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The short version: I'm a "no-meat athlete" who has transitioned from a lethargic runner to a motivated triathlete! I'm a vegetarian foodie, lover of good beer, and a Southern girl living in Ohio! I teach Spinning, I finally learned how to swim, and triathlon has changed my life for the better.
The long version: I grew up as a completely non-athletic person. I tried to play volleyball and basketball in junior high/middle school, but I always ended up on the "B" team. Running was something I recognized as punishment in PE class. The one form of exercise that I gravitated towards as a teenager was dancing. Not in a formal classroom setting, but at every barn dance near my hometown of Needville, TX. Dancing 6-10 hours every weekend kept me super skinny all through high school.
Jump forward to college. HELLO, BEER! I pursued no type of exercise or athletic activity in college, and the pounds started to pile on each and every year. I think I went to the gym four times in four years. I also smoked. A lot.
After college, I left Texas and moved to North Carolina. It was there that I realized I was losing confidence in myself on all sorts of fronts. Encouraged by special people in my life, I joined Curves to get into my exercise groove then started running. I was asked to join my friend Lista's 5K team for the Komen Race for the Cure, started on Cto5K, and that's how I got the bug. The world lost Lista a few years later to breast cancer, but I will be forever grateful for the gift she gave me by asking me to run with her that year in the Komen race. Further encouraged over the next several years by my friend Lauren, I kept running. I've done numerous 5Ks, some 10Ks, some sprint tris, an Olympic tri and four half marathons. I'm shooting for a 70.3 in 2012 and a 140.6 at some point in the near future.......
I'm not super fast, but I don't consider myself "slow" anymore. I've busted my rear the past two years to see the results I accomplished in 2011. My dream had been to run, on average, less than ten minutes a mile. I can now knock out an 8:30 or so on a REALLY good day and consistently run sub 10s. I credit this to an amazing running group at Life Time Fitness Easton, combined with cross training for multisport. The goals now? Finish a sub 2:15 half marathon and complete a 70.3.
2012 has become "the year of the bike" for me. I ditched my $90, 38lb road bike and picked up a gorgeous Felt Z5 all carbon goddess that I named "Grace." I became the cycle club coordinator for a large gym chain in Columbus, OH, and I have conquered my fear of riding on the road. I logged anywhere from 50-100 miles a week on the bike the summer of 2012, and I absolutely loved it!
I'm a vegetarian. No, I don't eat fish. That would make me a pescetarian. Here's my rule: "If it had a face or had a face in a Disney movie which made it capable of singing a musical number, I do not eat it."
My biggest joys in life are my friends, my family, good food, my pets, and triathlon. And beer. Oh yeah, red wine, too.
It's 2013 and I am starting my own business. Check it out here.
Original Goals When I Started This Blog:
I want to run a 5K in less than 30 minutes. (accomplished 11/25/10 - 28 minutes!!! I beat this time repeatedly now!)
I want to run a 10K in less than 60 minutes. (I've done this in a longer race, just not in an official 10K - I'm not counting it til it is a timed 10K distance!)
I want to run a half-marathon in 2 hours and 15 minutes or less. (2:15:03 May 2012, still gunning for a 2:14:XX!)
I want to do a trail run. (accomplished on 09/18/10)
I would like to complete an Olympic length triathlon. (accomplished summer 2011)
I would like to place in the top 3 of my age group (or Athena division) in a sprint triathlon. (completed in 2011)
New wishes/goals for 2012 and beyond:
I want to win my age group in a sprint triathlon. (wish)
I want to win my age group in an Olympic length triathlon. (wish)
I want to complete an Olympic Length triathlon in 2h 45m or less. (goal)
I want to successfully complete a 70.3 distance race. (goal)
I want to successfully complete a 140.6 race. (wish/goal)
