YOU ARE AN ATHLETE! YOU CAN DO IT! Words like these have the power to remove roadblocks and literally transform lives. As you progress through your triathlon training, we want you to hear inspiring words from WIN for KC Women's Triathlon participants. Each week, we'll share a different participant's story.

KATIE BLAND

July 22, 2010

Well, I'll start from the beginning: I have not always been an athlete.  Far from it really!  Then, back in August of 2002, I was diagnosed with a large brainstem cyst. It was benign and was removed with no problem; however, it made me realize that even young people (I was 21 at the time) are not invincible. I am one of those people that checks nearly every box in the family medical histroy section when filling out paperwork at the doctor's office. Heart disease? Check. High blood pressure? Check. I thought, heck, I am getting hit with the weird medical problems, so I should probably do everything I can to try to prevent the ones I already KNOW I am at risk of getting.  So, I started going to the gym. Eventually I got bored with the gym, and long story short, a friend of mine talked me into doing a triathlon.

I've signed up for the WIN for KC Women's Triathlon this year, but this won't be my first tri. I've actually done the women's triathlon twice before (along with a few others), but this year will be special.

The first year I did the triathlon, I remember seeing various sayings in sidewalk chalk on the running trail as I was pushing myself to finish. "Swim, bike, run" and "Keep going" were pushing me along the way. There was also a saying, "We are proud of you Mom!" I remember thinking, wow, I hope when I am a mom, I am still doing triathlons. Fast forward a few years, and here I am, the mom of 10-month-old twin boys! When I was pregnant, a few people warned me, "Oh you will NOT have time for any of that triathlon stuff once you have babies!" And I remembered those signs during that first triathlon, and I hoped to prove them wrong.

Now that the babies are here though, training has certainly become more of a challenge, to say the least! I literally had to lay out my "strategy," and I call it that because it took a lot of thought for me to figure out how I was going to find time for this. Even though it has been complicated and hard to fit training into my schedule, it's something I feel very strongly about, both for myself and my boys. I want to be a good example through my actions. Most of all, I want to stay healthy and be around for all the big moments of their lives. So, making time has been a priority for me, and for my kids. It HAS been challenging though, and here are some of the lessons I have learned to pass on to any moms out there who are having a hard time fitting in the workouts:

• Set realistic goals! I knew I couldn’t do all of the races I had been doing before.  So, I made a list of just a few events that were my favorites, and chose to train for those events.  My list has only 3 events on it for the summer.  Though I may add more if I have time, I knew I could realistically train and do my three events with the free time I have. 

• Invest in yourself!  I put off buying a treadmill for the longest time thinking it was a waste of money; why buy a treadmill when I could just run outside?  Well, I finally caved and bought one last winter a few months after the boys were born, and I have definitely been getting my money’s worth!  I often wait until the boys go to bed, so I can still spend time with them, and get in a good training run.  This has worked out GREAT for me as a mom!  It’s convenient, and I now have NO excuse for not running.  I also have a bike trainer, so I have even been able to do some indoor “brick” workouts.  Another great investment: jogging stroller!

• Find a Support System! This is a big one for me now that I am a mom. My support system has 3 parts: my husband, my friends, and my employer. First, I could not do this without my husband, who often takes on baby duty so I can go swim, bike, or run.  Second, I have several friends who do this crazy hobby with me, and we support each other by planning times to get together to bike, run,  and swim.  Third, my employer is very supportive of athletic endeavors.  They sponsor employees in various races in the KC metro area, and I originally got into running (and then triathlons) through running a few company-sponsored 5k’s for fun. 

June 24, 2010

I am a 35 year-old mother of two young children; Addison, 4 and Gavin, 2, and an amazing and supportive husband of 11 years, Scott.  Oh, and I happen to have MS.  Growing up on the beach in California, I was a swimmer from age 4 and played soccer from age 5 through high school.  I moved to Missouri at age 20 and met my future husband shortly after.  Then, life got in the way.

Over the next 10 years I married my husband, buried my mom and one of my brothers 5 days apart, and graduated college.  I threw myself into work and school and totally forgot about taking care of myself. Then, I had Addison and although I managed to swim throughout my entire pregnancy, the demand of a newborn took a toll on my body and was compounded by my MS.

Rest was imperative for my body and impossible with an infant. Returning to work full-time after six weeks, clearly exercise of any kind was no longer an option.

