Who Is Zentriathlete?
“The beauty of triathlon and a reasonable self-scrutiny journey is that it can be done in a variety of places, by people of all abilities, at distances both short and long. Now, Let’s Play Triathlon!”
My Story
Hi, I’m Shane—also known as zentriathlete. I live in the stunning Cache Valley, a hidden gem nestled in northern Utah. At 51 years young, I proudly say: “I play triathlon.” I work remotely, which gives me the gift of time with my amazing nuclear family. My journey in Cache Valley began in 1992 when I came here for school. My wife followed a decade later, and we tied the knot in 2004. After a brief adventure away from Utah in 2008–2009, we returned in 2010 and have since made this valley our home. Since then, we’ve owned two homes, welcomed three more incredible kids, adopted a small menagerie of animals, and embraced a life of wanderlust. Our “circle of chaos” keeps us grounded and whimsical as we navigate life’s twists and turns. I’m not lost—I arrive precisely when I mean to, wherever I happen to be - wandering and seeking along the way!
zentriathlete
zentriathlete– Founder
My Life Partner, spouse, wife – Liz
- The whimsical co-founder of Happy in the Hills
- Partners in crime as a married couple for since 2004!
- Wife, Mother, blogger, model, influencer, designer, entrepreneur, intuitive friend to name a few!
Feel free to visit Liz's content and blog! Liz is the curator of Happy in the Hills. She is a Mother of Dragons! Co-founder of #teamlivingston and much, much more!
Visit her at Happy in the Hills!
The Feral Ones
Who is raising you feral kiddos, anyway?
You are Dad!!!
Zentriathlete story (A Glimpse)
My personal transformation story is well represented in a blog post (click the button below - Transformation Tuesday!
I keep a blog because I seek places where the noise settles and the signal comes through. In the early years, the blog effort was mostly a professional development exercise — a way to sharpen my writing when the cadence at work felt clunky. But somewhere along the way, it became a mirror. A place to track the long arc of endurance, the drift before intention, and the quiet recalibrations that shape how I move through the world.
Endurance has been one of my longest teachers. I’ve raced several 70.3 Ironman events in St. George, along with the countless training sessions that never make it into a race report. I show up. I race. Sometimes I land on a podium. Sometimes I volunteer. The miles matter, but the becoming matters more. The body keeps the score, but it also keeps the story.
This journey has carried joy and disappointment in equal measure — but every step has proven worth it. Even the ones that hurt. Even the ones that interrupted me. Especially the ones that forced me to listen.
Over the past few years, my perspective has shifted in ways I didn’t anticipate. COVID changed my nervous system. July 2, 2026 interrupted my cadence. Drift became information. Grace became easier to see. Grief became harder to avoid and I learned to both acknowledge, carry and encounter it! And through all of it, my family became the anchor I returned to again and again. My wife’s patience, her steadiness, her willingness to see me even when I couldn’t see myself — that’s a kind of endurance too. Our kids are wild, brilliant, feral in the best ways. We stumble. We grow. We recalibrate. The finish line hasn’t arrived yet.
Professionally, I’ve spent years observing people and systems — the architecture of change, the friction of human behavior, the ways pressure reveals what’s real. That practice has helped me understand myself in relation to others. I’m grateful for the winding path that brought me here, and I draw from both the wins and the failures. Each one offers a lesson. Each one becomes part of the operating system I now call WE🌀AD — Wyrd, Edifications, Alchemic, Distortions — the compass I use to navigate complexity without flattening it.
The Crushing Iron community has also shaped me. Their work has been a steady presence in my endurance life since 2015, when Mike T nudged me to check it out. I’ve never been a coached athlete in their system, but I’ve been a student of their wisdom. Their insights have influenced my training, my mindset, and the way I approach the long arc of becoming.
I still love diving into movement — running, cycling, swimming, hiking, wandering. I pay attention to nutrition. I try to rest. I try to recover. My goal is simple: stay healthy enough to support my kids if they ever decide to take on a 70.3 or a 140.6. Stay present enough to keep choosing awe, wonder, and joy.
In my spare time, I wander through stoicism, spirituality, and the somatic edges of faith. I’ve worked in Higher Ed since 2004, focused in Educational Technology since 2010— observing, informing, instructing, with consent. There’s more to me than any single paragraph can hold, but this gives a glimpse.
My triathlon affinity lead me to being a Team Zoot Ambassador from 2020–2024 — Racing as One. Ohana. And as life would have it, plot twists and adaptations have led me back to journeying alone, flanked by connections that persist. The tribe remains, even when the jersey changes.
This blog is where all of that converges — endurance, neurodiversity, stoic clarity, drift, interruption, recalibration, awe. It’s not a hype page. It’s a quiet one. A place to breathe, to reflect, to stay honest, and to keep going.
My stats and biology
🏊♂️🚴♀️🏃♂️ Age Group Triathlon
Buy all the things - no! Buy the right things!
🏊♂️🚴♀️🏃♂️ Gear I Choose 🏊♂️🚴♀️🏃♂️
Choosing the right gear for a triathlon is essential for performance, comfort, and efficiency across the three disciplines: swim, bike, and run. Here I provide a simple breakdown of what I currently prefer and choose to use.
- Family focus – High Priority
- Allow adequate space for recovery
- Eat well and fuel to workout
- Be present and with purpose
- If not, have fun and build up others
- IM California 2022
- Develop consistent patterns of swim, bike and run
- Returning to multisport training
- Use a cerebral mindset driven approach – my focus for triathlon oriented lifestyle
- Observe, Inform, Instruct
- Create more digital vLog content
- Podcasting on the following topics
- Mindset, triathlon and personal topics
- Neurodiversity and Parenting
Detaching From Extra Platforms
TRAINING APPS
Capturing my training via WordPress using embeds with Garmin Connect. Too many subscriptions, and moving piecemeal approaches. Currently, I use a Garmin Fenix 5 watch. This means my initial connection point is via Garmin Connect platform. I use ROUVY for my indoor and virtual training rides, and that delivers my output to Garmin Connect and Trainingpeaks. Sorry Strava, I think I will just let things flow through unedited until further notice – and it appears your api’s may soon start failing. Oh well!
Me
Tiktok content from me!
LIZ
Tiktok content of my partner in life!
The SQUAD
Tiktok content of the sherpas/kidlets.
@zentriathlete dear lover. est. 16 July 2004 @macylee36 #sxdx #familytok #couplelove #teamlivingston #zentriathlete #gratitudecookies #mindset #zentriathlete #happyinthehills ♬ Dear Lover (Album Version) - Social Distortion
