Going the distance: An explanation of triathlon race distances

In reading over my first few blog posts, I realized I have used some terms that may cause a little confusion, or at least cause someone to wonder, namely: Sprint, Olympic, and Half.  Though these words are very familiar to everyone, how they relate to the world of triathlon may not be as familiar.

A triathlon is composed of 3 different sports. You start out by swimming, typically in a lake or ocean (some form of open water, though I have done some in pools).  You then immediately transition to the bike, after which you strap on your running shoes for a nice, relaxing jog (or a fast run, depending on how competitive you want to be).  There are 4 different race distances when it coms to triathlon: Sprint, Olympic, Half Ironman, and Ironman.  Instead of letting you wallow in your own confusion/misunderstanding, or making you go somewhere else to figure out what these mean for a triathlete, I will define each of those for you right here, right now!

1. Sprint Distance:
     --1/2 mile (750m) Swim
     --12 mile Bike
     --5K (3.1 mile) Run

2. Olympic Distance:
     --1 mile (1500m) Swim
     --25 mile (40K) Bike
     -- 10K (6.2 mile) Run
          (You will also sometimes see this race distance called a 5150, as you cover 51.5 kilometers over the course of the race.)

3. Half Ironman (also sometimes called 70.3):
     --1.2 mile swim
     --56 mile Bike
     --13.1 mile Run (this is the same as a half marathon)
         (Add these numbers up, and you have covered 70.3 miles in the race, hence the name Ironman 70.3.)

4.  Ironman
     --2.4 mile swim
     --112 mile Bike
     --26.2 mile Run (you guessed it... that is a full marathon)

In the 3 years I have been racing, I have come across some variations in each of these, and have even done some shorter ones that the race organizers called "Splash" distances.  But these are the 4 generally accepted distances.

Photo Shoot

A couple of months ago, I was able to share my story with the employee magazine of the company I work for.  They advertised that the January 2012 issue would be dedicated to health and fitness, and they asked employees (or associates, as the company calls us) to share their stories.  Thinking nothing of it, except that it would be a nice excuse for another paid break, I sat down at one of the work computers and submitted my story.

About a month ago, when I had forgotten all about this, I received a phone call at work.  The person on the other end of the line said they were from the magazine and would like to interview me over the phone.  At the end, she told me that someone would be in touch with me about getting some pictures from my races.

I, again, completely forgot about the interview and submitting the story until I received another phone call this past Monday.  It was a local photographer who had been hired by the magazine for the sole purpose of setting up a photo shoot with me.  We scheduled it for this morning at 9:00 a.m.

At the scheduled time, I met the photographer at Vivian Park in Provo Canyon.  He had picked out a spot about half a mile up the road where the scenery was absolutely stunning.  The leaves on the trees right behind us were a bright yellow, the mountains were green, and the sky was perfectly blue.  The sun was even poking up over the mountain and through the leaves just right!  He set up the camera, had me stand right in the middle of the road with my bike, and began shooting.

He took pictures for about an hour.  Needless to say, I am not a supermodel, and 95% of his pictures are probably of the exact same pose.  But he seemed happy with what he got and kept saying that the pictures will look really good.  Unfortunately, I haven't seen the pictures and don't have any to share. I had to sign a release saying that the company and magazine have all the rights to the pictures, and that I cannot even use the name of the company or any of it's subsidiaries without written consent.  And since I do not have that written consent, I have been using the terms "the company" and "the magazine" in this post (but those of you who know me well, and/or work with me, know what I am talking about).

This is only the second time I have done something like this.  The first was for the newspaper in Dessau, Germany, that did an article on Mormon missionaries when I was serving in Dessau.  I am not completely comfortable in front of a camera like that, and it was a very cold morning, but it was a fun experience.  I am looking forward to seeing how a couple of the pictures turn out when the issue comes out in January!

My Story, Part 3

For the next three months, I trained and trained, until the morning finally came.  I made my way to the race venue, set up my transition spot, and then waited.  I got there plenty early to make sure everything was ready and I wasn't hurried, but that also meant that I had to wait until the race started.  But the race finally started, and I killed the swim, froze on the bike (it was a cold, early spring morning), and perservered on the run.  I finally finished... in under an hour and a half!  The only way I can describe the feeling when I crossed the fininsh line is to say I knew that if I could do a triathlon, I could do anything!

