The Importance of Support

I recently started thinking about the importance of support in a sport and how that affects the athletes' mentality and performance. Being a swimmer I had that support. Being on a team with whom you were forced to spend mornings, evenings and weekends with training and racing created a swim family, a group of people who knew your goals, your strengths and weaknesses and the insane mind behind being a swimmer. That family grew as I shifted to college. Calvin provided not only a phenomenal swim family, but a swim family that grew in faith and were there for each other when you felt lost in the world. Even if you didn't think you had support from others, you always knew you had your swim family. Those support groups provided everything I needed to feel supported and loved in my journey of being a swimmer.

I think it's important to have support through everything you do and there have been numerous times in my life where I didn't feel that from people who are close to me. Some of them laughed in my face when I told them my goals for this summer and making my debut into the half ironman world. Some told me I was idiotic and should focus on the "more achievable" things like a sprint, because apparently that's all they think I can do in life. I'm hurt when those who I care about say those things to my face. Do you not believe in me or support my goals? Have I done something in my athletic career to make you think I don't have what it takes to be a long distance, endurance athlete? It's because of these people that make me the one who pushes and tries to be the best I can be. I want to prove to them that I can do something I set my mind to even when they doubt everything I do. They also make it so I need a strong a support system.

For me, I excel when I have a strong support system. If I have that, I feel like I can accomplish anything. So, let's talk about that triathlon support system:

Julie Patterson - Pro Triathlete, and amazing older (but smaller) sister. Growing up Julie was my inspiration into the triathlon world. I wanted nothing more to be her coach and made "Coach" and "Athlete" t-shirts that we wore to every race. I took her to the middle school, which I was attending at the time, and practiced transitions with her. I snuck in with her to just about every transition area for pre-race set-up and I tracked her, because I wanted to be her. I didn't start my triathlon career into late high school but I'll give it to her for starting the sport. So now that we are both actively involved in the triathlon world, she continues to support me and cheer for me and gives me little pointers. After she got married, she gifted me her old Endorphin Fitness tri kit which had her maiden name, my current last name, on the front. I proudly wore that and rocked her aero helmet art installation in all my races as well. Julie tells me that she is proud of me and pushes me and runs next to me during run tests. Julie is my primary support in the world of triathlon, and I want her, and all of you, to know how much she truly means to me :)

Elizabeth

Swimmer, wife, mom to two cats, and my distance freestyle buddy in college. However, all those titles don't do her justice. Elizabeth is a truly amazing individual and although we are separated by many states, we still stay in contact. College was rough, especially for me, and so became each others accountability partners and we remain that two years after college. I call her in the car to all my far away races and we chat about training and everything that is going on in life. She was interested in some triathlons, so I shared my knowledge, and we just talk. I have a lot of friends that I just talk to, however, Elizabeth knows me sometimes better than I know myself and she's my go to person for long drives to races. It helps to clear my mind when talking to her before a race.

Dan Szajta - I would certainly hope that my coach would provide me support and Dan certainly does. Through his experience and knowledge of the sport he is able to provide extensive support for me through training and races.

Meghan 

I am so blessed to have Meghan in my life. It was through Dan that I met her and we have become friends/training partners/"team"members. She supports me and motivates me through long rides and runs. She's the one I go to when I have frustrations or challenges in my training because I know a lot of the times, she's feeling the same way. Meghan has her amazing goal of Ironman Lake Placid which I fully support and hope that I can help her along the way, as well!


Endorphin Fitness 
Although I am no longer coached by Endorphin, I still live for the community that comes out of this amazing place. I am a coach and love what I do and love the chance to continue to train with, hang out with and spend time with amazing athletes who have great goals.

Aaron- So when this kid left RVA to go to Boulder, I was not pleased, but he continues to be a strong support and friend in my life. I'm sure he probably doesn't want to hear half the stuff I have to say, but he has been so helpful in all of my tech/bike/shop needs (although he no longer works at a shop). We chat about injuries which we both have and the insanity of his thought process of injuries and running....and, of course, food! He thinks he has allergies, I know I have allergies, so we support each other in our messed up food situations.



