Little known fact about me, I like sports. It feels kind of risqué admitting it to an audience no doubt made up of mostly technologists, geeks and nerds; the very people with whom I regularly make “sports ball” jokes with, but it’s true. But I’m not your typical sports fan. Sure, I watch the Superbowl. Yes, I enjoy going to see a baseball game with friends once in a while (maybe < once a year in reality) but those aren’t my passion. I like individual sports. My personal favorites to watch are speed skating and cycling. Coincidentally, those also happen to be two that I compete in. SURPRISE, I don’t sit in front of my computer all day. In fact, of all the things I do in life, that’s probably my least favorite.
One of the earliest memories I have as a child is my parents teaching me to ride a bike. Some years later, maybe when I was somewhere between 8-11 years old, I discovered the world of inline skating. I’ve felt at home both on two and four wheels ever since. It wasn’t until I was about 17 years old, however, that I really found an interest in riding bikes (more than just as a way to get to a friend’s house at least). I spent the junior and senior years of high school doing basically two things outside of school: biking and discovering the Internet. I would come home from school, immediately get on my bicycle and ride for hours. I’d come home in time for family dinner, do my homework (maybe) and then I was upstairs in my “cave”, online on IRC, message boards, you name it. I would typically be up until 2, 3AM, sometimes later. Up for school the next day at 6AM, repeat.
It wasn’t until last year, however, that I thought that maybe I should try this racing thing. I’d always just enjoyed skating or biking for their own right. I never felt compelled to prove I was better than another person. Something in me has changed in the last year. While I still don’t feel that competitive drive to beat another person, I want to beat myself; to prove that I can consistently improve on my own times and my own achievements. This has driven me to make triathlon my sport of choice this year.
I view triathlon as a sport in which you prove your capabilities only to yourself. Sure you can be faster than another person, you can win the race. But so many people compete not against others but against the clock , against themselves in this sport. It feels like a natural fit. This year, I have no real goals other than to be consistent. I’m on a structured training plan which has already started to really help me improve. I also have a couple of races lined up for the year, just something to motivate me to stay on target with my training.
So, I’m going to try to keep the tags straight on the posts but you might start seeing some non-tech posts popping up every now and again. Hopefully you’ll stick around for the journey.