I will try to make my foray into endurance sports brief.........
New York born, I was raised in both Macon, GA and San Diego, CA. I grew up playing softball. As a teenager I was really into weightlifting, I did a little running as cardio. I was 18 years old when 9/11 happened and since I had gradated high school and was just working and really had no other life plans, I decided to do my patriotic duty and join the Army.
My first deployment to Iraq was in early 2003 at the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, a year later I returned from Iraq. Nothing was quite the same after that. I went on a path of self destructive behavior. I was in a motorcycle accident that almost left me paralyzed. A few pieces of my upper vertebrae were broken off in the accident, as well as a concussion, I had on a full facial helmet and I was still knocked unconscious in the accident. I was in pain for months after the accident, but since my Army career was so important to me, I pretended to not be in pain. This injury still affects me today. I regret not seeking better care for myself after the accident.
A few months after that I met my husband Joel, also a soldier, who was on a similar path as I was. We were good for each other, we both wanted to change, but didn't know how.
September 30th, 2005, Joel and I were married in Kansas. Three days later I left for my second deployment to Iraq. A few months later I returned home and we became pregnant with our first daughter. Must be something about "three days" for us, because three days after Joel left for his first Iraq deployment, Laci was born.
Shortly after Laci was born, reality set in, I was big, real big, morbidly obese. Close to 300 pounds, I went through the motions of life, and taking care of our baby. I was existing, not living. I was miserable and tried hard to not show my misery in life. I had a husband who loved and adored me, a beautiful baby girl, but I was so miserable and depressed. I tried countless times to lose weight.
Two years later we welcomed our second daughter into the world we named her Miley. Once again, reality set in. Still morbidly obese, I was struggling taking care of two young children. I was 26 years old but felt twice my age.
I made the tough decision to undergo Gastric Bypass Surgery. It was done in November 2009. I lost 140 pounds have have maintained that weight loss ever since. Losing the weight wasn't enough for me. I wanted to be an athlete again. I had always loved sports. I even took up bowling when I was morbidly obese because I needed a sport. I was a really lousy bowler.
I ran when I was a teenager, and of course in the Army, so I took up running again. Within a few months I started adding in cycling and swimming as I wanted to do a triathlon. After that first race I was hooked, triathlon became my sport of choice. I love to race and tend to race a lot. In the winter off-season I do a lot of running races.
January 2014 I had my first major setback since getting into endurance sports. While running a 50k I got dehydrated and an ulcer I had died (lost blood flow) and perforated. It took five days for my body to let me know, all the while junk was leaking into to body cavity. The resulting sepsis almost killed me. After an emergency surgery and three nights in the hospital I started the bumpy rode to recovery.
The journey to this point has been a long one. I found my missing void, endurance sports. Life is hard, and this is how I cope. It makes me happy, and allows me to be a better wife, mom, and friend.
So this blog chronicles my adventures in training and racing, thanks for stopping by!