Rachel- (and the Nelson family) Incredibly blessed to have met this amazing athletic and Godly woman. We are so similar and like minded that it was an easy friendship to start. Having both been swimmers at Christian Colleges with the mindset of pushing ourselves to be the best, she continues to show support even with my changed mindset of that. Although she lives in Charlottesville now, we communicate daily and see each other when we can. The Nelson's provide me my family away from home. Holidays and weekends I'm invited over for food, fellowship and friends. This family provides so much support and caring towards me, I thank them everyday.

*This of course is not the extensive list, but the top 7 list* 

So, support, it's important for all aspects of life, especially triathlon and committing yourself to the roller coaster of emotions that comes with it. I am so incredibly blessed to have these phenomenal people in my life, as well as others, and hope we can continue to grow, challenge and support each other in the future.

*****

Last week I got back in the saddle after 5 days off from my wisdom teeth extraction. I was relieved to see that everything sprung right back with me after taking some time off, and the rest was appreciated (even though it was not addressed that way). I had an IT band scare. That's what happens when I don't do PT for 5 days...I thought I'd screwed myself over again, but Lori promised me it was simply because I hadn't been putting in the work, so I'm back to being fully committed. I never want to feel that pain again so will continue to do what I can to keep it away. 

It was an uneventful week other than that, but hope to continue to put in great work this week.

Goals for this week: 

1) PT everyday (+1 if I run that day) 

2) Re-learn how to swim without a 6 beat kick (which is a swimmer thing) 

A Letter to My Coach (Part 2)

Dear Coach,

I've been wanting to write this for awhile now, and I just didn't know how to phrase the things I wanted to say. Like my last post to you, I wanted to say thank you. I wanted to say thank you because a lot of times my gratitude for what you do for me is lost behind my stubbornness, my injuries and my exhaustion for workouts. This time around though I wanted to thank you for being patient as I adapt to new workout structure, new HR zones and a new form of trust.

I think in order for a relationship to work you have to have immense trust and great communication with that person. The same goes for being in a coach and athlete scenario. First off, the athlete has to trust the process. As you have heard and read, this has been hard for me. Trusting the process which is totally different than the process I had been training on for a year, is hard and frustrating. I didn't understand why you wanted me to run so slowly that I could walk faster. I didn't understand why I couldn't ride side by side with you on a long ride. I didn't understand a lot of things and for that reason, I was really unhappy. But, like a great coach, you began the process of teaching me the methods you believe and coach by, making it easier for me to understand the concepts behind slow running and not riding with the best training partner I've had (I'm still not exactly pleased about that). For you, it's about the HR and the effort you are putting in, not about the pace, and I've learned that if I stick with the HR, the speed will come. So, thank you for communicating with me about the process and keeping me accountable through it, even when I have ridiculous off the chart workouts...

The second part about trust is trusting your coach to know what is best for the athlete both in training and in how your body works. (For everyone who is reading this, you need to know what a phenomenal job Dan does of this). Back in the first month of us working together you pushed me and pushed me to go see Lori Strobl and get my knee fixed. You raved and raved about how spectacular she was and how I needed to go. So I went, and now, months later, I am running free of pain. When I had Achilles pain, you stopped me and we worked out what the pain could be and now I am pain free. Most recently, I had my wisdom teeth out and I have spent four days, as of right now, without anything training wise and you tell me we need to focus on me eating my regular diet and getting full mobility of my jaw back (because I can't open my mouth fully), before I started training anymore. Do I like this response, after I have been cooped up and snowed in to my house for the past four days? Hell no. However, you have yet to lead me astray in my world of injuries. Even though my mouth has nothing to do with workouts, it is still leaving my body in a compromised state and as I know from you, my health is my #1 priority So, I am listening to you and going to focus on my swollen cheek and stiff jaw (but I will still call my Dentist tomorrow morning).

