Try a Tri

The journey through my first triathlon was chronicled in my "Her Perspective" column, when I worked at the Carolina Weekly Newspaper Group. The first column was originally published in Charlotte Weekly Volume 8, Number 2, Jan. 8-15, 2009 on pgs. 26 and 30.
(http://www.charlottepulse.com/archive_papers/cw/cw2009_01_09.pdf)
This is the column that started it all....

Recapturing athletic glory? It’s worth a tri

Although I’m a lifelong athlete and sports enthusiast, I haven’t been feeling so athletic
lately.
That’s hard for me to swallow, because I started swimming before I could read. I started
playing competitive basketball when I was 9. I played softball until I went to middle school
– where I joined the track team. In high school, I played volleyball or ran cross country in the fall
to stay in shape for basketball and track. Although basketball was my first love, I competed in
track in college and even trained to be a lifeguard and certified swimming instructor.
I swam and taught swimming until becoming too involved in sports journalism to devote
adequate time to it. Like many people, the rigors of becoming a career-minded, bill-paying adult
took precedence over exercise and sports, and my competitive spirit was fed by a desire to
outperform other news organizations.
In the years since my college graduation, I’ve begun to look more like a journalist than
an athlete (no insult intended to my media peers, but this is a very sedentary field). Covering
sports each day just makes me long for a different time in my life.
There have been glimpses of the past for me. During my time with one television station
in Maryland, a wellness program allowed employees to work exercise into their day. Whether
we were interested in power-walking in the morning, yoga at lunch or aerobic training in the
evening, everything was offered on site, so we didn’t have many excuses.
The same thing happened when I worked at Discovery Communications,
also in Maryland, where an exercise boot camp was offered, at a reduced rate, on the corporate
campus.
However, when I moved to Charlotte in 2006, I initially found time to run 2 to 3 miles every
few days. I even did rock climbing and belly and pole dancing as part of research for stories, but the
need for more money and stability meant less time for any real exercise.
So when I joined Charlotte Weekly in September, I hadn’t participated in any kind of physical
activity for at least eight months. I could feel it in my clothes –and every step I took.
Then I wrote two stories that impacted me. The first was about Charlotte Latin football player
Nick Sella, who gave up cookies over the summer and took off 60 pounds; the second was about
Myers Park cross country runner Tyler Phillips, who took up the sport just to train for basketball but
ended up finding a new passion – and dropping 45 pounds in the process.
Both shamed and inspired me. The athlete in me was so proud of their accomplishments,
while the adult who had made different priorities felt like Sella and Phillips were both sending
subliminal messages. That’s when I decided to start swimming again and came across information
about triathlons.
Both Danskins, nationally, and the Nomad Aquatic Center, locally, offer “Tri a Tri” programs.
While Danskins' program is geared to women, Nomad’s is for anyone interested in participating in
the newly created Take Flight Sprint Triathlon in Huntersville.
Nomad introduced the Take Flight Tri a Tri program that led up to the inaugural Take Flight
event last September. The increased interest led Nomad to bring the program back in February. I
decided to join but thought it couldn’t hurt me to start working out before the official training started.
I went online searching for information on beginners training for triathlons, which was when
I came across a blog post about how the events are for losers and quitters. The blogger wasn’t
downing the sport, but he noted that rarely does anyone start out as a triathlete. Kids are put on
swim teams and AAU track squads at early ages, but how often do parents put their children in
triathlons?
Most people find triathlons after they discover they weren’t good enough swimmers,
runners or cyclists to make a living at it or reach the Olympic level. Following this realization,
these people take on triathlons for another challenge, the blogger wrote. And I had to admit he
had a great point.
So here I am, joining the rest of the quitters and losers.
In the coming months, I’ll share information about my journey from the couch to tri training
after years of athletic inactivity. With my 32nd birthday looming – and let’s face it, at least 50
pounds of extra weight on my body – there’s no time like the present for me to get involved. I’m
sure I’ll not only feel more like my former athletic self, but just plain better when it’s all said and
done.
I don’t expect to break any records; I’ll just be happy to finish. However, if you see a
woman struggling up steps near Vance High School, laboring through the pool at the Nomad
Aquatic Center or just walking a bike instead of pedaling, it’s just me trying to get jumpstarted
to try my tri.
And, hey, if you feel inclined to join me, come on. I welcome the company. Quitters and
losers unite!