If at first you don't succeed Tri, Tri, again!!!!!!!

I believe that some people are born with natural talent, or they have that natural ability to be ridiculous good at something. Like Michael Jordan and Basketball or Scorsese and film making, or Lea Michele and singing.Now this doesnt mean that they didnt work their butts off, but people have their hidden talents and sometimes they stay hidden until they are brought out somehow. For me it took a while to find out what I was truly good at. Growing up I was never good at singing or anything musical, which is strange cause I am full blood mennonite..haha! And I was never the artistic one either, but I was always pretty athletic. Though I have always been athletic I have never been the top, the one breaking the records or getting scholarships or really dominating one sport. But in the last few months while I was training for my first sprint triathlon, I realized something...my talent, my natural ability, my gift, is.... EXERCISE!!! I am freakishly good at Exercising! I have been exercising consistantly since the seventh grade, when I started running a mile in the mornings before school. Later in high school I participated in a sport that most people would consider a punishment...Running ie: cross country & track. And then when I got into college I was probably one of the only students at Goshen College who was up at 5 am at the Rec Fit, working out. When I got into college I started cross training, spinning, lifting, swimming, running, jump roping, kick boxing, zumba...you name it and I did it! 

busting out of the water after the swim!

So anyways my point to all of this is, this past sunday, May 29th, I finally put my talent, my passion, my natural ability, my hard work, into something, and it was a triathlon. It started with a 500 yd swim, then went into a 12.5 mile bike, and finished with a 3.1 mile run. Going into this I thought I would just take it easy and do the best I could, but my natural competitive nature had me going right from the start of the swim. Swimming is one of my strengths so I got an early lead in the pack of women and finished my swim in 8 minutes and 34 seconds. Then I moved into the first transition area and hopped on my bike. The first few miles of the bike were a little unsettling because I was riding a real racing bike, that I borrowed, and that was made for things like this and I was not used to it. So I got smoked my  a few people in the first few miles of the bike, but once I got my barrings I made up some ground and was really able to push it through the up hills and down hills. I finished the bike in 41 minutes and I felt strong...probably because of all those spinning classes!ha! When I hopped off my bike at the second transition my legs felt like Jello, but surprisingly I had a great run. The first mile was all down hill and then the second mile was all up hill and the third mile was up and down hill. I actually finished the run in 24 minutes and 20 seconds! So in all with the transitions I finished in 1 hour and 18 minutes! I was the seventh female overall and 45th out of 130 people! So overall it was an awesome experience! Even better was that I got to do this with my dad! I whooped up on him in the swim but he beat me with the bike and run and finished just over a minute faster than me! But that is awesome for a man in his 50s!haha! Me and my mom and Dad had such a great weekend in southern Ga doing this and all I can say is that I am officially ADDICTED!!! I definitely want to do more of these triathlons in the future for sure! So until that time you can find me at L.A. Fitness doing what I do best...Workin Out!!!haha!


peace and blessings