Life as a Professional- Olympic athlete: 27 years in Triathlon

I started triathlon as a young teen and enjoyed it. As I got older, I started to do better and I was rewarded with prize money and recognition. After finishing university I decided to pursue triathlon further to see how good I could get and I'm grateful that I was able to have the experience of achieving near-perfect races.

I balanced my triathlon training with the other aspects of my life by taking it seriously, having a lot of discipline, and loving my routine. I was also fortunate to share it with people close to me.

My most rewarding moments as a professional Olympic athlete include winning my first major international race at the Monte Carlo World Cup, winning the hi-v event in Des Moines Iowa, and winning the Lifetime Fitness Series in 2007. My biggest challenges have included missing the 2000 Olympic Games due to an ugly court case, as well as numerous injuries throughout my career that took me out of competitions such as the Commonwealth Games and Olympics. Despite these setbacks, I am incredibly grateful for all of the opportunities I have been given.

I was fortunate throughout my career to have numerous opportunities that kept turning up and I was able to reinvigorate, pivot, and change over the years. This allowed me to become a better athlete in slightly different disciplines. I was always passionate, competitive and had a large ego which drove me. I'm incredibly grateful for every opportunity I had.

Race often, stay disciplined with your routine, practice visualizing, believe in yourself, and prioritize general health, nutrition, fueling, sleep and recovery.

As I got older, I started to combine my workouts into longer blocks instead of doing them spread out over the day. I found that my warm-up and cool down took longer as I got older, so I tried to put it all together more often. This allowed me to fit in a lot of meaningful work each day while still allowing proper recovery time.

Owning the night and winning the morning is an important lesson I learned as an athlete. Having a routine before and after practice, such as going to bed at 8:30 and waking up at 4:30, helps to take control of your time throughout the day. Additionally, setting boundaries with friends and family such as not taking calls after 5 p.m. will also help manage your time better.

As an Olympic athlete, I have learned to set goals that are both optimistic and realistic, and to focus on the daily process of achieving those goals. This gives me purpose and intent for living each day.

Being a successful Olympic Athlete requires discipline in terms of keeping a consistent routine and showing up with intent every day. This same level of discipline is important in all aspects of life, including parenting.

My relationships with family and friends have evolved over the course of my career - I've been able to spend more time with my family, especially as my wife was also a professional triathlete, and my friendships have remained even though they change depending on where I'm living and which events I'm doing.

Balancing personal life and professional commitments is possible if you communicate with your partner, set long-term plans and prioritize family.

To stay connected to the triathlon community, I have a podcast with triathlon related content and occasionally do commentary work. I also follow athletes on social media and watch races.

I miss the feeling of being incredibly fit and the amazing community of triathletes, but I don't miss the injuries and the suffering.