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 I never thought I could run a mile, but last year I did my first half marathon, and my first sprint triathlon. I always loved swimming, so that was the only easy part for me. I have an awesome running buddy(a lunachix) who helped me to go from running a mile to realize I can run a lot longer and actually enjoy. I love running the Boise hills. I started road biking a little over a year ago, I got admit I love biking but still a little afraid of the cars around me. This year I hope to push myself to get better at swim, bike and run. I am really excited to be part of the lunachix, I love all the girls, they are so motivating and so much fun. This will be a great year.
 I love the sport of triathlon since there are so many disciplines involved. My husband and I decided to get into the sport in 1999. I didn't start swimming until I was 21 years old and had a great fear of the water. My friend in Charlotte, NC worked with me to get my face in the water. He had exercises for me to reach down and grab weights at the bottom of the pool which was only 3 feet deep! I finally did my first sprint triathlon in the fall of 1999 and did the backstroke during the swim, but I finished! I took swim lessons intermittently became comfortable with the water.
Since that time, I have done several sprint and olympic distances, a handful of half marathons and two marathons. I finished the Boise 70.3 Ironman in 2010 and I'm presently training for Boise 70.3 this year. I've had a few struggles with my calves, but I'm focusing on my swim and bike and slowly with the run.
I'm looking forward to my first season with the Luna Chix Boise and empowering women to love triathlons as I do!
 My fitness life started in the gym 11 years ago when realized that home video workouts were just not going to cut it for my growing fitness "addiction." I fell in love with group exercise and started teaching it in 2004. I currently love leading classes of many types; yoga, cycle, piyo and strength are my current favorites.
After a few years of step classes I was shocked how easy running around the block became. I decided to take running a little more seriously and fell in love. I ran my first marathon in 2009, and like many say, learned a lot about myself and a lot about the sport. Continued training and friendships lead me through 10 more 1/2 marathons and 3 more full marathons. I love the training and the self driven competition that motivates me to beat my times and pushes me out the door for early morning, or even late night long runs. Now, I'm ready for a bit of a change.
I am a newbie to the world of triathlons, but ready to take it on and share in the journey with other amazing women! I'm excited to be a part of a team with fellow athletes that challenge me in this new arena. I've logged a few longish rides in cross training efforts and a lot of indoor cycle hours. So hopping on the bike to add to race efforts excites me! Swimming is my newest sport and will bring me a mental and physical challenge to embrace.
I'm hoping that my honest "greenness" to this sport will encourage others who haven't ever ventured out of the gym, or their workout comfort zone to come and join me in the process! I look forward to the new adventures to come!
 I am a stay at home mom of two boys, 6 and 9. Before we had kids, my husband and I were always active mountain biking, kayaking, and camping; but, I didn’t do any regular exercise for fitness. After quitting my teaching job to stay home with the boys, I found that the goldfish and corndog diet was not going to work for me. I needed to get more active for myself and my family. I found I felt so much better after just an hour at the gym.
In 2008, a friend of mine entered a Sprint triathlon. I heard her talk about the distances and thought that if I learned to swim, then the bike and run weren’t too bad. I joined a gym and realized, at my current weight and fitness level, I could not complete a Sprint. So, my first goal was to lose weight by biking and running. After losing 25 pounds, I thought I was ready so I signed up for my first Sprint. The best part is the race had a down river swim…the current would eventually get me to the finish right? The next step was swim lessons at the YMCA. I quickly realized that ½ mile is further than it sounds when you don’t know how to swim with your head in the water. I followed a plan I downloaded from the internet and put in the time. I borrowed a road bike from a friend and completed my first Sprint that summer. I had never been in any kind of race and now I had completed a triathlon!
As luck would have it, I am neighbors with a triathlon coach. I was hooked on the three sports and now I needed to know more about how to train. My husband signed up for the Boise 70.3 and I set the Emmett Olympic distance triathlon as my goal. I love working out together toward a goal and challenging myself to get better. Performance High, Flow Aquatics, and T3 have given me great, friendly people who are willing to share their knowledge and experience. I have completed 2 half marathons, 2 10Ks, 3 Sprint triathlons, and 3 Olympic triathlons over the past 4 years. My goal is to complete a Sprint Off Road Triathlon and an Olympic distance this summer.
Two of the women I met in training groups and swim lessons last summer were Luna Chix. I was fortunate enough to participate in several of their activities and really enjoyed their perspective while training. This year I am really looking forward to the encouragement, inspiration, and fun of training together. The vibe of this group is so welcoming. You don’t have to be fast, you just need to bring a positive attitude and want to tri.
 The first Triathlon I did was the 'Y Not Tri' and it was a great introduction to the sport. The distances were short and the community support was fantastic. After that race, I did several other sprint triathlons and then had the desire to do an Olympic Distance Tri. My training partner and I devised a plan where we would do the swim the first year, swim - bike the second, and then put it all together the third year. We ended up doing the full event the first year and realized that we were being a bit conservative. Today, I realize that that specific mentality has followed me through my athletic life.
I have done many 5k and 10k races, 7 half marathons, 10 sprint triathlons and 5 Olympic distance triathlons. My goal is to do a 70.3 in 2013 and take it from there.
