2010: half and full marathon PR
2011: 1/2 marathon PR, marathon PR (2:45:01), Olympic Trials Qualifier

I ran track and cross-county during high school and college, but I walked away when the pressure of winning became too stressful. Running wasn’t fun anymore. Twenty years later, I was nearing 40 and decided to start working out again. With motivation from a local multi-sport group, my love of running returned, and I developed a new interest: triathlon. I found running and triathlon training plans online and competed to the best of my ability.

I was inspired by my promising results and inspired by watching others, including fellow Columbian Joe Company. Joe, formerly a professional triathlete, races effortlessly and smoothly; he’s fast and exciting to watch. I thought to myself: “One day, I want to race as fast as him.” Time passed, and I finished my second half-marathon in 1:25. Pleased with that time, I decided to complete a marathon.

In 2009, I turned to Joe Company for advice: he believed I could go sub-3, so I asked him to be my coach. Joe’s coaching has been the best decision I’ve made; his guidance is superior to the best training equipment in the world. Joe’s presence is calming, which gave me confidence in myself. His coaching philosophy is: less is more, quality (high intensity) over quantity. Such workouts have worked greatly in my favor.

By the end of 2010, I’d taken 10 minutes off my duathlon time, 3 minutes off 10k and nearly half an hour off my Olympic distance triathlon time (2:43 to 2:16). My first marathon couldn’t have gone better. Our target time was 2:58, and I crossed the finish line in 2:57 flat, for 3rd place overall female.

2011 was even more exciting.  Following a overall win at the GO! St. Louis Marathon, I PRd in the half marathon again (1:20:11) and qualified for the Olympic Trials with a 2:45:01 at the Columbus Marathon. On to Houston for the Olympic Trials where I am confident I can continue to improve on my past performances!