With this new sense of empowerment, I set out to change my life.  I decided that I wanted to help people feel the same way I did.  I began studying at Provo College and within a year was a certified personal trainer.  I now train at Timpanogos Fitness, a private fitness studio in Orem, Utah.

I also continued racing.  In 6 months, I had lost my 40 extra pounds (and I have kept them off for the past two years) and competed in two more triathlons.

It has now been over 2 and a half years since my first race.  I have competed in 15 triathlons (the last eight all being in the past 6 months).  I took second place in my age group at both of the Olympic distance races I did this year, and I also finished my first Half Ironman this past August.  And this is just the beginning!

After completing my first race, I was talking with some of the other participants.  One guy told me that when he started racing, he would add his own body marking which said: DLF > DNF > DNS.  What this means is: Dead Last Finish is greater than Did Not Finish, which is greater than Did Not Start.  Life is full of challenges.  These are what make us stronger, faster, smarter... better than (and greater than) we were before!

My Story, Part 2

My decision to begin training for a triathlon was fueled by more than my extra 40 pounds and what I called my "fat-boy pants." I was also diagnosed as "mildly clinically depressed."  Those were the exact words.  Because of this diagnosis, a few people who were in my life at the time began begging me to see a doctor and get on depression medication.  Ironically, the one who was most vocal about this was on a couple of depression medications that were not working for her.  Though I do believe that these medications can be beneficial, I knew they were not for me. I wanted to try something different; I wanted to tri! So, with these motivating factors, I began training in January of 2009 for my first triathlon.

My training started slowly.  I swam as far as I could three times a week, which--despite my swimming background--was only about 300-500 meters to start.  Being winter time in Utah, my bike work-outs consisted of a half hour on the stationary bike.  My runs were the most pathetic; after walking one lap on the (short) indoor track (6 laps equals 1 mile), I would alternate between jogging slowly and walking for 30 seconds each, repeating that 10 times. This is where I started in January 2009.

My work outs increased in both duration and intensity.  These increases were much greater and quicker in the pool and on the bike than they were on the run, but I made the appropriate increases in running, as well. I had to; I had signed up to compete in my fitst triathlon on the 28th of March.  With only 3 months to train, I wanted to be ready to finish the 300 meter swim, 12 mile bike, and 5K (3.1 mile) run of the Icebreaker sprint distance triathlon.

To be continued...

My Story, Part 1

In order to properly share what I plan to do with my race season next year, I have decided that I would like to share my story.  That way, not only will you have a better idea why I do this crazy thing called triathlon, but you will also have something to read until I solidify my plans for next season.  So, who am I, and why do I tri?

For anyone reading this who may not know me, my name is Scott Swift.  I grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada (as opposed to Las Vegas, New Mexico), and was a very active kid.  My dad started me in competitive swimming when I was about 6 years old.  Swimming took up most of my non-school life during my childhood and early teenage years; the last few years of competition, I was swimming 2-3 hours a day, six days a week.  During my junior and senior years, I changed from swimming to volleyball, which--surprisingly--meant a lot more running than I expected. (Running has never been my favorite sport or activity.)

After I graduated from high school, I was still involved in sports and physical activity, but on a much more recreational--and much less competitive--basis.  My focuses over the next decade were varied, including: college, serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and starting a family.  As life went on, physical activity started to dwindle... until, that is, in January of 2009, at the age of 29 and facing the dreaded 30's, I stepped on a scale for the first time in years (maybe decades) and found that I was about 45 pounds overweight.  I also realized that my pants, waist 36" (I am 5'11"), were so tight that I had to suck in my gut when fastening them and didn't need a belt to keep them up.  This is when I knew I had to change...

I decided right then and there (yes, as I was standing on the scale) that--despite my repugnance for running--I was going to attempt to enter the world of triathlon!

To be continued...

Trying this again...

Ok, so I've tried this blog thing before and really didn't do much with it.  But I am going to try this again.  This time, however, I am going to try it to document my race experiences during the 2012 race season.

2012?  Yes, you read that right.  I know it's 2 and a half months before 2012, and then about another 4 months after that before the race season starts.  But I am trying to do something extra special with this next race season, and it deserves extra planning and preparation.

What is this something special? Follow my new blog, and you will find out!!!