I have a wonderful husband of 12 years and two very energetic boys, 3 and 6. I was a restauranteur for 11 years and my husband and I recently changed directions in order to spend more time with each other as well as our family as a whole.
I started competitive swimming when I was 5 years old, although in my adult life my passion has been running It is a way in which to stay in shape and be healthy, both physically and mentally. In the beginning of 2011, I hit a rut and lost the drive. I continued to swim, bike and run but the purpose was lost. Two events brought me out of my slump, triggered by two of my friends / training partners. Neither were planned and it all happened by chance. The first was a fall sprint triathlon. Several Luna Chix were doing the event(although we were not Luna Chix at the time) and I thought it would be fun. I was also looking forward to the shorter distances.
In previous events, I always had a fear of running out of energy before the event was over so I always made sure there was enough left in my reserves to finish strong. When I began the sprint tri, I felt like I could go 100% because each event was relatively short. this re-sparked my interest! asthe race continued, I kept talking to myself, encouraging myself. The race was small and I kept telling myself, "If I could just finish in the top three in my age group, I'd be psyched!" I felt strong and kept pushing. When I crossed the finish line I heard the announces say that I was the third female finisher overall - I couldn't believe it! I was ready to drive forward once again!
The second event was a half marathon in November of 2011. It was an event that I had done previously, although I was pregnant and walked most of the course. A friend of mine was training for it and convinced me to train with her. We did the long runs together on the weekends and they were great, especially because they were just as much of a social event as a training event. When the day of the race came, I had a different mentality than I had had before any other race. I wanted to see what was within me. what could I really do - what could my body handle? I was going to go as hard as I could and if I had to crawl across the finish line, then so be it. I needed to know what my threshold was. Hindsight I realize that the reason for this persistence was because in the past, I had always left too much in the reserves - I was always afraid to run out of energy.
I finished the race 15 minutes faster than I projected and felt great!
I enjoy the triathlon sport and look forward to many great events in the future!
 I started running marathons in college and have completed 19. Ten years later I was ready for a new challenge, and Ironman announced in 2007 that they were coming to Boise. I wanted to register so badly, but I had a new job and wasn’t sure it could all work. I had no experience with road bikes and while I knew how to stay a float, I had no formal swim training since I was a young kid. Five years went by and I had still been running a bunch of marathons and half marathons, but Ironman was still very much on my mind. The job never slowed down so I changed jobs and signed up for a training program for an olympic distance tri. I had a great time training and competing in my first tri in August of 2012 (and I just love the triathlete community in Boise), but that was just a test run for the event I have been dreaming about for years. I can’t wait to do the Boise Half Ironman in 2013 and am so happy to have found this great group of women to train with and provide support along the way.
 My background has always been in team sports because I love the camaraderie of other athletes around me working towards the same goal. With triathlons its different because you are just racing yourself, but I have found a way to do three sports that I love and get outdoors to enjoy them!
I feel so fortunate to be part of Team Luna Chix, its like doing a solo sport but still having the amazing support and camaraderie of a team. The women I've met through triathlon training and racing are so inspiring, athletic, and fun - its made all the difference for me!
I love that we are raising funds for The Breast Cancer Foundation, a cause that is near and dear to my heart. Its wonderful to be increasing awareness for a disease that touches so many of us and doing it all by helping to keep our community active! Thank you LUNA!!
Some fun facts about me:
First sprint tri:
1994, Mount Maunganui, New Zealand
Most recent tri:
2011, YMCA Fall Sprint Tri - placed 3rd in my age group
Favorite workout song:
Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
Family:
Husband (1), Kids (2)
Cancer:
Yes, I'm a survivor and plan to stay that way!
Best Half Ironman description I've heard:
It's an eating & drinking contest with some exercise & scenery thrown in
Favorite LUNA bar flavor:
Chocolate Dipped Coconut - Yum!
Racing goals:
To finish the Boise Half Iron-Man this June with a smile on my face and enough energy left to walk the next day :)
 I started running when I was in high school for exercise and stress relief. I always loved the way it made me feel, exhausted yet energized. After my second son was born I decided I wanted to start running races. I picked a half marathon, gave myself a couple months of training and off I went. That was the start of falling in love with racing. I love running the same races every year so I can race against my previous years time. My favorite race is The Robie Creek Half Marathon. I love how tough it is and how my legs almost give out when I cross the finish line My favorite distance to run is a marathon but training for that distance takes a lot of time. So my goal is to be dedicated to doing one per year.
I started to cycle (very minimal) before my third child was born and then took a 3 year break after I became pregnant. Then last year I got a stress fracture which put a stop to my running and made me dust off my bike. It didn't take long before I knew how much I enjoyed riding. I love riding out in the country without traffic and I don't ride with music. It is so peaceful to me to head out alone and enjoy the beauty around that you don't notice while driving.
Now to the swimming...I don't know how to swim but I am in the process of learning. So once that gets taken care of I will be doing my first triathlon! I hope next year at this time I will be training for a 70.3 and then an Ironman...I can dream right?
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