WHY THE TRI???

The burning question is why Triathlon, Why do I want to tri?

I saw a t-shirt in the Marine Corp Marthon in October that said...'This sounded like a good Idea 6 months ago!" Fortunately, these people ran in front of me most of the way and every time I came up on them they made me giggle and keep going. Is that going to be my sentiment in 4 months??

I am by all means a newbie to this sport and this season will be my first sprint triathlons. I am shooting for the Iron Girl and the Dewey Beach. I haven't signed up yet that will be my first commitment and probably help get me motivated and focus because I have been all over the board. Which plan? Will I ever be able to swim without stopping? When do I get on the bike and not be over run with the fear of being run over??!!

I started running about 4 years ago after my father experienced congestive heart failure and I thought oh no, those are my genes too! I have always been overweight, not obese, but overweight and I wanted to FINALLY have the body I always wanted instead of the one that I settled for. I started working out but I HATED the aerobic part, I love lifting weights, but running, YUK! I knew that I need to run though to loose the weight so my buff body could show thru. So I set a goal to run the Tulsa Run, a 10K which was 3 months away. This got me motivated to get out there, I had already signed up...better get going. After I finished the Tulsa Run, in a very unearth shattering time, I got something in the mail from TNT - run a Marathon?? HMMMM Oprah did it, why can't I?
So I did it, I ran the Motorola Marathon in Austin Texas in 6 hours and 50 minutes...I told you it wasn't earth Shattering.

So now for a new challenge...I just enjoyed/hated training. I hated getting up at 5:30 am on a Saturday morning when it is raining and/or cold, when I could sleep in and cuddle with my sweetie, but when I was done running 13, 15, 17 miles how great I felt!!!

So I digress...why the tri?

Because I needed to challenge myself, because if I am not a better person today than yesterday, what's the point, because I love doing things that people think I can't do or even better tell me I can't, because I want to remember what it was like to get on a bike like a kid and just ride all day. Most importantly because I want to be healthy and fit and setting goals and having something to strive for is the best way to be everything I can be. I tri because I can and don't ever want to take for granted the working body I have.