I signed up to do the Lake Hickory Tri because I had done it last year and loved it. It was a good course, I was familiar with it and it was family friendly.

I was so relieved when I crossed the finish line. Relieved that I was done and that I had been able to finish.

The hardest challenge for me in this race was the bike portion. Last year there was a loop that you had to do 2 times and a section that was uphill right after you turned. I always feel uncomfortable going fast on turns so had to slow way down and then lose momentum to get me up the hill. This year, they changed the course so I was excited to see if it was easier. But then before I even got to mile 3, my gears messed up and my chain came loose. This had happened to me often before and I got the derailleur replaced beforehand and it seemed like the problem was fixed. However the chain was stuck way down this time and I could not get it loose. I was so upset that I couldn’t fix it and finish the race.

The most rewarding thing about this race was getting to turn it into a life lesson for my kids.

“Never give up, just try. Life won’t always go the way you want or even expect, but you can be learn to be content with how it turns out anyway.”

That and my 8 year old son Landon ran the run portion with me. I was so tired at that point, not having planned on it taking me so long on the bike portion, I didn’t have enough fuel to sustain me. I just wanted to walk the whole thing, but being a role model to him, I ran as much as I could, walking more than I wanted and he stayed with me motivating me to finish strong.

“Even when life doesn’t go your way, you gotta keep trying.”

When it comes to training, I just follow a plan I found online and talk with other triathletes on the Athena Triathletes page on Facebook.

Reading the inspiring stories of other triathletes and their struggles and accomplishments motivates me to keep going. I also use Strava to track my progress and compare myself to other athletes.