6 things (other than racing) that make you a triathlete

Many people believe that you officially become a triathlete when you cross the finish line of your first race, and while this is true, there is an unofficial way you become a triathlete, too. As you dive deeper into this sport, you’ll pick up traits that most triathletes share, and this is when you’ll feel that you truly are a member of the club.

The laundry is all yours

You’ve got three sports to train for, so you’re going to create a lot of laundry. You might have multiple training sessions a day, so you’re tossing item after item of clothing into the laundry hamper until it’s nearly overflowing. Even if you live with other people, you’ll realize that almost all of the laundry (or truly all of it) belongs to you a lot of the time. Some people might be embarrassed by this, but you should view it as a badge of honour.

You want to go home early

You used to want to stay up all night when you were out with friends, but you’re definitely a triathlete if nowadays you feel an itch to go home early so you can get to bed. You have a training session scheduled for the morning, so you need to make sure you get enough sleep, right?

You hate relaxing

You know that rest days are important for your recovery, but you can’t stand sitting around and not working out. It feels like you’re doing something wrong, and you might even feel guilty for not exercising at all today.

You say you “only” swam, biked, or ran a certain distance

For most people, getting in the pool, on the bike, or out for a run of any distance is an accomplishment. But you, a seasoned triathlete, will put the word “only” in front of whatever distance you’ve travelled that day in training when people ask you what you did earlier. “Oh, I only ran 5K,” you’ll say, expecting people to ask why you even bothered going for that run. This will almost always get a laugh as the non-triathletes try to wrap their heads around someone who thinks five kilometres isn’t impressive or tough.

You scout training routes everywhere you go

Family vacation? Road trip with friends? Business trip for work? Wherever you’re going, you always make sure to plan ahead and find places you can train. Everyone else in your group is busy looking for nice restaurants or sightseeing opportunities, but you’re busy trying to find the best pool in the area so you can keep your swim fitness up while you’re away.

You like spandex

You might have been embarrassed or self-conscious when you started triathlon and had to wear so much skin-tight clothing, but over time, you got more and more used to it. Now, you might go around town doing chores in your running tights without even thinking about it. Other people notice the guy in the spandex, but you’re just living your normal triathlete life.