Another part of this trust is sticking to the plan. As you know sometimes I "disregard" the workouts you have written for me, not because I don't feel like doing them, but because...I don't know. Honestly, I don't know the answer to that. In the pool I do it because I want to keep up and my swimmer mentality has trained me that if I do poorly in practice, I'll get bumped from that relay (which happened on a National qualifying relay). I push hard in swimming because that's what I know. In biking and running its gotten better. You've drilled it through my head enough times to know that I need to and when I see my heart rate spike in the slightest amount of see my cadence as being really slow, I'm scared I'm going to disappoint you. And, there is one thing I hate more than disappointing myself, and it's disappointing others.

So, Dan thank you. Thank you for being patient and for teaching me and for sending me those tough love e-mails and texts that scare me into doing what you have written. I'm seeing progress and improvement, although small. I now trust you and your process completely in my triathlon journey. That doesn't mean I'll stop asking you dumb questions, but it means I'll be less stubborn and less hard-headed. I'll put in the work because I know you've got my back.

I will say the one thing I hope we can communicate about my goals and how I truly am going to get down to running 8:00 miles or so. I want to talk to you about my fears and concerns because once you hear them I think you'll have a better understanding of why I push and have that competitiveness.

Thank you for continuing to put up with me and push me and motivate me. You as a coach and athlete inspire me to do great things in my triathlon career.

Thanks, coach!

Base-Recovery Week

I must say by the time base-recovery phase comes around I am loving it. I don't see how much training takes a toll on me until I get a rest day where I go to sleep at 8pm and sleep twelve hours. It's kind of magical how my legs come back and I don't feel so sluggish. This week only consisted of three workouts- Strength and Swim and a Z1 Short Run. Why not many workouts, you ask? Because I got my wisdom teeth taken out, of course!

However, I made a breakthrough with my runs last week (which I didn't post about), that I am very excited for. HR training is challenging and it has been very difficult and frustrating for me to learn, however with my first ever run above one hour last week taught me that I am headed towards the right direction, although still running very slowly.

Dan has been trying to teach me that you have to have this gradual rise in your heart rate opposed to being all over the place (which I had been). Below is of a run I did a month ago. My HR, as seem is all over the place, going up and down all the time.

This run below is my run from Sunday, my most successful HR progression to date. The two large spikes being my 30 second pick ups, which you see I maintained well after. I am learning and I am seeing the process. My biggest question is that of how do I negative split my runs like Meghan and Dan do, and also how do I go from running this slow to running fast, but that is all part of trusting the process even more. 

Wisdom Teeth Removal: 
Over the past couple of months I have had this horrible sensation that my wisdom teeth were coming through, and lone and behold, my top left tooth began breaking it's way through the gum, causing me much pain. I now understand why babies cry when they are teething...it hurts! I went to the dentist for a consultation a few weeks ago and we decided I was going to get it removed. Removal date: January 21, 2016--Base-Recovery Week. Perfect!


I wish I could tell you more about my surgery, but I remember taking my drugs before surgery, sitting down and getting a mask and being told to breathe, then sitting on my couch back at home. My roommate, Emily, says I was talking a lot in the car and was very excited about how many texts and phone calls I received, none of which I remember reading or texting back.

However, having a med student for a roommate is wonderful. She continues to take care of me and tell me when I can take the drugs, continue icing and to swish salt water...and tells me that I can't do anything active, which in turn is kind of great because we have about a foot of snow that needs shoveled and I have been exempted from it, but also means that I can't do workouts or my time trial tomorrow.


Pain Med Nightmares:
I give it the pain meds for these insane and very vivid dreams that I am having at night. Last night, was my first triathlon related nightmare. I was running a full distance ironman and the transition area was a nightmare...more like a maze. All my friends and teammates were finding the exit but I couldn't find my way out. I was stuck and I panicked. I think this dream might have something to do with the fact I am not allowed to work out until I am healed from this surgery. I have been wearing the same clothes since the snow started, and have been on the couch and on my bed the whole time. I am going stir crazy and the thought that everyone else is training while I am not is making my mind think I am going to be behind. But of course, like a good coach, Dan tells me "You're consistent enough. You'll be absolutely fine. Last thing you need is dry sockets."

