Since August 2024, I’ve been training with a bodybuilding stage in mind. On October 31, 2026, I’ll be at the Pumpkin Man Triathlon for my first triathlon in 20 years.

I’m racing the sprint distance: a 750-meter swim, a 12.4-mile bike ride, and a 3.1-mile run.

My main goal is to have fun. I’m also hoping to finish in two hours.

The swim is the part I’m most concerned about. I’ve done one test swim in open water and worn my wetsuit once. That’s the experience I’m taking into race day.

This wasn’t where I expected my training to lead.

One quick update: Reset and Roam is now Just Roper. I wanted a name that gives me room to write about my fitness journey, nutrition, recovery, mental health, life balance, and my thoughts about it all as a 48-year-old man working to get healthy.

This unexpected turn in my training is part of that story.

Four hundred yards got me started

I first became scuba certified in 2005. Eventually, like triathlon, diving became something I stopped doing.

Returning to it led to my Divemaster certification—goal #8 on my 50 by 50 list. I completed that training in the spring of 2026.

One requirement was swimming 400 yards continuously.

My first session back in the pool was rough. I could barely swim 25 yards. Four hundred was a long way from where I was starting.

Fortunately, I have a strong breaststroke. I could switch between freestyle and breaststroke as I worked on swimming farther without stopping. It took about a month to reach 400 yards.

I kept swimming after finishing the program, but I’m not sure I’d say I enjoy it.

I’m still working on my body position. My legs drag, and sometimes I struggle to control my breathing. Getting through the certification swim gave me a distance I could complete. I still had plenty to work on.

Swimming became part of my routine before I ever planned to race again.

Then came running—and a bike

I added running to support my bodybuilding cut—the phase when I was working to lose body fat. I wanted some extra activity to help the process along.

What surprised me was how good it felt.

In my earlier attempts at getting fit, running had always been tough. This time, I was lighter and stronger, and I enjoyed it enough to keep going.

Then I started using the indoor bike for a similar reason. After a while, I thought, “I should try this outside.”

That led to Facebook Marketplace and a 15-year-old carbon fiber Trek I fell in love with.

I was still lifting. Swimming, cycling, and running had gradually become part of my week.

A 5K made me want to race again

In August, I decided to enter a 5K for 9/11. I wanted to find out whether I would enjoy a running race.

I trained for it, ran it, and enjoyed the whole process.

Having a date on the calendar gave the training a destination. I liked preparing for something and then getting a chance to see what I could do.

Afterward, I decided to try triathlon again.

Swimming, cycling, and running were already part of my week. Now I wanted to put them together.

That’s how I ended up preparing for Pumpkin Man, 20 years after my last triathlon.

I want to go far and lift a lot

I still love bodybuilding. I enjoy the training and the events, and I still want to experience competing.

But I’m enjoying endurance training enough to give it more attention—even with swimming still a struggle.

I want to swim, ride, and run farther while keeping strength and muscle part of the picture. I also prefer a muscular look. That puts me in the hybrid athlete space.

The challenge has been figuring out how much work I can recover from.

My first approach was to keep lifting the way I had been and fit endurance training around it. Each session made sense on its own. Together, they were taking more out of me than I realized.

Same lifting days. Less volume.

I’m lifting three days a week:

  • Monday: Chest, triceps, and shoulders.
  • Wednesday: Legs.
  • Friday: Back and biceps.

As the race approaches, I’m keeping that schedule but reducing my lifting volume by 60%.

That’s a substantial adjustment, especially after spending so long focused on building muscle.

But as I’ve pulled back, my triathlon workouts have felt stronger, and my recovery has improved. That got my attention.

I’ve had to consider the whole week: the lifting, swimming, cycling, running, and time between sessions. Completing a workout doesn’t mean I’ll have enough left for the next one.

For this training block, I’m putting more energy into race preparation. I’m still getting into the gym, with less volume while I prepare for Pumpkin Man.

Confidence—and a concern I haven’t trained away

On Day 145 of 365 Days of Consistency, I set out to ride 15 miles in an hour, followed by a 10-minute brick run—a run immediately after cycling.

I beat the cycling goal and completed the run.

That was a big win. I finished feeling more confident about the work I’d been doing and eager to find out how it would carry over to race day.

Day 150 was 45 minutes on a hotel bike.

It wasn’t interesting or fun. I got it done and moved on.

Both sessions were part of getting ready. Some workouts give me a result I’m excited to share. Others take their place in the week without much to report.

The swim remains my biggest concern. I’ve progressed from barely managing 25 yards, but my open-water and wetsuit experience is limited. Those 750 meters are the part of the race I feel least prepared for.

That’s the honest picture heading into Pumpkin Man: confidence from some of the training, alongside a part I’m less comfortable with.

What I want from race day

I’m hoping for a two-hour finish. I’d be happy to see that on the clock.

My main goal is to enjoy being back at a triathlon.

I enjoyed preparing for the 5K and racing it. I want to find out how I feel about putting swimming, cycling, and running together again after two decades away.

Pumpkin Man gives me a chance to experience that and learn what I want to work on afterward.

The stage is still on the list

I don’t have the order of every future goal worked out.

I still want to compete in bodybuilding. I also attended a HYROX event in September and wanted to try that. Right now, Pumpkin Man has my attention.

This is part of why I started 50 by 50. I wanted to find out more about who I am and what I want from this life.

Trying things has given me more to work with than thinking about them.

A certification requirement got me swimming. Running felt better than I remembered. An indoor bike led to an old Trek. A 5K made me want another race.

Now I’m preparing for my first triathlon in 20 years.

I set out to build a body I could take onto a stage. Along the way, I started finding out what else I wanted to do with it.