by Jill D.

Two years ago as I was driving south on Washington Street in Naperville, I saw the sign for the ET Naperville Sprint Triathlon. I started to wonder if I was capable of completing a triathlon. I looked up training plans online to see what was involved. I’d been an athlete in high school and working out has been an important part of my life. Both of my children are competitive runners and watching them compete inspired me to want to race. The issue was that I’ve had knee problems and didn’t think I’d be able to run without pain. Also, I knew how to swim but most of my time in the water was floating on a raft in a pool.

Several months went by, and I kept thinking about doing the triathlon. After talking to two of my coworkers, we decided to all do the triathlon. We signed up, and I started to train. I joined the local pool and started to do lap swimming before work. I was so sore for the first two weeks of swimming. Then I used the Couch to 5K app to start running. My knees did not like running at first. To help with the pain and to be more flexible I did yoga to help with the sore muscles. The first time I ran 30 minutes without a break, I could hardly move the next day. But I realized that with yoga and other workouts I did that my knees didn’t hurt as bad as I thought.

Swimming became easier but I knew that swimming in the pool wouldn’t be the same as at Centennial Beach. When I saw the Experience Triathlon (ET) coaching services offered open swim clinics, I signed up. The first time I did it, I thought how am I going to swim 400 yards in the race? I was out of breath just swimming around Coach Christa one time! But I continued to come to the clinics and practice in the pool.

In July of 2023, I decided to race for the first time in the Forge Gravel Triathlon. I was worried about hurting myself by doing all three parts of the race so I did the Aquabike race. I was nervous as I was waiting to start. When I jumped in the water I panicked and thought I can’t do this. I calmed myself down and decided I hadn’t worked hard for the last four months to quit after 20 yards of swimming. I finished the swim and then hopped on the bike and just rode as fast as I could. I finished in 1 hour and 8 minutes and was happy to have completed the race. This gave me the confidence boost I needed for the ET Naperville Sprint Tri two weeks later.

At Naperville, I felt strong and was pleased with my time and performance. I had completed it and did not come in last! Even after being sore and tired for several days, I knew that I would do it again. Coach Christa reached out to me, and we talked about the ET coaching program, and I signed up. We’ve been working together since November, and I have seen huge improvements in all aspects of my training.

I did the Pleasant Prairie Triathlon in June and my times for all legs of the race were faster than Naperville last year. The training program she’s created for me, allows me to challenge my body but not break it down. I am going to do the Forge Gravel Triathlon again and this time do all three legs, followed up by the ET Naperville Sprint in August.

You never know what you are capable of until you try and challenge yourself. I’m glad that I took a chance to learn a new sport and for the guidance I’ve received from Coach Christa. We are already trying to find more races for me to compete in and I can’t wait!