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Women: what's your motivation?
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Thought it might be interesting to hear from the women on this board about what drives them to compete in triathlons.

At 42, I grew up in a pre-Title IX era where the sports heroines we had were mostly figure skaters and gymnasts (and tennis players: remember Bill Jean King??). A troubled and troublesome kid, I didn't start exercising until my early 20s, when I was battling being too fat and sick all the time. I started with aerobics, complete with leg-warmers, ripped sweatshirts and those ridiculous circular arm movements we used to do (?!). It was all about losing weight for me.

Then two things happened: 1) Pumping Iron II (The Women) and 2) Jacquie Phelan (who I am now fortunate to know). Both bodybuilding and mountain biking were things I wanted to try. That led to road biking, marathoning, rowing crew... The leap into the pool and triathlon after all those years of strength and cardio conditioning was a natural progression.

Unfortunately, I really can't swim, but I do have a great time in races. I haven't been overweight for almost 20 years now and somewhere along the way it became fun to train for performance and to be part of these fun events. Now I'm racing bikes and it's fantastic to see SO many women out there!!

Why do you do it???

Leigh
Last edited by: Cyborg42: Jan 21, 04 16:50
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Re: Women: what's your motivation? [Cyborg42] [ In reply to ]
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I got into tris 5 years ago after I had our son. I enjoyed a fitness routine while pregnant and felt that a triathlon goal would ensure that I stuck with it once our son was born.

Boy was I right .... 5 seasons, many 1/2 marathons and a 1/2 Ironman.

Now I do it because it's who I am!

Tri Hard!

Inga

Tri Hard !
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Re: Women: what's your motivation? [Bing] [ In reply to ]
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Great to hear, Igna. I think as moms we are showing our kids a great way to live. My son (9) bikes with me now while I run and he comes to most of my races. He did his first 5K run last year, we had a great time. I feel really fortunate to get to share the lifestyle with him. We have great talks on our runs!
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Re: Women: what's your motivation? [Cyborg42] [ In reply to ]
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I have a role model... my mom has always been in shape and running marathons. As a kid I competed in swimming and tennis, and 5 years ago my mom got me into running. I met a couple of triathletes a few years back that were training for IM Brazil and was fascinated. On 99 I had thyroid cancer and promised myself that once I was cured I would start doing triathlons. In 2002 I did my first race and got the bug. I just finished my first IM this past November and now am training for IMUSA. I love sports, how I meet friends through it and constantly challenge my body to go one step further.





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“You can't coach desire.” --Dathan Ritzenhein
http://xtreme4.com/ -- an extreme ride for extreme change: go green
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Re: Women: what's your motivation? [Cyborg42] [ In reply to ]
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I pretty much grew up a water rat. Parents joined a local pool when I was six. I spent most of my afternoons at the pool, and then ended up joining the swim team in mornings too because all the cool kids were on the swim team. So many summers, I pretty much lived at the pool- swimming, a brief fling with diving, too many water games to count (marco polo, silly relays, greased watermelon, jump-dive-twist, gutterball...) Those were the days.

I dabbled in a lot of other sports over the years- gymnastics, basketball, softball, volleyball, cross country skiing, golf, volleyball, track, field, fencing.... But I always came back to swimming because it was the most fun, and I was actually somewhat competent at it. (I pretty much sucked at everything else I tried) Swam D3 in college. I was mid-pack there, but I loved the challenge of learning how to push my body through some hellish workouts.

Then I went to grad school and turned into a big pile of mush.

Was pretty hit or miss about fitness the rest of my 20s, and then signed up for my first tri when I had a quarter life crisis when I was 29 even though I really, really hated running. Finished my first race, and I think I was happy I'd made it for about 30 seconds before I started trying to figure out how to do better next time. I was hooked, and hooked good.

I like competing, whether it be against other athletes, against the clock, or against what I think my own limitations are. And I like taking something I suck at like running, and getting to the point where I feel like I've gained some competence in it. Mind over matter and all that.

But at heart I'm still a water rat, and if there were a lot of master's/ open water racing opportunities around here, I'd probably be following my heart back to the pool full time instead. It's not that I'm not having a lot of fun with tris. I definitely am. It's just that, well, nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of chlorine in the morning.
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Re: Women: what's your motivation? [Cyborg42] [ In reply to ]
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Nice thread. It's neat to read how other women got involved in tri's.

I started because I was just beginning to get back into some semblance of athletic shape 12 1/2 years after stopping competitive swimming when someone at the gym was talking about doing a triathlon. Hmmm... I can swim, run decently, but the bike seems pretty scary. What the heck, let's give it a shot. Long story short, this is my 3rd season coming up and "triathlete" is now a significant part of my identity.

