Addicted to Sport.

Lack of money can really interrupt the joy of doing certain activities. Swimming is rather cheap, find a lake or free pool or even hop a fence and have at'er -ah pool hoping what a great past time that was. Bathing suits are relatively cheap and even a decent wet suit can be on the lower end of the cost scale.

Running is great b/c the most expensive part are the running shoes. If you run a great deal you are replacing your shoes every 4 months or so, but still not to bad. You can buy water bottles and water bottle belts, new shorts and shirts but all in all the costs involved in running are really not so bad.

Now mountain and/or road biking your into the higher costs. For avid and aggressive riders of both sports you are not looking for anything less then $1000+. But the initial cost for the bike is the biggest after that it is personal choice of what accessories you want. For increased speed, advancing skill level, a more enjoyable ride or going through trails and up hill with authority, then clipless pedals are a must. With clipless pedals you also need clipless shoes -see below.Helmet, gloves, water bottles…the list can go on.

This was in my mind years ago when I looked for my new mountain bike. I could only by one bike; road or mountain. With the amount of mountain biking we do it was definitely a new MTB. I came across not only the bike that I have always wanted but it was marked down by $1000. Although still costly the saving was too much to pass up.

Well 3 years have passed since that decision and the means are beginning to add up. Tracy and I are both anxious to get into road biking. It will not be this season for sure with the house and trip but who knows maybe summer 09.

It is hard to justify purchasing another piece of gear but the addiction we have to sport is stronger then pretty much anything else we do. So the three sports I mentioned early; swimming, running and biking, all come together to equal; Triathlon. Competing in the two day adventure race triathlon I did 3 years ago included; a day of orienteering while kayaking, mountain biking and trail running, rest, and get up the next morning and do it all over again over different terrain.

Healthy competition is a great part of life and for me active competition takes the Cliff chocolate almond bar…cake…whatever. Looking for new challenges and competition is always fun. Once a road bike is acquired I don’t think that it would take rather long to throw my helmet in the race and partake in one of the many tri events in the area. Although Tracy stated that she hates swimming -probably from all those years of lifeguarding- it took about 30 seconds for her addiction to sport to set in and she immediately stated that she would partake in a Tri as well.

Although triathlons vary with beginner distances, sprints and so on the ITU (International Triathlon Union) states the ‘long’ -average-distance as; 3.0 km swim, 80 km ride and finishing with a 20 km run. Then of course there is the behemoth and utterly frightening Ironman with distances that leave my legs quivering just reading them 3.8 km swim, 180 km ride and finishing with a full marathon 42.2 km run.

I have a couple friends that have completed Ironman competitions and the stories, good and bad, are extremely interesting and leave you with the feeling of wanting to challenge yourself to see how far you can push your mind and body.

Once ready and I have the bike I want I will push myself for the Olympic distance, 1.5k swim, 40k bike, and 10k run, and work towards the ITU’s standard distance. But I do not believe that I would ever be ready for the daunting task and hours and months of training required to complete the Ironman. Those people are in a class of their own and all I can do is merely applaud and admire their efforts and unrelenting determination, and use it as fuel for my own efforts.