I am 25 and 11/12ths
T ball and little league when little. Soccer 2nd - 6th grade.
Cross country in middle school
First road race (15k) freshman in high school
Swimming 7th grade - junior year in high school. Could not swim senior year as literally weighed 90 pounds. Oops.
Ran seriously during anorexia recovery. Ran some very fast races.
Ran first marathon as freshman in college (was a way to celebrate getting healthy)
Did first sprint tri in college
Majored in exercise science, never had much schoolwork to do, swam twice a day for all four years 'cuz I liked it. Acquired swim background. Since I was at the pool all the time anyway the swim team adopted me, but I didn't like swimming with lots of other people in the pool, so I went back to swimming on my own. Also would have had to give up running as it was a D1 team and they practiced twice a day.
Kept doing tris and masters swim meets
Got into creating open water ocean adventures
Moved across the country for phd school. Still swimming.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Former competitive dancer (tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, character & lyrical), did some tae kwon do and gymnastics as a kid, played volleyball, basketball, lacrosse, soccer, field hockey and ice hockey in various forms throughout elementary & highschool. My one and only athletic talent is as a goaltender - I'm damn good at getting things to hit me. Started swimming lessons at 6 months old and continued to get my Bronze Cross, but never swam on a team; I did get my Ontario silver distance swimming certificate for doing a 1km open water swim once at camp. Also did some downhill mtb racing when I was in my teens, sailed competitively (dinghies) and was offered a couple of snowboarding sponsorships that I had to decline as I couldn't travel to the competitions they wanted me to enter. Got into paddling (both canoe & kayak), cross-country skiing and a bit of rock climbing (at which I'm awful) as well, but only recreationally. I used to ride my mtb everywhere, too - my parents had to pressure me to get my driver's license, and I'd think nothing of riding 40+km per day in commutes to school, the boatyard or my friends' houses.

From the feminist side, my second highschool only had a boys' hockey team - girls were supposed to play volleyball in winter, but I managed to convince the chauvanistic dean of athletics (who was also the coach) that he needed a goalie more than he needed a thorn in his side. When I had two 200lb+ defencemen land on me in the butterfly position and blew out both of my knees in the first game of a tournament then continued to play the other 3 games (with my knees held together by athletic tape) I think he might have changed his position on females just a little. Doesn't hurt that we won the whole show that day, preserving his perfect record at Blue & Silver. I actually saw him again a couple of years ago when I played in an alumni tournament for the school, and we had some great laughs talking about some of the shit I used to give him for his attitude.

I never had any endurance growing up, and came to tri after several years of inactivity - after a severe back injury in 2000 (at age 21, working in a warehouse operating a 300lb pneumatic hoist 12 hours a day), I was told I'd never do anything athletic again. I did play some hockey now and then and went snowboarding in winter, but basically did nothing until I found folds of fat on my back in March of 2008. I got off the couch and started doing yoga and tae bo (no kidding - got a couple of videos from the bargain bin), but found that I couldn't even ride a bike 2 miles to the coffee shop without having to stop 2 or 3 times to catch my breath. After 8 months of conditioning I decided to try running and found that my knees and back held together with my conservative start - I think I did just over 1 kilometer the first few times.

My sister in law did Ironman Canada in 2006, so tri was on my radar and I decided to give it a whack. I started swimming again in January 2009 having not done a lap in 10 years, then got on my bike again in March and found I could go one hell of a lot further than 2 miles without needing to catch my breath! I did a super sprint and a sprint in 2009, along with some running races, and finally quit smoking in March of 2010 after 19 years. I'll be 34 this summer, and have pretty much hit the point where I can casually decide to do a 3 hour race (running/cycling/tri) on general fitness if I'm not concerned about performance.

Gah, anyone still awake after all that?

Cheers!

-mistress k

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ill advised racing inc.