Recently, I was giving some thought to why I do this and why I spend the time training that I do. These thoguhts prompted this article -- http://www.aliciaparr.com/...y,b=art,m=1073689862

aliciap

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http://www.aliciaparr.com/blog
http://www.performentor.com

Yes, I too am on Facebook. And LinkedIn. And Twitter. Which begs the question - do I exist in the physical world? Do I?
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Re: Women: what's your motivation? [Cyborg42] [ In reply to ]
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I swam in high school (and AAU if you remember that). Didn't do any other sports since I wanted to play baseball, not softball, etc. Was an athletic trainer in college and grad school and ran a very slow, very occasional 5K. Drank a lot of beer and watched sports. Got out of grad school and moved to the bay area and worked as an athletic trainer at a sports medicine clinic and one of the PTs there was an avid cyclist and a pro cycling nut. We had a patient come in who was training for that Ironman thing and he talked us into doing a sprint race as a team. The PT biked, the receptionst ran and I swam. We had a blast and raced as a team and had more fun than podium success. There was a women's only race, so the PT asked if we'd like his fiancee' (now wife) to ride instead of him. Sure! And, we won! And kept winning or making the podium, so we dumped him, but found him two other guys for a new team. We did this for a couple of years, but then people get married, have kids, move away, so if I wanted to keep doing tris, I figured I'd have to do a race solo and ended up doing Danskin. Fast forward about 8 years after not racing or doing much else (but I continued to read Triathlete magazine, etc. and watching Ironman and the Tour de France every year) and I got the bug again. That spring I got back into it and ended up meeting a bunch of really great people, most of whom traveled all over the US and the world and did Ironman races and two years later I found myself entered in IM California 2000 where I met another group of people, many of whom are now amongst my closest friends.

Why I race now? Mostly it's for the friendships, the travel and riding my bike. And, because there are still some people who think I can't. And a few really great people who tell me over and over that I can. Both are powerful motivations to me. My favorite riding partner is still that PT who was my first teammate, and that guy who talked us into it all in the beginning is one of my best friends and a hell of a swim coach. I have friends all over the world and have met some pretty fabulous people through the sport, including my all-time tri heros. And, I now race bikes with Leigh!

clm

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com
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Re: Women: what's your motivation? [Cyborg42] [ In reply to ]
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"Thought it might be interesting to hear from the women on this board about what drives them to compete in triathlons."

Mr. Tibbs riding by on his super sexy OCR2 wearing a white thong.

customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.
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Re: Women: what's your motivation? [Cyborg42] [ In reply to ]
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Well, my motivation stems from always trying to to my best I suppose.

Why tri is mostly because while I love to ride my bike, a few years back got burnt out on the MTB racing thing. Then I got a bit chubbier from not doing much and saw a local race on the telly. whilst being a couch sloth. 6 weeks later I was in that same lake doing a super sprint (not having swam since I was 9 made the sprint swim out of reach). Since then I've made a ton of new friends, converted a couple of MTB friends and enlisted my sister into doing tri's and have had a ton of fun doing it.

Being able to eat a lot is nice too ;)



k
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Re: Women: what's your motivation? [Cyborg42] [ In reply to ]
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What a great thread!

I went to Kona '95 by accident - was there with a friend when, coincidentally, the race was going on. I didn't know what triathlon, or Ironman, meant. My friend knew a little - at least knew there were three events (more than I knew).

So, we got up at 5am or so to head over to watch the swim start (which I thought was a little crazy, but hey, the time difference was on my side). I stood on the wall and talked to other spectators who started explaining the event to me - I was simply in awe. Watching how far the athletes swam out and back, and then understanding there was MORE to the event (as I know now - a LOT more) just blew me away.

We stood and watched the whole swim and T1. I think we went out to breakfast, dinked around, but showed up almost randomly at a corner to watch the first bikers come through that area. Killed more time and had planned to go check out the volcano that afternoon, but happened to have lunch a few blocks from the finish, and when they announced over the loudspeakers that the top finishers were only a couple of miles out, we quickly paid our bill and went to the finish line. Now, bear in mind, names like Mark Allen and Paula Newby-Fraser meant nothing to me at the time - but watching the winners come in sure sounded cool.

I stood at the finish line for nine hours that day. I left once for 15 minutes to use the restroom and lie down on a concrete bench for 5 minutes, elevating my feet (not ancipating standing all day, I wore Tevas, and my feet were swollen from just ~watching~ this amazing event).

At 11pm, my friend said he couldn't take it anymore and was going to wait for me in the car. Like an idiot, I let him talk me into leaving for the hour that I looked forward to the most as the day wore on. I have forgiven myself and others for many things in life, but this one sticks with me: we should have stayed for that last hour of Kona Ironman.

So...that night, I set a 10-year goal for myself: I would complete the ironman distance. I ran a little at the time, and I upped that to running marathons as a starting point. I added a little biking. I was distracted with other things for a while, and always intimidated by the swim - definitely not a swimmer. But in 2000, I decided it was time, and did sprint distance, then an olympic distance, and then I signed up for Ironman Florida 2001.

Since then? Addicted.

