At the Beginning

You are applying to masters programs who you hope might, maybe accept you, your boyfriend of almost 4 years decides he’s “not happy” and is gone within one week. You know you’re moving in 6 months, but not where…

What do you do when your life as you know it and your future as you’ve planned it are suspended in the air, just out of reach… just waiting? You train for a triathlon! This is going to be the story of how I take hold of my 6 month hiatus by challenging myself to do something different… really different. So why am I here? I’m assuming for the same reasons as most Newbies (what my training program has so appropriately named us first timers): to challenge, to change, or to try something new. I want to prove to myself that “I can” in so many ways: in accomplishing a triathlon, in being independent, in uplifting my life and starting fresh… again. In the next couple months I’m going to write about not only my aspiration of completing a triathlon, but more importantly how I’m going to accomplish that goal and whatever other ones I choose to set for myself along the way. I’ll be experimenting with different ways of training, how hard to push myself, how to balance this with the rest of my life (because having a life is just as important to your health), and all the mistakes I will most definitely make along the way.

Though I’ve always been somewhat “athletic” (soccer mostly) I have never trained or participated in any form of race. I’ve tried participating in DC’s plethora of pick up games from kick-ball to soccer, but I’m really excited to take part in a sport that is independent in nature while team spirit full in training.

Not more then a month or so ago, a friend of mine ran a 5K and then a 10K two weekends in a row and I thought “Are you out of your mind!!” This last week she asked if I wanted to join her on a 10 miler in April, and though it turned out the race was sold-out (hello dear friend Murphy), it felt awesome that my first reaction was “Yea, I should be able to do that by then.”

So as I run, swim, bike and sweat I hope you’ll join me on my journey, and hopefully start your own towards change and challenge.