I've never considered myself to be an athlete by any stretch. As a kid, I was actually a competitive gymnast, but since I never met the typical "gymnast" criteria, I didn't even consider myself to be athletic. Fast forward many years, and I am about the least athletic person I know. I've been working hard to change this about myself. I started out just wanting to get in shape. I don't think I even had any specific thoughts on getting in shape. I just know I was supposed to get exercise. So, I've conquered the exercise part. I work hard both on my own and with my trainer...who kicks my butt like the little punk that he is...I am feeling so much better, and for the first time I feel like I even have some muscles. I've taken up running and slowly but surely I'm even getting better and stronger in that area too. I've set my goals for weight loss and running, and I can't wait to have the chance to meet them. I'm running my first 5k in less than two weeks! October will be here before I know it, and I will have to be ready for the Army Ten Miler, which is my big running goal.
But something happened last week and weekend. First, I was continuing my Herbalife research and read all of the testimonials about their customers and distributors who were just people like me who have become athletes, and some of them triathletes. I was inspired, but didn't think much about it other than that. Saturday I went to witness my cousin, uncle, and trainer race in the 30th annual Topeka Tinman Triathlon http://ultramaxtri.com/races/tinman/index.php. To see so many people...some hardcore athletes who are in incredible shape, and some regular people like myself who were pushing themselves to the limit to accomplish a goal. I watched people come out of the lake after swimming 500 meters, then hop on their bikes to ride 12 miles, only to take off immediately afterward to run 3.1 miles. Since my family members have been participating for years, they have jokingly tried to encourage me to join in every year. If I even halfway considered it I thought I could probably handle the bike portion the most, followed by the swim, and never did I think I could conquer the run. Now that I've taken these steps toward a healthier lifestyle, I am shocked to think that I'm the least afraid of the running, and the most afraid of the swim portion. I want to see how my next few months of running go, but I am seriously prepared to set my next fitness goal of becoming a triathlete, and to join my family and friends in the Tinman competition. My cousin, uncle, and trainer each placed third in their age groups and placed well over all out of over 750 participants. I doubt I'll be placing in anything, nor will I be awarded a special bottle of TinMan wine (which was their prize for placing,) but I do think I am going to be a competitor. Here's an article about the TinMan race from Saturday: http://cjonline.com/sports/cross_country/2010-06-19/tinman_attracts_young_and_old which inspires me even more to take on a new challenge!
Wish me luck!
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