One day, my mom asked me why I suddenly became such a triathlon fanatic. She said that I was always quite sporty, but she’s never seen me be so dedicated to one specific sport. To be honest, I’m pretty surprised by how much I fell in love with triathlon as well! I think it all began with when I moved back from New York almost two years ago. I’ve always enjoyed being active and have dabbled in horseback riding, ice skating, soccer, and field hockey. I’ve also ran two marathons (Hong Kong Standard Charter and the New York Marathon), but was not obsessed with running. I loved racing and the feeling of accomplishment after, but I was never thinking of the next marathon to sign up for (except the Boston one which I would love to do!).

I was pretty depressed when I first moved back to Hong Kong, I really wanted to stay in New York but things just didn’t work out. I moped around for a bit but then realize that there’s no point whining and being upset. I was in Hong Kong and that wasn’t going to change for at least a year so I might as well make the most out of it. Doing a triathlon was always something I toyed around with but never really took the plunge. I felt that the transitions were so confusing and was unsure of the general run down of the race. I also did not swim that much and only biked/danced on a stationary bike (Hello Soulcycle!).

One day in April, a couple of my friends mentioned signing up for an olympic distance triathlon in the Philippines for November. My interest was instantly piqued but I felt that that was way too far away because I wanted to do one earlier. I started doing some searching myself and found another olympic distance race in June. I signed up for that race and ever since then have been obsessed with triathlons! I will also write a race recap of my first race at some point.

It is funny to think that one of the reasons for my hesitancy before was the intimidation of transitions, because the excitement of transitioning is now one of my favorite aspects of triathlons. I love how you have three different sports involved in an triathlon and having to anticipate the next segment of the race. Not to mention the triathlon community is amazing! I have met so many great people from races and also from joining the Tritons Triathlon Club in Hong Kong. Everyone is so friendly and encouraging, going to a race is not only an athletic event but also a social one.

I wished that I had embarked on this triathlon journey earlier but there is no point being frustrated with past decisions. All I can do is use this experience to change how I approach situations in the future. While I am pretty adventurous, I have definitely let hesitation and procrastination hold me back from trying new things. If I had never signed up for that race, I would never have known how much triathlons would mean to me. I would not have all these new friends, not have seen the gorgeous rainbows and sunsets at race locations, not be with the most incredible boyfriend (not guaranteed when one does a triathlon), and not known how much stronger I could be.

If you are thinking about doing something but feel unsure… just take the risk and see where it takes you! What’s holding you back? Most of the time there’s more to lose if you let your insecurities and uncertainty take over.

I am so excited for what else is in store!