Coach Meghan: How did you get into multisport?
Anne Marie: I actually competed in children’s triathlons when I was a kid :). But then a couple of years ago, my company was the gold sponsor for a sprint tri in the area, so they got a handful of free entries, and they asked who wanted to participate. I tossed my name into the hat, and since I am local, I was automatically included in the team. I actually really hated that race though, and I swore I’d never do another tri :). Then this year, I was really wanting to get back into true training with a goal in mind, although I thought it’d be in running. Then a friend asked if any of us were willing to do a half iron distance duathlon. I thought the reason I had disliked the last tri was trying to juggle 3 sports at once, but I figured I could handle 2. So I agreed. Then it just seemed like I was putting all of this training in, I might as well go for the milestone race, so I switched to the tri 🙂
Coach Meghan: What motivates you?
Anne Marie: I’m primarily motivated by the social networks I’ve built through running and cycling. I’ve never been one who particularly cared for getting all dressed up and going out to fancy places with my friends. I’d much rather catch up with a friend during a long run. When I don’t have a goal in mind, I tend to really slack off, and the result of that is that I don’t even see my friends often. So I really like to train hard so that I can spend more time with the people I care about.
Coach Meghan: What word or phrase described your 2016?
Anne Marie: “She believed she could, so she did.”
Coach Meghan: Love that! What was your defining moment?
Anne Marie: I’d say my defining moment was probably finishing the half ironman in a time that I was really proud of. Leading up to the race, I was mentally just not in it, so finishing well came as a pretty huge surprise. It just reminded me that I’m tougher than I believe I am.
Coach Meghan: Yes, you had an incredible debut!! Very inspiring! What do you enjoy about triathlon?
Anne Marie: I’m honestly not sure yet what I enjoy about triathlon :). I definitely really love cycling right now, but my primary social sport is still running. So I suppose I just like having an excuse to do both of those :). Someday I hope I enjoy swimming again.
Coach Meghan: You are certainly a natural fish in the water! What surprised you about your year?
Anne Marie: I think I’m most surprised that it was actually a good year for me. It just started off so horribly with my husband walking out on me, but throughout the year I had so much success professionally, and really I just became a happy person, which I hadn’t been in a long time. The training and tri was definitely a positive thing, but mostly I think it was just an example of me doing something for myself for the first time in a long time. I’d say I’m surprised by the way I have become truly content with my life.
Coach Meghan: Love how you have found contentment in the present moment! What are you looking forward to in 2017?
Anne Marie: I’m really looking forward to running a little more and hopefully building back up that social network of runners. I used to have such a solid group of runner friends, and then nearly every one of them either moved or had a baby and just can’t run at the same times anymore! So now I’m on a mission to build that back up and really turn running into something I really enjoy again 🙂
Coach Meghan: Thanks for your time, Ann Marie! We would love to get you connected to other athletes in the community to make 2017 a year to remember!