SWIM. BIKE. RUN.

      Health professionals stress that one way to get kids and adults alike off the couch is to make exercise a family affair.  The Enrique Zarate family has taken that mantra to heart.  Three of the five members are competitive athletes.
      Jaime, 16, and Diana, 15, have followed Dad in the water, on the trail and on the bike to compete in triathlons.  Mom Diana, and daughter Victoria, 4, participate as cheerleaders.  Traveling to competition sites is considered family vacations.
      “It’s a treat,” Mrs. Zarate said.  “All the family is involved.”
      Enrique became interested in triathlons about nine years ago.  He participated in swimming, soccer, baseball, basketball and running while growing up in Mexico.  
      “I took a big break from sports after college and my first years of marriage until I felt that I needed to get back moving,” he said.  “So I started running, participating in multiple races – 5ks, 10ks, half marathons and full marathons.  After doing marathons (last was Chicago in 2007), I started looking for something more challenging, even though many runners and triathletes at the beginning and towards the end of any race question your own sanity for being there.  
      “You almost promise yourself you will not do it again, but once you cross the finish line and feel the great sensation of the finish, you start thinking, ‘okay, when is the next race?’”
      Both Jaime and Diana grew up competitive swimmers.  As a freshman last year, Jaime ran cross country and track and is adding swimming again to his schedule at Cedar Falls High School.  Ninth-grader Diana competes with Blast and will be swimming for Cedar Falls High this year.  But triathlons are a particular favorite of Jaime’s.
      “I like how you don’t focus on just one sport,” Jaime said.  “There’s variety in what you do everyday.  And the races are really fun.”
      “I agree, it makes it more challenging not focusing on just one thing,” Diana said.  “It’s really hard to ride your bike, then start running.  It’s changing the muscles you’ve been using.”
      Both kids became interested in triathlons by watching their father.  “We’ve always been swimmers,” Jaime said.  “We did a couple run races and running came very naturally to me.  After that it was just the biking.  The Hy-Vee Triathlon two years ago was our first one.”
      Both Jaime and Diana were disappointed in their finish.  Diana says her first race showed her she needed to train harder.  Jaime says he performed fairly well his next race, which made him want to compete more.
      “I actually want to take it to an elite level,” Jaime said.  “My first year was a learning situation.  I just want to keep getting better.  I think I still have about 10 years to get to an (Olympic) level.”
      Diana looks at the event as “just for fun.  I’m not the best, but I’m good at what I do.  I just want to better my times.  It’s not like I’m going to be in the Olympics.”
      Training regimens are tough for the kids.  Jaime normally works out twice daily.  “If it’s a swim, it’s usually about an hour,” he said.  “Then I might have a run.  Depending upon how hard the workout is meant to be depends upon the distance.  It may be a high tempo run.  Some days it might be a harder bike ride.  I usually swim in a pool, but there are days when we have open water swims.”
      Diana’s training schedule differs from her brother’s.  “I swim everyday in the morning (with Blast).  I swim about two and a half hours, where Jaime might swim just an hour.  Some days I only have one workout a day, sometimes two depending upon my swimming.”
      The kids train under Mike Garton of Rocket Science Coaching located in Ankeny.  He’s a USA Triathlon Level II coach, a USA Cycling Level II coach, a certified bike fitter, and a personal trainer and Reebok Cycling Instructor.  He’s the founder of the Ankeny Youth Triathlon.  He also is a former competitive swimmer.  
      With Garton living out-of-town, the Zarates make use of an on-line page called Training Peaks.  Garton provides the workout week-by-week and relays to the athletes what he wants their heart rates to be.  The trainees comment back and forth on how they felt.  They see Garton in person at each race, almost every weekend.
      Enrique, on the other hand, is primarily self-trained through books, the internet and advice from friends who compete.  He also tries to train six days each week, twice a day, but this year because of job responsibilities with John Deere and other personal activities, he has not been able to train consistently.  He will pair up with two friends to compete in a Peregrine Charities Triathlon relay in September.  He has his mind set to do a half Iron Man next year.
      Enrique says people would be surprised to know just how many families compete in triathlons, mentioning three he knows of.
      “We try to encourage our kids to be active doing something all the time,” he said.  “They started swimming at an early age, continue to do so.  They see me training all the time, talking about it all the time.  Every race is a big event.  There’s a lot of preparation for it, so it comes natural for them to try it.
      “I believe the key is that you do not force them into it because they will grow out of it very soon.  You need to create an environment and it is up to them to embrace it.
      “Every race is a family event.  It is something we all enjoy doing or watching.  It brings us closer together as a family.”
      His advice is for persons to “try it.  It is not as hard as it seems and the reward is amazing.  The triathlete community is very embracing.  Everybody is willing to help and support others, especially beginners.”