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Lisa Izzi Instructor: Malcolm Campbell English 1103 November 6, 2013

Would You Tri a Triathlon?

When someone tells you that they compete in triathlons, the most common response is Have you done an Ironman? This is because most people do not know a lot about triathlons, all they know is that an Ironman is a really hard triathlon. The Ironman is the hardest triathlon a person can put their body through. It involves swimming 2.4 miles, cycling 112 miles, and then finally running 26.2 miles. Ironman triathlons are great, but they are not the only option any more. Triathlons consist of Super Sprints, Sprints, Olympic Distances, Half Ironmans, Ironmans, and even off road triathlons that involve mountain biking and trail running. According to Juan. because people have become more fitness conscious and triathlons are involved in the Olympics, the triathlons popularity has increased drastically (Juan). Everyone from young professionals to stay at home mothers have taken up triathlons to stay healthy and regain some of their youthful athleticism. So what makes triathlons so popular? According to an article from TriCrowd, over the last five years United States of America Triathlon (USAT) membership has gone from 50,000 to 135,000 annual members (Juan). Out of that increase in membership a large portion of them are women. Women in particular love the idea of triathlons because it provides a sense of accomplishment. I particularly love the idea that I am not stuck running for four hours like I

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would have to in a marathon. Instead, I get to swim, bike and run in the same amount of time without getting bored with one sport. Specifically, over the past 30 years the amount of female membership has jumped from 31% to 45%, which is incredible (Triathlons Hot Fitness Trend Among Women). There are even triathlons that are only for women to participate in! Many women register for triathlons because it gives spiritual and mental benefits, and allows for cross training, which reduces injuries. Dr. Cedric Bryant, chief exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise, said, triathlons can provide an incredible sense of accomplishment in addition to testing ones physical endurance (Triathlons Hot Fitness Trend Among Women). When talking about the popularity of triathlons, women and children have played a key role. Women especially love triathlons, maybe even more then men, because they can do them with friends instead of on their own. This is why the Rambling Rose was established. The Rambling Rose is a triathlon specifically designed for women just looking to enter a triathlon for health benefits and to have fun. It involves swimming 250 yards, then biking nine miles and running two miles. They are held all over the country through out the year. There are so many women that enter the race; some are really fast and come to win while others just want to finish the race and have fun doing it with friends. Triathlons have proven to be a great way to meet new people, who could eventually become your training partner for the next race. Having someone there to hold you accountable for working out every day is a great way to make sure you stay in shape and prepares you for the races to come. The most important part about the Rambling Rose is that women all over the world feel comfortable and confident enough to do a triathlon, which leads to a healthier population of women. Age associated changes in triathlon performance are also related to the total duration of the triathlon races. For this reason most triathlons, especially the not so

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competitive triathlons, create age groups to compete in so that the 60 year olds are not competing against 20 year olds. Not having the pressure of racing against men, in another reason why the Rambling Rose is liked so much by women. Many women love the idea of training to get healthy, making sure it is nothing too intense, and the Rambling Rose allows for that to happen. They want a place where they can test their weekend warrior skills. Triathlon organizations have started to understand the differences between genders and age, and have created a race to account for that, this way everyone is encouraged to enter a triathlon. More and more people have become aware of the benefits of exercise, especially as one gets older. One of the greatest benefits of training for a triathlon is the total body fitness that comes along with all the training (Triathlon Training Benefits). The workout plans that one goes through when training for a triathlon emphasizes cardiovascular conditioning, works all the major muscle groups, builds the kind of full-body strength that many runners lack, and adds tons of variety to a training program that keeps you motivated (Eric Harr). Throughoutall of this training, you start to reconnect with your body, making you feel fantastic. Working out keeps you active and the diversity of training for a triathlon keeps you interested in your workout and prevents you from burning out. That way when you do not feel like running one day, you can go for a swim or cycle instead. There is never any excuse for not being motivated to workout. Triathlons also help you become very productive because training requires a lot of time and effort there is very little time to do school work or other tasks that have to be done. When I am not training, my grades in school go down and I always procrastinate all of my work, but when I am in training my mind is clear and focused. I know that I have very little time to do my homework so when I have free time it gets done, rather than getting put aside.

