Get to Know Your Teammate -- Nate Wick

Nathan Wick -- Training Coordinator

How did you first get interested in multisport? 

When I was living in Melbourne, Florida, I started running on the beach barefoot just to get outside. Melbourne had a lot of triathletes so when I started going to social runs, they started pushing me to do a tri. But I didn't swim and didn't have a bike. But eventually the pressure built up and someone convinced me to go for an ocean swim - mile swim, mile run back on the beach. I'd never really swam for exercise so I spent about 45 min almost drowning. But after that I had to figure out how to swim properly so I started swimming regularly. At that point it was a fait accompli that I would buy a bike and do a tri, which happened for the first time in April 14, 2013

Which sport do you enjoy the most? 

If I say anything other than running, no one will believe me. The thing I like about running is that, for me, its the easiest to measure out my effort in. I always run by feel, and after a mile or two I know how hard I can go without cracking. 

Any embarrassing stories you'd like to share? 

Right after I've told you about how I'm confident in measuring out my effort, I have to tell you about one time where it didn't happen. I did the Palm Beaches marathon as my first marathon. It was supposed to be 70s, but at race start it was mid-80s. And the heat index just went up from there. I did a crap job fueling and about mile 16 I hit a wall. Basically every mile after that was 15-30 seconds slower. I finally made it to the finish line, made it about 50 feet to Kristi and as soon as I stopped moving I started to swoon. Luckily a race volunteer caught me and put me into a wheelchair. I was so delirious I started arguing with the race medal volunteer about the ribbon color (I was convinced they were giving me the half marathon medal). After 4 bags of IV fluid, they sent me to the hospital. And while I was there my friend took a photo and made a meme out of me.

What is your most triumphant moment during a multisport event?

I did a short local race one time, the Pirate Plunder 2 miler. And I had zero expectations. I just figured I'd go out and run hard as usual. Since it was a short race, I didn't really check my pace as I ran, but I came around the final turn into the finishing straightaway. And I saw that the clock hadn't hit 11:00 yet, and I thought I could make so I went all out to the finish line. I crossed the line with an official time of 10:59.7. It's silly but it was so unexpected that I was on Cloud 9.

Tell us something that most people don't know about you.
My first triathlon was on my One Year Wedding Anniversary. Kristi surprised me with a sign, but I was mildly offended because she greatly exaggerated my expected finish time. ​

---