I've been a triathlete for over 20 years and I live and breath the sport. When I began my athletic journey, I thought that living as an athlete meant getting in big workouts and competing a few times a year. Now that I have participated in over 200 triathlons, trained for over 30 hours in a week, and completed the Ironman World Championship, I've realized it's much more than that. Living as an athlete is a life approach. It requires a relentless awareness of your body, mind, and environment. It requires an unwavering desire to live and adapt, rest and grow.
I first learned about triathlon in fourth grade when my teacher Tracy Kahn brought in her finishers medal and pictures from Ironman Lake Placid. I was impressed by the achievement and knew that I wanted to be an Ironman one day.
A few years later, in 2013, I did my first tri at the Got the Nerve Triathlon and I caught the bug. I raced a few local tris each year through high school, but was more involved with music than I was in sports. I wrestled as a freshman, but that's the extent of my high school sports career. That said, I was still very drawn to triathlon and, to celebrate my graduation from high school in 2007, I trained for and competed as the youngest athlete at Ironman Lake Placid.
I went on to race 4 more Ironman including the Ironman World Championships in Kona. I also qualified and competed at the Ironman 70.3 Worlds in Vegas and qualified for Olympic Distance Worlds at USAT Nationals. All the while, I achieved a BA in Health Science with a focus in Exercise physiology, a BA in English, and an MA in English.
By the time I finished graduate school, I realized that I wanted to give myself the chance to become a professional athlete. I began supporting myself through coaching and started chipping away at my goal. Although the time between graduate school and becoming a Pro was laced with major setbacks--namely, a broken collar bone and two surgeries-- I eventually qualified as a professional at the South Beach Triathlon by placing second overall amateur on April 6th, 2014. I've since made my debut as a Pro in a strong field of athletes that made up the St. Anthony's Triathlon on April 29th, 2014.
Now that I've been a pro for over 10 years, I continue to refine my craft and try to get a little bit better each day. I still want to get better and faster.
I first learned about triathlon in fourth grade when my teacher Tracy Kahn brought in her finishers medal and pictures from Ironman Lake Placid. I was impressed by the achievement and knew that I wanted to be an Ironman one day.
A few years later, in 2013, I did my first tri at the Got the Nerve Triathlon and I caught the bug. I raced a few local tris each year through high school, but was more involved with music than I was in sports. I wrestled as a freshman, but that's the extent of my high school sports career. That said, I was still very drawn to triathlon and, to celebrate my graduation from high school in 2007, I trained for and competed as the youngest athlete at Ironman Lake Placid.
By the time I finished graduate school, I realized that I wanted to give myself the chance to become a professional athlete. I began supporting myself through coaching and started chipping away at my goal. Although the time between graduate school and becoming a Pro was laced with major setbacks--namely, a broken collar bone and two surgeries-- I eventually qualified as a professional at the South Beach Triathlon by placing second overall amateur on April 6th, 2014. I've since made my debut as a Pro in a strong field of athletes that made up the St. Anthony's Triathlon on April 29th, 2014.
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Now that I've been a pro for over 10 years, I continue to refine my craft and try to get a little bit better each day. I still want to get better and faster.
I look forward to sharing my experience with you!