We’re Better When We TRI Together

Just two sassy ladies…posing for a photo.

photo courtesy: Nelson Creative

Wait a minute — just nothing! Two fabulous friends who just experienced the thrill of a lifetime together. That’s a much more accurate description!

Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson (“Composing a Life of Exquisite Harmony“) and I may be smiling in that picture, but underneath the grins, we’re sweaty, a little bruised and ready for a long nap.You see, just moments before Elizabeth’s husband Doug snapped this photo, Elizabeth and I each crossed the finish line at the end of an Olympic distance triathlon:

• 1.5 km swim
• 40 km bike
• 5.6 mile run

(Elizabeth, by the way, didn’t just cross the finish line — she flew over it. The woman is incredibly fast and even took second place in her age group!)

photo courtesy: Nelson Creative

Triathlon is an incredible sport, and I love to share the story of how I got into it in late 2007.

I was on a story shoot for GrowingBolder.com, and found myself along the course of a Masters Triathlon, in which all of the athletes were over the age of 40.

(Video of “Three Times the Fun” embedded below)

As the athletes passed me, I was blown away by the various ages, all written in marker on their calves…men at 50, 60, 70 and above, running an 8-minute mile. Women at 70, 80 and even 90, mashing the pedals like elite competitors.

And I, at 27 years old, could not run a single mile.

I took it as a challenge, and decided on that day to start training for the sport.

Four years later, I’m addicted. I love everything about triathlon, and love getting others involved. So when I found out that Elizabeth was taking her first crack at the Olympic distance, I was thrilled!

photo courtesy: Nelson Creative

Elizabeth and I met up at the transition area and exchanged hugs and advice. We walked to the water and warmed up together, and we were the last faces each other saw in the moments before diving into the water.

And at the end, Elizabeth was the first person I wanted to find — because we’d shared an experience that neither of us will forget!

photo courtesy: Nelson Creative

I feel especially close to Elizabeth because, like me, she graduated from Syracuse University (“I Don’t Want to Wait“). And like most people, she’s faced challenges. But as I found out firsthand, as I stood alongside her beautiful family, the motto is to just keep moving, and to never let life get in the way of pursuing passions.

By the way — I thought you guys might like the motto that I wrote on my arm as motivation: