Surviving a Sprint Triathlon

Three Sports. One Finish Line. Zero Experience Required.

I learned to swim as an adult. Anything is possible. I'm not saying it was pretty — there were several lanes of very patient lap swimmers who witnessed my early attempts — but I got there, and now I know that the swim is the part people fear the most and worry about the least after they've done it. If I can do it, you can do it.

A sprint triathlon is the perfect first tri. The distances are real enough to feel like an achievement — about 750 meters in the water, 12 miles on the bike, then a 5K run — but they're manageable for anyone with a 5K in their past. You don't need to be fast at all three sports. You need to finish all three. That's the goal, and this book is built entirely around that goal.

The training is called "bricks" — you'll run right after you bike, because that's what your legs need to learn to do. It's uncomfortable the first few times. Then it gets better. By race day, you'll have done it enough times that the transitions feel almost normal. Almost. I'm not fast. I'm not graceful. But I finish. And I cross that line wearing medals from all three disciplines, which is exactly as ridiculous and wonderful as it sounds.