Fast forward two and a half years and Gavin was born.  I managed to squeeze in some swimming during my second pregnancy but not as much as I should have.  It was a constant struggle to balance work and family, guilt always weighed heavily on me.

So when my girlfriends asked my to do the swim leg of the WIN for KC Women's Triathlon in 2009, I thought there was NO WAY!  When I told my husband about the triathlon that night he said I absolutely HAD TO DO IT and we would do whatever it required to make time for me to train.

I do have a few obstacles due to my MS. The first is the heat...it is a killer for me to be in the heat for long periods of time (which is why I choose swimming as my preferred exercise). The second is numbness in my legs.  During my pregnancy with Gavin, I started experiencing numbness in my legs, making my legs useless.  It happens randomly and lasts for about 30 seconds before my legs have feeling again.  Beyond that, my MS is present but does not define me!

I didn't have time to train as much as I should have but I managed to get in a couple of open water swims.  As I hit the water to start my swim leg of the race, my legs gave out (a symptom of my MS) but fortunately I kept my arms moving and within seconds the adrenaline kicked in.  The second I handed off my timing chip at transition 1, I knew I wanted to complete the full triathlon by myself in 2010.

The only obstacle I could see other than the numbness in my legs was the fact that I couldn't even run one mile.  So, when the weather cooled down in September I decided I was going to run a 5k before the end of the year.  It took me about six weeks to be able to run 1.6 miles without stopping, but by the end of the year I had completed THREE 5k's! My small accomplishments empowered me to push my limits, both physically and mentally.  As the weather turned cold my body responded TREMENDOUSLY due to my MS and I completed my first half marathon in March at Rock the Parkway.  Trust me...if I can accomplish this, ANYONE can! I am not a runner, not an extensive exercise fanatic and don't eat a regular balanced diet, BUT I have chosen to be a survivor and have chosen to become an ATHLETE.

My mantra is, "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger." And stronger I have become.

So now I am training for my first solo triathlon and struggling to get all of my traning time in. I take it one day at a time and try to have fun with it.  After all, my training time is my only "me time" and I don't want to waste it.  I struggle with the heat so most of my training is indoors right now but at least I am still doing it.  The days I have two disciplines I get up early in the morning for my run and do my swim after I put my little one to sleep leaving Addison's bed time up to my husband.  With my kids' gymnastics schedule, my husband's golf leaue and my work schedule, some of my workouts take place over my lunch hour.  Admittedly this schedule is not ideal.  However, because of my MS, there may come a day where I can no longer walk, let alone swim, bike and run, so I guess you can say I am simply seizing the day.

My kids are really my driving force. If i do lose my mobility someday, I want my kids to remember me being active and I want my daughter to know she CAN have it all.  There are no excuses, only opportunities.

I don't think my MS makes me unique or that I should receive special acknowledgment or additional accolades.  In fact, I hesitate sharing the fact that I have MS.  There are thousands of people with circumstances much worse than mine.  So I guess in a way, I am doing this for them as well.  I have been blessed with my amazing family, amazing friends and this amazing opportunity to compete alongside hundreds of other women who know THEY CAN DO IT TOO!

See you there!  

KRISTIN CASTLEBERRY

May 27, 2010

I never remember being interested in any type of physical activity growing up except swimming. We moved around a lot when I was a child and no matter where we landed, my parents were able to allow me to participate on the local swim team. In my teenage years, I honestly just was not interested in any type of athletics or doing much of anything that involved breaking a sweat. I also spent most of my adult life smoking which certainly does not lead to any type of healthy lifestyle.

Growing up I did not have anyone in my life I was close to that exercised on a regular basis, so it just was not something I thought about. As I approached 40, so many things happened that influenced me to take the fist steps towards being active, then setting goals and making it truly a part of my life. I was an emotional wreck eating my way through everything in sight trying to compensate for the pain I was feeling after my husband left me. My weight was at an all-time high and I was miserable!

A year earlier, a friend had told me about a program called Couch Potato to 5k which I had "attempted" a few times but had always given up. Two years ago, something in me just clicked and I decided that I wanted to do something for me. I asked my friend Ashley if she wanted to join me in running a 5k and told her about the Couch Potato to 5k program. We entered the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day that year and it was my first time ever participating in something organized and social. I still remember thinking how great it was that all those families had come out together to start the holiday season embracing fitness.