Training will continue again after I am 'healed,' so once my chipmunk cheek is less swollen and I am able to dig my car out of the snow drift that is currently under, I will be back and working hard. For now, recovery shall continue.

Celiac Disease: 1 Year Later (And How I Still Fuel my Sport)

Excerpt from My Messy Masterpiece, Dated February 9, 2015:

“Remember that time when I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease? (After 5 previous food allergies diagnoses)…So you can see my life has been crazy. Reading labels, convincing myself that I am doing this because I’m healthy, and I was! I joked around with my sister that by the time I was thirty, I would be allergic to every preservative, forcing me to eat totally organic and unprocessed food…I had never thought about what allergy might come next…but it did. For four months I was sick. I was tired, my skin itched and itched and I would scratch until skin came off, I had night sweats, I couldn’t sleep at night, my body ached all the time. It may sound ridiculous, but I thought I had cancer. I went to the doctor and they ran every lab they could think of…Two weeks later I got a phone call. I was devastated. I had celiac disease. How am I supposed to eat no grains with five other preservative allergies? I still can’t tell you the answer.”

Today, January 12, 2016, marks the one year anniversary of my diagnosis of having Celiac Disease, something that shook my world and made my rethink if I could be an athlete based on my nutrition options. I must say that the first few months certainly weren’t easy. I lost a record breaking twelve pounds which I didn’t have to lose in the first place. I skipped meals because most times I just didn’t know what I could eat or was scared to try something new. This was no life for anyone, especially an athlete who was still working out twenty hours a week. I became tired from not fueling myself properly and became very self conscious about my body weight, so I sought out my best friend, also a Celiac friend, and recruited her help in introducing me to the ways of the gluten free lifestyle. Having her and her mother, a Trader Joe’s employee, were my saving graces in my first few months of this lifestyle. I learned the best (and worst) kinds of bread out there, how I cannot eat anything even processed in a wheat factory, how much I love polenta, how Joe-Joes actually resemble something close to an Oreo and how I can still be an endurance athlete while having tremendous misfortune in the nutrition department.

Years ago, there were not nearly as many options as there are today, so my friend grew to only like one or two things, where as me, I got to try a variety of breads and pastas to determine what I like the best. Having been a swimmer my whole life, I was well acquainted with the high protein and high carb diet. My first choice of breakfast was toast. My first choice of lunch was a sandwich on delicious homemade bread, and my choice of dinner was pasta and meatballs with a side of my best friend Claire’s homemade French bread. I ate gluten all the time and I don’t think I realized that until it was taken away from me. So, I had to learn that my first choice of breakfast was eggs and protein smoothie, for lunch I had deconstructed tuna salad or ham sandwich without the bread with a side of fruit, and for dinner I had a large portion of protein with copious amounts of rice and vegetables. That lifestyle got old as that was the only thing I ever ate, so I knew I had to reach out and look for how I could continue to live the high protein and high carb diet.

Don’t get your hopes up, I’m still looking. I can nail the high protein one to a tee, but the high carb is something I still struggle with simply because it is so pricey. Gluten free lifestyles are so expensive, especially for the young working professional with not large amounts of money. So, rice is my solution. Lots and lots of rice. I buy gluten free bread about once a month and love it when my parents buy me gluten free pasta or quinoa because that stuff is upwards to $5 a box.