I'm 36. Athletic background before triathlon - that would be none. I was a fat kid growing up. Horrible at sports, always last picked - you know the kind all the athletes made fun of. ;-) I tried out for softball in high school and got cut. I was on track in high school but only because a guy I liked was on the shot put team. I sucked at it but they didn't cut anyone. I did start running then and lost a ton of weight. I would run here and there in college but just to stay fit. I would work out but nothing fixed plan. My weight was fine but I could have stood to have lost 10-15 lbs.

After college, I got a job at a big accounting firm and basically lived at work. When I wasn't working, I was out drinking with my friends. Gained a ton of weight and had no healthy lifestyle choices. For my year 2000 NY resolution, I decided to become a runner. I had always got up to watch coverage of the Chicago Marathon for some reason and deciding running would be the way to go. I got a new job in March, did a 5K in April, joined some bootcamp program in the summer,and did my first 10K in the fall (no official running schedule either) so I really started making headway. By the fall, I had also met my to-be husband and he had already done an Ironman and had been doing triathlons since he was a kid. I was already planning to do the Chicago Marathon the next year. He hadn't done anything in awhile and was a recovering athlete at that point so we both started training again. Memphis in May Olympic was my first triathlon that next May. Did about 4-5 the next season. Totally had to overcome my fear of open water to do it. Did the Chicago Marathon that year too. From there on out, there was no looking back. 4 Ironmans and 10 marathons are now under my belt. I need to work on getting faster. That will have to happen after our future triathlete is born in August. ;-)

As far as the feminist side of it goes, I don't really have that perspective. I've never felt held back in the sport because I'm a woman. The best advice I've gotten in triathlon has been from men. I've only felt underestimated by both men and women b/c of my perceived skill. Sometimes it's like I'm still the fat kid getting picked last except now, I get to have experience do the talking for me. Back to the feminist thing, I will say I'm not a big fan of those all female races as far as being a participant goes. Way too cheerleaderish for me. I volunteer as a swim buddy at those races every year though - I love helping out weaker swimmers. That was me and I want them to know that they can do it. I would do that for a man or a woman though b/c I want to just encourage anyone to get over their fear. I don't know why female-only races have swim buddies. I've seen plenty of men in a blind panic that could use a little boost.

Little kid sports - baseball/softball/basketball - I was AWFUL at them..hand/eye coordination is NOT my thing, patience didn't used to be, either.
Picked up diving/swimming in middle school - became year-round almost instantly when the "new" coach started the USA Swimming Club & we COULD become fish. Came naturally but didn't push too hard so I was on the good side of mediocre. Coach had me prepped to swim in college, Lehigh & the like wanted me to come swim. I didn't investigate it too much as I wanted to "live" in college. VERY small school in the middle of Indiana - we had a swim team & tennis team (barely) but didn't have softball as a HS sport. I still don't think they have soccer or lacrosse, but may finally/still have softball.

Was fairly lazy the first 2 years of college, boyfriend at the time was part of his fraternity's (dismal) Little 500 cycling team & I got interested. Bought a bike & started riding with a few girls before my junior year. Another thing that came naturally & I worked hard. Did a couple intercollegiate races but the focus was on Little 500. Shattered collarbone just before race my senior year & planned on just being recreational forever. Cycling coach suggested a tri after I was all better & I caught the bug. That was 2003, I was 22. I think I swam once before that first race, picked it back up gradually since it was the easiest for me. Trained more on the running & cycling. Dabbled in some open water events over a few years & raced consistently from 2003-2009.

Dropped all of it for just a couple years when life & "career" got in the way. Moved to TN in Sept/Oct of 2011 & got hooked up with a GREAT tri & swimming group. Have since gotten more serious about swimming (couple of meets, bunch of 5k & longer open water events, now masters nationals in a couple months & will go back to open water marathon swimming after). I'm planning on picking up a couple more triathlons this summer to have some fun with those again too.

I focus on endurance because that's where I'm strongest. I've always been the one that goes further, not faster. I got hooked into trying multisport, but it definitely plays to my strengths. It's helped me learn to work hard & be more disciplined, not just capitalize on talent & skate by. It's odd to me to see boys/men be more dominant in sport because they've rarely been so my worlds - I swam faster than the boys in high school, I trained harder/was faster than most of the guys I knew in college & our swim group is dominated by fast women now....there are fast men around (especially when you add the other sports back in) but I'm surrounded by fast women as well.

