{"id":1733,"date":"2018-12-26T02:00:54","date_gmt":"2018-12-26T02:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifehackerguy.com\/?p=1733"},"modified":"2022-11-28T11:43:48","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T11:43:48","slug":"my-story-triathlete-to-chronic-fatigue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifehackerguy.com\/my-story-triathlete-to-chronic-fatigue\/","title":{"rendered":"My Story: Triathlete to Chronic Fatigue"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This post is the story of how I went from a skinny unfit kid to competitive triathlete to chronic fatigue guy who needed 12 hours in bed, and how I am now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I hated sports at secondary school. Running around a track, being harassed by teachers trying to force me to run cross country during Physical Education (PE) lessons were truly awful.<\/p>\n

During PE one day I thought I would really try, just to see how well I could do in cross country running. Not only was I rubbish, I absolutely hated it.<\/p>\n

It was only when I left secondary school that I began to take an interest in jogging. No idea why, but I began to jog for 10 minutes at a time twice a week when I was 16 years old. <\/p>\n

The experience was painful, and on more than a few occasions I felt I was going to be sick halfway around. Clearly, I was not a natural athlete!<\/p>\n

But I stuck with it, again no idea why, and eventually managed to build up sufficient fitness to be able to jog for twenty minutes, 2-3 times per week. I even began running with a friend from school who had always been into sports and cross-country running events.<\/p>\n

Turns Out, I am a Runner<\/h2>\n

\"New
Photo by Lifehacker Guy<\/span><\/p>\n

Colin and I began doing training together and soon completing 5-10km was a breeze. So much so that we entered some local running events.<\/p>\n

I was really surprised how well I did, even managing to run faster than my friend who was the sporty one! <\/p>\n

Entering local running events, I found that I typically placed within the top 20<\/strong>, which as a young 17-year-old was a great achievement. It seemed as if I have unleashed the hidden athlete and believe me it was VERY well hidden.<\/p>\n

Colin suggested we join a local running club, Poole Runners, which met every Wednesday for a long-steady 10 miles around Poole.<\/p>\n

Now, neither Colin nor I had EVER run this distance. So, to check we could do it we decided to run 10 miles the day before going to the club. We could do it fine and the next day we did another 10 miles.<\/p>\n

Within a few months, I was able to keep up with most of the runners in the club during the weekly 10 miles. There were a few very good runners in the club, who typically ran 60-62 minutes for their weekly steady run \u2013 this is a good pace. For me, I would do a respectable 65-67 minutes for my weekly run.<\/p>\n

In a strange twist of fate, two of my secondary school PE teachers were also club members. It was incredibly satisfying running past them, each time with a calm look like it was a walk in the park. I resisted the urge to shout \u201cencouragement\u201d to them \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

Fascinated with Triathlon<\/h2>\n

Trying to remember how I got into Triathlon and the only memory is being fascinated with the Ironman event.<\/p>\n

An American guy called Mark Allen<\/a> was dominating the Ironman event then, the fitness of this guy was truly formable. He is still regarded as one of the best endurance athletes of all time.<\/p>\n

\"Competing
Photo by Lifehacker Guy<\/span><\/p>\n

I enjoyed mountain biking and already had an affinity for biking, so I swapped out the knobbly tires for slicks and got myself some triathlon bars \u2013 making my carbon fiber mountain bike look very bizarre. So much so it caught the attention of some rogue builders at my local pool, who I believe took a liking to it.<\/p>\n

Researching road bikes shortly after, I went with an Italian road bike and got some more triathlon bars, and basically become a proper triathlete.<\/p>\n

I was never a particularly good swimmer but at a chance meeting with a Swedish breaststroke medal winner, he kindly spent time improving my stroke. Eventually, my swimming improved, and leaving the pool I didn\u2019t look like a drowned rat.<\/p>\n

Dedication to Training<\/h2>\n

My time as a competitive athlete was short but during those few years as a teenager, I experienced athletic achievements I never believed I would, especially considering my lack of sports ability at school. <\/p>\n

Apart from the satisfaction of completing triathlons and several half marathons, I achieved some impressive personal bests, including a 33-minute 30-second 10km and 1 hour 17-minute half marathon<\/strong>. I regularly placed in the top ten for running and triathlon events in Dorset.<\/p>\n

Looking back at those times, I still remember the dedication and in some cases addiction to my training regime that I developed myself. Rain or shine I would be on the road, on my racing bike on a Sunday morning for my weekly long-distance ride of 60-80 miles (100-120km).<\/p>\n

\nMy typical weekly training sessions comprised of:<\/strong><\/p>\n