Friday, December 3, 2010

What got me into Triathlon??

I saw someone post this along the way and I thought I would share my story.

I think I posted before I was never naturally Athletic. I worked at playing sports from Middle school onto High school. I played Volleyball, Soccer and Softball. I never really can pin point when I started to get heavier but it was probably in high school.

You see, I never had good eating habits established in me when I was growing up. We would eat everything and anything. My parents were both overweight and never exercised. They would start something and quickly stop it in a month. They would always tell us we weren't fat but in reality our whole family was fat. I think I ballooned to a good 160 pounds at my high school Graduation. Now I was only 17 then. I battled overdosing on diet pills, getting activated charcoal shoved down my throat, having to be admitted for observation.

I then went to college and had an obsession with losing weight after my high school sweatheart and I broke up. I would work out until it hurt and then eat a salad. I would look in the mirror and hate what I saw every day. Then one day I liked what I saw in the mirror. I was a size 4 on my 5'6 frame. I was finally thinking I was healthy. I lived in the dorm and while most of my college buddies were drinking, smoking and eating heavily, I was being picked on for getting thin. It was a viscious cycle. I was picked on for being fat, now for being too skinny, I never could win.

I then reunited with my highschool sweetheart and ended up marrying and having my daughter at 22. I continued to yo-yo diet and go up and down on the scale. A year after my daughter was born I was 206 pounds. I was getting dressed one day and my pants wouldn't fit.  I decided right then and there I was going to start working out. I also was in a wedding in 5 months and wanted to look good. So I started going to the gym every day. Logging my exercise and watching my diet. I ended up losing 3o pounds in that time. I was happy that I was getting back in shape. I still looked in the mirror and hated what I saw, but I was getting there.

I was getting ready one day for the gym and my husband looked at me and told me I was getting too skinny and I was ugly. I couldn't believe what I heard. I told him I felt I was not too skinny and Im getting healthy. From that point on the verbal and mental abuse started. I started running with my girlfriend, I planned on doing my first 5K so that I would have a goal to acheive. My first race ended up being 5 miles which I finished in almost an hour. I was proud of myself and kept pushing myself harder and harder. I ended up losing 30 more pounds. I finally felt a weight lifted off my shoulders and started feeling mentally good about myself. I felt more confident in myself. This was in 2004.

I loved to run, It made me happy, it took away all the pain and sadness I was feeling at home, In my life. I eventually divorced my husband. It was the hardest thing to do but I had to do it for me. I met my now boyfriend shortly after that. He was very athletic and was interested in biking. We started dating and he bought me a bike so we could go riding together. From that point on I was hooked on biking. That was 2005. In that year I also took on my first Half marathon and was so proud of my accomplishment.

I started racing bikes and winning my age group. I loved it. My boyfriend then did a triathlon. I figured I could do one too so I started swimming and was Terrible at it but I knew I could do it. The next summer, 2006, I did my first Marathon and sprint triathlon. GreenLakes Traithlon. I pulled my calf the week before playing beach volleyball but I was determined to finish. I had no clue about the swim and panicked and doggy paddled the whole way. I came in 4th in my age group and received a medal!!! I was soo happy!

I then started training but my swim was never good until last year when I started working on it a little more...even though I still have work to do. I was hooked after my first triathlon...I was facinated by the way it made me feel, the feeling of joy. I still raced bikes and ran but Triathlon was my thing. 2010 I started getting serious about triathlon. I even finished my first 70.3!!

I still don't feel Im at an Ideal body weight yet, some days I still look in the mirror and say I am fat. But I also see a strong person for going through so much and enduring all the rough roads to finally see it paying off. I think I will always have issues with my weight but at least I will never touch a diet pill, I can do it the healthy way. I know how. I love who I am today and I have so much to be thankful for.

I know I was long and winded!!

Happy training!

9 comments:

  1. Great story! You have come a long way and you are going to go even farther!

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  2. LOVE. More than the... wow I am so good... stories I appreciate even more those who have stumbled and fallen and gotten back up. because we appreciate rather than expect. We cherish rather than feel elitist.

    Way to go sister. Wait till you see where you can go from here.

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  3. Good for you for doing what was right for yourself and changing your life for the better! Awesome!

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  4. cool :) i love the "why i got into triathlon stories."

    and, my now boyfriend had a significant contribution to my race bike this year. i guess they know an easy way to our hearts. HA! i am not sure if it is quite fair. almost a emotional/physical manipulation. ;)

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  5. This was the best post I've read in awhile. Loved every word of it. Thanks for sharing...

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  6. Great story on how you got started. I got the bug because my grandparents had a condo on Alii Drive from 1978 to 2004 and having visited them as a youngster in the early days of the sport became inspired.

    ~Richard (www.blaznfast.com)

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  7. I love that you can look in the mirror and see yourself as a strong woman. That beats uber-skinny & frail any day!

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  8. I love this story Kristin... it's always great to hear how people got to where they are today and what keeps them motivated. Sounds like you have had some rough spots, but they haven't definitely made you an amazing woman! :)

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  9. Great story. I did my first Triathlon July 2010 and I am hooked. I have 2 planned for 2011 and a half marathon as well as a full. I look forward to following you on your journey! Feel free to follow me on mine!

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