It all started with...

The Stress Fracture.

Well, actually it started with two nurses I worked with recruiting me to walk a half marathon. Despite (or perhaps because of) being in nursing school, I was at my heaviest at 210 pounds. That’s a lot on a 5’ 2” frame. The idea of walking 13.1 miles seemed daunting. But I was coming off a Christmas that included crying to my future husband that I was tired of being short of breath just putting on my shoes. In 2009, I walked 13 miles and ran the last tenth of a mile to the finish line at Lewis & Clark Half Marathon. And a spark was ignited. 

For the next four years, I worked tirelessly to get ever faster. In 2013, PRs abounded for me. Less than a year after birthing our daughter, I ran eight halfs with three of them in October. Ah yes, that spark had grown into a raging forest fire.

After months of running through increasing pain in my right leg, I confronted my fear and saw my sports medicine doctor. I had given myself an anterior cortex stress fracture in my right tibia. The doctor called it the worst kind of stress fracture. He shut down my 2014 season before it ever began. “Fine, what can I do?” I asked him. Thus began my self-training for a century. After nine months of biking and achieving my century goal, I returned to the doctor’s office for my monthly stress fracture assessment. When he informed me the fracture was still not healed, I said, “Fine, I did my century ride. What can I do now?” His answer: Swimming. Now that I had confronted my fear of road riding, The Universe wanted me to work on my swim anxiety. “If I have to swim, I might as well do a triathlon,” I told him. 

The rest of my story is a cautionary tale in how self-coaching can get you to the start line and through to the finish line of triathlons … with some lonely mediocre training as well as physically and mentally painful racing. In hindsight, I feel blessed to have survived solo open water swims without a safety buoy and solo long rides with inadequate hydration and fuel. I can distill my learning experiences down to two things: Respect the distance and get a coach. 

Beyond my running experience and my decade long nursing career, I have competed in countless sprints and Olympic triathlons, 7 half-iron triathlons and 3 full Ironmans. Triathlon has challenged me mentally, physically, emotionally and personally … and the rewards have been amazing athletic and personal growth. This sport has truly become both my passion and my career. I am in love with the triathlon lifestyle and love to train, race and better myself each and every day. People often say to me, “I don’t know how you do it. You’re a mom, a wife and you train for triathlons?!?” My answer is simple: You too can do this. And yet it’s not that simple at the same time. My husband is supportive of my goals both as an athlete and as a coach … and that has made this adventure possible. It’s not easy, but then everything worth having in life is not easy. 

As a coach, I empower people to dream big, beat yesterday and lap their former selves numerous times over. My specialties include adult learn-to-swim (ALTS), running, swimming and cheering like mad in a pink tutu. I have two rules, in racing, training and life: #1 Be safe; #2 Have fun. A mantra came to me while I struggled to calm myself during the swim at my first Olympic triathlon and I use it to this day: Breathe, Believe, Achieve. That said, my all-time favorite is what saw me through Ironman Chattanooga’s 144.6 miles…Adversity Reveals!!