Photos Courtesy of Kat Miller
In 2014, I took a four-month-long road trip across the country with my dog, and I spent most of that time outdoors camping and hiking through state and national parks. Visiting Yellowstone, Yosemite, Glacier, and even a lot of the smaller, less dramatic parks made me fall in love with this country in a way I never had before. I also saw a lot of the places in between, where we’re farming unsustainably or polluting indiscriminately, which was pretty gut-wrenching. When we treat our natural resources like a disposable commodity, we’re being incredibly shortsighted. I now have a small farm where I raise some of my own food, and I volunteer with my local wildlife rehab facility.
Friends and coworkers know me as the person who will climb into a dumpster to sort recycling, or drop everything to help catch an injured owl or a sick opossum. Having the opportunity to challenge myself physically (and mentally!) on behalf of the Sierra Club is a logical extension of my longtime commitment to environmental awareness, and my more recent commitment to my physical health.
This will be my first triathlon. I’m a longtime hiker and backpacker and have taken up running in the last year. I didn’t get my first car until I was 24 (right before my road trip), and I walked or biked everywhere before that. I’ve also been scuba-certified since 2010 and am pretty comfortable in the water. I’m participating in some shorter races throughout the spring and summer to get used to the race atmosphere and navigating around other people.
I’m not approaching the Maine 70.3 with a goal to place highly in the rankings. I have relatively conservative time goals, and I’m working toward them with the help of some friends and coworkers who have completed IRONMAN races in the past. It’s more important to me that I meet my own goals, and show people that if you keep showing up, you can make a significant change in your life. The same is true in every aspect of our lives, right? You don’t have to be the best, you just have to be the best you can. That might sound cheesy, but I spent years telling myself, “I’m not a runner” or “I’m not in shape,” and then one day I finally got off my couch and changed that. I want to show people that you have to be the one to make change happen -- in your own life, in your community, on the planet.
When I first started training, I basically could not swim. As a diver, I’m used to moving through the water, but I’m also used to having my air right there with me. Getting used to swimming WHILE breathing was pretty hard for me at first. I had to have people watch me swim and point out what I was doing wrong. I’ve gotten much more confident in just a few weeks and I’m no longer panicked about the swim, which is definitely my weakest leg!
I prefer to do my training outside, so I’m taking road trips to nearby parks to switch up the scenery. I made a list of every state park within a two-hour drive and what facilities they have -- where I can swim, what kind of trails they have, and whether they have goods roads for biking since my tri bike doesn’t have shocks. I’m looking forward to getting out more and more as the weather improves.
We have a few spots left on our IRONMAN 70.3 team with Team Sierra. You can join me here.