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AW

I'm 45 with 2 IM's under my belt and sometimes I am still shocked to be able to say that!

As a kid growing up I hated gym class and playing sports of any kind but my siblings played baseball/softball/volleyball so I followed suit (or at least tried to...they were actually good at their sports). Years later I realised why...it was TEAM SPORTS that was the problem for me. As an introverted teenager the team dynamic was too much for me so I didn't want to be a part of it. In Grade 11 we were finally allowed to choose the sports we wanted in gym class and I got a B+ because I picked individual sports and therefore did well on my own terms. I enjoyed running but got terrible shin splints so that ended that. I also enjoyed horseback riding and competed in 2-day events and did a few horse shows. Living out of town in a rural subdivision and having little money to spare didn't allow for me to take gymnastics or swimming. (I always felt cheated by not learning to swim as a kid, which is why I was determined to learn how as an adult...little did I know what it would lead to).

In 2001, after being diagnosed with depression and weighing 25lbs more than I ought to, I was leafing through a local Parks & Rec flyer and came across a Learn To Run program. A light bulb instantly flashed above my head and I signed up immediately (with way better shoes than those I had when I was 18). I had to deal with a dodgy back and learn how to avoid those nasty shin splints, but I've considered myself a runner ever since. And the weight came off, my self-esteem rose and life was so much better!

I'd always been intrigued by triathlon but never considered myself enough of an "athlete" to take the plunge, and my swimming skills were still very poor. I did a couple of sprint tris locally using my mountain bike, after taking a Learn To Tri course which opened my eyes to the possibilities available to me in the sport.

A former pro triathlete moved to town and she started a Masters Swim club, which I joined and my swimming became something I was confident in doing. I could swim with the "big kids" in the summer-time lake swims. I also lucked into a great deal on a TT bike - my first road bike. "Maybe I'll do an Olympic Distance" was what I was thinking in the spring of 2010.

And then I volunteered at Ironman Canada. THAT day changed my life! There is nothing like being in the mix by volunteering at the finish line, and it was so incredibly inspiring to see all of those different shapes and sizes of athletes coming in. I knew that in 2011 I'd be on the beach at 7:00am, and signed up for IMC the next day. A week later I hired the aforementioned former pro as my coach to guide me through this unknown athletic territory.

Being a sucker for punishment I signed up for IMC 2012 and this year am looking forward to mostly running - trail races will be a nice change - and volunteering at local triathlons including the new Challenge Penticton. Luckily where I live the local tri club is very welcoming to people of all abilities, and it's very exciting to see some very non-athletic-looking people crossing the finish line at the local sprint tri, doing a race they'd never imagined doing just a few weeks earlier. I know how they feel.

For a non-athlete, I think I've done pretty well! ;-)

I am 45. Was very sporty as a kid doing a variety of different sports. In my mid 20's I found running .... am not good or fast, but found it great stress relief. Found Iron Distance Triathlon when my kids were in their late teens. Did my first full IM when I was 40. Still not good or not fast ... just a plodder. :)

50 years old
grew up with 3 brothers as a tomboy and ballerina
middle school - volleyball, basketball, gymnastics, ballet
high school - ballet and downhill ski racing
summers in camp did all sorts of sports, horseback riding....

college - fencing, downhill skiing (racing then taught skiing as the $$ were good)
college dropout - dance

sporadic sports, weights the next couple of decades - rollerblading, skiing.. ex husband did not like that I was at all muscular - liked me softer and rounder - gained weight, had babies....

after divorce went to get back in shape, bug of competition put in my head by trainer - NO idea how I picked tris - just liked that they are well rounded - started at 45, did 2.5 seasons, bike raced for a year then last year recovered from mono.

first tri in 3 years in less than 2 weeks :)

