by Traci K.

Coach Joe regularly talks about the world famous ET Cheer Crew and #ETsn80, but I never really knew what that meant until this season. First a bit of background — I’m new to triathlon. My tri journey began just last year (2015) when I completed Esprit de She – my job had connected me with a number of triathletes who inspired me and then in April my friend Elizabeth asked me to sign up for Esprit de She in June and I said yes. I was never a swimmer, so step one was re-learning how to swim and I mixed in some bike and running on my own. I completed Esprit de She on June 12, 2015 and was hooked. I decided I wanted to do a half Ironman in 2016, but I knew I wouldn’t get there on my own, so I connected with Coach Joe and Experience Triathlon. Coach Joe was able to take me on as one of his athletes and I will forever be thankful for it. Over the last year, I have trained following Coach Joe’s plan for the most part, but life has a thrown a few curveballs (as it does for everyone) and some things got thrown off.

I was scheduled to complete my first Olympic distance tri in June with the ET crew at Pleasant Prairie. That got changed to a duathlon due to weather and was a good example of how to just roll with it—at least we still got to race. The first 2 miles went great, but I struggled a bit on the bike and about two miles in on the run, I was wrecked. Then my guardian angel and fellow ET member Kate W. showed up. I was having severe stomach cramps, felt nauseated and dizzy and just wasn’t doing well. Kate decided to stick with me for the remaining four miles and was selfless with her camaraderie and team spirit. And despite the fact that it wasn’t the race I wanted, I gained a friend and still had the ET crew cheering for me at the end.

Fast forward three weeks later to Ironman 70.3 Racine, which ended up being Ironman 44.1 Racine due to the swim getting cancelled and a shortened bike. None of that mattered though because the night before, pre-race and during the race, I had my fellow ET athletes and support crew by my side. Because of them it was easy to roll with the changes and stay motivated to finish. We helped keep each other pumped on the course and the world famous ET Cheer Crew kept all of us going from the sideline.

Loving this journey with the amazing group. Thank you Team ET!!!!!