The Start

It all started with a bet. But let’s back up and give a boring background before getting into a dragged on explanation of the last year of my life.

Many triathletes start as swimmers, cyclists or runners. I started out as a couch potato. The only sport I did was cheerleading in high school (yes it’s a sport!). I’d go through phases of trying to get back in shape but it never stuck. During the previous summers I would “run” with friends at a track occasionally. This consisted of me running half a lap (if I was lucky) and walking the other half mixed with some more walking while they lapped me over and over again.

Spring 2014 my husband and I decided to do a weight loss bet. Neither of us was overweight but we wanted to drop a few pounds. The winner was based on who lost the most body fat percentage based on our inaccurate scale. We started right after Easter. I had no plan going into it other than the usual eat better and start exercising. My close friend Ashlee had signed up to do a super sprint triathlon with some other friends. She somehow convinced me that I should sign up for it as a way to help lose weight. Having no knowledge of triathlons, I signed up for the race.

My feelings on running at the time were only negative. I hated running! There was nothing good about it. My biggest issue was always my lungs. Doctors told me I had exercise induced asthma but I’m starting to question that. My heart rate is still much higher than others and my breathing is always more labored but I’m not sure I’d consider asthma as the cause. But who knows, I’m not a doctor. My lungs were always the first thing to hurt. Unlike telling your muscles to shut up and keep going, feeling like you can’t breathe is hard to push through. I really had no background in cycling other than the occasional leisurely ride with my mom. I grew up with a pool and loved the water but never had any formal swim lessons. Nevertheless, I was determined to try my best.

Even today I consider myself slow in comparison to other triathletes but I like to look back on where I started to remind myself how far I’ve come. My first “run” (aka lots of walking) was three loops in my neighborhood. I did 1.65 miles at an 11:22 pace. My first ride was 4.8 miles at 9.93mph. The first several weeks of training were on my husband’s bike from when he was a teenager. My first swim was 400m with a 2:41/100m pace while actually swimming. Despite being painfully slow I stuck to it and was happy to see my pace improve in all areas. I had spreadsheets and graphs to prove I was improving (engineer… I love my spreadsheets). The biggest improvement was when Ashlee’s mom gave me her old road bike. Wow did that help and I’m extremely grateful to her for that.

On top of training, I changed my eating habits. As a vegetarian I wasn’t great about getting enough protein or eating veggies. When the bet started it was like a switch flipped in my head and I was suddenly super healthy. A lot more beans, fruits, veggies and nuts and very little carbs. Looking back on it, I’m not sure how I did it with so little carbs but that’s clearly how I managed to lose on average 1.6 lbs a week. Man do I wish I could flip that switch again but I’ve been back to having eating control issues for months now.

I started the bet at 131.4 lbs, my husband 178.4 lbs. By mid-July we decided to end the bet early based on the results. I lost 17.6 lbs (4.1% BF) and he lost 9.4 lbs (1.9% BF). I crushed him!

This bet began as a way to lose weight but it transformed more than just my body. I discovered a new side of myself that I’m digging deeper and deeper into. Had you told me before this began that I would be considering half Ironman’s, I would have said you were crazy. I have surprised myself in so many ways. I try to remind myself of how far I’ve come because I often forget and focus on the feeling that I’m still slow. Compared to where I started, I’m not slow. I’d be lapping myself now and I’ll only get better.

Three weeks after I did my super sprint, I did another sprint. That led me to sign up for the Disney Princess Half Marathon which I completed in February. As soon as that was over I jumped back into tri training and did my first sprint of the season last month. Next race will be an international distance. I can’t help but wonder, where will I go from there? Who knows, but I’m excited to find out.