Reflections on how I got into Triathlon

I was talking to some fellow Team Z members recently and told them how I got into triathlon. It was only last year when I really got hooked.

One day back in October or November of 2005, it hit me that next year in September of 2006 I was turning 40. At 39, I was overweight (about 25 pounds heavier than now) and while I ran fairly often and did spin classes, my diet was awful and I was just not in shape like I wanted to be. While you can't change your chronological age, you can change your mental/physical age. What was I going to do?

Well, Stacy being Stacy needed to think of something really challenging. I had no interest in anything crazy like skydiving, but wanted it to be something active and help me get into better shape at the same time. I had completed five marathons, so that really wasn’t going to do it. I thought about traveling, but that isn’t necessarily very active.

What to do? Hmmmm. I remembered that I had fun at a sprint tri I did in Colorado several years before (pool swim and rode my mountain bike). I run, I like spin class, I had done some mountain biking, but never any real swimming at all. I could do a few laps, that should be good enough to start. Yes, that was it – I would do a triathlon for my 40th! (My logic was non -existent during this thought process).

Which race would it be? I started my google search looking for something in the DC area. Some looked interesting and were very close, but remember, I am looking for very challenging. So, I found this race, you may have heard of it – Eagleman. It would be June of 2006. 7-8 months out.

I read through the website and keyed on the run distance – a half marathon. I saw the swim/bike distances, but didn’t really give them much thought at the time. Of course I can do a half marathon– sign me up!

That done, I didn’t give it much thought until a few days later when I went back and read more detail. Jesus, Stacy, what the hell have you done? A 1.2 mile swim – no way! A 56 mile bike! I didn’t even own a road bike (and never did before that). Well, you asked for it Stacy and you got it- challenging for sure. It wasn’t until race day did I realize what a big deal this race was, I was clueless.

You can read my race report on my blog, but suffice it to say, not only was it the hardest thing I had ever done in my life, but it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I cried tears of joy at the end when it hit me what I had just done – Happy 40th Birthday, Stacy!