Once upon a time, you woke up at the crack of dawn and decided to challenge yourself, both physically and mentally.

You hopped out of bed—went for a run, a cycle or sometimes even a swim!

You then went on to repeat this process for as many years as your body would endure.

Some days were great! You would come back with an extra kick in your step, raring to go for the next day. On other occasions, you would return home with an unwarranted desire to slather Vaseline between your thighs, to counter the extra chafing you suffered due to pushing yourself an extra 10 miles on the bike.

You put yourself through that and much more, only to be able to call yourself a triathlete…but why?

Because most triathletes are addicted to pain and suffering…but not in a bad way!

The more time spent training, the better you become at understanding your body and mind. Physically, we’re not as fragile as many might assume, we’ve actually evolved to be able cover long distances, day after day. Once you’ve learnt this, your mind can then adapt and help push you through the genuine challenges ahead. Therefore, you’re not crazy for choosing to become a triathlete—you’re merely doing what comes naturally.

Years can be spent finely tuning every nook and cranny of both your physical and mental capacity, all for that infrequent experience of crossing a finishing line, making every second spent training feel worth it.