Faces In The Crowd
Faces in the Crowd highlights some of our fabulous athletes.
If you know someone who we should include on our site - maybe it's
you - then send us an email!
Check out our first Faces in the Crowd:
Stephanie
Doyle
Elaine
MacBeth
Linda
Pike
Margaret
Newey
Tri for the Sky Entry
Hi, my name is Michelle de Zwaan. I am 23 years old and I am from Bradford, Ontario. I am writing you to share my story. I have competed in two super sprint triathlons – Milton 2004 and 2005. I never thought I could make it through…but I did and then I chose to do it again! I heard about OWTS through my leader (a triathlete) at Weight Watchers who got caught by the triathlon bug. Her excitement and motivation helped me to complete something that I never thought I could.
In public school I was the last person picked for sports teams, I was the lowest scorer in track and field and would do ANYTHING I could to avoid anything to do with intense activity. I was a member of the Youth Bowling Council for 10 years and played softball for about 5 years. It was a delight when I got to high school and realized that I had a choice of whether to take gym class or not. I was definitely on the not end of the scale! Since I was about 15, my only form of exercise would be a walk through the park or a leisure swim in my parent’s pool. My main thought regarding activity was that I just couldn’t do it. I didn’t believe in myself and never tried to test that belief.
In the summer of 2004 I trained for the Milton SST. I competed in the race – I struggled with the swim, did ok on the bike, and the “run” was non-existent for me. I walked the run part of the race. My goal in 2005 was to strengthen my swim, improve on my bike and learn to run. Through a busy summer of getting married, moving to a new home and starting a new job, I didn’t meet my running goal although in the end, I beat my previous year time by a minute or so!
So, why am I writing? My answer has a few different levels to it.
The first and foremost is my health. My doctor has noted that I have high blood pressure – which for someone of my age, is a little scary. L This is due to a few reasons, one of which is that I have gained weight in the past year. I am hoping that my training can also help my overall health as an individual. I have a family history full of heart disease and I want to avoid this as best as I can and I know that being active can really help.
The second is just for me. I have always struggled in my life with low self-esteem and never believing in myself. By reaching my goal this year of learning to run and improving my swimming skills, I think that I will have a boosted self-esteem. I also think that by having a training partner it will help to keep me motivated on achieving my goal and giving me tips that I wouldn’t have been able to find on my own.
The third is that I am hoping to be an inspiration to other young women my age who have struggled like I did through public school, high school and into college/university. I hope that someone out there who reads my story would be inspired and motivated just like I was to complete a triathlon. The feeling of crossing the finish line is the best…I can’t describe it…its just the best!
Carol Foley
I am 51 years old. I have never entered a triathalon before. I have never
run or jogged prior to my training for this event. I have a lot of training
yet to do to prepare myself to the "sprint triathalon" (750m swim, 20km
cycle, 5km run), but I am very excited about participating in this event.
As a child and teenager I was short and "stocky". I didn't fare well on
track and field events, and was a clutz at sports such at baseball and
volleyball. My time was better spent studying and playing the piano. I
never considered myself athletic. As I grew older, however, I became aware
that I was full of boundless energy. Putting aside skill and grace, I could
endure when only energy was required. By the time I was in my forties I was
passionate about hiking, cycling and cross county skiing.
I read about the tri-athalon in the Orangeville paper. A local reporter was
to participate. I felt that this would be a great challenge for my 50th
year. I then began to train. My training ended, however, when I sprained
my ankle on a long distance hike. On the day of the event last summer, my
husband and I went out to Destiny Lake to watch the race. I was caught up
in the excitement, the energy and the thrill of the event. I really wanted
to be there in the water, there on my bike. Once again I am training. I am
still short, but I am no longer stocky.
I am working hard to regain swimming skills that haven't been used in over
12 years. I am learning to run. The bike will have to make up for my other
short falls. I will be there on July 16th with everything that I have to
offer this challenge. I will not be first, but I will run this event to the
very best of my ability.
Laurel Giasson
My name is Laurel Giasson, I am 39 years old. I am happily married and have two wonderful children, Sara (1 year) Danny (8 years). I work full time for a software company as a project manager.
Being physically fit and strong is our ‘way’ of life, also, as we are always role modeling for our children. We want to ensure they continue to follow in our footsteps of good health. Some sports I have enjoyed are; horseback riding, weight training and mountain biking.
