How do I get started?

How to get started in endurance sports. For me, it wasn’t a conscious decision; it all started from a much smaller goal. I just wanted to be physically and mentally healthy again. I had no grand ideas of completing an Ironman or anything of the sort. I stumbled into it, really, or fell, at least I did a lot in training. I guess looking back on it now, I was looking for something to give me a sense of direction at a point in my life where I was feeling somewhat lost. I’d been at school, gone onto college, and then completed an engineering apprenticeship. I’d always had the structure of education to give my life direction. After I finished my apprenticeship, I went traveling for a few years and then found myself back home with no real idea of where my life was headed. I knew I didn’t want to get back into engineering, but I didn’t know exactly what it was that I did want to do. While I was trying to decide my next career move I decided to sign up for a sprint triathlon. I didn’t realize it at the time but this decision gave me a small goal to work towards and a path to follow once again. After the sprint triathlon I completed a full triathlon in Barcelona, an Ironman a year later and a 100 mile ultra a few years after that. That small step I took in signing up for the sprint triathlon ended up helping me to find my sense of direction. 

For anyone with no experience, the idea of attempting something like an ultramarathon is daunting, as it should be. I know it was for me. This is because we’re looking at where we are now and then comparing it to the final destination, not realizing there's a thousand steps to take in between. There’s a great quote on this by Lao Tzu: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” 

You often hear people say, "I could never do that," and they may be right given their current life circumstances and fitness, but they’re often overlooking the thousand miles that need to be traveled first. I remember looking at my Ironman training plan for the first time and seeing in the final month that I had a 7-hour cycle followed by a 3-hour run. I thought there was no hope in hell I would be able to do that. At that moment, I was doubting myself. This was crazy; I couldn’t even do one of those things alone, never mind combined. But I trusted the process, and instead of letting something that was six months down the line freak me out, I looked at what was on the schedule for tomorrow: a 45-minute cycle and a 15-minute run. That I could do, so that's all I concentrated on—not what was coming down the road but what was the next step. I repeated this day after day until I eventually came to my 7-hour cycle and 3-hour run. Was it still difficult? Yes, but by this point, all the steps I'd taken along the way had prepared me..

The idea that you need to buy a bunch of expensive equipment right from the start can also put a lot of people off. This doesn’t need to be the case. For my first triathlon, I had a wetsuit from Aldi, a £20 mountain bike, and old running shoes. For my Ironman, I had a borrowed bike and wetsuit. The only real money I ever spent on equipment was running shoes, cycling shoes, and clothes.

You don’t need the best gear to get started; you just need anything that does the job. If anything, I'd tell you not to invest so much money right away. What happens if you give it a try and genuinely don’t like it? Now you’re stuck with a bunch of expensive gear that you’re either going to have to try to sell or let collect dust in your garage. Of course, the more expensive the gear, typically the better it’ll be. I'm not denying that, and if you can afford it, then by all means spend it. But for those who can’t afford it, don’t use the cost as a barrier to entry. Buy what you can and borrow the rest; the main thing is just to get started by any means you can.

When I was first starting out, I had no idea about what gear to get. I've never been part of a cycling club or into the sport really in any way, so I was kind of guessing my way along. If you’re the same, I recommend going into your local running, cycling, and swimming stores and chatting with the staff there. It’s a fairly obvious statement to make, but usually, they have some interest in the sport, and so should be able to give a few pointers in the right direction. Also, joining your local club can be a great way to get started. You're going to find a group of like-minded people, some of whom have already done what you're aiming for and can give you pointers, others may be aiming for the same goals as you, so you can share tips, tricks and support along the way. 

I remember going into a local cycling shop to ask if they had any second-hand shoes, and the guy looked at me as if I'd just slapped him. “Second-hand cycling shoes, are you joking?” I wasn’t, and I was somewhat put off by his reaction, but he explained it to me in the context of a sport that I would understand. He asked if I'd ever buy second-hand running shoes, to which the answer was obviously no. “Well then, you shouldn't buy second-hand cycling shoes either.” I got his point, and while the shoes in the store were too expensive for me, I realized that I'd have to get myself a new pair. After some research, I found Decathlon to be a good balance between cost and quality, and so it became my go-to for gear to get me started.

If your plan is to borrow gear I would do some research on what you need beforehand to be sure you're getting the right stuff. I borrowed a friend's bike for my Ironman that was slightly too big for me. I was planning to rent a bike on race day, so in my naivety, I figured that if I trained on a bike that was too big, when I did the race on a bike that was the right size, I’d be flying. I was wrong. Even though the bike was the wrong size, I'd spent nearly a year training on it, so my body had become accustomed to its dimensions. Once I was on the correct size bike, it felt awkward and uncomfortable. Moral of the story, I still recommend borrowing gear if you can; just make sure it's the right size!

Lots of people also think that you need a personal trainer or coach to plan all your training and nutrition for you, but this isn't the case. The internet has all the information you could possibly need; there’s an abundance of free resources online regarding training plans, gear and nutrition. After I sign up for a race, I usually have a look around and find a training plan that works for my current lifestyle and goal. On YouTube, there are endless videos about gear setup, proper technique, and everything in between. Much like expensive gear, there’s no denying that having a good coach is a plus, but again, don’t use not being able to afford one as a reason not to get started.

Lastly, when you're starting out, don't be dissuaded by the negativity of others. Those who say you can’t do something are often projecting the fact that they don’t believe they could do it onto you. It’s sad to say, but a lot of people don’t like to see others achieve, and so they attempt to discourage you to protect their own feelings. Sometimes the negativity can even be unintentional. When I was flirting with the idea of signing up for an Ironman, I remember overhearing my dad, who for what it’s worth is one of my biggest supporters, telling a friend that he didn't think I had the build for it. I'm 5’9” and would be considered more stocky than lean. Now I know my dad was in no way trying to put me down, but it was his opinion at the time, and it could’ve made me doubt myself. What it did do however was give me even more drive to prove that I could do it. To be fair to him, fast forward in time, and on the day before the race, I was standing in a queue at the event waiting to grab my race gear and was surrounded by other athletes who were all very much tall and lean. Picture a group of Legolas’s and me standing beside them as Gimli. Safe to say, my dad wasn’t completely wrong. 

So what's the first step? Everyone has a different starting point depending on their current circumstances. Maybe it’s buying a pair of shoes, signing up for an event, asking a friend to borrow their bike, or joining a local club, but whatever it is, action is key! Many of us, myself included, spend so much time thinking, planning, and talking without actually doing anything to get started. Whatever your first step is, just bite the bullet and do it; you’ll likely find that all the other steps will naturally begin to fall into place afterwards.