How it all started...

I wasn't born a triathlete. I never even thought about becoming one. I grew up going to triathlons to watch my parents, aunts and uncles participate in them. For me, it was another day to play with my cousins and spend time out of the house. I watched as the adults set up their bikes and their shoes and got in to their wetsuits. The energy was palpable. They would start and then I wouldn't see them for a couple hours. When they finished I figured they must have accomplished something big, as they were always super-sweaty with a huge grin on their faces. So, my parents were heroes. But I had really no idea what they did to get to the finish line.
As I grew older, I started running. Not for exercise, but to run away from my problems or to go on an adventure. It was just for fun. It became my way to process life. Some people see counselors. Some people go to church. I ran. I ran until I couldn't run anymore. Literally. I injured myself and I hung up my running shoes. I ended up trying cycle after being convinced that I would NOT die if I took a cycle class. And then I was hooked. I ended up becoming a cycle instructor, and taught myself to ride a road bike.
So, what's left? I figured I knew how to swim, bike and run so maybe, just maybe I could do a triathlon. Why not?! I signed up for a triathlon that was about 6 months away so I could train for it and be totally ready. But you know life never works that way. I got a call from a friend who couldn't do a triathlon and it was three weeks away!! For whatever reason, I said yes. I spent the next three weeks training and practicing and having minor panic attacks. When I showed up on race day I could not begin to tell you how nervous I was.
Triathlon is a big, yet small world. Some people do it just to do it, some people do it to go pro, some people got suckered in to it(kind like me). But one thing is universal, on race day everyone is anxious. As I looked around, I could see all these nice bikes and fancy shoes and super light wetsuits. I felt like the only one with regular running shoes, a 1985 road bike and a wetsuit I borrowed from my dad. When the swim course was pointed out to me, I thought they couldn't be serious. Distance in a pool doesn't look the same in the ocean! When the gun went off to start I couldn't breathe. I spent the entire swim hyperventilating and trying to freestyle with my head up. This was not how it went down in a heated pool! When I got out of the water I was just happy to be alive. I got on my bike and headed out. At this point, I figured I was dead last and so I went as fast as I could to try to catch up. Off the bike I attempted to run. My legs felt like logs and to even try and move in a running motion was laugh-able. But, I was determined to finish. Crossing the finish line was one of the highlights of my life. I had proven I could do a triathlon. I hung around high on endorphins and soaking up the atmosphere. I checked the times when they came out because that's what everyone else seemed to want to do. I didn't really care. I finished and I wasn't dead. But when I checked my time, the craziest thing happened...I finished first in my age division!!!!  How was that possible? I cried. I called my parents. I paced around thinking they would take away my first place. But it was true, I won. To this day, that day goes down as one of the best days in my life.

With one triathlon down, I did do another and then another and another. I continued to do well and eventually got sponsored. I now finally consider myself a triathlete. My story serves to show that you should try new things even though new things can be scary. You never know what you might end up being good at, or loving, or both! Had I never stepped out of my comfort zone, there is something huge I would have been missing in my life. Something that has changed me for the better.