The other day on the bus, as I was reading the latest issue of Inside Triathlon, the guy next to me asked “So, are you a triathlete?”
I replied in the affirmative, and he asked if I knew about a fighter (Nick Diaz, I think), who does triathlons as part of his training. I hadn’t heard of him, but we kept chatting.
Turns out he’s dropped 70 pounds recently by doing a run-a-block, walk-a-block routine everywhere he goes. Nice! He had the impression, as does almost everyone I talk to, that “triathlon” meant only “Ironman.” I corrected him, and gave him a quick summary of my own journey, which started with a Sprint distance race in Lake Chelan. He’s actually moving to Winthrop soon, which is only about an hour away from there. I encouraged him to check it out, sign up, and go for it!
In other news, a friend of mine is training for her first 5K in May, and has been asking me for advice as she goes along. Another friend has asked for general weight-loss advice, and I even helped my sister out recently with some tips on surviving Bikram yoga (more specifically, avoiding a splitting migraine afterwards).
Weird!
I don’t feel like I’ve ever been any kind of role model before. I just happened to finally find something I love doing, which has clearly benefited me in multiple ways, and in the course of pursuing it I’ve gained knowledge, which others are now asking me for. It’s a very strange position in which I find myself, but one I’m starting to get used to, and enjoy.
I don’t have any formal training or certification in this stuff, though, so all my advice comes with great big caveats along the lines of “this is just what’s worked for me.” That may need to be addressed at some point…