Want to Do a Triathlon? This Book Will Get You to the Finish (With a Smile!)

Wait, which foot goes down? Credit: Fort Rucker, Flickr

Q&A With NMA: Triathlon Roadmap Author Susan Lacke

You’ve got some great stories in there, and the fact that you’ve really tried everything lends a lot of validity to the book. But be honest — was there an embarrassing story you either left out or were forced to cut? Like, reeeally embarrassing and funny?

Aside from the bossman’s usual cuts of f-bombs and poop mentions, nothing was taken out of the book. Everything is in there — the good, the bad and the ugly. I made a lot of mistakes as a triathlon newb (heck, I still make mistakes from time to time!), and I wanted to share those mistakes so I can prevent others from making them, too.

There’s a section of the book where I give in-depth info about cycling safety. In it, I describe how to get on and off the bike, emphasizing that the rider should put the right foot down first when stopping. Most people don’t think it really matters which foot goes down first, but I know better — because I was that dumbass who unclipped with my left foot at a stoplight, only to have my tired leg give out from under me and fall out of the bike lane and onto car next to me. Luckily, the car was stopped, too, breaking my fall instead of squashing my head like a watermelon. That was one (of many) moments where my asshattery led to a valuable lesson.