Seeing a crowd start a race gives me goose bumps and still does every time. We finished the Turkey Trot and it was SO hard. Looking back, we both laugh because we jogged that 5k as fast as we walk now. When we crossed that finish line, it was the first time since losing my husband that I felt hope. I felt like I really might be okay and I was stronger than I thought I was. I was really proud that I had done it at 39 years old. I had started exercising, proving to myself that you are never too old, too fat, too chesty, or too slow to start.

Around the same time, my brother was getting serious about competing and ended up doing the Ironman Kansas in Lawrence. My brother had a serious injury when he was young and I don't think they expected him to even walk at this age but here he was training to complete an Ironman! It inspired me to make my own goals.

Last year, my friend and I had tossed around the idea of doing a triathlon. We attended the WIN for KC Fitness Fair sponsored by Centerpoint. We talked to a lady I have seen in many pictures off the WIN for KC website.

We were scared but wanted to do it. We thought we didn't have the right bikes but more importantly, in our minds, people that did triathlons had 6% body fat and were perfect people. I was scared all over again. I feared everyone would look and point, "Hey check out that girl! What does she think she is doing?"

The lady at the Fitness Fair was great! She made us believe anyone could do a triathlon and should give it a try. She said even if we had a basket, a flag and streamers on our bikes, it did not matter. At the time, Ashley did not have a bike so we decided that the following year we would do it. I must admit, deep down inside I was petrified and secretly doubted we would.

We made last year's goal to do the Kansas City Half Marathon and it was going to be my 40th birthday present to myself. By this time, I was battling feet issues and we were going to walk it. We were nervous wondering if there would be other walkers. Would we be the only ones? Would we look different from everyone else? One thing is for sure though having a partner to do these things with gives you accountability, motivation and the united front of self-confidence. We both, in different ways, have battled body image issues, weight gain and loss, but we both in the end wanted the same thing. We wanted to know we could do it!

And we did it! If I thought I was proud at my first 5k, when I crossed the finish line at the Half Marathon, I had tears in my eyes.

Never in my life did I dream I, of all people, would not only attempt, but finish, a Half Marathon. I did not run it. That's not what it was about for me. I just wanted to say I did it, and wow is Kansas City hilly!

With that item crossed off the bucket list, it was now time to attack the Triathlon.

We knew we wanted to do the WIN for KC Women's Triathlon. I looked at each and every picture from the race last year and convinced myself that all types of women participated in it. Old, young, fluffy, tiny, tall, and short, and I wanted to be one of these women. In my mind if I could complete this and say I did it, then I could do anything.

I am nervous because I've hurt my foot. I know running the last leg will not be an option and I will be walking it. I am mostly scared about what the heck I am going to wear in the swim? Will people laugh at me? I am extremely top heavy and it is a huge concern.

I have read lots of articles, but the suggestions just make me giggle. I found a book called The Slow Fat Triathlete and it made me believe I can do it. Then as I was searching the internet for something to wear I found lots of message boards with women just like me. They may not look like gazelles as they plod along, but they did it!

I know I will certainly not be the tiniest girl out there. I know I bounce and jiggle when I run, I know I struggle daily, like all women do, with my self-confidence. Most of all I wonder if I had thought it was possible would I have started exercising earlier? I wish I would have known that truly anyone and everyone can do it, one step at a time. I have realized it is not how fast you go or if you won, it's simply that you did it. I have realized that the only person I need to compare myself with is me.

THE GUPTA WOMEN
May 6, 2010

Meet the women of the Gupta family, Pratishtha (Mum) and her twin daughters, Anita & Sunita, who will be participating as a team in the WIN for KC Women’s Triathlon…

Pratishtha is the proud mother of three beautiful children, including her twin daughters, Sunita and Anita. The mother-daughter trio will be doing the 2010 WIN for KC Women’s Triathlon to celebrate Mum’s 62nd birthday on Saturday, July 31. Sunita and Anita didn’t participate in organized sports growing up, but used to exercise with their dad. “Our dad was a very active and health conscious man. He would wake up early and exercise 3 hours every day before going to work at 8:00 a.m. He got our whole family involved in being active. Although he has passed away, being active is part of the legacy that he’s passed down,” says Anita.

Sunita got her mom and sister into races and triathlons a few years ago. 

