Hallie's Ironman Journey

Hello, my name is Hallie, from as far back as I can remember I have always enjoyed working out, swimming, and walking.  I ran/walked in your usual 5Ks here and there and a couple of half marathons.  Then in 2007, my sister and I decided to give triathlons a shot.  We signed up about 2 weeks before the YMCA sprint triathlon.  We honestly had no idea what we were doing.  I remember pulling up at Bluegrass and watching people unload their bikes and all their gear.  Jenna and I looked at each other and thought, “what have we gotten ourselves into?”  Who would have known that on that day my life would totally change?

Over the past several years I have competed in several sprint triathlons in Evansville, Owensboro, Vincennes, and Nashville.  About two years, I decided to move on to something a little more challenging.  I was told that Chicago’s Olympic triathlon was awesome, so I signed up.  That summer I competed in my first Olympic triathlon.  The race was in August so I trained all summer.  I ended up finishing the race 48 minutes faster than my original goal time.  Not only did I do the whole race, I beat my goal and was in no pain.  Because I had so much fun competing in sprint triathlons I decided to double my distance and try a Olympic triathlon; and since that went so well I decided to double my distance again, and signed up for a half ironman.  That winter the tri team got all of the area ironman competitors together to host a clinic and talk about their experiences.  It was after talking to them that I knew I could do the half ironman that I signed up for.  I trained for 7 months leading up to my half ironman in Racine, WI in July.  The morning of the race I told myself that I didn’t care what my time was I just wanted to finish, but I did have a goal time in mind.  I ended up beating my goal time by an hour.  I was so proud of myself for improving my time and running the whole half marathon.  I was in no pain during the race or after.  I never thought in a million years that I would have completed a half ironman.  After all the training and time it took to prepare I had accomplished my goal.

At the end of the August, I traveled over to Louisville to watch the full Ironman competition.  I kayaked out on the river to watch the swim, drove to La Grange, and biked the run course.  It only took 20 minutes of watching the race that I knew I would sign up for the full.  On the way home, I called my sister and told her what I was planning to do.  She surprisingly told me that not only would she support me but, that she wanted to do it with me!! So now my sister and I get to spend the next year training together and accomplishing our goal together.  It is still crazy to me that in 2007 I could barely run a mile and now I am going to be participating in one of the most demanding races out there.

Jenna's Journey to Ironman 2012

It’s crazy to think that a girl who could barely run a mile has signed up to compete in an ironman.  In high school I was that girl who hated running, and dreaded the day in gym that we had to run the mile.  I was always an active person, but I viewed running as a punishment.  On the other hand, I have been swimming ever since I could walk.  I was on the swim team in high school and truly enjoyed my time in the water.  However, I believe it wasn’t until after college when I truly started to develop as an athlete.

            Without my sister, I know I would not be where I am today.  It was our brilliant idea to sign up for a local triathlon two weeks before the race, just to see if we could do it.  So you can imagine, there was very little training or preparation that went into this race.  I didn’t even have my own bike; I had to borrow one from a friend.  My sister and I quickly went from anxious and excited to nervous and scared when we arrived.  Seeing some extreme triathletes, we thought, “What have we gotten ourselves into?”  However, the race when surprisingly well, we both finished which is what we wanted to do.  This was the beginning of it all.

Since my first triathlon, I have come a long way.  Not only did I start training, but I also lost 60lbs in the process.  I went from just finishing to the head of the pack.  I have competed in triathlons in Evansville, Vincennes, and Nashville.  This year of the three sprint triathlons I did, I finished first in my age group in one race, and took second place in my age group at the other two.  All in all, I think I had a pretty successful triathlon season.        

            Unlike my sister, I have stuck with sprint triathlons yet I have trained with her for her Olympic triathlon as well as her half ironman.  I thought she was crazy when she said she wanted to do a half-iron man, and then she proposed this idea of doing an ironman.  I knew she was out of her mind.  On the day she went to Louisville to watch her first ever ironman, she called me during the race and said she was going to do it.  But she said she couldn’t do it unless she had my support.  I immediately said, I not only support you, but I will do it with you.  WHAT? Did I just agree to do an ironman?  Before I knew it, I had signed up, paid my entry fee, and began reading on what it takes to be an ironman.  This is going to be the greatest challenge I have ever faced, and I couldn’t imagine doing it with anyone else but my sister.