The “Not So Endless Runner”

This post has been brewing for a few years, so be patient with me if I ramble on at all. Since I completed my first USAT sanctioned event in the summer of 2011, I knew I was completely hooked on the sport of triathlon.The only issue was, I didn’t own a bike, wet suit, tri kit, or really have any training strategy. I just sort of went with it for two summers. I borrowed road bikes from fellow triathlete friends, showed up and pretended like I knew what I was doing.

Luckily, I had an absolute blast and knew that it was the start of a long and (hopefully) happy relationship with triathlon. I was so jazzed that before 2012 even rolled around I publicly made a commitment that 2012 was going to be the year of triathlon. I signed up for three races and shouted it from the roof tops.

And then, just a few days later my boyfriend at the time asked me to marry him! So all of a sudden there was a wedding to plan and pay for, so quickly I reverted back to my “borrow & make it work” strategy of cycling.

Since I was already signed up for races, I completed two sprint distance triathlons and then unfortunately had to skip the third race due to the time conflicting with our wedding. I had fun, laughed a lot and struggled through one very hilly bike course (or at least it seemed to be at the time), but it was all for fun. The rest of the summer I focused on getting lean and tone for the big day by trying out a lot of different classes. Boxing, Pilates reformer, Exhale Barre, Hot Yoga, Spinning…and running nearly every day. If getting buff for your wedding was a sport, I was dominating it. I really enjoyed the variety and the excuse to be so laser focused on working out, and even welcomed the fact that I didn’t have a “goal race” on the horizon.

I haven’t discussed this too much on the interwebs because I never want our wedding to be the subject of a wedding blog and picked apart by other brides to be. It was our day, and to us it was magical and perfect and that’s how I would like it to stay, our perfect day. It was an absolutely picture perfect day and we celebrated with all of our best friends who flew in from all over the country and even the UK! Our wedding weekend was one of the most special times in our lives, not because we were now husband and wife, but that we had all of our friends and family in one place supporting us. There aren’t any words to describe the outpouring of love, it was just amazing.

After our wedding, we both settled back into real life and I came to realize that my reliance on group classes and laser focus before our wedding made me unbelievably burnt out. I set out on runs on beautiful fall days feeling extremely fit, but mentally I was beyond checked out. I couldn’t really compute what was happening, so I decided to take some time off, rethink some things and go back to working out when I was ready.

Luckily, it didn’t take long for me to snap out of my funk. I set my sights on a new goal, the Ironman Timberman 70.3, a race I had been eying for a few years, but my lack of cycling experience and scheduling always got in the way. I signed up, made the commitment to buy a bike (and everything that goes along with the sport of triathlon) and dove in head first.

After a great 2013 season where I learned so much and fell so hard for such an amazing sport, I have come to realize that I am not the same person I was when I started this blog. I’m now a part of an amazing team, have made new triathlete friends and I am constantly researching and learning as much as possible about swimming, biking and running. Yet, I still find myself typing on a blog that says it is specifically focused on running. Yes, I do still run. But, after seven and a half years of overuse injuries I am beyond done with the traditional marathon training program. Clearly, my body cannot handle the stress of the pounding and the variety that triathlons offer not only plays to my strengths, but helps me compete without suffering season ending injuries.

So, in a few days I am going to say goodbye to “Tales from an Endless Runner” and this blog will become www.swimmykimy.com! A journey through my triathlon obsession and all of the musings that go along with it. I hope you will join me for the ride while I aim high and try to achieve my new goals…