Meet Triathlete Johanna Håland
Triathlete Johanna Håland is a hard-working individual with a journey in triathlon worth sharing. She is committed to the sport of triathlon but equally as committed to her friends and family. Because of this, Johanna inspires others daily to test their fears and challenge themselves with new adventures. She truly encapsulates the Ironman motto, "Anything is Possible". We appreciate Johanna for taking the time to nerd out with us and share her journey.
How did your journey in triathlon begin?
I have always been active, in my younger years with soccer and gym training, and then I found running to be time effective and relaxing. In late 2013 I found myself to be 37 years old with a husband and three kids (age 7, 9 and 11) and started thinking of what I wanted to do when I turned 40. I’m not a party girl but always dreamed of doing an Ironman one day. Maybe it was time to start thinking of that seriously. So I decided to do an Ironman the summer I turned 40, in 2016. Then I had two years to get prepared, so I bought my first road bike and started to swim, and kept running.
I knew I had a good thing for long-distance so I started with an Ironman 70.3 for my first triathlon in 2014.
That was hard!! And I couldn’t understand how it would be possible to swim and bike the double distance, and also run a marathon afterward. But in august 2016, I did it! It was just fantastic to cross that finish line and hear the words “Johanna, You are an Ironman”. Out of the blue, I came in third place in my age group!! Sadly, we had booked the flight back home so no podium ceremony for me. But I was sold, triathlon was where I belonged. Triathlon was me! I felt so strong, I had done something that I thought was impossible. I wanted to continue challenging myself, so I did.
What advice would you give to others who are thinking about trying a triathlon for the first time?
“Don’t think, just jump” Just kidding, I like to be prepared, I was that kid who just sat on the side and looked for half an hour before I joined the game. So before my first triathlon, I read books, talked to people and “sat on the side” for a triathlon. Now I’ve done the research for you, and it’s not that difficult, so just do it. And don’t complicate it more than it is, a swim, bike ride and a run.
You don’t need all that fancy equipment, clothes or scientific training routines. Of course, you need to do a bit of training before, so you know you survive. And maybe a friend, it helps! I’ve learned over the years that all triathletes are great friendly people, so if you don’t have a friend, you will find one at your nearest triathlon club. Ask that friend (or you can ask me) all questions you have to feel safe to do that jump into the fantastic world of triathlon.
When you have done that jump into your first race, enjoy it and do your own race, at your own speed. Don’t think about others or what they are thinking about you, they don’t think about you, they are thinking about themselves and what you are thinking about them.
Tell us about your favourite gear you train and race with?
You need some gear to do or train for a triathlon, but you really don’t need the fanciest or most expensive gear out there. Right now I train around 17 hours a week and have the ambition to do triathlon quite fast (not pro fast, but age group fast :-)) so I have over the years bought a lot of gear. If you ask my husband, he would say,” too much”! In my defense, the price per hour I use the gear isn’t so much.
For me all equipment is important but I’m not going to bore you with going through all my gear. But If I would pick one gear for each sport it would be for the swim - goggles. A pair of goggles that fit well, and I’m confident that they don’t leak or get foggy. I like to use ones that are for pool swimming and not open water swimming, my experience is that they are smaller and fit me better.
For the bike, I chose the tri suit, for the long-distance triathlon I use a tri suit in two parts. It’s easier if you need to visit the toilet, yes I do stop and use them. The bottom part has to be good to sit on a bike for a couple of hours without too much pain. Try out and find a pair that fits you, and train in them, you won’t regret it.
For the run, the obvious gear is the shoes. Here I use Saucony Endorphin Pro for racing, a fast shoe that also fits my foot really well. It has a carbon-fiber plate, soft but also responsive cushioning.
But I find it very important to use different kinds of shoes throughout a training week for a variation on the feet and legs.
How can our fans follow your adventure and inspiration?
The easiest way to follow me is on Instagram, @johannahaland where I’m quite active and post pictures from my training nearly almost every day.