daunting. Started dating a guy that had done a few & thought "I can do it if he can".

Signed up for a sprint in a COLD lake. 3rd or 4th overall out of the water (no wetsuit), dragged myself around the bike (MTB) & cried through the run (I was kind of overweight/out of shape & I really hate running).

Since then I've done a bunch more. Still a good swimmer, got way better at biking (and got a road bike) and the running is still my achilles heel.

I'd like to get back into it - but my time is better spent elsewhere these days. Maybe in a couple years when my son is a bit older. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

But to get access to that wouldn't one need to be a charity entry in order to "buy" the special access for the fiance?

Give me a break, I'm still learning how to do all this. Question, if I need to be a charity entry, can I get others to raise all the money for me?

Before my junior year of high school my dad talked me into doing the local sprint tri as a form of training for wrestling during the summer. Did the 10 mile bike course in the little ring because I didn't know any better. Was a one and done until my Freshman year of college. Dad called me up and said him and my brother were doing a tri in a month and he thought I should do the Olympic. I started swimming, beat my brother (who had already done a couple) and have never looked back.

Returned to the local sprint last summer and won the whole thing. (It also helped that the leader took a wrong turn on the bike course but I'm not complaining)

I had just quit swimming my sophomore year of college and a classmate roped me into doing a run-bike-pool swim sprint tri. Did the race on a mountain bike with a speedo under my basketball shorts and a cotton tshirt. I did ok though (and beat my buddy), that was 14 years ago and I'm still at it.

Just did my first tri, the Olympic course at Wildflower. Next time I think I'll train. :)

Have been wanting to do a tri for many years, but let it intimidate me, despite being a sporadic runner, cyclist, and swimmer. Some friends finally talked me into signing up for Wildflower two weeks before the race. So I did a week of training, including my first "bricks" and a solo Olympic tri the weekend before, followed by a quick taper. That helped me realize my perceived barriers were more psychological than physical. Actual race was great, though the hills on the ride and run kicked my butt (overheard someone say, "if they could make the swim uphill, they would"). Camaraderie at Wildflower was fantastic.

I used to do a fair bit of classic alpinism back in the day. This is my new alpinism. I'll do a few Olympic distance races going forward, definitely a 70.3 down the road, and I'm pretty sure I'll do an Ironman distance eventually, too, but happy to tackle that incrementally.

I helped set up the Bud Light USTS Race in Chicago. I was up all night with a bunch of my friends. I think we were all 12-14yrs old. We then set up our own race at my friends summer house in lake Geneva and raced. I did my next Tri 20+years later.

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http://www.TriScottsdale.org

My first experience was coming back from picking up my tanks at the scuba shop as we were going out on a boat dive. There was a triathlon going on in town with a bunch of people running around in their speedos. A traffic cop held me up by about twenty minutes until all the bicycle passed by. I was a bit ticked off for being made late because of the triathlon. I never suspected that six or seven years later I'd do my first triathlon.

In 1981 I was already a runner and cyclist but had never even heard of a triathlon. A running buddy
knew I also rode bikes and told me about their existence. I bought a speedo the next day and started attempting
to swim.

Still it took me two years to close the deal. There were not many races back then in Texas and I had some
bad luck with a bike crash and a hurricane cancellation.

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Find out what it is in life that you don't do well, then don't
do that thing.

I entered Ironman St. George in 2012, had no idea what I was getting into that day, and actually finished (barely) before the cutoff without getting my chip timer removed. Spent the whole day fighting cut off times. I had only attempted one marathon prior (walked a bunch of it- not gonna lie), and had very little open water swimming experience. I even decided that I would self-seed for the mass swim in the middle of the scrum (for the experience I told myself, lol), and after about 500 yards of getting swam over and kicked a couple of times, I realized how stupid I was... I would never, ever recommend anyone doing what I did as an introduction- on that day, for an inexperienced person, it became dangerous, but, it was certainly the beginning of the obsession though, and in addition to lurking here on this forum for four years, I have fallen in love with the sport even as a solid BOP...

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"There are two ways to slide easily through life- to believe everything and to doubt everything- both ways save us from thinking "- Korzbyski

That's crazy the 2012 IMSG event was your first one. That day was tough.

LOL you are not alone. Guy I know decided to try triathlon sometime over the past winter. He rode before but didn't run much and barely knew how to swim. He signed up for a little local sprint this spring. Great, actually. He's been training over the past few months and caught the bug. Soooooooo. He signed up for an IM this summer. Having no races under his belt, never really swam, and never ran a half mary let alone full. Uh-oh.

I hope to not always be a BOP but I also ok now I won't be anywhere near winning my AG anytime soon, I will always just be happy being able to compete and finish these races.

I remember after that first half not thinking I would want to do it again, let alone a full, and then when I decided to do the full I thought I would never do more then one let alone want to do a double or more, but at the finish of the race I knew I wanted to do more full races and wanted to attempt a double in the near future (life has since sidelined that, but I still want to do a double)

I got hooked after watching the 2000 Olympics.

