Get To Know Me

My name is Luca Mcleod. I am a 23-year-old recent college grad based in Miami and currently working remotely for one of the three major credit companies in the United States. I was born in Atlanta, Georgia and grew up for the most part in Europe. London, Barcelona, and Koblenz (Germany) to be specific. After completing 10th grade in Germany which I nearly failed, my family and I moved to Miami. This felt like my second chance in life because school was going from bad to terrible and my future looked very deem. I had to change and so for the remaining years in high school and four years in college, I spent every day studying and trying to advance to become at a first an employable intern and later on an employable recent grad ready for the “real world.” While many of my peers going into college were ready for some fun away from home, I felt uneasy. The following things were running through my head. Minimize debt, graduate early, get certifications related to my field of study (cyber security), straight A’s, make money, apply for internships … Those were my thoughts from the day I graduated from high up until I received an offer letter for my first full-time job out of college. What helped me immensely to keep a somewhat cool head was running.

From a young age I was always involved in sports. I played tennis for many years and gave basketball a shot during 10th grade in Germany which turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me during those tough times. Once in Miami I went back to tennis for 11th and 12th grade at Miami Beach Senior High. College came around and I needed a new sports related challenge. From a young age I always new about triathlon because of my dad. He had done many of them over a span of a couple of decades and the last one he did was in Barcelona (Challenge Maresme 2010) while we lived there. To this day I still have the image in my head when he passed us on the bike. That was the only time we saw him that day. Unfortunately, he finished passed our bed time. 

Eventually I wanted to do it too, but at the start of college it still was not possible. I told myself that I would focus on running and once I got my degree and hopefully making decent money, I would by the equipment I needed to do triathlons. I started off with a 5k, then a 10k, then many half-marathons, and one marathon which was a terrible experience. Training went so well, but my legs decided not to show up that day.

End of April, 2022 comes around and it is almost a year after graduating. I had been working full-time since September of the previous year and out of the blew it hit me that NOW is the time. The triathlon journey MUST begin. There is no better time than NOW. I ended up buying a road bike, clip on aero bars, and little by little going down what seems like the never ending laundry list of items to buy.

From the beginning I told myself that this triathlon journey is going to be about more than just training, racing, maximizing performance and doing that over and over again. I am fortunate that my company allows me to work from other countries for a limited number of days and because of this flexible policy I have been able to continue my travels around the world meeting new people and learning about different cultures. This blog is not just about hopefully becoming a better triathlete and getting better results, and it is not just about traveling around. It is about both. It is about giving it my all by the seaside course of Lima and the next week trekking thousand of feet above sea level to Machu Picchu. It is about facing the challenges that as a triathlete we can face on any given race (significant back pain during the entire run of Ironman 70.3 Los Cabos 2022) and later that evening enjoying a carne asada with local friends in San Jose del Cabo that I met a few weeks earlier. It is about balancing a 9-5 job, a desire to become the best triathlete I can be, and exploring this beautiful world.

I hope you join me on these many great adventures that are to come and I would love to hear your stories too.