I was a very active child growing up with a love of sports. After high school, I entered college in South Carolina and gained the “Freshman 20”. I’ll never forget walking into a store during that time and seeing a woman who was very fit and thinking “someday I’m going to have legs like that!” I needed a plan! So I cleaned up my diet and started walk/running.

In 1995 I started training for The Marine Corps Marathon. I absolutely fell in love with running; distance running in particular. That was the first of five marathons I ran over the years, including qualifying for and running The Boston Marathon in 2006. That was a dream come true!

Distance running with no cross training , however, began to take its toll, and shortly after Boston, I learned I had aggravated a case of plantar fasciitis to the point of tearing and was put in a walking boot for a couple of months. During this time people kept trying to sell me on triathlon saying the cross training would be easier on my body. I eventually gave in but said if I was going to do this I was going to go big; so I signed up for Ironman Florida 2010. I needed a bike, but the budget was thin, so I bought a $500 used bike that I lovingly named “Rosy”.

As I started training I knew right away I was going to love biking. During training rides, however, friends would tell me I could do so much better with a lighter, newer bike. I did my first four races and finished IM Florida in 13:17 on that old bike……I was absolutely hooked on triathlon! Now I needed to invest in a better bike, so I went to the best triathlon store in Charlotte, Inside Out Sports, and got my Cervélo P2.

My first race on that bike was the Try Charleston Half Ironman, where I PR’d my half IM time by 50 minutes! I came into T2 with a huge smile on my face…..I LOVED that bike!!

I’m currently training for IM Florida this November (2012) and have logged more miles on the road than I ever did for my first IM. Every week I love riding more and more and tell anyone who will listen how much I love my Cervélo!