Why I "Tri"?

This past Sunday, I completed my first triathlon.  For the past 6 years, I have wanted to do one but only in the past year have I gotten serious about getting in shape.

The past 10 weeks, I took a tri class at our YMCA.  I had already been swimming, biking, and running, but in the class I was able to learn more about the sport and take my fitness to another level.  I have so much to learn and will need to increase my fitness a lot more in the future. But I feel great about where I am at now.

I am not sure what first attracted me to triathlons.  I often like to read stories about humans doing incredible feats and I think I was just intrigued with the thought of being in great shape and doing all three sports.

A couple of years ago, Lisa Entz, one of my leaders and co-missionaries suggested to me that I needed to be more competitive.  Growing up and all through college, I competed regularly in sports and mostly in tennis.  But in these last years, I haven't done much competing.  She suggested for my personality and overall health, that I need to compete.  She thought as I find something to compete in, that it will help me in other areas of my life.

I am seeing if triathlons are something that I can get into that can be my competitive outlet. This past Sunday I finally did my first one. It was a very small one and as I was finishing it, there were inner thoughts that were whispering, "Why in the world are you doing this?'

But I kept plugging away and was able to finish.  This summer, I plan to do a couple of tri's outside.  The first distance will be a Sprint, and the 2nd is a shorter version of an Olympic.   My goal someday is to think about doing a half Ironman, but for now I am taking it one race at a time and seeing how I enjoy it.

Here is a link to some pictures I posted on Facebook


http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=341766&id=534216971&l=eb364e3ff3