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Why Tri?

Friday, 10 February 2017 23:10

By Erin Stout (runnersworld.com)

Most runners will run until they can't run anymore. Mention cross-training and they scowl. Suggest going for a long afternoon bike ride and they'd rather do the same distance on foot at the crack of dawn. Swimming? Not unless there's a post-race party and some frosty adult beverages involved.

But runners also have an often unspoken curiosity about triathlon, whether they admit it or not. Sure, they'll snark, "That's three sports, not one," or "Why excel at one sport when you can be mediocre at three?" But the day will come—either because of age or injury—that most of us will need to seek out an alternative to the constant stress and pounding of running. Learning how to train for triathlon is not a bad way to stay fit, no matter what your reason. It may even improve your running performance....

"As a lifelong runner, more and more work is required to set smaller and smaller PRs, and eventually I will be 'over the hill' and PRs won't come around ever," says Jason Pedersen, 26, a former NCAA cross country and track runner for Northern Arizona University who is now a professional triathlete training in California. "Taking up swimming and cycling allows you a new path to set PRs, which is really what motivates most of us to train anyway."

The new adventure also requires a new attitude for those who have focused exclusively on running for most of their lives. READ MORE