A few years ago I went to cheer on my room mate who was competing in the Danskin Women’s Sprint Triathlon. I had no idea what I was getting myself into nor would I have guessed the journey that would begin thereafter.

I arrived at the site with another friend–moral support for the moral support–and we made our way to our first cheering location just on the path from the beach to the bike transition area. As we walked through the park, despite the fact that it was an overcast, drizzly and around 7am, there was a contagious energy sizzling and crackling through the air. Gathered this morning were about 1,000 women ready to take on the challenge of 1/2 mile swim, 14 mile bike and a 3 mile run. I was surprised by the wave of emotion that welled over me and I was empowered by the dedication, commitment and determination of these women. As we watched and cheered, we relocated several times to stake out spots along the different event’s routes. In the end, we scored a sweet spot along the final stretch of the run right before the finish line.

My adrenaline was pumping to the beat of the music playing as my awe and respect for these women grew exponentially by the minute. I saw all kinds of women conquer that finish line with the sweetest expressions of victory I have ever seen. I watched women of all shapes and sizes complete the race; I witnessed cancer survivors joined in solidarity with one another fighting through this race giving them courage to wage another battle; I saw a woman with one arm finish the race and then go back to find a friend so they could finish it again together; I saw sisters and aunts and mothers and women of all ages coming together to “just do it.” As I wiped tears from my eyes I realized I had no business returning to this kind of event to stand on the sidelines. I made a decision then and there that the next time I showed up at a triathlon, I’d be competing.

This was in the summer of 2007. I had hoped to complete the 2008 Triathlon but when I checked out the schedule in early winter, the local race was going to be held the day after my graduation from graduate school. I accepted the reality that I would have neither the time to commit to training, nor the energy to complete a race of that magnitude (and for my first time) the day after commencement.

It is now 2008 and with my newly minted Master’s degree in hand, I have embarked on a journey to the 2009 Danskin Triathlon. I got a membership at 24-Hour Fitness and signed up for a personal trainer. I had no idea what to expect from working with a trainer, but I am so thankful to have the opportunity to learn, grow …and get my butt kicked as I begin the process of training for this endurance event. I was spectacularly matched with a trainer, Jason, who is himself, an endurance athlete–with several triathlons, marathons and black belts under his…well…belt, I am in the hands of not only a skilled trainer, but a veteran endurance athlete.

At this point, training is a pretty grueling task for me–I miss the body of my youth…Or at least of my college and just post-college years. I’m turning 30 within a week of the triathlon and I have decided that I am not just going to turn thirty, I’m going to arrive (thanks Sears, for the idea for the motto) and when I get there, I plan on kicking thirty in the butt!

My training consists of many different components: core strengthening, aerobic workouts, cardio, weight-lifting, rowing, swimming, biking, running and even boxing! It’s strange to think that all of these different activities (well, aside from the three event activities) could help train me for where I need to be to complete that triathlon. Furthermore, a triathlon is an endurance sport–it is not one type of activity, or two, but three events all wrapped up into one huge race.

I laughed–sort of–at the symbolism of this in my life; training for this triathlon is turning out to be a stunning metaphor for my life. Of course it couldn’t be a 5k or a bike race, no…I have my sights set on a triathlon. So too it is with my life and while I may long that I was just called to live a quiet 5k kind of life, I have been given a vision for so much more.

I dream of opening a foster home, on a working ranch, that will serve as an alternative corrections facility for teens in the justice system. I also dream of opening a cafe/bakery that will serve as a way to establish myself within a community, create training opportunities for the kids I work with, and a place to indulge my passion for cooking and baking. I dream of calling by name youth who have been abused, cast aside and forgotten; I dream of offering the riches of hope and healing to those who have nothing else; I dream of building and fostering community across generational lines; I dream of transforming lives!

This is indeed an endurance sport and takes its own battery of cross training: camp counselor, foster mom, managing an ice cream store, social work assistant for dialysis patients, master’s degree in marriage and family therapy, and so much more. I can see how each experience, while some are seemingly unrelated, has–and continues to–shape me as a person and as an athlete who will be able to not only survive this race marked out for me, but to finish with flourish!