How did this happen.....

Last night I explained how I went from not-fit athletic girl to an endurance athlete. How did I transition from runner to tri-girl? After all, many runners avoid triathlons because after all, my sport is your sport's punishment!

Me and Stacey at Lake Lanier

I blame Stacey. She caught me at a weak moment. I was fatigued from running and was open to new ideas. I agreed to sign up for an Irongirl sprint triathlon. I could kind of swim (so much as I wouldn't drown). I was a runner. I did NOT own a bike. Blah blah blah... yada...yada...yada.... let the stress, panic attacks and self doubt begin. Did I mention this race was right at the end of lacrosse season? (Lacrosse season is when I give up my nights and weekends to travel around metro Atlanta and the states of: GA, AL, SC, and TN.) This did not leave much time to get on my bike.

There were horrible storms the morning of the race. The race director made the difficult decision to cancel. All that worry, stress, and falling off my bike for nothing! I wasn't giving up that quickly. I needed to find a race! The next weekend I had available and the closest race I could find was the Tri Latta Triathlon in Huntersville, NC (Highly recommend it!!!). That was okay, I got to see a high school friend and a running friend!

After that race, I was hooked. Next was the Acworth's Women's Sprint and then the Tugaloo Olympic Triathlon. Each race was challenging in its own way. I started. I finished. I loved it. Well, maybe not the Acworth Sprint.....



Finishing shoot at Tugaloo!

So now what? I think I DO want to do a Half Ironman (HIM). I think the one in Augusta will be fun. I talk with my coach (who thought I should have done it in 2013) and he is on board.

G-d bless Facebook. Training Peaks is having a social media contest to win entry into a FULL IRONMAN! I think, what the hell, and enter. Top three win.



The top three finishers!

YES! That's my entry in the middle. I finished second.... and that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I went from wanting to train for a HIM in 2014 to a FULL IM in 2014. Now I am just waiting to hear from the people at Training Peaks to find out if I got the race I asked for, if not, I'll pick another.

I think I have everyone all caught up.

And so it begins.....

This is me:

This used to be me:

If you've found my blog then either you know me, or you are curious to see how this woman is going to become an Ironman! That's right...I won a social media contest sponsored by Training Peaks . (More on this later.)

How did I get to where I am now? Lots of running, better food choices, and some negatives I turned in to positives. This includes being out of full time employment for almost 2 years.

I have always been an athlete. I was a four year starter in lacrosse at Salisbury University and even still hold a college record. Really. 

However, I wasn't always fit. At my heaviest I weighed 207 pounds. I was refereeing women's lacrosse. I was playing tennis. I was eating crap.

I've told my story so many times as to how I got from before to after just incase we are just connecting, here is as succinct a version as I can generate:

When I lost my job in 2010 (I didn't fit the image of the organization) with a well known non-profit in Florida, I tucked my tail between my legs and returned to GA and moved in with my sister and her family.

Feeling pretty emotionally beat up, I decided to turn in my grown up card and return to graduate school full time.

This meant living off student loans and part time work. Classes, studying and then refereeing at night. This season I did NOT stop to pick up dinner on my way home after my games. I went home to my sister's house and ate leftovers. I was able to save $8-10 a day and I'm sure 300-400 calories. By packing my own food, eating at home, and refereeing 5 days a week; I quickly dropped 15-20lbs without realizing it.

Lacrosse season ended and I wanted to try and get rated to officiate higher level games (they pay more $$). With one month between the end of the season and the tournament, I knew I had to keep moving. I started 'running'. Friends and acquaintances came out of the woodwork offering to run with me. Despite my best efforts to convince them they didn't want to do that, they did anyway.

I was slow. I ran some. I walked some. I did it again. They never complained. And then....and then...one said, "I'm running the Silver Comet Half Marathon . Want to do it too?" My immediate response:

And then, I said yes. And that is how it all began...I've since completed 42+ events. 4 Marathons, a lot of Half Marathons, some 10Ks, some 5Ks, and 3 triathlons and most recently the Inaugural Dopey Challenge at Disney World.

I invite you to stick around and see what I can get myself into. I turn 40 in less than a week. I am single and dating, and I'm going to be an...