Swim, Bike, Run, Laugh!: A Lighthearted Look at the Serious Sport of Triathlon and the Ironman Experience

Most books written about the sport of triathlon are pretty serious-Triathlon 101, Triathlon Training for Women, or Triathlon Training on Four Hours a Week. When I began training to become a triathlete, I looked for books that related to my life situation but could find nothing like Triathlon Training for the Married, Sleep-Deprived Father of Three or How to Do an Ironman without Training at All. When I decided to write a book about the sport of triathlon and the Ironman experience, my goals were simple: 1. Provide myself with another excuse to skip some long training runs.2. Address significant questions that a triathlete contemplates when sitting in a porta-potty before an Ironman race: Is it really necessary to put Vaseline on my nipples before the run? How can I tell if my kidneys have failed? What should I say to the people just coming out of T2 as I'm finishing the race?3. Give something back to the sport, which has given me an appreciation for the delicate art of leg shaving, the joy of getting up at 5:00 a.m. on a regular basis, and that persistent feeling that no matter how much training I have done, I haven't done enough.

Triathlete and author Dan Madson has written a book that will appeal to multi-sport athletes of all ages and abilities. Drawing on stories from his childhood when bike helmets were unheard of and spandex had yet to be invented, Dan takes you on a memorable and comical journey. Recalling his frigid early-morning swim lessons with Molly the Lifeguard, the purchase of his first pre-owned $15 bike, and his disastrous triathlon attempt at the age of 23, Dan sets the stage for a successful return to the sport at the age of 42. Having competed in his first triathlon in July of 1983 without any serious training, the author didn't realize that 20 years would pass before the next one. Nor did he realize how that second race would initiate a personal Ironman quest-ending 16 months later as he lay on his family room couch with a finisher's medal around his neck, an immense feeling of accomplishment, and an IV tube stuck in his left arm. Swim, Bike, Run, Laugh! is Madson's second published work. He is also the author of Because I Said So, a collection of 36 funny stories that capture the so-called joys of fatherhood.