Age- 35
Started swimming at competitively at age 4. Also played soccer from Kindergarten through 3rd grade, played softball one year in there too. 4th grade on focused on swimming. Also played water polo my first 2 years of high school (before the advent of girls water polo, we had to play with the boys). One of the girls on the varsity team those years went on to be the goalie for the 1st women's water polo Olympic team for the USA. Ended up swimming in college (on somewhat of a fluke, wasn't planning on swimming at all in college) all four years. After college took some time away from sport, as swimming had taken quite the toll. Then started officiating USA swimming. After about 9 years of no physical involvement in sport, I noticed some of my former college teammates were doing triathlons, it seemed like a good idea, as I could still swim, but the training wouldn't have such a high physical toll on me. This is my 5th season of triathlon.

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check out my blog http://theswimmingtriathlete.com

Just turned 44

Tried various sports briefly in Jr High but was actively discouraged by my parents from participating. They are intellectuals, not athletes. I did 2 years of tennis team in High School then nothing, at all, until I start running in my mid-20s. Did that for about 3 months, got a stress fracture while hiking, then nothing again until I turned 32.

Did the Avon Breast Cancer 3 Day walk in 2001, my first half marathon that fall. First triathlon was the Danskin in 2002. Lots of stuff since then. 3 Ironmans, a 100k, a couple 50 milers, 50ks, marathons, yadda yadda.

I'm a late bloomer. I really wish I'd been an athlete when I was younger. I'll be BOP or back MOP probably for the rest of my racing years. I firmly believe that athletic ability is shaped by early exposure to sports.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

I am 37.
In middle/early high school I played recreational league softball and hated it. I also cheered for a peewee football league and was horrible. I have no flexibility and can remember the day in 4th grade after school gymnastics when the instructor told my mom that she should find a different after school activity for me. During summer growing up, I swam on various unstructured teams and finally joined the high school team my sophomore year. I swam my remaining time in HS and went to college to swim but the team was made a club team prior to my freshman season and we didn't continue. From that point till 11 years ago my athletic achievements includes dancing at punk concerts.

Eleven years ago my ex-boyfriend decided to take up running again as he ran track in high school and ran a marathon a couple years before we met. He liked to run at the track so I downloaded the couch to 5K program and went with him. Ten weeks after starting the program, I ran my first 5K and its been all downhill (or uphill depending on how you look at it) from there. A year later I did my first sprint triathlon and over the next years slowly built through the distances. To date I have 2 IM finishes, 1 100-mile trail run finish, 3 American Triple T finishes, and numerous sprint distance, oly distance, HM, HIM, marathon, 50K, and 50 miler finishes. I also race mountain bikes and compete in Xterra triathlons.

This year continues my unfocused race strategy as my race schedule includes Mt Cheaha 50K, sub-9 death march, barry roubaix, Triple T, Gravel Metric, IMMT 70.3, Heatbreaker inferno challenge, TransRockies, Chequamegon 40 (lottery dependent), Glacial Trail 50 miler, and Iceman Cometh. I'll also likely include a couple of races on the IL Homegrown Mtn Bike series and an Xterra Tri.

I often tell people I have adult onset athleticism.

44 (almost) Not athletic at all as a kid or teen. Team sports completely intimidated me, I hated the pressure of trying to hit, catch,or throw something. Ug, yuck! I played a little tennis, ran XC my sophomore year of HS and was the slowest by far. Became a cheerleader.

No sports in college with the exception of an occasional aerobics class. Chunky and out of shape for most of my 20's. Got into step aerobics/weights in my late 20's when a friend with a similar lack of fitness background asked if I wanted to do a triathlon. I thought "if she can do it, I can do it," and we did the Seattle Danskin in 1998. LOVED it.

I got into the mindset of "if I can run 3 miles, can I run 5? If I can run 5 miles can I run 7? etc. I also did a 1/2 marathon later that year.

For pretty much all of the 2000's I raced a lot. All kinds of stuff, 4 IM's and shorter distances. When I crossed the finish line my mom told me that I'd overcome our family genetics to do it!.

