This is the story of how I got to Clearwater (the first time), you could call it a prologue. . .
My athletic history dates back to the mid 1980's when I took up the sport of competitive swimming. Over the years, I dabbled in some other athletic endeavors, but swimming was the thing that stuck. I managed to compete a few times at a national level, and was fortunate enough to be awarded a scholarship to swim at The University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Upon accepting the fact that swimming in the Olympics would not be in my future, I took some time off after college.
5 years later. . . and about 40 lbs overweight (although I didn't know it at the time), I stumbled into triathlon when some co-workers asked me to do the swim leg for their triathlon relay. I got in the pool a few times prior to the race, just to make sure I still knew how to float, then it was off to Hiawassee for some relay action. I had never been to a triathlon before, and the energy surrounding the event was intoxicating. The crowd and the competition brought me back to a place I had not been in a while, so you could say that I was bitten by the triathlon bug in 2004.
After making the decision to give triathlon a try, there was still a long road ahead. I was working full time and working on a graduate degree at the same time, not to mention I was out of shape, and I'd never been on a bike with skinny tires before. Finally, with the end of my MBA in sight, I bought an entry level road bike and got started with some training, or at least some moderate physical activity that seemed like training at the time. . .
As I regained fitness and learned more about how to train, I continued to post better and better results. As with most things, increased success leads to increased motivation, and over the last two years my progress has been steady, and my motivation has been high. The race in Clearwater was the culmination of my first two complete seasons of triathlon training, and the success has motivated me to redouble my efforts and see just where the story goes.
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