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When training for triathlons, most people enjoy the cross training benefits that triathlons can give them. Cross training has become a huge fad over the past few years because you are not constantly training in the same sport, which can become boring, and it reduces injuries. Being a triathlete, you automatically are cross training which means less injuries. Training in one sport means you are constantly putting stress on the same joints every day. This kind of repetitive stress can lead to multiple stress related injuries. Cross training distributes the stress evenly to your bones and muscles and develops a more balanced fitness as opposed to running where you are constantly putting stress on your knees and ankles according to Eric Harr (Harr). Cross training significantly reduces those types of injuries because instead of training in one sport every day, you train in multiple sports throughout the week. For triathlons, you are constantly alternating between swimming, biking and running, meaning your bones are not being stressed as much as a runners would. Some people say that triathletes are more injury prone since each sport that they train in causes a different injury, while others believe that since they do not focus on just one event, overuse injuries in triathletes cannot happen. There have been studies shown that triathletes actually have a much higher rate of injuries then other athletes. This is because triathletes tend to train way too hard too fast, according to Scott Miller a physical therapist. Doctors say that newcomers are particularly injury-prone because of the rigors of training simultaneously for swimming, cycling, and running. Overall, the amount of injuries that triathletes get compared to runner are relatively the same, it is just the type of injuries that differ. Exercise is addicting and entering in your first triathlon gives you such a drive to train as much as you can in order to do great on your first triathlon. This kind of passion is what makes training smart difficult, because even though you may want to start off training two-a-days, which is when you train twice in one day, the safest way to start training would be easing into

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workout, working your way up to two-a-days. Although studies show that triathletes are more injury prone, it is not because of the sport, but rather the athlete. Coming from personal experience, as well as from multiple triathletes that I have talked to, triathletes do not like to rest. We all train as hard as we can and push our bodies to the max in order to be in the best possible shape for the upcoming race even if it means training through injuries. This type of training is not the most efficient way because it will then lead to bigger injuries because we did not let our bodies recover in enough time. Cross training properly burns an enormous amount of fat from many areas of your body and makes your body almost injury proof (Harr). The most important benefit to triathlons is that they are healthy for you. Most people care about the way they look and one of the biggest issues in America is obesity. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, regular exercise can lower your blood pressure, prevent diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers and reduce your risk of osteoporosis and depression. The increase interest in triathlons is due to this new awareness of the importance of our health. The amount of training that triathlons require gives people a will to eat better and more nutritious foods (Harr). These types of habits start a wonderful cycle of eating right and staying in shape instead of being stuck in the vicious cycle of eating junk food which results in you feeling dull, and tired and this gives you no motivation to workout. I know that every time that I do not feel good or am just so exhausted that I cannot even think straight, I need to go workout. Exercise clears my mind and gives me more energy to get you through the rest of the day. The problem is that you have to find a sport that you love and are passionate about. Triathlons popularity has allowed everyone to feel welcome in the sport and is organized in way that is suitable for every age, even little kids.

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Kids are another major part in triathlons. In fact, I did my first triathlon with my best friend, when I was nine. I had so much fun and from that moment on I knew that triathlons were where I should be. Although I did not get really involved in them until I was older, triathlons were a really great way to make you feel like you had accomplished something great in your life so far. Childhood obesity is on the rise, and over the past three decades, the childhood obesity rates have more than doubled according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Preventing Childhood Obesity Institute of Medicine. Unless we do something about this problem those numbers are going to continue rising and people have started to realize that triathlons are a great way to start. It has been proven that physically active kids have more energy and overall better health than those who are less active. USA Triathlon has been implementing camps and other programs all over the states for both recreational and elite participants to reach younger generations (Guest Post: Health Trends In Today's Youth - Triathlons Offer A Physical Outlet For Younger Generations). USA Triathlon said that in 2008 it had about 23,500 members who were under 18, which is up 36% from 2006. This is amazing because it means that kids all over the US are becoming more involved in triathlons, which means that they are getting active, instead of just watching T.V. on the couch at home. Triathlons popularity has really been because of the realization of the importance of exercise. The great part of entering triathlons is that most kids do not like the idea that they have to go out and run a mile or two straight, they think that is hard and boring. Triathlons are like an adventure, you are constantly changing from one sport to another so that you are not ever bored and you barely even realize that you are exercising. Now, with the popularity of triathlons on the rise, there are triathlon-training clubs for kids to attend so that they do not have to train for them on their own. Jim Thomas said, the popularity of triathlons in kids

