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2009 was a year of realization, invitation and transformation.  I realized that my body would never take on an athletic shape without some form of consistent exercise.  Instead, I found myself working towards qualifying for the Biggest Loser, weighing in at 232 pounds and feeling overall pretty darn sluggish.  My dismal physical state wasn’t motivation enough to make a change, reverse course and find that inner athlete that had been lost since participating in track in high school.

Then, out of no where, came an invitation . . . an invitation from five of my brothers that wanted me to participate with them in a Sprint triathlon in July, 2009.  My initial reaction was, “You have got to be kidding, right?”  I mean, come on . . . who is kidding who?  In my current overweight, out of shape state I couldn’t even imagine running 5K let alone swimming and biking too.  I laughed at the invitation but after realizing their seriousness, I took a second look.  Would it be possible, for someone like me, to actually participate and finish a triathlon?

Hmmm.  I wouldn’t know, unless I tried the tri.  So, I made a commitment to myself, to my brothers and to my family that I would do it.  Fortunately for me, the Tahoma Athletic Club (TAC) was scheduled to open up in early 2009 and was just a block from my house.  Until the club officially opened, the manager offered new club members the opportunity to start getting in shape by meeting together each week in an outdoor boot camp in a park next to my house.    The boot camp was brutal, but was just what I needed to hit the ground running once TAC opened.   The first month at TAC was amazing. I sampled about every class the club had to offer until settling on cycling as my main class.

Time flew by as I worked hard to drop the weight, get my heart healthy again and transform my body from couch potato to triathlete.  I found joy in learning how to improve my swimming techniques by watching YouTube videos and then putting what I learned into practice at the Sumner High School pool each week.  I discovered the difficulty of running up the big hills around my house and found them to be both torturous and challenging.  I also found joy in meeting triathletes and learning many tips from them.  Heidi Hubler (KBA Racing Secretary) was one of those triathletes that not only helped with my conditioning as my instructor in cycling class but also offered many wonderful tips to a curious newbie.

By July, 2009, I had dropped 32 pounds and was ready participate in my first triathlon.  I have to admit, that my only goal for the first triathlon was to survive.  I not only accomplished that goal but also came in third place out of 7 family participants (my sister-in-law also participated).   It was at that moment, the moment that I realized that I could complete a triathlon, that I think the tri-bug bit me.   I wanted to “tri” again, and again, and again  Two months after my first triathlon, I competed again with my extended family in my first Olympic triathlon.  This time, I came out on top, winning first place in the family and second place in my age group.  The tri-bug bit down even harder after the Olympic triathlon.  I have since turned up the training several gears and have dropped another 15 pounds.  I have also committed to participating in my first 70.3 triathlon as well as my first half-marathon, marathon and century ride in 2010.  Thank you to KBA Racing for giving this newbie an opportunity to learn from the best and for their support in helping me to realize a dream that I never before thought possible . . . me as a triathlete.