Cheers! Sheri
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Re: Women: what's your motivation? [Cyborg42] [ In reply to ]
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Definitely pre-Title IX here! I'm talking 1/2 court basketball for girl's in my freshman year in High School........3 on offense, 3 on defense.......'cause full court was considered too strenuous!

I was a 2nd or 3rd stringer on a small school team.......not very athletic at all. Did the jogging thing, the aerobics thing, the bodybuilding thing.

Had seen Julie Moss (how prophetic is it that she is now competing in MY age group) do the crawl and always thought I would like to do a triathlon.......'course, I always thought I would like to do a lot of things I've never done.

Finally learned to swim at 37 when I got tired of my swim team kids picking on me and I had no more excuses.

Did the first sprint in '96 after "training" for almost a year and crossed the finish line wanting to do it again.....only faster.

That was all she wrote. I have loved this sport since the first day. It is amazing to me what my middle-aged body can do. I can be perfectly mediocre in all three sports, but still put it all together for a respectable result.

Being stronger and more fit than at any point in my life gives me a sense of confidence that can't help but carry over to other areas of my life. I am a good role model to my teenage children about how, with hard work and determination, almost anything is within your reach!

I meet the nicest people at races and training and racing are a huge part of my life. I can't imagine not being a triathlete forever.

G


It's a little like wrestling a gorilla.........you don't stop when you're tired.........you stop when the gorilla is tired.
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Re: Women: what's your motivation? [Cyborg42] [ In reply to ]
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Enjoying hearing other pre-title 9. Gals today don't know how fortunate they have it. I was married the year they passed it. Yes I remember the half court basketball for women. I used to play pickup games with the neighborhood boys. My senior year in high school "pants" were allowed to be worn by the girls up to 2x a week. I remember riding my 2 speed bicycle all over though I preferred my brother's "English racer" & as far away as 15 miles 1 way from home. Another one who grew up as an AAU swimmer. 2 a day practices for 2 hrs in the summer & 1 x a day during the school year usually around 5:30am. At one point I was advised to stop swimming so my shoulders didn't get so big. We traveled to swim meets 300-400 miles away on trips. I used to occassionally "run" around the neighborhood but only early AM in the dark as it wasn't "feminine" for a girl to do this. I grew up in KY and the southern belle image. Couldn't wait to get as far away from it as possible. But all those years of swimming, a feel body and the competitiveness on workouts etc was instilled. What's a (liberated) girl to do?

The college I choose had a nice 25 yr pool which was a major part of my decision to attend. In college can remember running "wind sprints" on campus just for how it made one feel but again in the dark as it was so abnormal.

Routinely used to go to do my swim workouts in college like I was used & the men's coaches would wonder why I bothered since no reason to. But they always noticed my drive & energy. Used my bicycle to commute to school & then after graduating my job with long weekend rides (~30 miles) in the country. Living in Illinois rather flat & windy got my 1st memorable expereinces with tailwind & headwind. In the summer so hot that I would plan to stop at the pool half way home to swim laps so I could make it the rest of the way home. My 1st paycheck was spent on a really nice bicycle. A 10 speed Sekai with a Cotterless crank and a lugged frame.

Working as a science researcher on a college campus the college & town sponsored a 10 event Superstar Decathalon. Writes up in the paper etc. Events were swimming, running (1 mile), racquetball, bowling, golf, tennis, basketball free trhows & can't remember the rest. Took 2nd to some PE student for 6 years.

Eventually fell into racquetball due to the severity of winters and travelled extensively to tournaments for several years culminating with winning the Women's Open State championship. The so few courts the college had a challenge court system. You waited to play the winner of the previous game. So had to get good and mostly played guys & had to win which they hated. I'd play for 2 hrs after work before rushing home to throw some dinner on the table. By then the running phase was beginning. So I added running to my activities.

Once I moved to the west I preferred to be outside & lost interest in racquetball. Triathlon was in its early days back then. Finally did my 1st in 1985 a sprint about 25 miles from where I called the race director and asked if she could help me find child care at the race site for my 14 month old son (still nursing). A scenario repeated many many times including IMC when I did it the 1st time with my 4 yr old & 9 yr old boys while my husband was out of the country. An experience they still remember. The border guard made us pull over and assummed I was a woman stealing kids. Didn't believe I would be doing an Ironman. They tried to separate me from my kids. Not a wise move after some 6 hrs with two fried kids at 4pm only 30 miles from Penticton.

Been doing triathlons ever since with lots of races & 7 IM finishes (2 IMH). Seem a natural extension of my spirit. Like the to compete, being in shape, like the feel of a good workout on the muscles, like to challenge myself, to see if I can do better.

Barb
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Re: Women: what's your motivation? [Cyborg42] [ In reply to ]
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I am in my 20's, and after 15 marathons it was about time. I was chosen for the Degree Ironman team, and before that I had never done a triathlon. They made me commit to 3 tris, and I was successful so IMOO 04 here I come.
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