Triathlete T-Shirts.com Triathlon Blog

by Joel Getty

Triathlon Never Easier TriathleteTshirts.com

I can’t remember if this is a quote from some one or if I just made it up on my own, but in all my Triathlon training and racing, I’ve found this to be true. I might have come up with it when my wife asked, if racing ever gets easier after all the triathlon training I had done one summer. My answer to her inspired this design.

The more I thought about the more I realized that it was true. Whether swimming, biking, or running, you never really get a break. The more training you do the better triathlete you become. Your new level of fitness only serves to give you greater speed at the same effort, but you’d never slow down in a triathlon, just because you were matching your latest performance and wanted to take it easy!

It’s true that the more experience you have racing triathlons makes you a better triathlete with more confidence, and so the nerves, race-day morning bathroom visits, packing the transition bag, setting up transition, pulling off your wetsuit, etc. all get a little bit easier each time. But, the effort that you put out in a triathlon, should always hurt the same, or more if you can handle it. The better shape you get yourself into, only makes you faster, it never makes it easier.

The Triathlon Never Gets Easier Design is available in a variety of products includin T-shirts, mugs, posters, and more. Check out all my triathlon related designs at the Triathlete T shirts Triathlon Store.

Triathlon Never Gets Easier Copyright 2009 Cataclysm Sports LLC

by Joel Getty

TriElement Triathlon Lifestyle Design for Triathlete

I created this TriElement Triathlon design almost by accident when I was just doodling in CorelDraw.  I was trying to create a design that took into account the three events of triathlon, but I was tired of the traditional triangle logos and stickmen.  I started playing with the idea of a chemical symbol like a carbon ring, then I started thinking about elements.  This reminded me of my favorite movie of all time “The Fifth Element” in which the elements of earth, wind, water, fire, combine to create the fifth element Love.  All spoilers aside, go and watch the movie, a sci-fi classic.

All that random thought brought me to the three elements of a triathlon:   Swim- Easily represented by the Water element.  Bike- A little of a stretch to get Wind, but since much of the bike leg of a triathlon is about Aerodynamics, I felt like this was acceptable.  Run- The last leg of the triathlon represented in this design by Earth, because running is the most basic of the elements.

Since a triathlon only has three events I left it at that, but I could have included the Fire, which is your heart, but then having four elements would have defeated the purpose and fire is a little abstract anyway.  Either way, I’m always looking to tweak the design, maybe add Nutrition and the Transitions, but I liked the original design in its simplicity.

Lastly I didn’t want people to just look at the design and go “huh”, so I added the upside down and backwards Triathlon with the Swim, Bike, and Run, underneath the other elements as if mirrored.   The mirror is the true spirit of the design and the effect is quite cool and works on more than one level.  I also found that when looking at other Triathlon T-shirt designs, most were campy and either simple text or obvious rippoffs of simple stickmen.  So I created the TriElement Triathlon design to be more of a lifestyle item that you could where to a party and people would say “Cool, I get it, that’s really sweet,”  instead of just, “Oh, you’re a triathlete, thanks for letting me know.”

The TriElement Triathlon Design is available for purchase on a number of products including T-shirts, mugs, posters, and more.  Please take your time to browse all of my designs at the Triathlete T-shirts Triathlon Store.

Copyright 2009 Cataclysm Sports LLC

by Joel Getty

Tri Harder Triathlon

In a triathlon or any sporting event you have to give everything you have. When I was a youth, long before I started racing in triathlons, my dad told me about his days of running and racing. He has never done a triathlon, but would occasionally race in a 5k or 10k run. I think he might have even been on the track team in High School, but I don’t remember. This design was inspired by some words of wisdom he had for me about running. He said, “If you didn’t puke or pass out, you could have gone harder.”

Since I became a triathlete I’ve tried to apply that concept to every triathlon I’ve ever run. I’ve ended many triathlons with the dry heaves, but I can’t say that I’ve ever passed out. After any triathlon I finish without puking I think to myself, “Did I really push it? No. Could I have run harder, biked harder, or swam faster? Yes.”

The idea is that when you push your body to the absolute limit, you create oxygen debt so deep, and lactic acid builds up so strongly in your blood that your body revolts. The build up of lactic acid is actually poisioning your body and puking is the body’s natural way of ridding itself of toxins. If you push even beyond that, your over taxed muscles are so starved for oxygen that they steal it from you brain, which shuts down in order to save itself. That’s when you pass out.

The idea of mind over matter is nothing new to triathletes and other endurance athletes. Your brain is a powerful tool and when focused properly can make your body do extraordinary things. When the Ironman Triathlon began, no one even thought it was possible, but now thousands of aspiring triathletes complete this grueling 2.4 mile swim, 125 mile bike and 26.2 mile running event every year in cities across the globe.

It’s important to listen to your body and quit before you injure yourself, but many times pushing through the pain of anaerobic exhaustion is the only way to reach your full potential. How will you know if you’ve pushed hard enough? Well as the design says….

If you didn’t Puke or Pass Out…. You could have Gone Harder. Triathlon.

This Tri Harder Triathlon design is available on a multitude of triathlon friendly products and gifts like t-shirts, mugs, posters, and more at the TriathleteTshirts.com Store