Long time lurker, figured I'd introduce myself.
I grew up a gymnast and springboard diver. Running was punishment, biking was transportation if I wasn't on my rollerblades, and swimming was something the rest of the team did while I flipped around in the air.
I ended up not doing any sports in college, and took a sedentary desk job working crazy hours after graduation, so I gained about a billion lbs. I finally got off my butt about 5 years ago and lost most of it, found running in 2009, and got addicted to racing. My husband hated running and swimming but wanted to try triathlon
(I never understood that, but oh well ;D
), and I said I'd be willing to try it too.
Fast forward 4 years, I've gotten crappier at running, but a whole lot better at biking and swimming, and have fallen in love with this insane sport. I've racked up 4 Olympics, 2 HIMs, and way too many sprints to count. I'm not super fast, but I'm not last, and it's fun just trying to break my own records
(though the dream of podiuming maybe someday... that keeps me going
). Two more tris this year
(Oly and HIM
) and a marathon in Dec, and then some sweet offseason slacking on the plan.
I do a lot of research and reading
(this stuff fascinates me
) so for now I self-coach myself and my husband and put together training plans
(heavily influenced this year by the triathlete's training bible
), but wondering if next year might be the year to get a coach or join a team to push us further. I'm also struggling with nutrition - I think I eat really darn healthy and in decent portions for a training triathlete, but the last ~25 or so lbs I'd like to lose just won't come off.
So, I'm not a complete newb, but I'm certainly not a vet. Looking forward to actually POSTING now instead of lurking now that I have a login!