The Season That Almost Wasn't

December is a good time to look back at the year—what went wrong and what went right. I had my best season…but it almost was the season that wasn’t.

My confession…I almost quit doing triathlons in 2008. I had just completed my first Trihawk. Things did not go well. I remember starting the run and seeing that the rest of my club had already finished the race. I was embarrassed, frustrated, depressed. Why was I doing this? It was only my fourth triathlon, but I had not seen any improvement in my times from my first one. “I really suck at this,” I said to myself.

I made up my mind that I was just going to quit. What stopped me? It was the Midwest Xtreme Tri Club. I love being in the club. I love being a part of something and most of all, I love the people in the club. They really are like my brothers and sisters. I knew quitting would mean giving that up.

So…I made a deal with myself. I would work really hard in the off-season and try to improve. I would have one more season…one year to prove I belonged. I worked on improving my skills. I got stronger and faster. I made the commitment to be a triathlete.

My third Pigman came around in June. I had trained hard for this moment and now I would see if it had paid off. When the dust settled I had improved my Pigman time by 12 minutes! I had a long ways to go, but I was finally making progress.

I went on to do three triathlons and five running races…and I PRed every race. I even ran my first Half Marathon, something that was unimaginable to me. It was my dream season of sorts. And when things got tough in each race I would say to myself, “there is no quit in you.” Quitting was no longer an option and I’m so glad I gave myself a second chance.

I have BIG plans for next year and I want to take my triathlons and running to the next level. Each race this year gave me greater confidence and the support of the MWX club has been a big part of that. You helped me live up to the words “Keep Tri-ing.” Thank you!