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has actually allowed the IronKids series to be reintroduced (Thomas). It has eight different races for children ages six to fifteen. According to Michelle Payette, the director of Iron Kids, triathlons could spread like wildfire they are on the brink of something big and extraordinary. This is the new generation. We need to start them young and get them involved in the sport, which is exactly what Ironkids is trying to do, inspire and motivate youth through the sport to lead an active, positive, and healthy lifestyle (About IronKids). Children will compete in ageappropriate distances with an emphasis on fitness, fun, and safety. This is so that parents do not overtrain their kids or force them to race distances that are too much for their bodies to handle. IronKids represents a multi-dimensional approach to creating positive experiences for athletes, families, and communities, as well as embodies achievement and determination while fostering self-esteem (About IronKids). The IronKids program is a great way to get kids active and involved in the sport of triathlons and it allows them to train with kids their same age, get healthy and make a lot of new friends, which is what sport is all about. Starting to train kids at a young age involves a lot of precautions. Is the popularity of triathlons beneficial for our society? Although it is great that kids are getting out and exercising, there is only so much that their bodies can take and sometimes parents push the kids to over train and other parents are worried that even minimal training can hurt their children. Ms. Van Diggelen, a mother of three, concluded that the distances set by USAT, seem very reasonable and that, triathlons are about family support rather than winning or getting a medal (Leper, R.Knechtle, B, Stapley, PJ). I think it is really important to establish good and healthy habits early in a childs life, but we also need to be careful when involving kids in sports at a young age because they can easily burn out. The other problem with involving kids in triathlons at such a young age is the risk of overtraining. The actual event may not be the harmful thing, but

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improper training could be, said Dr. Joel Brenner, director of the sports medicine program at Childrens Hospital of the Kings Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia. It is all about moderation, which is something even adults need to understand. Doctors have warned that people of all ages need to approach triathlons gingerly, lest they attempt more than their bodies can handle because it can lead to dehydration and possibly death. This is a major problem with triathlons, is that they can last such a long time that proper hydration is crucial, and with young kids they do not know things like that. Even though kids, from the age of three, are allowed to compete, Dr. Kevin D. Plancher, an orthopedic surgeon who teaches at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Brox says that, at less than age seven, parents should be cautious, there is not enough information for what these events can do to the growth plates in childrens shoulder, arms, pelvis, knees, ankles, and feet. He said that parents should consult a pediatrician to assess if a child is ready. Although this does sound concerning, the risks that could occur are possible in any port, not just triathlons. The good thing is that many triathlon organizations format their races to be as safe as possible and with the increase in popularity they are getting even better. I think that people should be aware of the risks involved in triathlons but those should not defer you from going out and entering one. The benefits far outweigh the risks and all you have to do to avoid the risks is train smart. Overall the popularity of triathlons has been increasing over the past few years and this in turn has had a great impact on the health of society. The cross training that triathlons involve has helped reduce the amount of stress related injuries that are so common in runners, and the athletic side of triathlons has helped reduce the obesity problem is that all over America. Triathlons have branched out from the typical Ironman and become smaller and shorter to allow all ages to participate, making it a family centered sport. People are starting to become more

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motivated to try a new challenge and then in result have become more self-confident, healthier, and have made a lot of new friends on the way. Will triathlons continue to help people with their health or will people start to turn to other ways of exercise to get the same effect? I think it is that it is a strong possibility but at the same time peoples attention span has shortened over the years, which may lead to them finding a new hobby.

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Work Cited

"Guest Post: Health Trends In Today's Youth - Triathlons Offer A Physical Outlet For Younger Generations." Youth Marketing, Youth Media, Youth Research, Youth Insights. N.p., 20 Sept. 2012. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

Hamill, Sean D. Triathletes, on Your Mark.Whoa! New York Times. N.P.. 24, Nov. 2009. Web. 26 Nov.

Harr, Eric. "20 Great Reasons to Do a Triathlon." Mens Health. N.p., 6 July 2005. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

"About IronKids." About IronKids. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

Juan. "Triathlon Trends." TriCrowd. N.p., 10 Nov. 2010. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

Lepers, R, Knechtle, B, Stapley, PJ. "Result Filters." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 25 June 2013. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

"Running Research News." Running Research News. N.p., 6 Mar. 2011. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

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Shea, Sarah Bowen. See Jane Run, Bike, and Swim. New York Times Fitness and Nutrition. N.p. 26 Aug. 2009.

Stevenson, Roy. "Pain Speaking: Triathlete Injuries Warning Signs By Roy Stevenson." Triathlete Injuries: Warning Signs. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

Thomas, Jim. Triathlon Training for Kids. Livestrong. 11, Oct. 2013. Web

"Triathlons Hot Fitness Trend Among Women." Fox News. FOX News Network, 5 July 2005. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

"Triathlon Training Benefits."Mens Health. N.p., 5 July 2005. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.