The race report is coming!

The race report for IMNO 70.3 is coming :)  I had a minor surgery immediately following the event and am finally coming out of the drug induced cloud of pain meds! I can't wait to get back to training! On a side note, my local tri store asked me to write a brief article about my tri experience. Wow! I was honored! It's going to be sent to hundreds of emails! That was really exciting. Here it is:

I never considered myself an athlete. In fact, I was the exact opposite. I struggled with my weight most of my life, drank more than I should more times than I can remember (mostly because I passed out drunk) and smoked like a coal train. Five years ago when my son was born, I stopped smoking and really started eating. Three years ago something changed. I wasn't happy being 5”9,” 232lbs anymore. I found out about this race people do for “fun” called a 5K. I could barely run a mile! I signed up and completed my first 5k in Feb. 2007. Something happened when I crossed the finish line. I had become a runner and the addiction to endurance events was born.


A year later, 2008, after enough bad experiences with alcohol, I stopped drinking and stop telling myself there were things I couldn’t do. In late August 2009, I signed up for swim lessons with the intent of signing up for my first sprint triathlon; Take Flight Triathlon in October 2009 (just a few weeks later). I could barely get through the swim! After crossing the finish line, I was bit by the bug! I became emotional as I approached the finish line and it was only a sprint triathlon. To me it was more than that. It was the spirit of believing in me. Something I didn’t do a lot of over the years.

I thought that I could do an Ironman! I had lost nearly 60 pounds over the past 3 years and now I had faith. I enlisted support from family and friends, sought a coach, and signed up for two half Ironman triathlons and a full Ironman. I could barely swim 250 yards but there I was signing up for a full Ironman.

On April 18, 2010, I completed my second triathlon. It was only my third open water swim ever which yielded choppy conditions. Ironman New Orleans 70.3. I trained for four months and learned a lot about myself and this sport during that long day in New Orleans. It all started with a 5k finish line and the belief I could do it. 70.3 down 70.3 to go!