A new sport for me

This is how I picture a triathlete. I chose this photo (Chrissie Wellington = legend).. because it's a bit cooler than trying to explain what I looked like with a borrowed bike, sneakers, lycra shorts and a cotton tank top grinding up the hills of Phuket over the weekend!

I signed up for a training camp because I'm about to do my first triathlon at the end of November. Another triathlete asked me recently if my background was in swimming, biking or running? I honestly thought about it and then explained that I have a "willing to get off the couch" kind of a background more than anything. But already I love triathlon! Here's why:

1. It's fun! It's a different way to play. At the training camp we did ocean swimming, pool swimming, running drills, road running and lots of biking up and down hills. I loved every session... and the rest times of snacking, napping or having a beer at the beach were pretty awesome too.

2. It keeps me humble. Yes.. it was intimidating. I was more than a bit freaked out. Who is this chick from Poipet rocking up to Phuket with zero tri experience with a swimming costume she bought in 2004?! (Haha! True.) It's easy to think that some sports are only accessible to the rich who have time and money for expensive equipment, professional coaching and all the latest gadgets... but there are ways around these barriers. In tri, it is possible to participate with great athletes even though I will never compete against them. We all play in the same water, ride over the same hills and run the same course to finish. The pros (and probably any guy under the age of 60) just get to finish and take a rest a little earlier than I do! No worries! (I will update my swimsuit though...)

3. It is motivation to improve my fitness. This is an incentive to structure my exercise around this three-in-one sport. It's natural cross-training and that makes sense on days that I'm sick of running.

4. It helps my work. We have over a thousand people involved in different sports activities in Poipet. On November 20 we plan to kick off our Youth League for the 2011-2012 season. I'm always trying to motivate others to push past their fears, to get involved in sport in new ways and to stretch themselves beyond what they thought they were capable of doing. So I get to walk the talk because triathlon stretches me.. big time.

5. It's a great way to meet interesting people. At the training camp I discovered that nobody really cares if one of the group is a bit slower or faster. Nobody cares if someone has to modify a session because they can't do all the sets. Nobody cares when there are a few minutes that separate us at the end of a 2-hour mini-race. We chat together- sweaty, red-faced and grinning from the endorphin high!