Done

My first triathlon. Done.

I am now, officially, a triathlete.

But this is not just another item off my to-do list. 

They were announcing every finisher’s name and their country as they finished. But the announcer missed my name – possibly because I entered with four others. He missed it. It was OK.

But then I realized something and I went back, I told him that as I am the only one from Pakistan, I would really appreciate if you can say my name and my country’s name out loud. And he did: Mohammad Khan from Pakistan. Felt kind’a good

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I have collected tons of stories and have made quite a few friends. From a 64 year old triathlete who can beat me with his eyes closed, to a travelling couple who runs triathlons, I have tales to tell.

For example, one day before the race itself, I got into the sea for the first time in my life. Open sea swimming is a completely different beast from swimming in the pool.

Technically it is much easier to swim in salt-water than in a pool, but mentally, the open seas are terrifying. Utterly terrifying.  The battles that raged in my mind one day before the race were eventually won, but they were not pretty.

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You dream of something. You plan it. Your break it down into little, smaller plans. Then you find time for it, you put it on your calendar, you adjust. That seems to be the way to get things done.

It won’t be easy (your dreams shouldn’t be easy, right?), but my dear friend, your dreams, whatever they are, they are possible! Isn’t that an amazing thought? Whatever you want to do, you can do it!! If a guy like me can save money, train for a sport that doesn’t even exist in his country and then actually manage to finish, then any thing is possible.

I wish you all the best!

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The medal you see in the picture is a finisher’s medal. There aren’t many sports in the world that give you a medal just for finishing. That tells you something, doesn’t it? I ran the distance (750meters swim, 50 kms cycle, 5 kms run) in a total of 3 hours and 37 minutes, and I am actually quite happy with that time.

I plan to run more triathlons and continue this adventure, God willing. The challenges are numerous and financing the adventures is one of those challenges. I am thinking of finding sponsors. Would someone sponsor a person who has a blog with 2000+ subscribers and 5000+ Twitter followers? I wonder.

Note: I am already meeting a lot of friends here: Dubai is truly a melting pot. Would love to touch base with you if you’re around Dubai? Let me know, we can work this out, God willing.

P.S. I have a Blog As a Business cheat sheet waiting to be published, so keep an eye out for that too if you’re interested.