THANK YOU AUSTIN – DANA’S STORY

My story, well really, a great one in my book.  One I have worked really hard for.

It starts many, many years ago, but for tri purposes, this life started in 2007 and wow, I am so happy it did.  Back in 2007, our family relocated from the west coast of Florida to Austin, TX.  My trihubby, David, arrived in Austin nine months before the kids and I, so they could finish out the school year in Florida.  Speaking of nine months, I digress a bit, but it’s a story worth telling.  Let me take you back 18 years to when I was pregnant with our twins.  David was MY supporter and didn’t want me to do it alone, so he put on pound for pound with me.  I lost all 31 pounds, but 10 years later, he still had not (sorry hon) – bringing us to 2007.  If you know anything about Austin, you know it is a fit city and there is a race or triathlon every weekend.  So, after our three ice days passed, he decided the 10 years of baby weight was going to finally come off and thus, the word, triathlon, was discovered.

David had no athletic background at all, I mean NOTHING!!  So, he literally was starting from scratch and far behind most other triathletes his age.  He first went to a pool to swim, then fixed up his old road bike, and bought a not-so -fancy nor attractive one piece blue tri suit (my how times have changed).  And, early one Sunday morning, I woke the twins up and headed to downtown Austin where our love-hate relationship with 4:30AM began.

We have morphed into a very active family.  Our son is a competitive gymnast and trains 3 1/2-4 hours a day, 6 days a week.  Our daughter is a dancer and is at the studio 4-5 hours a day, 5-6 days a week.  And me, I’m up at 5:15AM, 3-4 days a week to join my running group.  Not to mention, we have our 3 four-legged children who range from 17 pounds to 170 pounds and who must play ball, frisbee, and be walked each day.

And last, but not least, there is my trihubby.

David started with a little, local race and training a few times a week.  For his birthday in 2008, I bought him a weekend in Dallas at a swimming program.  Shortly after that, came a coach and his first tribike. That was it!  The weight was off and so was he, literally!!  Two workouts a day, 1-4 hours each, plus long runs and rides on the weekends.  Yet for us, it was no big deal.  See, what I failed to mention is that David was used to commuting to work by this point; boarding a plane late Sunday and returning Thursday or Friday.  So, weekday workouts didn’t get in the way of family time and the family was accustomed to this schedule.

Anyway, fast forward to 2012, when that one race progressed to 3 full Ironmans, including a second trip to Kona, 3 half Ironmans, and a few local races and marathons sprinkled in for good measure.  But, enough about our tri life – you will hear about that for a long time to come.

So, back to me.

• I am, first and foremost, my own best friend.  I make sure each year that I have time to travel by myself (Greece for example) to take care of me.  This was not always easy, but I have learned that if I do not put myself first, I cannot do for anyone else.  It is said, “if I am not for myself, then who am I for” and I incorporate that into my life.  I make sure that what we do as a family works for us as a whole.  We support each other in every way.
• I am second, a mother, and if I don’t say so myself, our kids have turned out pretty darn great.  People ask how our kids are so cool and wonderful and I can truly say, we don’t have a clue, but something all came together just right.
  

  Happy to be part of a triathlon family…..

• I am an avid cook.  Realfood, that is local and organic as much as possible!  I try to maintain my information under the name momsgoodeats.
• I am a wife of a corporate executive with an A-type personality, who has found his place in the world of triathlons.
• I am a volunteer.  My main areas of focus right now are Preforming Arts, World Bike Relief, Project Graduation, and whatever my kids are interested in.
• I am a runner.  I run the Jeff Galloway method and love my 6AM running group!
• I am a triwife and love, love, love it!

Stay tuned to learn more.

– DANA