We all start somewhere:
I was incredibly lucky growing up. A rambunctious boy who needed to get his energy out, I always needed a physical outlet. Growing up this was biking in the neighborhood with friends, playing in our backyards, and doing any sport my mother signed me up for that month. I turned out to be a jack of all trades when it came to physical activity. My brother, sister, and I did traditional sports like baseball, soccer, swimming, skiing, street hockey, mountain biking, volleyball and basketball.
Never good enough at any of these activities to warrant hyper focusing but always enjoying the physical outlet they provided.
In college I found the club sport of rugby. From an athletics standpoint college is interesting. The “real” athletes have specialized and focused their efforts into high level sports. My rugby years were some of the best athletic years of my life. Unfortunately, however, a sport like rugby has some drawbacks when you enter the working world. There’s something unprofessional about black eyes in meetings that makes you rethink your athletic pastime…..Then came rock climbing.
Rock climbing was the perfect balance of a physical and mental challenge. I could train on my own time and fit in climbing trips on the weekends and as it turned out, Connecticut, is steeped in climbing history. I spent years with climbing being my primary physical outlet. During this time I was lucky enough to meet my wife (also an endurance mentor) and then, like many, we began thinking about starting a family.
Deciding to give triathlon a try:
Climbing declined swiftly. Now what? Throughout the various sports I participated in I continuously came back to biking and running. I’m not sure why, but it’s likely because it was the only other way I knew how to get in shape (I was never any good in the gym). I had participated in a relay triathlon years before and thought about how impressive it was that some people could do all three disciplines back to back to back! I thought I would give it a try myself. At the time Rev 3 ran a 70.3 race in Connecticut they affectionately nicknamed “The Beast of the East”.
Training thoughts:
No training background, no guidance, and no clue what I was doing. This was a good idea…
“More is better” was my training philosophy. I swam, biked, and ran as hard as I could as often as I could. Often on my long Saturday brick sessions I would come home, shower, and go right to bed for an hour or two (No kids at this point). I would bike and run until I popped. Often needing to take days off in between training days. Needless to say this was not a sustainable approach.
My first race:
Despite the unsustainable training I made it to the start line. I thought I knew how to approach a 70.3 distance race. I was wrong. I swam and biked as hard as I could and my legs cramped on the run. I made it to the finish line, but it was slow going. Never the less, I had caught the bug…… To have a bit of fun at my expense, do you know what I brought for nutrition during my first triathlon? If you guessed a peanut butter sandwich and a bag of cooked pasta you would be correct!!!
Public Service Announcement To All Athletes: Do not bring a bag of cooked pasta in your pocket during a triathlon!
Despite my inexperience, I was proud to have finished the race. Endurance sports fit well with my family life and provided the physical outlet I needed.
The big lesson I learned after my first triathlon:
I’ll leave the individual details about nutrition and pacing for later blog posts. The big lesson I learned was that Endurance sports are a puzzle. I was drawn in by their physical nature and I’m now hooked on the metal challenge of trying to execute my best race. The distances are irrelevant. I’ve completed races from 5k to Ironman to ultramarathons. I feel the same way about all of them…….. I think I can do better.
-Joe Gregoire