Robins Triathalon

Robin's Triathalon

Have you ever seen something you wanted to do so badly that it inspires you to try to do anything you can to do the same? That was me last year. I watched a triathlon on TV. It was one of the Ironman ones, where people are swimming, biking, and running for over 5 hours. It look so hard but looked like it would also be so rewarding. It was also so far from what I was.

I was very much a couch potato, I ate fast food at least once a week, and did not do much for exercise. I was often tired, having little to no energy, and would get head aches a lot. I was a little reluctant to start any exercise because I had knee surgery a couple years earlier and was worried about the pain. When one of my friends joined a gym I kind of got pulled along for the ride. At first I was motivated, I went to the gym and worked out lots for a couple of weeks, but then I slowly slipped back into my old habits and rarely went to the gym. I needed something to give me an edge, to motivate me, to push me.

I had never thought about getting a personal trainer but one at my gym called me for a free consultation and I went in to see the possibilities. After doing a fitness test, taking some measurements, and talking about possible goals, I decided that she was what I was missing in my attempts to do a triathlon. We started training 2-3 times a week. It was nice to have someone there to talk to, it kept attention on us instead of everyone else in the gym. My trainer kept me challenged, slowly adding extra weight to the moves I was already doing, and slowly increasing the speed I was running. It was subtle so I didn't notice it very often, but when I look back on what I started at I noticed a huge change!

This summer I heard about a super sprint triathlon that was taking place in Banff. I wanted to compete in it so badly. It was a 300m swim, 12km bike, and a 5km run. I had never done that many different activities, at such high intensities, one after another. I told my trainer about the triathlon and we changed our weekly routines to incorporate exercises that would help strengthen me in movements that were necessary for the triathlon.

On September 10, 2011, I was standing in waist freezing water in a lake in Banff waiting for the starting whistle. My heart was pounding and I was so excited. Once the whistle blew, I dove in, swimming in the middle of the pack. My legs were shaky when I tried getting out of the water but I slowly jogged up the hill towards my bike. I got on the bike and began pedaling, I was slightly numb from the water, and all I could think about was getting to the bottom of the mountain. I passed a racer, and then another, and another, I was doing much better than I thought I would. I wiped out on my bike at the very end. My wind could only think of the finish line. I raced across the finish line with a time of 1:10:15. I have never been prouder.

When I started going to the gym I hated running and was only able to run 1-2 minutes before I was out of breath. Since then, I am now able to run over 3 minutes without getting tired, my knee pain is almost all gone, and I feel like I have lots of energy now. If I have a bad day I love going the gym, It's an immediate mood booster. I now go to the gym 2-3 times a week and take at least 1 of the group classes that the gym offers. My favorite in the RPM class, it always amazes me that I can keep going and be so sweaty in only an hour.

I wanted to enter the contest to inspire other to achieve their goals. I always lacked motivation and I'm sure others do too. Find a friend, family member, or personal trainer to work out with. It will help keep you motivated and going to the gym even when it's pouring rain outside. Set small goals. I was always excited when I could run an extra minute or add an extra 5 pounds on to the weight I was lifting. It may not seem like much but those small goals add up to big achievements. Find something you want to do, for me it was competing in a triathlon, and work towards it. After completing my triathlon I had such a rush of good feelings of accomplishment. My little brother has decided he wants to do one too, so now I am looking forward to doing another triathlon next year with my family.