What it’s Like to be a Collegiate Triathlete

 

D1 college athletics are all over the news, from football and basketball to fencing and swimming. But club athletics seem to go unnoticed to all those outside the community — even if the sport includes two disciplines that are varsity sports. Triathlon — swimming, biking and running — is finally gaining ground as a collegiate sport, but still hasn’t been recognized by the NCAA. However, we work-out almost as much as varsity athletics! For all those who are curious as to what it’s like to be a triathlete, here’s a little inside look.

 

As a triathlete, my training comes first. We have organized biking and swimming practices four days a week, but we exercise six days a week. On about half of those days, we work out not only in one discipline but in two, for a total of anywhere from two to three hours. A typical week of workouts would have us swimming 3-4 times a week, running 3-4 times a week, and biking 2-3 times a week. It’s a huge time commitment, but it’s incredibly worth it. When it comes around to racing season in the spring and summer, we start doing brick workouts where you run off of the bike. In one of the longest workouts I can remember, it took the entire Saturday morning to complete! But it’s so rewarding to compete at collegiate nationals in April knowing you put in all the work.

 

That’s not to say that everyone does everything the same. Especially because we’re a club, our team is incredibly diverse; we have beginners and people whose schedules only allow for them to practice once or twice a week, and we have athletes bordering on elite competing in world championships. That’s why it’s a great team to be on — there’s no pressure if you have a huge test the next day and need to skip practice, but there are also people who inspire you every day to want to be a better athlete and work harder. There is also always someone who is at your fitness level, ready to do a workout with you so you don’t have to do it alone.

 

Just like on varsity teams, we have a nutritionist and a trainer. We have to take care of our bodies when we put them under so much stress. This is probably one of the most difficult parts in being a triathlete and a college student, because you need to eat well to fuel your body for workouts, abstain from unhealthy habits, and get 1-2 more hours of sleep than the average student. When you’re at a school as difficult as Northwestern, it’s definitely a struggle!

 

Because we spend so much time in pain together, our team is pretty close-knit. The minute I joined, I knew these were my people. You have to have discipline and brace through incredibly painful situations, but we joke around like middle schoolers. Given the amount of training we do, I believe we’re just as qualified as any sport to be considered a D1 varsity sport. However, our status as a club opens our group to anyone who wants to be there and put in the work, and I have met such amazing people because of it in the short year I’ve been on tri! We’re passionate and we’re dedicated and at the end of the day, that’s what’s important.