I’m not going to lie and say that my life as a gluten free athlete is 100% solved, but it is so much better than before. I have a healthy community of those who continue to help me through the uncertainties and the recipe trying, I have a better understanding of what I need to look for in labels when it is unclear whether it says gluten free or not and I have gained ten of those twelve pounds back. I don’t complete workouts if I know I don’t have sufficient nutrition in my body and sometimes I will be five minutes late to work if it means I have to cook one more egg so that I can get my calories back in. I will say the greatest resource to me thus far has been the wondrous world of Pinterest. From a procrastination tool, and a way to plan my future life, to a resource I rely on thoroughly, it has provided numerous amounts of recipes and education for a newbie, like me, to Celiac Disease.

So what does the lifestyle of an endurance triathlete with six food allergies look like (I only chose my favorites, this is not the whole list):

Breakfasts:

Cheesy Sausage Quiche

Oatmeal Muffins 

Ham Cheese and Quinoa Cups

Cheesy Breakfast Casserole

Famous Banana Bites that have swept the triathlon world (My own creation)

 

Snacks:

Banana Bites

LaraBars

Easy Potato Skins

 

Lunch:

Leftovers from Dinner

Made Ahead Chicken, Potatoes and Veggies

Quinoa Veggie “Fried Rice”

Spaghetti Squash with Bacon, Spinach and Goat Cheese

 

Dinner:

Honey Terriyaki Chicken

Melt in Your Mouth Pot Roast

Cilantro Chicken Burrito Bowl

Chicken Tortilla Soup

 

Training Nutrition:

Infinit Salted Caramel No Protein Added Formula

 

So one year later I’m healthier when dealing with this diagnosis, but I’m not perfect. I still seek out nutrition products and recipes that can fuel what I do both before, during and after. I’m always up for breaking the stereotype of gluten free products only ever tasting like cardboard. I didn’t choose this lifestyle, so I should be able to at least choose what I am eating and make sure that it’s delicious and can keep up with my training.  

Goals of the Season

I've never been open about sharing my goals; I think it's about fear of letting others down if I make it public. If it's just me or me and my coach knowing, it's less people. However, there are bonuses to people knowing, such as accountability and encouragement. So, I'm going to do something a little different and share my goals with you.

1. Get Healthy
This may seem vague, but I have two subsections to this one.
      a) Knee and Achilles- I'm still diligent about my Physical Therapy and working with Lori and Dan. I'm seeing definite improvements but I want to be healthy and have a great season that involves me running.
      b) Nutrition has always been hard and it's getting more challenging with the more things I'm allergic to. Eating proper foods to fuel my sport is hard by having so many allergies makes it that much more challenging. I frequently find myself underweight and having to eat A LOT to bump myself up. My goal is to remain a healthy weight by eating healthy, nutritious and good food for the amount of working out I do.

2. Run a 10K Without Stopping 
This may seem small, but I have never done this...and I'm going for a 70.3 (or 3). This past season was supposed to be my season where I competed in my first ever Olympic distance triathlon. It was my first Olympic distance aqua bike, so that leaves me still with never having run a 10k. It's the small things.

3. Run faster than a 1:50 half marathon 
This is an 8:20 pace or faster. This is hard to to figure out whether it's obtainable or not because of where I am in running, but I was taught to reach high for your dreams even if it takes years.

4. Sub 2:38 Bike Split for 56 Miles
At Timberman this past season, I rode a low 2:50, so on the right course, I should be able to do this.

5. Work on My Stubbornness and Trust the Process
Dan has Kona under his belt--what do I have to prove? He clearly knows what he is talking about --trust him and don't be so defensive or fail to accept the changes he makes in my plan. I've been stubborn my whole life, it's a gene that I definitely got from my grandfather. It's not something I'm proud of and something I continue to struggle with and learn from. I'm stubborn and get defensive when my views on how I currently do something needs to be altered. However, I just had a breakthrough in my running and truly feel that I'm getting there and it's because I'm trusting the process.

Summary
Now, I'm telling you these not because I want you tracking and analyzing my races, but because I want you to know that these are my goals. I won't try extra hard to make these happen, especially when my training isn't about times and paces, more about heart rate. Dan tells me they will come with time. My goals are directly related to me trusting the process. Trust the process and put in the work and success and goals will come. For the ones I can control, I need to be more confident in my coach and trust him that he won't lead me astray. When this happens, there will be less stubbornness and more success.