I'm retired from racing now and haven't done anykind of organized run or race in a few years. I sold my tri bike last summer. I still ride once in a while with my hubby. I did sign up for our St. Patty's Day race today though, so maybe that will be my comeback ;-)

I've never felt put off by men at tris and have done mostly coed races. We have an awesome group in my area of very experienced athletes that are encouraging and welcoming. I think that is why I enjoyed racing so much.

My hubby is doing CDA this year, it will be his first. I'm looking forward to cheering him on.

Love it! I just might have to steal that.... ;-)))

56.5 years old

Childhood - Scrawny tomboy. Lots of baseball, softball, kickball, swimming. All pre-Title IX. No girls allowed on boys baseball teams yet, though I was as good as my brothers. Started basketball which immediately became my first love.
TeenAge - Organized sports in high school: field hockey, volleyball, basketball, track. Everything was really prep for basketball.
College - Field hockey, basketball, softball. 1st knee reconstruction for blown ACL-MCL. Title IX hadn't hit our college yet. We had to buy our own basketball gear (shoes, shorts, warm ups) while the men's team had all their gear paid by the school.
Post College - Started running regularly and also occasional swimming. Added biking after I left Washington DC and moved to upstate New York.
First 10K - 1979. I loved it. That was followed by many years of very competitive running of all distances. 10K PR 39 min, Half Marathon PR 1:29, Marathon PR 3:32, Seven time Boston Marathon finisher.
First triathlon - 1985, local sprint. I was hooked. All olympic and sprint until first half IM in 1990. Hawaii IM qualifier/finisher 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1999. [1998 - Second knee reconstruction for blown ACL.] USAT All American 2001, 2002, 2003.

2005 Retired from racing. I loved it but it was time to have a slower gear.
2006 Retired from running. It's that bone on bone thing with the osteoarthritis in that poor blown knee.

Nowadays I bike or swim every day, and do a century bike ride each September to give me some purpose to summer training. It's nice to just do whatever I feel like doing that day and not have a six month training plan to have to stick to.

End of autobiography.
BrokenSpoke

I always danced. There was a foray into soccer where I made an awesome goalie, until getting knocked out made me afraid of balls flying at my head. I was decently athletic, but my real passion was for ballet. I danced from 4-20. I ran track and did the high and long jump in high school and then dabbled a lot in college on top of dancing. I tried fencing, trampoline, ultimate frisbee. After college as a working adult, my body wouldn't hold up to dancing anymore and rather than take it down to a lower level, I quit and started riding horses instead. LOVED it. I bought a road bike and started cycling around then too, but really just for group rides. I found a very supportive group of women who didn't mind a young'un riding with them and started putting in some miles.

Back in school, I was a super slow runner until I came back from summer camp one year and started laying down 7:30 miles in gym class. I was encouraged to sign up for cross country and was bullied very badly after the coach encouraged me in front of the entire gym class, so I didn't. I regret that. Deeply. I think that was a pretty pivotal moment for me, in terms of my dance/athletic background and while I don't know if I would change having danced, I wish I had been encouraged to be more traditionally athletic. I wish I hadn't been afraid. My family is decidedly anti-athletics, and thinks I have an exercise addiction and frequently calls me stuff like, "fitness freak." Needless to say, they weren't the most supportive, and I didn't have the guts.

I had always wanted to do triathlons after a family friend did one (she hated it and gave me her wetsuit promptly afterwards,) but it took me about six years (and a bad fall off of a horse,) to actually think about learning to swim. Triathlon really appealed to the OCD dancer-type in me...finally, my people! Plus, tri is actually cheaper than equestrian sports. That doesn't say much! I knew I could bike, running I at least had some aptitude for, but swimming was completely knew to me outside of what my instructor called, "anti-drowning lessons."

I'm 30. I started training and racing short course a couple of years ago and am signed up for my first 70.3 this year.

Oh, I am loving reading each of these as they go up. Thank you to all the Womens who have posted. Please don't apologize for length. For most of us it's a process that has some complicated bits and lots of interconnectedness. I like reading about how it all came together for each of you, and getting to "know you" each a little better.