I was 50 pounds overweight. I was on the bike racing team in college and the sedentary desk life added up.

I went looking for my first tri to sign up for and decided on Buffalo Springs because the t-shirts looked cool. Seriously, that is how I picked my first race.

At the local tri shop it was suggested that I might want to get at least one race under my belt before BSLT so I did a double sprint and got freaked the f-- out on the swim even though I was a Scout with swimming and other water sport merit badges.

I was the only one sporting a Body Glove wetsuit at the swim. Apparently surfing type wetsuits are not ideal for triathlons. One of many lessons learned that summer.

I did not respect the distance or challenge of BSLT but I'm stubborn and stayed with it. And I did get a cool looking t-shirt.

A woman knew that I had just started running, and she dared me to race a 70.3. I was 40, facing midlife, so I signed up, bought Total Immersion to learn how to swim, and did the race.

My goal was to beat the 8-hour cutoff, and I finished in about 7:45. Now, seven years later, I'm down to about 5:30 for a half, 11:40 for a full.

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<The Dew Abides>

I had a hell of a mountain bike racing season in 2007 and 2008. My friend challenged me to a local sprint triathlon. Being a sprint, I tore it up on the bike since it was similar to mountain bike intensity and a flat course. The run was comical at best. I cam in first in the bike but MOP in the race (due to my run). I wasn't use to finishing so low so my competitive spirit exploded. Triathlons don't require same intensity training as mountain biking, so now I'm a MOP triathlete and MOP of pack mountain biker. :/ I do still set PR in every triathlon, mainly do to better pacing on the bike and stronger running.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

OK. So swam competitively from ages 6-12 (now realizing this probably made a huge difference for me in triathlons)
For most of my adult life, I ran noncompetetively - Forest Gump style
At the age of 48 I did Tony Hortons P90x - yea baby!
After 90 days, I was like, what do I do next? So signed up for the new local sprint tri. Missed podium by one spot on a road bike and was hooked
The next year included Olympic distance. The following year included 70.3. Always podium
The year after that first full IM. This year will be year 4 IMs. Close but never KQ. Now I find myself suffering from chronic KQ-itis. Clearly a form of OCD; countless hours obsessing over aero, nutrition, and rereading Slotwitch posts. Wondering if "age up" next year will cure this affliction. Do others suffer from this? Is this cureable? Is mental counseling helpful? Is there a "KQA"? Any bone to chew on here would be helpful?

My introduction into the sport of triathlon was not the mechanism by which most would want. My older brother was killed when the KC-135 Stratotanker he was piloting broke up in midair over the Kyrgyzstani mountains while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom on May 3, 2013. The two other members onboard the Shell 77 flight died with him. He had an endless passion that overflowed into me; he also was hard-headed which I picked up as well. After his death, two of his friends spitballed running an Ironman in his honor. It didn't take long before the idea turned into reality, and I was signed up for Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3 Ironman. No prior triathlon experience for me, but it sounded like fun. I was severely undertrained for the race, relying on my conditioning from soccer, but I had so much fun I signed up for this years race again. Now, this year I'm actually training for the thing and doing it right (mostly). I told myself I've already finished one 70.3, now its time to race this one.

They do have the best shirts

It was a girl of course...

I was a lifeguard at a swanky health club in DC during college (Sport & Health. Is it still around?) and one of the aerobics instructors used to tolerate me flirting with her. (this was the 80's and she had the full package - tights, legwarmers, big hair). She knew I ran and obviously swam and started pushing me to to try a tri. It was the Tinley Tin Man, a sort of half-iron distance, except it was swim, RUN, bike.

I only had a very primitive Mountain bike, and knew I needed a road bike for something like that. I saved my paychecks and did almost all my bike training on the Lifecycles at the gym. I bought a bike from REI about a week before the race and only got a few rides in before . ( A bright yellow Novara Trionfo with downtube shifters, Bell V1 plastic helmet, basketball shoes with toe straps, and of course a cotton t-shirt flapping in the breeze)

The swim was some sort of river crossing and a non-standard distance, and went fine. I was on the U Md water polo club at the time so I was out front in clear water for the swim, did some sort of insanely hot run course ( I remember begging sunscreen from a spectator ) and then getting in a groove on the bike and passing a lot of people on nicer equipment than me. I remember I finished in just under 6 hours so I'm no sure where the time went I was a pretty strong runner then - I had run a 3:10 marathon the previous fall I probably farted around in transitions or maybe just overheated and jogged the run. I've tried to look up the race in the years since and never found any on-line evidence it ever happened.

I never got anywhere with the girl, but I was hooked on tris from then and I've been at them for most of the 25 years since
.

