I’ve raced 3 full Ironmans, several 70.3s, run ultra marathons through 100 miles in distance and have a pacemaker. Now I’m preparing for my first bodybuilding competition - 45F AMA.

I started training for endurance events at 29 years old. It actually started with obstacle course races initially since I had friends doing them. So I started running several times a week. By 30, I realized that since I had been cycling and swimming my entire life, I should try my hand at a sprint triathlon.

I did horribly at my first Tri. That’s when I sought out a coach. One day in early May when I was 31, I went out to Walden Pond in Concord, MA on an open water swim Meet Up. I had rented a wetsuit and didn’t know what I was in for. I stuck my head into the water and it was like one thousand cold needles sticking into my face. I made it about a quarter of a mile before deciding to turn around. I realized my mistake that early May in Massachusetts was not the best time to start open water swim practice. The guy who lead the Meet Up was an Ironman coach. Shortly after that, I began training with him for my first Ironman 70.3. It was through his endurance team that I met my husband who had raced Ironman Texas in 2012. So in 2013, I raced Timberman 70.3 and by 2014 I raced Ironman Lake Placid. For the next several years, my now husband and I trained and raced Ironmans.

I had other endurance athlete friends that were into running Ultra Marathons. At this point, I had already run multiple road marathons including Boston and New York. My husband and I also had taken up backpacking, so I knew trails were more to my liking. In 2017, I trained and raced my first 50K trail race in Maine. The following year, I ran a 55 mile race that ran from Manchester, NH to Mount Monadnock and went up and over the mountain. I also ran my first 100K race at the Vermont 100 and then in October, I ran my first 100 miler, Javelina Jundred in Fountain Hills, AZ.

A year later (and several ultra marathons and one more Ironman later) we found ourselves living in Colorado. Ironman Mont Tremblant would be my last triathlon. I was hooked on training and racing ultra marathons. As an aside note - I have switched coaches multiple times.

In 2021 for my fortieth birthday, I put together my own birthday ultra and ran 40 miles with friends. It was 8 mile loops with time in between loops to enjoy food and chill before going back out again. So people didn’t have to run the entire thing. It was a fun day and around 17-18 people showed up to run or walk with 4 of us running 40 miles.

In March of 2022, I got covid. I have a weakened immune system, and wound up with long covid. After that, my running slowed down. I found myself getting lightheaded and even passed out briefly a couple of times. It took over a year of poking and prodding to be diagnosed with sinus bradycardia and chronotropic incompetence. This meant my heart beat too slowly and it never got up high enough while doing activity, causing me to not get enough oxygen to my brain, etc.

In June of 2023, after dealing with physical issues and a major depressive episode that lasted over a year (since I couldn’t run and running was my antidepressant), I got a pacemaker. Since then, I’ve run a couple of 50Ks and a few road races, and have been out backpacking plenty, but running wasn’t the same outlet it was before having COVID.

I had to re-find myself again. I went back to horseback riding (which I did for years from the time I was a kid through my twenties) and got a personal trainer at my gym to initially help me get back into shape. I wasn’t fat, but heavier than I had been when I was constantly training, running, and being active. I trained with him for 3 years before being recommended a IFBB bikini pro coach for the nutrition aspect. That’s when my crazy brain went, CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!!! And I decided to become one of her athletes and train for my first NPC Fit Model competition. I’ve been training with her completely since January and have gone down in body fat and up in muscle a lot. I’m sitting at 17% body fat currently and in a good spot to compete for my first show come this October.

This is only a fraction of my story, but go ahead and AMA!!!