5k HR Test

I completed base training block #1 with a 5K HR Test. The week leading up to it, Dan and I were discussing whether or not my fragile and delicate legs (my injury) would be able to withstand that kind of running, and although I agreed to it, I was terrified. Yes, I had been putting a lot of time and effort into my physical therapy, but it doesn't mean I'm totally confident that it will hold. During my Christmas holiday I was doing PT and yoga nearly twice a day, also praying that my knee would hold out.

Come Sunday morning, I was up at 6:45, although we weren't running until 8am. I did some PT and stretches, drank half a bottle of Salted Caramel Infinit, ate some gluten free pretzels and two clementines. I had no idea what to eat before running because in the two weeks leading up to it, I hadn't identified anything that was compatible with my GI tract.

At 8am, Julie and I left my parents house and began my ZR plod warmup. If you don't know what a plod is, it's the speed of a walk but you look like you are running. Julie walked beside me because she hadn't left her pride at the door. We got to the service road where we were going to start our run and I did a few 100meter strides to get warmed up, then we were off.

Julie held my watch the whole time and didn't tell me anything about my pace or my HR, but I was able to hear the bing of my Garmin, alerting me to when I reached new mile markers.

Mile 1: 7:50, Average HR: 178
Julie kept telling me to slow down. It'd been the first time I ran that fast and smooth since before my injury and it felt good, even though Julie kept telling me to slow down. I then found out my first quarter of a mile was about a 6:00/mile pace. It was great having Julie run beside me, to hold my watch and keep me motivated. If I was the one holding my watch, my eyes would be on it non-stop and that wouldn't have ended well. I heard the noise of my Garmin, notifying me it had been one mile, well 2.1 to go!

Mile 2: 8:52, Average HR: 187
Well, I'd describe that second mile as the third 50 of a 200 freestyle. You're just thinking "when is this going to be done?" Then I thought, shoot, I would still have 12 miles at this point left in my race, glad it's several months away. Julie kept telling me that my heart rate was good and my goal time was still going to be shattered. I remember asking Julie what pace this would be for her, when she would ever run whatever pace I was holding. She told me, super easy run on a 100 degree day. Awesome, thanks Julie.

Mile 3: 9:13, Average HR: 190
As seen by my pacing, I lack in that department, but it wasn't about my pacing, it was about my HR. It hurt like hell, that last mile. Julie was singing to me, and saying motivational things to me, and yelling at me when my HR dropped. I don't think I could've done that last mile without her. At about the 20:00 mark, my knee started getting uncomfortable but Julie told me to focus on other things, like running hard between the telephone poles and focusing on my breathing. However, we rounded the bend and I heard her say something about when we get to the tennis courts we're in the home stretch. I kicked hard because I thought when I reached the tennis courts I'd be done, I was wrong. So I exerted all my remaining energy, and Julie let me know I still had half a mile left. She told me to count down from 20 and when I got to 0, count again and she would tell me how many more times I needed to say that. After about 5 times of counting backwards, she told me to sprint to the light pole. I sprinted, she lied and said the next one, I sprinted, she lied and said the next one and finally I was done.

Total Time: 26:42, Average HR: 186 
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/993845240
I learned a lot about myself during this 5K. Yes, it was ugly but it was my first hard effort in nearly nine months. It was the first time that I felt like I could do a half marathon, even though I died after 3.1 miles. I tried to cool down and I couldn't, so I just walked home and walked the dog around the block. Good things that came from it was the confidence of my knee, defined run zones, hope that I can get back to running and motivation to continue trusting the process that Dan creates.