I am also really loving the variety of experiences, both in sports, and in age of coming to sport. So cool. Adult onset athleticism--AWESOME! I was a very competitive athlete very young, and was kind of at the other end of the spectrum. I HATED it when coaches or PE teachers had kids pick teams. HATED it--like to the point of tears--even though I was usually one of the first ones picked. I remember my heart just aching for some of those kids. Damn. I still think PE does more harm than good. The kids who are already good at sports and are athletic get all this positive reinforcement, and the kids who aren't just end up feeling bad about themselves and hating sports and physical activity. Seems like a broken system to me.

Again, thanks Womens for posting your stories. Love them :) xo.

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Trying to fight gravity on a planet that insists

I am 29 (for one more week, but I am still 29 dammit).

I swam competitively from elementary school until I graduated from high school. I only started running because I was heading to a military academy and running was kind of a mandatory skill, but I really really sucked at it. I was offered the opportunity to try to walk onto the college swim team (basically, "if you can keep up for a practice, you're on the team"), but turned it down because I thought it would look like I was trying to get out of the military training (hazing?). I sometimes regret the decision to at least try out, but sometimes I'm glad I made the decision. The school started a women's club-level water polo team during my freshman year so I joined that and ended up playing all 4 years. After college ended, there was no more water polo practice and needed to get my butt back in shape, so I took up running, got better at it, and eventually was convinced by my cyclist boss to try cycling. Put them together, and the rest is history. I was 23 then. 4 IMs, a few marathons, a bunch of halves, and who knows how many sprints and olympics later, here I am. The funny thing is that some of my water polo teammates were also on the triathlon team, but I was too chicken to try cycling and join them. Better late than never, I guess.

This is such a great thread. We are such a powerful bunch. So much we can learn from each other, so varied the experience. Girls everywhere should read this thread & realize that it's ok - we all grow up & we survived - regardless of the path or the issues that we endure as we grow up we've all made it. Growing up is so tough, so many pressures & so much chaos. But from ballet to swimmers to basketball players to couch potatoes....we've all come out the other side with something we enjoy, that keeps us healthy & that connects us with others (women and men).

What a great story we all have. Be proud, womens.

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AW

I'm 25.

Grew up playing house league soccer in the way that five year old kids all hoard around the ball, chasing it up and down the field in one mass, eating orange slices at halftime, mostly played goalie until I discovered I was a bit short for it. Picked up tennis through camp and lessons, started ice hockey when I was 8 and that became the main sport. Was on the soccer/hockey/swim/tennis teams in high school by virtue of the fact that a) I was a relatively athletic kid and b) I went to a relatively small high school. I was the type that, when given the option, usually chose sports as extracurriculars/electives, would fight my way to win the beep test, and prove that I could do more pushups/chinups than the other 12 year olds (taking on the boys when I could).

Picked up snowboarding recreationally in high school and got certified as a lifeguard/swim instructor. In university I played women's football and continued running.

I think what led me into triathlon was nearly a decade of running (which I started doing to supplement my athletic involvements once I got to high school), a background in swimming, and a spontaneous idea to bike 75km, for the first time, solo. Then I realized I loved cycling, kept at it, and signed up for a du. It took a couple races to kick my own ass and say "you have spent years in the pool, there's no reason not to do a tri".

This year it looks like Tough Mudder, a couple HIMs and some Olys. Maybe a running race or two. My approach with sports and athletics has always been integrating it into my life... running home from work, biking the 40km to visit friends, etc... so triathlon seemed like a logical application (and a great outlet for competitiveness).

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-julie

I did various kid activities when I was little - dance classes, tennis lessons, etc.

Started year-round competitive swimming at age 8 and did that exclusively until midway through my senior year of high school when I realized I was completely burnt out. I definitely wasn't Olympics bound or anything but I was decent . When I decided to quit I was in the process of being actively recruited by some (lower level) D1 schools and I think I could have probably walked on to most D1 swim teams with the exception of the really big swimming schools (Florida, Texas, Stanford, etc.). I certainly could have swam for my large state university, and actually thought about giving it a shot during my freshman year, but the truth is that I really needed a break. Sometimes I regret not swimming in college but the reality was that I needed to do something different and I wouldn't have had a lot of the other really awesome college experiences that I had if I did. There's an opportunity cost in everything!

