The Cheap Triathlete Gets Serious

When I started this blog, one of my reasons for it was to express my views on being a triathlete who was unlike other triathletes in my attempts to keep it a manageable hobby both in terms of financial resources and time constraints. Yet I’ve found myself evolving as an endurance athlete and have become increasingly aware that my perceptions and goals have shifted.


In the last year or so, I’ve accomplished goals that I never even had the audacity to set in years past. Things I always accepted as being true (“I guess I’ll always be a 10 minute miler”) have begun to change. So what does that mean?

It means I don’t want to just be a triathlete. I want to be good. Or at the very least, better and always getting better.

I may have been a little dishonest with myself in believing I could do triathlon cheaply. Or maybe I just wasn’t invested enough in the effort. But let’s face it, when registration fees range from $85 to near $1000 per race, it’s hard to imagine how this sport could be inexpensive. And, for better or worse, I still try to do some things as cheaply as possible (my Kinvara 2s are almost a year old and have at least 1200 miles on them).

BUT I have reached the point in my triathlon career where I want to improve, even if it means investing a little more money into that effort. So, I now have a coach. Well, coach/team. I'm proud to say that I've joined Brian Hammond's group, the Everyday Triathletes!

Over the past couple of weeks I did some research, spoke to Brian and even got the opportunity to chat with one of his athletes, who had nothing but praise for him. I met with him last week and we sketched out a training plan, which I'm very excited about and hope to get into a little bit more as the weeks go by.