From "Swimmer" to "Triathlete"

I have defined myself as a swimmer since I was six; and it was then when I began swimming competitively year round. I have qualified for Junior Olympics, swam in the Ohio State Championships three years in a row in high school, was a four year letter winner in both high school and college, qualified for nationals on a relay, broke four masters records at a meet this year, and still continue my journey in masters swimming. The thing about my swimming career though, which frustrated every single one of my coaches was that I was/am a practice swimmer. For those of you who don't know what that is; it's a swimmer who pulls all their best times in practice and when competition comes, I couldn't pull those times. It wasn't for lack of competitiveness, it was mental, I think, but I couldn't get around it. Test sets were where I shined, whether be 6x100s on 10:00 off the block, broken 200s off the block or holding your best average on 500s, I was your girl to pull out spectacular times, and times that were 90% faster than my meet times. Not only am I a practice swimmer, I am also the most consistent swimmer. If you need someone to swim a 2:00.00 in the 200 free, I'm your girl. If you need someone to hold 1:08s for a mile, I'm your girl. I'd pull the same times over and over again, guess it's better than someone who fluctuates with times so much. Starts are my thing and turns are my weakness, I prefer endurance workouts than speed workouts and the way I feel in the water is like no other. I could have had the worst day possible and the instant I get into the pool, everything gets better and I instantly feel at home.

The hard thing for me becomes the moment when you realize your goals and who you define yourself as are two different things. I'm a swimmer and this season I was an aquabiker, but when I introduced myself to people I said I was a triathlete, but a swimmer first. Always a swimmer first. My past as a "swimmer" will always still be there, and my swimming ability won't go away, it will make me stand out as I progress into the new goals in my athletic career, which requires me to define myself as a triathlete. 

Most triathletes weakest sport is the swim, that's where I take control and start the race off strong. However, the swim portion of the triathlon sets the stage for the rest of the race. If you go out too strong, you risk "blowing up" in the bike or run, but if you go out too slow, you risk not being able to come back. Dr. Amanda Stevens is a very successful and well decorated triathlete. For her, the swim is easy, she has a background in swimming. She mentions what swimmers bring to the sport of triathlon and states, "Luckily for us swimmers, from a technical standpoint, swimming is the hardest of the three sports to learn," Stevens said. "Swimmers develop so many success skills growing up in the pool: hard work, dedication, passion, desire for success, competitiveness, goal-setting, time management and self-discipline."

I think swimming is one of the sports that requires the most commitment and insanity. It's one of the sports that provides the most skills, such as Dr. Stevens stated, but triathlon is similar in that realm. You work as hard as a swimmer, but instead of having just the swim, dryland and weight training, you have the swim, the bike, the run, the rehab, the stretching, and the weight training. You get up before the crack of dawn, just like a swimmer, and you practice then go to work, then you come home and you train more. It takes the commitment and insanity that I've had in my life since I was six. Although I'm moving on from the title of swimmer, I'm still holding on to all the other things that make up a swimmer. I am still apart of a team, I still have a coach, I still workout many hours a week, I still challenge my body and my mind, and I am still a competitive, dedicated, passionate, hardworking, goal-setting athlete who desires success and improvement, what more could you ask for?

Maybe it's a good thing, because if you caught it above, I like starts, not turns and I like endurance, not sprints. I dislike the two things that aren't present in triathlons. Open water was something I was terrified of, now it's something I love; although I still freak out when I can see the bottom, and freak out when I can't see the bottom. Open water offers the endurance swimmer, like me, to eliminate the one thing that brought her down in races....the turn. With the elimination of flip turns, I can swim, keep swimming, and keep going with knowing I'm not losing to the person next to me because my turns suck, I'm losing to them because they're better than me.

I will always be a swimmer. But I will be a triathlete who defined herself as a swimmer because of her successful career in the pool. I will still buy swimsuits and goggles and love watching the PanAms, Duel in the Pool and the summer olympics because I still love the pool. I am a triathlete and I have my own goals which may, or may not, involve being a force to be reckoned with in the water, all the while being able to control that so I can be a force to be reckoned with on the bike and run. 

I am a triathlete.