I have this buddy, been friends with him for a long time now. He and I were hanging out the other night, when out of nowhere, he told me, “you know what, Jack, I want to complete a triathlon”.
It’s not exactly a secret that my buddy really likes to work out. He gets in foul moods when he skips the gym for a period longer than a couple days, so much so that if he were to ever stop going to the gym, I don’t even know if I could stand being around him. So at this point, you may be thinking… it only makes sense for him to want to do a triathlon. There are just a couple slight problems:
He hates running. Sure, he does it to keep in shape and get his cardio in – but he certainly doesn’t enjoy it. Even if he did enjoy it, when he runs, he only goes for 3 or 4 miles at most! That’s nowhere near where he needs to be for this level of racing. A full marathon isn’t exactly in his foreseeable future.
The guy doesn’t own a bike. Not only does he not own a bike, he also never uses the stationary bike at the gym. Pretty much, the last time he rode a bike regularly was before he got his drivers license – about 10 years ago! Good luck riding 112 miles, buddy.
He’s never swam a long distance in his life. Sure, during the summer he horses around in the pool like the rest of us – but that’s usually limited to playing chicken, or practicing his cannonballs. Not exactly the level of athleticism needed for a 2.4 mile swim.
But what can I say to this guy? I mean, he really has his heart set on this… So, I guess I’ll just let him find out the hard way that there’s no way in hell that he’s ever going to accomplish this lofty quest.
It’s not exactly a secret that my buddy really likes to work out. He gets in foul moods when he skips the gym for a period longer than a couple days, so much so that if he were to ever stop going to the gym, I don’t even know if I could stand being around him. So at this point, you may be thinking… it only makes sense for him to want to do a triathlon. There are just a couple slight problems:
He hates running. Sure, he does it to keep in shape and get his cardio in – but he certainly doesn’t enjoy it. Even if he did enjoy it, when he runs, he only goes for 3 or 4 miles at most! That’s nowhere near where he needs to be for this level of racing. A full marathon isn’t exactly in his foreseeable future.
The guy doesn’t own a bike. Not only does he not own a bike, he also never uses the stationary bike at the gym. Pretty much, the last time he rode a bike regularly was before he got his drivers license – about 10 years ago! Good luck riding 112 miles, buddy.
He’s never swam a long distance in his life. Sure, during the summer he horses around in the pool like the rest of us – but that’s usually limited to playing chicken, or practicing his cannonballs. Not exactly the level of athleticism needed for a 2.4 mile swim.
But what can I say to this guy? I mean, he really has his heart set on this… So, I guess I’ll just let him find out the hard way that there’s no way in hell that he’s ever going to accomplish this lofty quest.
Now, here's the twist...
Ok, there is no friend. This was totally an internal debate I was having. Don’t act all high and mighty - like you don’t have full length conversations with yourself.Sure, it’d be awesome to be able to say that I’ve completed a full triathlon, but let’s be honest… it’s totally not happening. The way that I train at the gym is totally counter productive for what is required to do a triathlon. So, for now, I’ll have to be content working out at the gym, getting in my limited cardio, and spend my summer days perfecting the ole’ cannonball.
I knew you were talking about yourself. Though I somewhat agree with everything you wrote, I still feel you should go for it! I'll be at the finishline cheering you on.
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