So you know what I didn't think I'd be doing in 2015? Another triathlon.

In fact, my big plans for 2015 were to not stress myself out over training for races. There were only three "big" races I wanted to do all year: the Frederick half, the Baltimore 10 miler and the Baltimore half -- the three races necessary to complete the King Crab Challenge.

That was it, other than the occasional 5K or 10K with friends that didn't require major training.

A triathlon was not anywhere on my radar.

But that's just what I ended up registering for tonight.



So how did that go down? Really it was the perfect storm of random coincidences.

1. I went to spin class tonight because it was too cold for me to handle run club. The class was only meh, so when I noticed a dude in the back doing his own drills, I decided to do the same. It reminded me of riding with the guys training for their Ironman races last winter, which made me think of tris.


Aziz, one of my IM training buddies

2. After spin class, I went and chatted with said dude and asked him if he was training for anything specific. He said no, that he was just trying to stay in shape during the off-season. We shared an understanding "yes winter sucks for athletes" moment.

3. While shivering in the lobby of my apartment building and waiting for the elevator, I was checking Facebook on my phone and saw Aila had signed up for her first triathlon.



This is Aila (in the middle), sometimes she and I run races together -- usually with Emily.


Post-Shamrock Half


Pre-Navy Air Force Half

4. I left a comment asking what tri and saying I'd consider signing up except for the whole "I'm terrified of biking in DC" thing.

5. Aila told me I can bike 12 miles in my sleep. I knew she was right.


In fact, I did it once in another tri

6. The race is a 400 meter pool swim, 12 mile bike and 5K. Literally could do that all tomorrow without training. It wouldn't be pretty, but I could do it without a problem. Also, the swim is in a pool, so you have walls to push off of to speed yourself up. It's basically like cheating. And the short distances go along with my whole "don't want to do races that require major intense training" mindset.

7. I have an adorable tri kit courtesy of Moo Motion Sports that I could finally actually race (and not just train) in. (Yes this was a real consideration. We all know I love matchy matchy race day outfits).



8. I remembered how fast I was able to run in races after my last tri because cross-training is good for runners, so some forced cross-training doesn't seem like the worst idea.


This 5K from 3 years ago is still my PR. Thank you tri training and my wicked fast friend Meredith that I ran most of the race with.

And there you have it. A bunch of really random things all happening within an hour of each other led me to throw down the race entry fee and sign up.

Like I said, I don't plan to drive myself nuts training for this. I do spin class pretty regularly in the winter because I hate the cold, so I'll build some decent bike fitness that way. The swim is so short that I won't need to log long hours in the pool. And once the weather gets nice, I'll drive over to Beach Drive, which is closed to traffic on the weekends, for some bricks.

And then I'll go race and have fun. Sounds like a win to me.


Look how smiley I am.