Ultraman

The Ultraman a 6.2 mile swim, 271 mile bike, and 52.4 mile run seemed like an insane race to me 6 years ago.  I had not even done a sprint.  I was just a little volunteer working a massage tent at the buffalo springs lake triathlon.  I never ever thought that I would ever be living the great lifestyle that I live today.   I hope that these stories inspire you beginners that you can follow your heart and accomplish the unthinkable.

My first introduction to triathlons was in high school.  I was a swimmer and a lifeguard and volunteered to work at the buffalo springs lake triathlon.  I remember thinking while I was sitting out on the boat that triathletes were nuts but I still admired them and wanted to be a part of triathlon in some way. I never in a million years thought I would be involved as a competitor.  That was in 1992 and I volunteered for two years.  After  high school I went to college on a swimming scholarship and injured my arm so the swimming career ended and I came back to Texas to finish college.  Tired of being a broke student I thought that becoming a massage therapist would increase my pocket book while still getting a degree.  Little did I know what doors that would open?   Fresh out of massage school I needed to recruit some business so I checked in to see if this triathlon was still going on in this town called Lubbock.  What do you know?  It was a huge triathlon and the race directors were kind enough to send me some pros to massage and pay for it out of their pockets.  My first professional massage ever was Scott Tinley.  I did not have a clue what a pro meant but I was curious as to what it took to be a triathlete so one of my questions to him was” how much training does triathlon require?”  His reply was”about 30 to 40 hours per week.”  After this comment I knew that I would never have what it took to be a triathlete.  If I had any thoughts of even attempting of doing a triathlon they went out the window when I heard that.  Like I said I did not realize who I was massaging and I am sure Scott laughs about my questions today.  It was not until the following year that I actually tried my first triathlon in 1998.  Once again I was out at the race working the massage tent and that is when I met mike and Marty Greer the race directors for the race.  If it weren’t for them and their encouragement I would have never accomplished the things I have today.  They loaned me my first bike, signed me up for my first triathlon, and basically held my hand until I finished the race.

My first triathlon was a sprint (500yd swim, 12m bike, and 5k run) in Midland, Texas sponsored by Bud light.  Marty Greer had taken me out on the bike a few times so I was  pretty much was winging it at this triathlon and my goal was to not walk on the run.  My longest run up to this point had only been ten minutes and probably only about a half mile was covered.  I had been lying when the Greer’s asked me how much I was running.  The race was a snake swim in a pool and we started according to our swim times so I started dead last since I forgot to put a time down.  Since I was an ex-swimmer the swim was not really that bad but the bike and run were nothing but pure hell for me.  I remained last the whole time and I remember feeling very lonely during the race.  The run was just plain awful! When I got off the bike and finally started running I had thoughts of quitting. This was really my first experience of a brick workout and I had no idea that my legs were going to feel the way they did.  My goal was to not walk but I bet walking would have been faster! The finish line was in a baseball field and when I had the ball park in sight I had in mind that I would get to stop as soon as I got to the building.  Marty , a talented 44 year old, was running out to check on me and I remember wondering “how on earth is she still running?”   She warned me that the finish involved running around the diamond at the baseball park and that there was a crowd so I needed to look good.  My reply with tears was “I can’t!”  Well, I did but it was hard and I was gaining on a really fat person but don’t get excited I got out sprinted by that fat person and was the last finisher of the day.   My 5k time was 39 minutes and I laid in bed for three days acting like I had just done a marathon.  I was second in my age group but there were only two in it.  It was not even noon yet and most everyone was tipsy from drinking out of a budlight keg ( remember this was sponsored by budlight) so I was a little confused as to if this was a healthy lifestyle but I definitely knew that I wanted more and more I did. 

Just eight months after this race I did my first Half -Ironman in Panama City, Florida. I was one on the first 100 out of the water and finished 1312 overall and I bet dead last in my age group.  That inspired me to work on that running and biking some.  Two years after my first sprint I did my first ironman.  Since then I have now completed 9 ironmans (Hawaii 3x) and the ultraman.  This year I am planning on IM Japan, Canada, Hawaii, and Florida.  Some will be slow and I hope some will be fast but either way I am having a good time and can’t seem to get it out of my system.