The Initiation

Overheard in the other room: 
"I could ask Jamie to do it....yeah she'd be into that... I'll ask her."
Boss steps out of her office:
"Hey, Jamie, would you want to do the triathlon and blog about it? We'll pay for the training."
"Um....sure?"

And so here we are. As a new VISTA member to the Housing Assistance Corps team, and as someone who chickened out of running an already-registered-for half-marathon, I, Jamie Martina, am about to train for my first triathlon.

The set-up: The Housing Assistance Corporation (HAC) is working in conjunction with Pardee Hospital to organize a triathlon to benefit HAC and Mainstay, a women's shelter in Hendersonville, NC. Tanya Blackford, the executive director of Mainstay, suggested to my boss, Noelle McKay, that there needed to be some social media updates to increase anticipation of the event. And what better way to connect the event to its organizers than by having one of the organizers DO the event...Right??

Exit point after the swimming portion...Seems like a nice place to die.

The event: On Sptember 8th, at Camp Green Cove in Tuxedo, NC, 300 triathletes will preparing themselves for the Triathlon 

• 800 metre swim
• 6 mi mountain-biking
• 10K run 

or the Triathlon Lite 

• 400 metre swim
• 5K mountain-biking
• 5K run

I chose to train for the Triathlon - 6 weeks to train for a race I have never in my life tried to accomplish.  We've even convinced the always-elegant, Noelle McKay, to train too! It's going to be a party.

So please join us in the strain and triumphs of training for a race that, for most, will always be just a spectator's sport. We will be keeping up with this blog as well as our organization's twitter feed to mark progress in the realm of swimming, mountain biking, and "chugging" (think Josie Geller during gym class in the movie, Never Been Kissed).  We welcome any and all words of advice and encouragement from those of you who are seasoned athletic superstars who have been here before. 

Yesterday was the start of my training, doing a medium run. I ran 4 miles around Jackson Park with a backpack bouncing up and down on my shoulders. This was what it looked like after the experience: 

The look is half,
"Oh geez, what am I doing..."
half, "Bring it."

This is what I wish to look like when I come through the finish line on September 8th. Hope to see you all there, finishing along side of me. We're gonna have a good time. :-)

~Jamie