How I Started Running:
My sister got me started in running, back in 2008, shortly after I had made the great decision to quit smoking. I started off running some 5-10k races, but never planned to do any farther distances…that was enough! In 2011, I finally decided that I’d like to run ONE half marathon, just to see if I could do it. Well, 8 years later and I’ve now done 10+ half marathons, 9 full marathons, and started getting into triathlon over the past 3 years, after learning how to swim in 2017. I have now completed a handful of Olympic distance races, as well as 5 half ironman races (70.3), one full Ironman (Mont Tremblant 2018), as well as an Xtreme Triathlon (CanadaMan 2019). I’ve discovered that I LOVE triathlon, even though I still haven’t learned to love swimming.
Favorite Moments / Biggest Accomplishments:
My biggest accomplishments are both triathlon related.
My first full Ironman race in 2018 was a huge achievement for me, especially being new to swimming in my 40s. I set what I thought was an aggressive goal time of being sub 14hrs, and ended up finishing 11h52m. Immediately after that Ironman finish, I set a new, challenging goal of someday completing the SwissMan Xtreme Triathlon (Ironman distance, but self-supported and in the Alps, and finishing on top of a mountain). This is bordering on fringe stuff.
In July 2019 I completed a test race, CanadaMan, which is quite similar to SwissMan, but with a bit less climbing on the bike, but a more technical mountain climb. I wanted to see how I could handle the format before dragging family and gear halfway around the world to Switzerland. With a finish time of 16h19m, it shows how much more challenging these Xtreme races are, but it was hands-down the greatest race experience of my life.
Future Goals:
My big goal is to race SwissMan, I’m hoping to get in lottery for 2020 (lottery is in October). Send good vibes!