How Did This Happen To Me?!

In an effort to encourage others to apply for a place on the Evotri team, we, as teammates, decided it would be great to delve into how each of us got into triathlon. After a bit of thought, the best way I can summarize my entry into triathlon was because of A Midlife Crisis. That's all I can think of to explain it.

When I was 35, I was a mother, wife, and nurse practitioner. My girls were 5 and 7 and both in school all day. I was working part-time during the evenings and on weekends. To make a long story short, with everyone being gone during the day and me sitting at home I had TIME on my hands. What is the saying? Idle hands are the devil's workshop. Well, I felt like I was living like an evil elf in Santa's workshop!

I had always enjoyed school. But when I was 20, school was not where I wanted to spend another 4-8 years of my life. That was then. At 35, I started questioning what I wanted to be for the REST OF MY LIFE. And probably for no other good reason than I had to stay busy and challenged, I decided I wanted to go back to school, pick up the classes that I needed for medical school, and then matriculate to medical school. I took several semesters of inorganic chemistry, physics, and biology; specific courses that were not required for a nursing degree. I LOVED IT! I was the typical, overachieving nontrad that the traditional students HATED. I messed up the curve, asked questions in class, and headed up group projects. It was something I wanted and enjoyed doing and not because I HAD to do it to get a job or make a living. However, reality has a nice, blunt way of slapping you in the head and bringing you back down to planet earth. To complete my undergrad coursework, I was traveling 3 hours a day to and from school. That was doable because I knew it wouldn't last forever. However, after several semesters of this, I had a LOT of car time to think. If I did get into med school, I would have to move my family at least 3 hours away from everything they knew and ALL family (literally, my entire extended family lives in my small hometown). That would be for 4 years. Then I would more than likely have to move them again to site unknown for a residency of 3-4 years. Not to mention my husband would need to find a new job, not once but probably twice. Finances would be severely reduced and uncertainty would be rampant. I really had to sit back and question my motivation for all this. Was it fair? Was I asking too much? Who was really going to benefit from this?

I tell this long drawn out saga to try and set the stage for why and how triathlon fell into my lap so perfectly. When the dust cleared, I couldn't do that to my family. I simply could not uproot everyone multiple times for something I wanted but didn't need. After a lot of bawling and carrying on, I knew I had to do something. I was full of pent up energy and, honestly, some bitterness. I knew if I didn't do something with the negativity it would eat me up inside. And a caged up, overachieving woman is not a pretty sight!

I had to DO something. So, I started going to a local gym. I was not an ex-college or high school athlete. I really don't count 1 year of high school swimming and 2 years of high school track as an athletic background. Especially, when one is mediocre at best. My entrance into the gym-rat world was interesting in that it occurred gradually. I started lifting weights. I really didn't want to sweat and cause myself physical pain and weight training sounded like a good start. After a few weeks I was getting bored and found myself looking at the treadmill. I asked myself why I couldn't walk a little. So I did. Then I asked myself if I couldn't run a little. Painfully, I did. I HATED running with a passion! I literally couldn't run one block without feeling like I would die. I distinctly remember telling people how much I disliked it. But, I FOUND when I was done exercising, I felt better about life. It freed me of so much stress and anxiety. That's really what kept me going; how I felt as I was walking out the door. Life looked and felt better and if this was all I had to do, it was worthwhile!

It was like a drug and I soon was addicted. By this time in my metamorphosis, the season was turning to spring and I figured I needed to add something to my routine. I thought I could ride a bike. Really, I asked myself, who can't ride a bike? Out came the Fleet Farm Murray mountain bike. A few months later, I found myself at a small, hole-in-the-wall, bike shop buying my first Trek road bike. I knew absolutely nothing about bikes or what I was getting myself into. I bought one that was on sale and looked pretty! Now it was summer and I needed another challenge. I had heard of these things called triathlons and knew it was comprised of a swim, bike, and run. I didn't know in what order, what equipment was needed, or even where one was held. So, I got on the internet and found one; Pardeeville, WI. The proclamation then went out to my husband that we were going and off we went. I'm not sure what was going through his mind at the time, but I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm nuts, so he just went with it.

I look back at that first race and fondly laugh. I knew nothing. I had never even talked to anyone who had done a triathlon. Really, to this day, I can't say what possessed me to just think I should pick up and go. However, I do think of that race as one of the best things I ever did for myself. It was a sprint. I swam in a swimsuit. I think I put some bike shorts on over my suit in T1. I had toe straps on my pedals and wore my running shoes. You can bet there were no aerobars on my bike and a simple odometer was the biggest piece of technology I owned. I distinctly remember the run about killed me. At this point, I STILL HATED RUNNING. I am pretty sure, I was in more pain during that 3 mile run than the last 5 miles of any Ironman I've done. My lungs were on FIRE and my legs felt like they were going to fall off! But guess what? I LOVED IT! I LOVED IT! I LOVED IT! I LOVED IT! I was nowhere near placing in my age group. And here's the absolutely hilarious thing about that.....I was mad that I didn't WIN. I mean I really thought I should be able to win! What a nut job! Who thinks that? Someone who knows absolutely nothing and comes to the table with no athletic history whatsoever, that's WHO! Too stupid to know better.

What I did know was that I loved the competition. I loved the burn. I loved how I felt when it was over. I loved knowing that I had control of something in my life and where I could to take this. I improvement was doable if I wanted it. And that improvement was not going to have to come at the cost of my family's well-being. It fit with the lifestyle that I wanted for my children. This was me. Triathlon was something I quickly fell in love with.

Yes, I'm no longer using toe straps and a simple odometer on my bike. My race placing and times have certainly changed over the years. I still think I should 'win' every race and have high expectations for myself. In other words, I still love triathlon. It's not an obsession or an addiction. That has settled down over the years. Yet, it is a MAJOR part of who I am and HUGE factor in how I live my daily life. Triathlon in a way did 'happen to me'. It crept up on me. I wasn't looking for it. Thankfully, though, I was open to the process and where it could take me and I've been on a FABULOUS journey ever since!