Getting Started

This is Part 1 of how I became a triathlete. One of the things that I love about the sport is that it is a sport for anyone and everyone. Once you tri, you will be hooked! Hopefully my experiences will demonstrate that.

Triathlon is still a growing sport. The numbers of triathletes are on the rise, and thanks to all of the kids' triathlons, athletes are now starting at a younger age. In a sport that is still garnering support among the younger crowds, I decided to do an Ironman at the age of 22 (23 in race-day age). How did I get involved at a relatively young age?

I grew up as a soccer player. I was a goalkeeper pretty much my entire life. When I was 13, I saw a flier for this thing called a triathlon at our local Jamba Juice. I had never heard of a triathlon before that, but I thought that swimming, biking and running sounded like fun, so I told my dad that I wanted to do it. I figured since I had experience swimming from recreational swim team and I kind of ran at soccer practice (again, I was a goalkeeper, hence the "kind of"), I never had any doubts about being able to complete the race. My dad was skeptical and tried to tell me about how difficult a triathlon would be, but I'm a very persistent person so he signed us up.

I didn't own a bike at this time. I borrowed a bike from my dad's friend. I rode to swim practice and my dad and I rode to soccer practice as our triathlon training- probably pretty minimal training when we think about it now, but it was enough.

Time for race day at Discovery Park in Sacramento, CA in September, 2002! The River City Triathlon was a sprint distance race consisting of a 500 yard swim in the American River, 11 mile bike ride and 3 mile run. I was excited. My family was all there to cheer us on. This was a wave start, so my dad started a few minutes before I did. We ended up getting out of the water at the same time, which was funny, but also good to know where he was! I honestly don't remember much about the bike ride, other than thinking that it was such a cool experience that I could wake up early in the morning and race.

Time to start the three mile run! The run is really what cemented my interest in triathlon. There were so many supportive athletes! With our ages written on our calves, everyone knew that I was one of the youngest competitors and everyone was very encouraging. I met a very nice woman during the run who seemed very excited about a young athlete. She is the one who told me about an Ironman race that she did in Hawaii. I thought that it sounded like fun, so I made it my goal to do it one day (thank you for planting the seed at such a young age- I'm sure my dad thanks you, too).

For anyone who has not done an endurance race, I'm sure the question on your mind is: what is the appeal? Honestly, what's not to love? 1) The community is always very supportive. Having people cheer you on is awesome. We're all trying to get each other to the finish line. 2) It's an amazing feeling when you accomplish a goal that you have worked hard to complete, especially when there are great announcers calling your name as you cross the finish line 3) The finish line is like a big party, and really, who doesn't like a good party?

I finished my first race in first place in the 19 and under age group. This, of course, made me even more excited about racing. I was very proud of my medal and even wore it to school the next Monday. I had so much fun and was ready for more racing with my dad. All I needed was a bike of my own.