I swam 750m in the Mediterranean Sea, biked 20km beneath Mount Olympus, then ran 5K along the coast. My first triathlon. My first race of any kind: Trifast by
@triman.gr I tried listing everyone who helped me. Eight paragraphs later, I realized I was writing a new Silmarillion, not an insta caption.
Triathlon’s a solitary sport. You train mostly alone, then race against yourself. It’s the right season in my life to turn inward, to build the calm I need to parent well. Triathlon requires predictability. On Sunday, I already know what Thursday will look like: when I’ll wake up, what we’ll eat, when I’ll train, how I can include the kid in the fun. When your work has no routine and your life exists across multiple places, structure feels like relief.
Community comes with necessity: when you can’t afford to support 3 sports, when you’re new (to one or all three). I got so much gear, knowledge, training buddies, encouragement.
If you’re a Balkan woman reading this and you’re thinking “I could never,” I’m talking to you.
I started swimming regularly for the first time in January. I couldn’t afford a gym to access stationary bikes. A neighbor gave me her Peloton. I started running seriously in Feb. I didn’t even get to my bike until March. I raced in the one pair of running shoes I already owned, on my 10+ year old
@feltbicycles road bike, wearing a jersey someone described as “classic” (
@tenspeedhero ❤️🔥)
My discounted wetsuit compressed my chest too tightly. I had zero open water experience. My coach, Momchil,
@myendurancelife got in the water with me–on his birthday no less! I felt at home on my bike, I was in my element running, the rain didn’t bother me.
My kid ran the last 100 meters and crossed the finish line with me. Later that evening, I found out I’d won first place in my division.
My gender+age group is the fastest growing division in triathlon in the US. In the Balkans, it’s a tiny fraction. While my race results may not floor you in absolute terms, just finishing a Balkan triathlon as a woman entering my 40s is already extraordinary.
And it’s giving me so much back. Come win with me 🙌🏽 Photos 1,3,5,7,8:
@fototrexoume 
