I finished the triathlon today! No speed records, mind you, but I finished it. The final home stretch was so emotional for me, as I considered where I was 8 months ago. This would not have even been remotely possible then with 110 extra pounds and joints that were giving up the ghost. I feel so grateful for the life that has been given back to me. By the time I got to the finish line, with all the cheering, cow bells, finishing medal around my neck, I was in tears. What an amazing milestone. I will never forget this day and what it represents - a new life with new horizons I cannot yet even imagine. I feel good - not totally drained like I expected. No NSAIDs, either. What an experience. I hope everyone of us has a milestone achievement that redefines us as empowered individuals.

I finished the triathlon today! No speed records, mind you, but I finished it. The final home stretch was so emotional for me, as I considered where I was 8 months ago. This would not have even been remotely possible then with 110 extra pounds and joints that were giving up the ghost. I feel so grateful for the life that has been given back to me. By the time I got to the finish line, with all the cheering, cow bells, finishing medal around my neck, I was in tears. What an amazing milestone. I will never forget this day and what it represents - a new life with new horizons I cannot yet even imagine. I feel good - not totally drained like I expected. No NSAIDs, either. What an experience. I hope everyone of us has a milestone achievement that redefines us as empowered individuals.

Such an amazing accomplishment to be proud of, congratulations to you!!!!! You're such an inspiration!!

5'4"
Starting weight 297
VSG on 7/31/19
Surgery wt: 266
CW 228
GW 135

On 10/12/2019 at 12:57 PM, AZhiker said:

I had a good foundation of walking already established, but had not swum or ridden a bike in decades! I only had 2 months to get ready. So I started swimming - oh my goodness! With losing weight, I also lost my buoyancy! My legs sank and I couldn't kick hard enough. With a rotater cuff injury in my right shoulder, I just resigned myself to breast stroke rather than freestyle, which was utterly exhausting. I tried to swim 2-3 times a week. The first time, I nearly drowned twice!

I tried to ride my daughter's bike, but because of stiffness in my hips and knees, I simply cannot swing my leg over the saddle and I couldn't get it over the bar, either. Pitiful. So getting on and off was a challenge and I didn't feel safe. So I bit the bullet and bought my own bike - a hybrid with a step through frame (ie: girl's bike). It is wonderful. It is very ergonomically correct for me and very comfortable. Most of all, I can get on and off safely. I bought the brightest possible strobing tail and head lights, and attached a water bottle to the handle bars with a long straw so I didn't have to reach down with one hand for a Water bottle. I started riding - 5 miles, then 7 miles, then 10 miles, then 15 miles - at least twice a week.

3 weeks before the event , I did all three on the same day - spread out over the day. 2 weeks before, I did all three again on the same day, but more or less back to back. On the day of the event, I did fine. I was more mentally stressed than physically stressed. I was not exhausted or overly tired at all.

The biggest hurdle was nutrition. I had to up my calories per day, and that was pretty hard. I had to give up intermittent fasting, as I needed the Breakfast time to get more calories in. This was not comfortable and I felt like I was over eating the whole time. I could not use high carb stuff or energy drinks, as I was a afraid of dumping. The best thing I finally settled on was to drink a Protein smoothies several hours before the event (300 calories, 35 gm protein.) Then water and RX bars throughout the event. Each RX bar has 210 calories and 12 gm protein. I think I ate 3 of them and it was fine. My stomach was not overloaded and I was comfortable and had plenty of energy.

Now I see that I have a lot of room to improve my swimming stroke, my biking technique, and also maybe experiment with race walking. (My orthopedic doctor forbids me to run on my artificial knee, in order to save it for as many years as possible.) With a baseline level of fitness now, I think I may do a couple of these triathlons a year, just for motivation and to see if I can improve my times. It was definitely a milestone for me, and actually a lot of fun.

That soundz amazing! Thank you for going over the details, especially the nutrition; super helpful. I had never considered training for a triathlon but I just might do that.