I started playing soccer in second grade because I wanted the snacks I’ve been on a team ever since. Athletics, being a part of a team and challenging myself physically has been a big part of my life and I love it. It’s impacted me in so many more ways than the obvious ones – did you know I met my husband through running? Before you make your own assumptions about me – no, I’m not the kind of person that can get up at 6 and run every day, the kind of person who is crazy about winning (I’m only like that when I play board games with my husband), or a person who won’t miss a day of running.

I am the kind of person that feels so much better after exercising (especially after working at a computer editing images), loves spending time with people, and enjoys a good challenge. After graduating from college I ran races casually and started getting in to triathlons. I enjoyed several summers competing in triathlons as I started building my photography business and balancing the two… since you probably know both weddings + triathlons take place on the weekend.

Then we started to move, first to Virginia and then back from Virginia to New York, and I took a break. I was busy not only adjusting the the move but keeping up a busy schedule photographing weddings almost every weekend.

That brings me to now. I’ve been talking about my next triathlon for a while and finally took the plunge to sign up for my first half ironman. If you did not know, triathlons have a lot of different distances. Saying you compete in triathlons is like saying you run road races. There are a lot of different kinds, the most common being the sprint distance, olympic distance, long course/half ironman, and ironman distance. I’ve raced plenty of sprints and a few olympic distances, but this will be my longest triathlon… and that does mean I’ll be swimming 1.2 miles, biking 55mi, and running a half marathon. I know. I’m scared.

It’s a lot easier to sign up than it will be to compete but it certainly kick-starts your motivation to get going on training… but that’s also where I need your help. I’d love to know who’s with me. Who’s diving in to a new challenge – athletic or not – and what is on your horizon? Seriously, I’d love to hear from you so leave me a comment!