Sam Parr  ⚪️

I'm doing a half Ironman in Dec. I'm a few months into training. It's been very, very hard. This is my first time doing a long race like this. It's been demanding, but fun. Here are a few pros and cons I've had (for anyone looking to get off the couch and try it out!).

I only competed in college for 2 years. After school, I didn't workout much. Now, 8 years later, I'm getting back into it. Slightly above average fitness, but went into this training not being that fit. Ok, so here are the pros and cons.

Pro: Doing cardio 10-15 hours a week, sweating that much feels great. Having a goal/deadline made me 10x more disciplined about fitness. Hours in the pool without a phone is my fav. Training is more about nutrition than I thought, so learning about that has been game-changing.

Pro: Its easy to see gains. I couldn't swim well before this, but I'm surprised how fast I've improved. Feels great. I thought 60 min of cardio was awful. But now that's just the warmup. Makes me proud of myself + expanded what I thought I could do.

Pro: 10-15 hours is a lot of time, but it's not too bad. 60-90 min on school nights, and 2-4 hours on Saturday/Sunday. My weekends are dedicated to long rides/swims/runs. But it's cool. The alone time is great. The triathlon/weekend warrior community is super supportive.

But the biggest pro: I hired a coach ($200/monthly). And because I have a goal, I've eliminated fuckarounditis with fitness. I've had this for years. Having a goal, a plan, and accountability...I should have created this setup years ago vs dicking around at the gym for years.

Ok, now the cons, which are maybe bigger than the pros: 10-15 hours/week doing cardio is not at all the best way to get general fitness. A few hours of weekly cardio and weights would be better for general fitness. Easier. 3-hour bike rides suck and getting it done is an ordeal.