November 7th, 2021 | Fight

Yesterday I completed a triathlon with almost no training.

The only thing I trained for was the swim, for a few weeks.

The first day I went for a swim I did 150m. By the end of the second week I was swimming 1km with ease.

That’s the blessing of being a beginner. You get newbie gains.

I made every single basic mistake in the book. With a little bit of practice and a lot of YouTube, my performance skyrocketed.

1. I used to keep my head looking forward. You burn your back and traps that way and it fucks with your breathing. You have to look down. The reason I did that mistake was because I didn’t have goggles at first and wanted to know where I’m going.

2. I was kicking too much. Legs consume a lot of energy and gas you out. The legs should kick just enough to keep you horizontal and twist your torso.

3. Was going too hard. Swimming is all about being completely loose, focusing on your breath, being calm and confident. It’s not about struggling. It’s about relaxing and taking your time.

4. I was constantly adjusting my swimming trunks. Got a pair of speedos. The ones that look like shorts!

Ok, so let’s talk about the race.

I did the 1.5km swim very easily. Took a bit less than an hour. I was surprised.

The running, which was last, was also easy. A 10km run. This took also a bit less than an hour.

The bike fucked me up. Which I didn’t expect at all.

Just 5 minutes in and my legs were burning. Literally on fire.

“What the fuck? I thought this would be the easiest part!”

I stop at a crossroad and check my wheels. I lift the bike and spin them.

Spin the back wheel… Perfect. It kept on spinning for almost 10 seconds.

Spin the front wheel… Shit. 1 second and then it stopped.

I used to get this when I was a kid. The brake being in contact with the wheel. I tried fixing it but I didn’t have any tools so I just gave up, said fuck it and continued.

I did 40km with essentially the brakes for the whole time. Took me 3 hours and killed me.

So, in total 5 hours.

Not a good time. But a ton of fun.

While I was going through this torturing experience, especially on the bike, a thought would come to me again and again.

“I’ve done a marathon. I’ve done a triathlon. The next step would be a half ironman and then an ironman or ultra marathons.

But honestly. I’ve had enough.

Fuck endurance races. I think I want to fight again.”

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