The 5 That Lead Me to Florida

Here are the 5 that inspired or conspired to get me to sign up.

Patience Cogar and Klint Beckendorf:
My first experience with any sort of triathlon started in New Orleans when I signed up for my first marathon with Team in Training. I liked to run at the time, and that meant on the soccer field or 3 miles. So, when I tell you that deciding to run a marathon was a big leap, it really was. I hadn't even entered a 5k! Patience and Klint were my mentors, and both had done an ironman. I was so amazed by them. They were incredible athletes, and I was a dweebie. I wanted to be just like them, but I never thought it would ever be possible.

Cindy Perret
Cindy and I played soccer together on Calypso-the best team in New Orleans hands down:) We were both very serious about our soccer team. Neither of us ever missed practice or games. Cindy also is also a super fast runner. I won't give her age out here because she would kill me, but she put my young butt to shame. I always admired how she was a top 500 finisher at the Crescent City Classic, and I probably couldn't even break an 8 min mile then.
Cindy started doing triathlons about 5 years ago. She seemed to have so much fun. I remember asking her about her swimming (as I couldn't swim), and she would swim 1 mile a couple of times a week. I remember thinking "oh my gosh...1 mile without stopping? WOW!" She said triathlons were so much fun, so I started considering them as an addition to my full plate of soccer.

Christy Bohannon
Next, I met a girl named Christy that came to be one of my best friends. Christy was on a local triathlon team in New Orleans, and she seemed to love it. She was also very good and rapidly improving, so I really looked up to her. She encouraged me to get a bike, and of course I copied her every move exactly. She got a road bike, I got a road bike. She wore Desoto tri shorts, I bought Desoto tri shorts. It is still this way. I am always asking her advice and copying her. :)
Christy is now an amazing triathlete. She just competed in Kona this past year, and I have no doubt she is going to blow it away in 2008. She gives me hope that I can start off as a little newbie and finish an IM too. She also just has so much fun when she races! She really keeps it light and fun which is inspiring.

Joy Johnson
Joy is the final step in me signing up for Florida. She is an 3 time Hawaii finisher and is amazingly fast. She is also my pal. She puts up with my slower paced running and cycling and always maintains belief in me that I can do well. I can compete with her for the first 2 events of most triathlons...the swim and T1 (although Joy is a way faster swimmer, I think she just daydreams in races). She promised if I did Florida, she would do it too...again. And, she is good to her word!

So, those are the people that have gotten me to 2008 as a wanna be IM triathlete!