Lamar Anderson

I love the ocean, so I’ve always wanted to learn how to swim properly. On top of that, I’ve always wanted to become a certified scuba diver and do fun swims like Alcatraz. Every year, I would tell myself that it would be the year I learned how to swim and every year, I didn’t. So there was only one route, in my mind, to force myself to learn, and that was to sign up for a full Ironman. Something I never thought I would ever do. Especially… because it involved swimming. It also just seemed insane.

I do have a reason number two. Last year, I tore my achilles. From the moment it happened, I saw it as a sign from the universe that I was going to achieve greater things physically than I had ever expected. But first, I had to be broken down so I could start from literally zero and build a proper foundation.

Growing up, the people that knew me generally knew me as someone who was athletic. Approaching 30 at the time, I didn’t want to be looked at as the guy who USED to be an athlete but now was getting old and injured. And so I told myself I would come back better than I was before. Without that achilles tear, I don’t think I would’ve discovered the world of triathlon.

Growing up I always loved sports. I played organized basketball from middle school through college. I also played football and volleyball in high school. And I’d also like to proudly claim the one soccer game I played in because my friend’s team didn’t have enough players. We won!

More recently, I’ve gotten into Spartan Races. About four years ago, I completed my first one and fell in love with it. Since then, I’ve done 84 Spartan races, and I honestly credit Spartan for giving me the confidence to sign up for an Ironman with no experience. Although obstacle course racing is completely different from triathlon, Spartan taught me a lot about myself and what I could possibly do in the endurance space.

Funny enough, I give all the credit to a Sports Basement employee. I walked into the bike section and told him I had signed up for an Ironman and needed a bike. He said he had completed four himself. He gave me a few tips and then mentioned joining a triathlon club. I immediately blurted out, “THEY HAVE THOSE??” He then told me about the smaller more intimate green triathlon club. It sounded like the perfect place for me, and that’s how I found SF Tri Club.

I am so thankful for that guy because I have no idea where I’d be right now if it weren’t for him telling me about SF Tri. The on-course training weekends, the accountability we give each other to attend weekly workouts, the friends, the events, the knowledge, the coaches. I am so thankful for this club. I know I would still be putting in work on my own, but I don’t know if I would be on track the way I am right now.

I remember the first day I went to the pool. I couldn’t even make it halfway down the lane without being completely gassed. I still remember the doubt I had about actually being able to complete what I signed up for. As frustrating as it was, I knew I had a year. I started practicing in November and I didn’t get it until February. Right before I got it, I actually felt like I was getting worse. But you keep putting in the work, and eventually, one day, you go to the pool and realize you know how to swim.

I recently went to Hawaii, which was my first beach vacation since learning how to swim, and I felt like I had gained a new superpower. The confidence and the fun I was having were exactly why I did this.

The advice I would give to anyone who is tri-curious is to give it a “tri". There are distances for every comfort level. If you like it, you can always try a longer distance next.

The advice I would give newer triathletes that want to try longer-distance races is to sign up and figure out the rest after. Having a date you need to be ready by gives you a sense of desperation that you won’t feel if you haven’t signed up.

When I signed up for the Ironman, I didn’t know how to swim, I didn’t own a bike and I was only about 3 months into my running journey, fresh off an achilles tear on top of that. I got desperate. I started reaching out, emailing people, doing tons of research because I knew I had a date coming, and it wasn’t going to wait for me to be ready. Those are all things I know for a fact I wouldn’t have done if I hadn’t signed up first.

There is also no accountability when you haven’t signed up yet. If you start training before committing to a race and then decide you don’t feel like training, you don’t have to.

My favorite moment from the 70.3 in Santa Cruz had to be the inspiration my teammates gave me. Seeing them out there giving everything they had helped me continue to give everything I had.

The most challenging moment had to be the run. I felt fine after the swim and the bike, but trying to sustain a good pace on the run tears your body down quickly. It exposes every part of the body that had already been working throughout the swim and the bike. It was hard to keep going, but once again, it was my teammates who helped me get through it. If they hadn’t been there giving it everything they had by my side, I probably would’ve slowed down considerably.

From here until the Ironman, I will be putting a lot of focus into the run. nutrition, new shoes, leg strengthening. Anything that can help me get through it. As well as my first full Ironman, it will be my first marathon. Although I’m putting a lot of the focus on the run, the 70.3 was a great practice run for tweaks I could be making in every aspect of the race.

The mindset I try to live by, and my favorite piece of advice to give others is, “Be dumb enough to think you can”.

It might sound silly at first, but it really is the way I approach life. I have achieved a lot through this mindset. Sometimes, we overthink things, and that stops us from even trying. This applies to every part of life, not just sports. And if you think it’s dumb to believe you can achieve something or someone else thinks it’s dumb for you to believe it, just remember, it’s only dumb until you’ve done it.