Let the 2012 Season Begin!

So I got back to school on Tuesday and that marked the beginning of training for the 2012 season. I ran over Christmas break with my brother a couple of times but mostly took it easy on my knee trying to recover so I could dive back into things now. I believe that rest paid off because I have been experiencing only minimal knee pain post run now. The main race that I have in my sights right now is the USAT Collegiate Nationals. I will probably do a short sprint for a warm up race prior to the mid-April olympic distance championship in Tuscaloosa. Those are the plans for the future but the plan for the present is to get back into shape and shave off the 5lbs. I put on over break off my body. I am not to worried about getting down to weight, after all I have 4 months but jumping back into training has been a bit difficult after so much down time. Regardless of training or racing I am excited to see what 2012 has in store for me and look forward to see what my body can allow me to do.

A Little About Me

I have been reading many triathlon related blogs for quite some time now and figured that while Kona may a little ways off for me, the majority of the athletes that make up the triathlon community would probably say the same thing. I am a sophomore Biochemistry major at East Carolina University, Go Pirates! As my first semester of college progressed I realized I no longer had a formal source of sport in my life so I started running and haven't stopped yet. I began to run for something to do and then that progressed into something I really enjoyed doing. So I ran the Run For The Booty half marathon a couple months later. The challenge of making my body continue to move forward past the point that it screams STOP is what draws me to endurance sports the most.

So before long that often talked about "freshman 15" turned into a "freshman negative 25." Yep, even from eating a strict diet of dining hall food I somehow managed to find a way to not fit into any of my clothes. I found running fun, but after a while the "runners high" seemed to where off a bit. The challenge of running was still fun, but I wanted something more. Along came the sport called triathlon. I started reading about how it was really the ultimate form of endurance challenge from both mental and physical standpoint. It all sounded good on paper until I started looking at bikes. Wow! I had no clue two wheels could cost so much. Finally over the summer I was able to get my first bike, a Trek Equinox. I started riding as much as possible and training hard. I did my first tri in Wilmington, NC in September of my sophomore year. It was just a sprint tri with an ocean swim, however due to a wrong turn on the run course I crossed the line in 4th place overall.

I had my sights set on my first half-ironman at the end of October, however I developed a pretty nasty case of IT Band Syndrome about three weeks out from the race and had to cancel that thought of completing my first 70.3. I have since taken some time off and created this blog to tell the stories of what is to come in the following tri season. I have my hopes up to complete a half-ironman early on in the season and complete the iron distance by the end of it. I will share my experiences with training and some quirky things about my life along the way of course! Hope you enjoy!