About Me

Why Triathlons?

 I got interested in triathlons after volunteering at the finish line of a local race.  I didn’t decide right away that triathlons were for me but, over the next couple months there were signs that kept pointing me in that direction.  I had two friends who signed up and completed Ironman triathlons that summer and I began to wonder about doing one myself.   About the same time, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA), which is a charity that I support, became the official charity benefactor of the Chattanooga Ironman.   When I heard this, my “I wonder if…” changed to “I’m going to train for a triathlon”.

Background 
Running had been my primary form of fitness with some biking off and on over the years.  But, I knew swimming would be the biggest challenge for me.  I had not swum since I was about 9 or 10 years old.  My first swim was HARD!  I spent the winter months focusing on swimming and increasing my endurance in the water.  

While I had competed in a few running races (really just a few), I never really cared to ‘race’.  The whole race experience always made me nervous and it was not fun for me.

First Triathlon Season 
I signed up and completed a sprint distance triathlon the following spring, and when I crossed the finish line, my first words to my husband were “That was so much fun, I can’t believe it’s over”!  I was hooked.  That summer I did 4 more triathlons (another sprint, a couple Olympic distance races, and a 70.3-Half Ironman race).  I learned how to control my nerves (mostly) and I really enjoyed the race day experiences. 

Even before my first triathlon race I had the thought in my head that someday I would do an Ironman.  I didn’t know when but, the thought was there and my workouts/races this first season were tests that I gave myself to see how I would hold up both mentally and physically.  I was pleasantly surprised after every race at how good I felt and how quickly I recovered.  So, after my last triathlon for the year I decided (with encouragement from a few people) that I was ready to tackle the Ironman distance and signed up for the Louisville Ironman.

Purpose of this Blog

I wanted a way to document my thoughts, ups/downs and workouts as I train for the IM and blogging seemed like a great way to accomplish this.