“About four years ago, when I was interning at Garmin, I saw an ad in Garmin’s newsletter for the WIN for KC Triathlon (called the Rose Brooks Triathlon at the time). I thought it would be awesome to participate in a triathlon,” says Sunita. “Anita and I had volunteered at other triathlons several times, but I never thought I could do one. I really liked that the WIN for KC Triathlon was women only—it seemed like it would be a friendly race. I didn’t think I could train for the entire thing over one summer, so in 2007 I put a team together for the race.  I spent the whole summer preparing for the 5k portion. My mom, sister and I would go to a school playground and walk/run the track.  The following year I decided to do the full triathlon and I really wanted my mom and sister to participate because it had been so much fun, so they formed a team.”

And now they are all hooked…

“This year, we wanted to do something together as a family and the race falls on Mum’s birthday, so we wanted to share the victory (of completing the race) with each other,” shares Anita. “Doing a triathlon on Mum’s birthday is a way to celebrate her life, and keep her healthy and youthful for future birthdays. I’ve always admired and respected Mum. Although I followed her career path, what I have most been in awe of is her humble demeanor. It has shone through when we were children and instead of pointing us in a direction, she would help us reason out the right direction for ourselves. I think it helped us grow to better understand decision-making and personal responsibility.”

“Being active and healthy is very important to all of us,” states Sunita. “What better way to celebrate Mom’s birthday than being together and doing something that is good for us?  She was a caretaker for our father for a year and a half, and then we had a lot of changes happening.  Since this last year, she’s really getting back into shape mentally and physically. All the training is paying off—we can see it and we’re so proud of her!  Mom has always made a point to be there for us.  She’s supported us from going to our 4th grade strings’ concerts to coming to my races today.  She’s sacrificed a lot for us and I want to do what I can to keep her healthy and active.”

“We’re so proud of you, Mom, we love you!  And…don’t run too fast at the finish line—we don’t want you to be a blur in the picture!” 

Whether you go a foot or a mile,
It makes us smile
To see you in a race,
Running at your best pace.                                  
        -Anita Gupta

2010 is the 2500th anniversary of the marathon so the Gupta women will travel to Athens, Greece together to run the original full marathon course (Sunita) and 10k (Anita & Pratishtha) on October 31, 2010.

Pratishtha, originally from a small town in northwest India, currently works as a Cardiac Sonographer.  Anita will be graduating from medical school in May before she starts her ophthalmology residency training at KU Medical Center and Sunita is currently employed at Garmin as a Design Certification Engineer for Avionics (electronics for airplanes). All of the Gupta women reside in Olathe.

Suzanne shared a couple of training websites with me. I put together a spreadsheet marking the days up to the race and set out what exercise I would do each day – including rest days – to prepare. My only goal was to complete the race. I just wanted to finish. According to my current times, I expected to finish the race in two hours. Even with LONG transitions, I finished in 1:59.

Right after I finished the race last year, I said I would never do it again. But after I ate and rested, I felt differently. It was such an exciting sense of accomplishment. I have pictures of myself at each portion of the race, along with my finisher’s medal, hanging on my bedroom wall. Suzanne was right: I did do it!

What surprised me most about the race was how supported I felt by all the women out there and how moving it was for me to wear the white rubber band bracelet that said “I AM AN ATHLETE!”  I still have it on… I’ve never taken it off. The words are gone, but that’s okay… I know what it means!

In 2010, I want to run at least part of the final portion of the race. Last year I just focused on finishing, so I walked – one foot in front of the other. This year, I know I can swim and bike just fine, but I want to run a portion, if not all, of the last segment, so I’m focused on increasing my endurance and stamina through longer walks and more running in my training.

To think that I can do a triathlon means I can do anything!  I’m getting older and I don’t want to suffer from lifestyle diseases. Obesity runs in my family, and I’m fighting to not give into that. Since completing the triathlon, I’ve applied for grad school. I really can have everything in life that I want. I still have a goal of one day being a runner.

To all of the first-time triathletes out there: YOU CAN DO THIS. Think about what you need to be able to do on race day, and figure out everything you need to do up until that point.  The mental planning is just as important as the physical preparation. Make your own goals. It’s a race against you. And don’t let the word “triathlon” freak you out. It’s basically a 1-2 hour workout, with a lot of variety!

Janelle Brazington, from Topeka, is an operations manager for a nonprofit organization. She and her partner, Matt, have two grown stepchildren and a 9-year-old daughter. When she’s not triathlon training, she enjoys reading, spending time at the lake, gardening, cooking, doing community service and going to the community theater.