Hi, I'm Mario. Amateur triathlete. Full-time human.

For over a decade, I've been living the triathlon life — swimming open water, grinding through rides, and chasing finish lines as an amateur athlete who still shows up to a 9-to-5 every Monday morning.

Triathlon has given me more than medals and fitness. It has opened doors I didn't know existed, taken me to places I never planned to visit, and introduced me to people who became some of my closest friends. It has a way of expanding your world — your social circle, your mindset, your sense of what's possible.

But let's be honest: it's also a slippery slope. The sport demands time, energy, and commitment at a level that can quietly consume everything around it. For the working amateur — the one juggling training blocks with deadlines, meal prep with meetings, and early alarms with a real life — the cost is real. Triathlon can strengthen a relationship or silently strain it. It can be the best version of discipline or the most exhausting form of obsession.

That's the conversation I want to have here. Triathlon isn't just a sport. It's a lifestyle — and like any lifestyle worth choosing, it comes with trade-offs nobody warns you about. This is where I share what I've learned, what the research says, and what I wish someone had told me when I first clipped into my bike shoes.

Welcome to Swim Bike Run Life.