My freshman year of college I got a $400 mtb to ride to class. It was the first time I had been on a bike since childhood. My boyfriend at the time was a cyclist and took me out for my first taste of (very easy) singletrack. I was TERRIFIED and may or may not have cried through the whole ride but I was completely and utterly hooked. I rode the hell out of that bike for the next four years. No racing, but I loved to ride.

When I was 21ish I got a road bike. I had always sort of been interested in triathlons and figured that since I was a good swimmer I may as well learn to run and give it a shot. My entire life I have been a HORRIBLE runner. Even when I was swimming 20 hours a week as a teenager I couldn't run to save my life. I think my first triathlon had a 2.5 mile run and it seemed like a MAJOR thing to work up to. I finished that sprint triathlon (and yes, suffered through that run!) and two days later signed up for my first Ironman. Whoops!

Spent my mid-20s doing triathlons (including several IMs) and didn't touch a mountain bike. After my last IM I realized I was pretty much over that world and that it was time to move on. I spent several years not doing any sort of racing but tons of hiking, mtbing, and skiing.

Now things have sort of come full circle and I am back to being more of a cyclist than anything. I race (and I use that term loosely ...) mtbs and cyclocross and haven't done a triathlon in years. I still run (often) and swim (on occasion). I'm intrigued by ultrarunning and think I might give that a try once I get over this bike habit.

I'm 33.

52 years old.

Grew up outdoors, climbing trees, playing tag/kickball/football with the rest of the neighborhood.

Got a serious horse jones when I turned 10 and started riding any chance I got -- luckily for me some neighbors got horses and I literally had a free ride for six years because their daughter didn't want to (drugs and boys more interesting). And now she's a great grandma . . .

Active on soccer, volleyball and lacrosse teams in high school and was an athletic recruit into a good university (which would never happen now, because I was crap lol).

Backdrop: smoking a pack of Newport Lights a day. After a run on fresh lungs, a cigarette tasted so good.

After graduation moved to NYC and jogged around the reservoir at about 12 minute miles. Hack hack. Finally quit smoking at 30 and took up marathons as a counter compulsion. Finished four. Kept off the cigs.

Decided I wanted to do a tri for 45th bday year. Learned how to ride a road bike (whoooooaaaaah!). Finished first one - Olympic - and got hooked. So hooked that I was seriously bored during the fifteenth one (obvs not trying very hard, but also knew the course like the back of my hand). Decided that IM was the way forward. Am doing first half in June, and am signed up for a full one in September. Am the sportiest woman I know who doesn't do it professionally. And to me that seems way more normal than the alternative.


http://www.yearoftrainingdangerously.blogspot.com

Hockey. As it turns out I have no hand/eye coordination.

Now I swim, bike and run. As it turns out I kind of suck at this too.

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How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

I applaud you for posting, oh-token-male, but I'm not going to let you off that easy :)

So why do you do it? What made you go from hockey to tri? What makes you keep doing it if you "suck"?

P.S. We have a lot of ex-hockey players on ST--lots of women even. I guess you Canadians up that factor quite a bit, eh?

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Trying to fight gravity on a planet that insists

Well I stopped playing hockey because the league I was in kind of fell apart. I would no longer be playing with my friends and I had been playing for about 20 years or so so I just let it go.

As for tri? I started because my brother did one and I went and I thought it was cool. I did a try-a-tri, freaked out in the water and then it took me two years to get the balls to go back out there again. I still get a mild panic feeling at the start of every swim.

I do suck, that's no joke. I do it because it's fun. It's weird I don't normally talk to people I don't know. I wouldn't say I am shy, I just don't start conversations with people I don't know. Anyway, when I am sucking it up in the mid-back of the pack I am talking to everyone. It's like I am a completely different person.

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How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

• Golf, 4 handicap
• Tennis