Why I tri.

Among my triathlete friends there is no great question about why I was out in the snow on Sat. running. Because that is what I do. It is the me, of, well, me. I can hardly remember the Kati before she decided to run her first 5k. I am so much happier and healthier. Ok, well not always healthier, but in the bigger picture I am healthier!

I love to race. It cures the nagging and maybe a little overactive competative bug that lives inside me. I also love the hoopla. Even at the small local races when you come out of the water there are spectators there cheering you on, looking at you like you are a rockstar! Don't even get me started on the bigger races where thousands line the finish chute yelling and cheering you on. It is amazing.

Racing only lasts a few months out of the year and while I love it, racing is not the 'thing' that keeps me going from year to year. It's the community. I love being part of the crazy, shaved legs, way too much gear and gizmos triathlon communtiy. When I am on the interstate and pass a car with a tri sticker I always have to honk and wave. They might think I'm crazy, but I don't care - they are my peeps!

In Roanoke we had a loose knit tri club that gave me the one on one, local community feeling. The YMCA was also a great place to feel a part of that community. I loved seeing my training folks as I roamed the halls. There was rarely a swim workout that passed without seeing someone I had trained. I miss that.

I love living in H'burg. I love almost everything about it. Except I miss my tri community. I don't think I have the energy to put into starting a tri training group here at this point. I am starting to work on growing my business and that is a start, but here when I swim it's just me, swimming. When I am out running, I'm just out running. I am coaching the JMU tri club and I absoulutly love that. It is one of the highlights of living here to me, but alas, JMU is somewhat of it's own town so I don't get to see my JMU tri kids much. Now they are all engrossed in finals and shut up in the libraies, no one available to go play on the back country roads on their bikes with me.

All of this is what excites me so much about being a part of TEAM TRAKKERS. We had a confrence call yesterday to learn more about the TRAKKERS product and the REV3 race series. I once again felt a part of a community. My communtiy is a bit more spread out now, we have team members as far as Hawaii! But through blogs, twitter and the Team First Endurance page we can get connected.

I still hope to connect more with the local tri community. I look forward to finding some swim friends and even bringing some new triathletes from H'burg into the sport. For now I will rely on my old Roanoke folks and my online Team Trakkers folks to keep me headed out the door during the cold snowy winter months!!