Fit: By Land and By Sea

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A 1.2-MILE SWIM, followed by a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run sounds like what an action hero would do to escape evil captors. But more than 1,600 people — with no bad guys in pursuit — willingly hopped into Cambridge, Md.'s Choptank River on Sunday for the Eagleman triathlon.

"I get bored and I need to do something new because it's a challenge," explains D.C. Tri Club member Cory Churches, 38, who did her first Eagleman last year. A challenge it certainly is — along with a bit crazy, as the distance is twice that of an Olympic triathlon. A lot of the folks who do it also compete at the next level: The Ironman, twice the length of the Eagleman.

When Churches' fellow D.C. Tri member Sean Ward, 36, first got into triathlons, he was a marathon runner looking to scale back. That didn't quite work out, as he's now done five Ironmans — which end, of course, with full marathons. His training requires two hour-long workouts a day Monday through Friday, seven hours on Saturday and four on Sunday. Even so, it's hard to feel prepared. No matter how many times he's launched himself into the water, the inevitable kicking and punching of his fellow swimmers remains awful.

"If you do an Ironman, it's going to hurt no matter what. You cannot be averse to pain and suffering," Ward says. "But when it's over, it feels good." (Especially when you post a good time — he finished Sunday's race in 4:29.)

If such a feat sounds impossible, think about this: Rob Sokol, 36, another D.C. Tri Club member, did the Eagleman on Sunday in preparation for his first Ironman later this year. But when he first got into the sport, he was basically clueless: "I never ran track. I didn't know how to swim. I used breaststroke because I didn't know you could swim freestyle that far. And I rode a mountain bike." (To ace a triathlon, you need a road model.)

Today, Sokol is as savvy as they come. He's hired an online coach and he exercises 11 times a week. He thinks constantly about his nutrition, and is now acquainted with a formerly unheard of ritual called "breakfast." Although the physical aspect is challenging, there are plenty of side benefits. He sleeps better and doesn't feel stressed — how could work seem daunting when he's in for a full day of bodily torture?

The promise of improved health lures many a triathlete. Former swimmer Paul Contino, 26, figured tri training would get him back into shape, and boy, did it. After a year, he's now planning his first Ironman. "I slimmed down and got my muscle back, and it made me want to eat better because I'm a lot more in tune with my body," he says.

Contino's schedule calls for 15 hours or more a week of running, swimming and biking — tricky for most to pull off. But Churches says she trains four to 12 hours per week for the Eagleman, which is much more doable for folks who don't want to think of exercise as a part-time job.

Just ask Adrian Fenty, seen at right completing a triathlon last year, who was also seen in Cambridge over the weekend. The athletic D.C. mayor completed his first half-Ironman (in an impressive 5:08), and like so many of his competitors, he wants to push himself more. "I'd love to do a full, but I don't know how I'll squeeze in the training," he says. Given that his schedule already calls for eight workouts a week, that dream may have to wait a while.

» CRYSTAL CITY IS ON A ROLL:
Looking for a place to get your body up to speed for a triathlon? Crystal City doesn't want you to forget about it as a prime fitness destination, full of biking and running trails. So its Business Improvement District is launching Crystal FIT this Saturday with Crystal Rides, a new bike race featuring amateurs and pros spinning their wheels all over the Arlington neighborhood.

The action kicks off at 8 a.m. with the amateur races on Crystal Drive, then moves over to 23rd Street for a celebrity trike race — featuring such luminaries as the mascots for the Capitals and the Wizards, local meteorologists, Arlington County board members and a "famous female impersonator" on 15-inch pink tricycles. Then it's back over to Crystal Drive to see what the pros can do. Look out for more events later in the summer, including closed-off roads for in-line skating.

Photo by Ashley Halsey/The Washington Post