What is a triathlon?
Well, wikipedia says it best:
A triathlon is an endurance sports event consisting of swimming, cycling and running over various distances. As a result, proficiency in swimming, cycling, or running alone is not sufficient to guarantee a triathlon athlete a competitive time; trained triathletes have learned to race each stage in a way that preserves their energy and endurance for subsequent stages. In most modern triathlons, these events are placed back-to-back in immediate sequence and a competitor’s official time includes the time required to “transition” between the individual legs of the race, including any time necessary for changing clothes and shoes.
Me, I like it because it isn’t any one thing monotonously, but a mixture of different events that break up the boredom of solely training for a single event. Of course, splitting your efforts between three different events means you aren’t an expert in any one area, and there is a saying that goes as follows:
When someone says “Oh, you’re a triathlete”, if they are a non-swimmer it’s a compliment, but if they are a competitive swimmer, it’s a disparaging remark.
Regardless, I like it, and am having a great time training for and competing in triathlons.
For a list of my 2009 schedule, see this page.