That one time I did a triathlon

At the beginning of the summer, my friend Bobby asked me if I wanted to do a triathlon with him. Well, the first thing that came into my mind when asked that question was an image of me falling over dead in the middle of some open road while other participants run/bike by me, shaking their heads. I knew what a triathlon involved: swimming, running, and biking. I enjoy all of these, but I'm not particularly good at any of them. Bobby whittled down my reservations by telling me it was a small triathlon, only a 300m swim, 15 mile bike ride, and a 5K run. In my head, that actually sounded doable. I could do all of those things separately without too much trouble, so if I trained for a month and half of so, I could see myself being okay in a triathlon of that size. I had even already begun to ride 8-10 miles every other day on the bike, so I already had a start of some sort! I told Bobby I'd do it.

I set up a summer training regimen of sorts:
       1. Ride 20+ miles one day
       2. Rest Day
       3. Ride 15-18 miles and immediately run at least 2 miles
       4. Rest Day


It didn't take long to fall into a good rhythm, with only a couple misses here and there because of vacations. 15 miles on a bike became easy, but running directly after a ride never became easy. I felt so slow compared to home quickly I normally ran. And I never practiced swimming. I don't have access to a pool for free, so that kept me from pursuing that. The more into the summer I got, the more confidence I gained in being able to do the triathlon. Before I knew it, August 9th was upon me.

Bobby had convinced me the night before to do a nighttime sand volleyball tournament that kept me up until 12:30am the night before, and I was spending the night on Josh's couch. I didn't sleep well, but I was up at 5:45am on race day and heading for Bluffton by 6:15am. After checking in a bit before 7am, I waited around anxiously for Bobby to arrive. Once he got there and set up his stuff, we also found Rachel, another HU alumni, and spoke awhile before the triathlon began. Just before 8am they herded us all into the pool area and lined us up, and then at 8am they started us on the swimming portion.

I was in the middle of the line, and I immediately knew I was up too far. I needed to be near the back because the swim was going to be rough for me. Before I knew it I was next to enter the pool, and with a "Go!" from the man at the edge of the pool I was in the water. 300 meters is 6 laps of a full sized pool. I swam the first two laps without too much of a problem, but I had to catch my breath a bit after that. I then had to stop every lap (50m) after that because I simply didn't have the endurance and strength to QUICKLY complete the swim portion. I got passed by plenty of people, but I knew this was going to happen so I didn't get too discouraged.

After completing my final lap, I rushed out of the pool and into the locker room to change, then back to the staging area for the bikes. Almost everyone else was gone by now, but I strapped my helmet on and took off. I knew I was far behind almost everyone else and knew exactly how big of a hole the swimming portion put me in. I was also still trying to get my breathing back to normal, and it took four miles of riding on hilly country roads to get it there. Once I was able to do that, I could kick it into a higher gear even though I was incredibly thirsty. I rode noticeably faster and enjoyed myself a lot more. I even passed someone I had seen just as a neon speck in the distance at the start of the bike portion. It was weird wearing a helmet though.

Once I got back to the staging area I left my bike and took a loooong swig of water before heading out to do the run. I was moving slow, but I still felt pretty good. As I was running, I wondered where Bobby and Rachel were and if they had actually finished the run portion before I even started. I did see Bobby while I was out, but he had already finished and had gone back in to find his sister-in-law and run with her. It was a peaceful run and roads in a state park, even ducking onto a trail for awhile (where I passed someone else!). When I figured I was about a quarter miles away from the finish line, I decided to give it one last push and finish strong. Before the triathlon started I didn't think I'd have it in me at that point to run faster, but as it turned out I did. I breezed across the finish line and was immediately given a medal, which I promptly took off because I was way too sweaty to have that on me.

I had done it. I'd be lying if I hadn't thought about stopping in those first few miles on the bike, with my lungs searching for a normal breathing rhythm, but I pushed through and COMPLETED A TRIATHLON. After a cool down period I found Bobby and Rachel, who were listening to an announcer reading off placements for different age groups. Not long after I got there I spacing out when Bobby turned to me and told me they'd called my name for 3rd place in my age group. Stunned, I went forward and accepted the medal. Turns out there were only 3 guys entered in the 20-24 age group, so we all got a medal!

My final time was 1:58:52...nowhere close to Bobby and Rachel's times, but I didn't care. I knew my swim was going to be abysmal, so I was never concerned about my time. My arms were sore for several days afterwards, but boy was that a cool experience.

Spending on Experiences

What do you spend your money on? This isn’t a rhetorical question that I’m musing over; I’m asking each and every one of year that is reading this. What do you spend your money on?  Take a couple seconds and really think about the things you invest in. A lot of the time how a person spends their money can tell you quite a bit about a person.

For me, I can tell you that the three things I spend the most money on are food, movies, and gasoline. Food is probably the number one thing, partly because I am living on my own now and do my own shopping, but another reason is because I go out to eat once or twice a week. I LOVE FOOD. I can talk about food for hours: what is good, what I want to try, restaurants I've been to…and I never get bored. I like trying new things to eat and going to restaurants I've never been to before.  My spending on movies comes mostly from going to the theater a lot and Redboxing movies every once in awhile. I don’t spend a lot on buying movies because I used to and that added up FAST. I love getting wrapped up in those stories and seeing how the stories come to life on the big screen. The last item, gasoline, comes from how often I chose to travel.

One thing that I noticed about these three items is one word: experiences. Eating and trying new foods/places is about having the experience. Watching movies is all about the experience and the feelings you go through while watching it. Gasoline helps me get to and from experiences like seeing family, a New Year’s Party, and a trip to the zoo. I truly feel that spending money on experiences is one of the best ways to spend your money. Clothes only last so long and then they’re gone, and do you really need to upgrade a sound system to blow out your eardrums? I think not. Go to a concert or see a stand-up comedian. Take a road trip to see out of state friends or visit a place you've always wanted to visit.  Go out to that restaurant you've always wanted to try or plan to go out bowling or mini golfing with some friends. Oh, and don’t forget to get a camera J

Spending on experiences helps you to create wonderful memories. When I look back at the things I’ve spent money on over the years, the first things that come to my mind aren’t the Pokemon cards I spent WAY too much money on when I was little or the video games I’ve played. I think of the Spring Break trip to Gatlinburg, the New Year’s parties I’ve set up, and the trip I took to Universal Studios this past summer. I think of the road trip to IL and WI I took with friends this summer, the Pentatonix concert this fall (and soon in the spring too), and all of the disc golf courses I’ve played at.

In all honesty, material things are only going to last you so long. Clothes will rip, tear, or wear. Electronics will break or get lost, and a new model is going to come out soon anyway. The memories you get from spending on experiences, however, last a very long time, especially if you have pictures. And don’t just have these experiences on your own…share in them with people you enjoy being with, because then those experiences will be so much sweeter. Go on an adventure. Explore the many things the world has to offer. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.