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" I take my gear out of my car and put my bike together. Tourists and locals are watching from sidewalk cafes. Non-racers. The emptiness of of their lives shocks me. "
(opening lines from Tim Krabbe's The Rider , 1978

I got into running at the same time as my Mum, during the whole 'Run the World' thing mid 80s (aged 11-12). The running continued until this day; but in the late 80s 'Running' magazine started doing articles on Triathlon, and then 'pull-out' Tri supplements. The first evocative images and articles were all about Kona and the 'Big 4'; plus there was a television documentary in the UK about a guy who did the Nice International Triathlon. That piqued my interest. It wasn't until 1992 aged 18 that I did my first event (think that was the min age) - in a cut-off running vest and unpadded trunks on an MTB.

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29 years and counting

I was 22 and doing a lot of distance running. Was loving the training volume but couldn't escape the feeling that my knees were at long term risk.

I was bored waiting for a flight in an airport and picked up a copy of "Iron War" by Matt Fitzgerald, I read it within a few days.

A week later I had signed up for an Iron distance race, and had begun saving up for a road bike.

Facebook! Tri gave me THREE times as many opportunities to post pics of finisher medals and tan lines as well as daily below average workout stats!

After my having open heart surgery in December 2000 to replace my aortic valve, my cardiologist told me to cut out my heavy weightlifting and instead focus on aerobic exercise. "As much as I could handle", was the way he put it.

Just over three years later in February 2004 at age 50, with the urging of one of my work colleagues, I did my first sprint tri. Wasn't DFL, but close to it. That first race got me hooked on the sport. Haven't looked back since.

Mark

My uncle, who lived in Minnesota, called me up and said "I am going to sign up for Ironman Wisconsin this weekend when registration opens, you should do it with me". I said "ok, a long day outside should be fun" and hung up the phone. I then realized I wasn't even sure what an Ironman consisted of, so I looked it up and realized I would need to learn to ride a bike and swim. I found a used bike on craigslist and signed up for some beginner swim lessons. Mostly I just continued to run. I then proceeded to crash my bike and put myself in intensive care, where my neurologist told me that I could not raise my heart rate above 100 for 4 months. So I laid in bed until June. The week my neurologist cleared me to start "light exercise" again I went out and raced a duathlon to make sure I wasn't going to be afraid of the bike after my crash and to practice T2. The following week I raced Boise 70.3 to see what open water swimming was about, and to practice transitions. I made just about every mistake you can make (but I didn't crash again!), but still had a blast. I rode my bike for 2 months, practiced open water swimming a few more times (still terrible) and headed off for Madison. What a kick! That was 2008.

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The plural of anecdote is not data. :-)
- Andrew Coggan

Vitals:
After birth of first son, was 275lbs (former football player) and fat
Wife and I did P90X a few times, got down to 230ish
Got into running, got down to 220ish
Got stress fracture, borrowed a bike
Got conned into doing a Try a Tri, did something like a breaststroke on my back for 300 yards
Did the same thing at the actual tri the next week
Learned how to actually swim (not fast, but as far as I need to)

Still consider Tri as "cross training" for running, but Oh so fun :-)

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“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” -A.W. Tozer
"The best things in life make you sweaty." -Barbara W.
"I was never great at math, so I had to learn to run faster." -Robbie Sandlin
“Life is like a 10-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.” Charles Schultz

Jr National Team rower in HS that completely burnt out going into college. Basically spent 15 years doing nothing good for my body after that. Watched my brother finish one of his 6 IM's at Penticton in around 2004 and swore I would never do an IM. Fast forward 8 years weighing 232 lbs (>50lbs heavier than HS) and wife expecting a daughter, I decided to get back in shape. I convinced my brother to come out of "retirement" to race Boise 70.3 in 2012. Worse weather I've ever seen as I walk down the ramp to the water and a shortened bike course forced me to sign up for Lake Stevens 5 weeks later since I didn't finish an actual 70.3. My legs were destroyed from Boise and RnR 13.1 before Lake Stevens and still finished 5:17. I knew I could go under 5 with fresh legs, so I signed up for 2013 at Lake Stevens. Went 4:55 the next year on an injured foot that cost me 5-6 minutes on the run, but still felt great and made massive improvements on the bike (16 min faster with a faster run as well). Decided I was ready to make the jump to a full and raced Canada last year (11:40 with the same foot issue popping up at mile 90 of the bike, and could barely put any weight on it through the whole marathon). No racing in 2015 for various reasoning, but hope to come back in 2016 with a healthy foot and renewed focus at Whistler.

Raced bikes after college, tried duathlon for a couple of years, and then stopped and just got unhealthy. My brother, out of nowhere, decided to complete an ironman. I went to see him up at Lake Placid, and was so amazed by the participants, crowd, venue and energy, I decided I had to try it out. My first tri was a sprint in Vegas. I wore a wetsuit in Lake Meade (sp?) because I hadn't swam in ages, ended up breastroking the entire swim. I finished, and I was hooked.