Just a runner for ~decade. High mileage, mostly marathon focused. Decent enough PBs but never really feel like I put it all together. Ongoing achilles issues in 2020. Got so painful that I couldn't run anymore. Bought a bike that summer. Stopped running. Started riding every day. Got a pool membership a month later. Signed up for an Olympic in the fall. That went well (1st AG) so I signed up for my first 70.3 the following July. But I didn't commit to triathlon at that time. The achilles was feeling better so I went all in on a spring marathon that ended up going poorly. I was maybe swimming/biking ~2x/week each. After the marathon I went all in on triathlon for a 3 month block. I just count swim/bike/run active time. Averaged 15 hours/week for 12 weeks. Peaked just under 20. Really focused on doing a lot of running off of my hard bike workouts/long rides. Ended up with a 70.3 slot in my first 70.3 with just under a year of swimming/biking under my belt (& some periods with not a lot of those two disciplines). 33 swim/2:29 bike/1:19 run for my 1st attempt. Still dabbled with some pure running stuff in fall 2021/spring 2022 but it's now been ~1.5 years of swim/bike/run. I'm hooked. I love the training. I've done 70.3 Worlds the last 3 years. Learning how to actually race the bike this year instead of saving myself, to some extent, for the run.
I wasn't a college runner but got down to 1:13 half marathon. It seems like running is a decent entry point into the sport. I got competent at biking pretty quick. But it's different to ride a comfortable 2:30 versus pushing what's required for a 2:20 or better, and then trying to run off of that. Swimming has been a challenge. Hoping for sub-30 in December. I've put in a lot of time swimming, have done things like a swim analysis, have worked with coaches, etc. Still find it challenging & don't feel like the gains are there. Still trying though.
Should probably add that I had a pulmonary embolism (genetic condition- didn't know at the time) in 2016. On blood thinners for life so that factors into me being a little more cautious on the bike. That slowed me down a little during the run only years, coming back from that.
I wasn't a college runner but got down to 1:13 half marathon. It seems like running is a decent entry point into the sport. I got competent at biking pretty quick. But it's different to ride a comfortable 2:30 versus pushing what's required for a 2:20 or better, and then trying to run off of that. Swimming has been a challenge. Hoping for sub-30 in December. I've put in a lot of time swimming, have done things like a swim analysis, have worked with coaches, etc. Still find it challenging & don't feel like the gains are there. Still trying though.
Should probably add that I had a pulmonary embolism (genetic condition- didn't know at the time) in 2016. On blood thinners for life so that factors into me being a little more cautious on the bike. That slowed me down a little during the run only years, coming back from that.