My Story, Part 3

For the next three months, I trained and trained, until the morning finally came.  I made my way to the race venue, set up my transition spot, and then waited.  I got there plenty early to make sure everything was ready and I wasn't hurried, but that also meant that I had to wait until the race started.  But the race finally started, and I killed the swim, froze on the bike (it was a cold, early spring morning), and perservered on the run.  I finally finished... in under an hour and a half!  The only way I can describe the feeling when I crossed the fininsh line is to say I knew that if I could do a triathlon, I could do anything!

With this new sense of empowerment, I set out to change my life.  I decided that I wanted to help people feel the same way I did.  I began studying at Provo College and within a year was a certified personal trainer.  I now train at Timpanogos Fitness, a private fitness studio in Orem, Utah.

I also continued racing.  In 6 months, I had lost my 40 extra pounds (and I have kept them off for the past two years) and competed in two more triathlons.

It has now been over 2 and a half years since my first race.  I have competed in 15 triathlons (the last eight all being in the past 6 months).  I took second place in my age group at both of the Olympic distance races I did this year, and I also finished my first Half Ironman this past August.  And this is just the beginning!

After completing my first race, I was talking with some of the other participants.  One guy told me that when he started racing, he would add his own body marking which said: DLF > DNF > DNS.  What this means is: Dead Last Finish is greater than Did Not Finish, which is greater than Did Not Start.  Life is full of challenges.  These are what make us stronger, faster, smarter... better than (and greater than) we were before!