Dare to try something new...and possibly scary.

I was sitting in my bedroom, rocking in a chair while looking through pictures on Instagram with the hashtag #blacktriathlete when I came across a few inspirational pages. I immediately thought to myself, "I want to be a triathlete". But the negative mind chatter soon followed; "You can not swim. How could you possibly compete in a triathlon event if you don't even know how to swim? Plus you're too old. What will you look like learning to swim in your late thirties?" I let the thoughts leave as quickly as they arrived. "I could learn. I could practice until I mastered the task. Yes, that's exactly what I will do".

I often ask my kids what they want to be when they grow up and they enthusiastically tell me they want to be Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America or some other modern day hero. They would follow up asking me the same question, "Mommy what do you want to be when you grow up?" A professional athlete, I would respond. This happened a few times before I finally realized I could indeed become an athlete. Maybe I already could be considered an athlete. After all, in 2019 I did complete two marathons.

Majority of my life I've been running, albeit not competitively. My earliest memories are with my siblings and cousins playing outside my great-grandmothers house. Paired in two's, our backs lined up against each other we would run as fast as we could in opposite direction of our competitor, attempting to be the victor who arrived back in the front of the yard the quickest. Then there was middle school. I was never the fastest but I managed to land myself on some of the print relays. I remember running so fast at practice one day I fell before I reached the finished line. Embarrassed by the fall, I took my coach's hand as he helped me up and commented I fell because I gave it my all. Way to help me recover, coach.

After middle school, I would reunite with running during my final year of graduate school. Registered for Shamrock Virginia Beach March 2007, I intermittently starting running again to build my endurance. I completed the 13.1 miles that cold, rainy and windy morning and it felt great. Between 2007 and 2018 I ran a few 5k and 10k distances but it wasn't until March 2019 that I arrived back in Virginia Beach ready to attempt my longest distance, 26.2 miles. I finished the race, but I can't say I finished feeling good. My second full marathon was completed just eight months later that same year and I felt better than I did after the first. *more details on these races later.

Fast forward to the present day. Me- sitting in my room daydreaming about my next sport adventure. Ignoring the negative chatter that screams at me while researching gear for cycling and swimming, I become more and more eager to make this daydream a reality. I've actually committed myself to the task. Triathletes swim, bike and run. It doesn't matter the distance or time. The only thing that matters (for me) is that I engage and complete all three consecutively. Join me as I blog about my experience. It's sure to be an adventure.

*The cover picture is from a 2019 trip to the Atlantis, Bahamas. I got on this ride about 8 times over our stay. It was scary but very much exhilarating and I loved every minute. I used to fantasize about going down this slide one day and I'm glad it actually happened. Carpe diem, always.