Last year something happened after I was ‘back at the gym’ to regain my body after I had loaned it out to pregnancy for the past ten months! Looking at the 20 lbs of excess weight to lose I started back to my old faithful plan of cardio/weight training and bike riding. Everything was coming along nicely; I had my last 7 lbs to lose when I just seemed to stall….. I started feeling like I needed a goal to work towards. I thought about competing at horse shows again, but wait, I have two kids now and a shift working husband, it takes a lot of time for horse showing and money! I thought about competitive mountain biking, I love the trails and I already have a nice bike, but I remembered breaking two ribs a few years back and all the scratches and bruises along the way… Hmmm, well, when I was 14 years old I won a bronze medal in the Pony Club Triathlon, we had to run, ride, shoot and swim and I loved it! So what if its 25 years later, you are only as young as you feel!
I did not tell anyone of my secret plan, I needed to get on the internet and search, is there a Triathlon that I could do? I can’t run very well, maybe the distance is not that far. I did an internet search on ‘Women Triathlons in Ontario’, up popped the OWT website. I started reading, first the ‘All about us’ section, then I looked up the events and breathed a sigh of relief, 2.5 km run, I think I can do that. Next I looked at the race results of last year, with my calculator I picked a few girls and ‘ran some numbers’ wow, under 47 minutes for the winner…. sounds challenging.
Over the next few weeks I thought about what I had read on the website, it looked exciting and within reach. I should be fine with the biking, I will dust off my swim goggles (I swam for the last trimester of my pregnancy) and see how long it takes to swim 375m. As far as the running goes, I will start a training plan of brisk walking and build slowly from there.
I have told my husband a few close friends, such enthusiasm and support!! Most of all my son, “WOW mom, can I train with you?”. I have my ‘pit crew’ ready and am reading Tina Bramms section for training support. I plan on making the drive from Bowmanville to attend the clinics offered. I have fully committed to a goal of completing all three Triathlons and would like to place in the top 20% of my age group (30-39). I would love to be chosen as one of the Tri for the Sky participants. I would be happy to share my experiences through journal entries, training plans and pictures with other women out there who are searching for a sport that fits in with a busy life of a working mom, is financially feasible and sounds like a lot of fun!
My name is Elizabeth Bryan. I live in Alton (Caledon). I am 39 years old, married, mother of a young son and a small business owner. I work from home so that I can be all things to all people.
Well, where to begin! I remember as a young teen watching an Ironman competition from Hawaii. At the time I thought Wow! I would like to do that someday. Strange considering I never liked to participate in sports other than swimming lessons. And I hated to compete!
Fast-forward many years to after the birth of my son. I was horrified to learn that the 5-10 pounds I wanted to lose was in reality closer to 20-25. I joined a run clinic in Orangeville because I really wanted to try it. I am not a very good solitary exerciser by nature. Groups help me immensely. I enjoyed the running but was a fair weather runner. I completed my first 5 km race and was elated! The next year I trained on my own, not very hard, and tried another 5 km. I came in last. Even though I shaved 7 minutes off my time I was crestfallen and gave up for awhile.
Realizing that I needed to be healthy to play with my son I decided to think really hard about losing weight to see if that would do the trick. Finally it occurred to me that if I really wanted the weight to come off I was actually going to have to do something about it. I joined weight watchers to great success and renewed energy and improved self -confidence.
I have been swimming at Alder Street pool twice a week while my son is in swimming lessons in the small pool. My swimming friend told me about the Super Sprint Triathlon and it sounds very do-able. I am excited! I get bored with the same exercise routine over and over. The best part about triathlon is that you get to do many different types of exercise. Diversity is the key for me.
My biggest hurdle has always been self-confidence. The mental challenges may be the hardest for me. But as I approach 40 I have a greater desire to challenge myself and to live life to fullest as often as possible. I have come to realize that it is much better to participate, and possible come in last, then to sit around and never try. So here I am – planning to try a tri. My goal is to finish. My dream is to enjoy it and show my son what fun it is to push yourself and complete things you never thought possible. To be his fitness role model will make it all worthwhile!
My name is Jacqueline Shaver, I am 38 years old (39 as of triathlon season) and am married to a wonderful and supportive man. I am also the mother of three incredible children, now ages 6, 8 and 10 and work parttime in the health care field. I have been interested in the sport of triathlon for as long as I can remember. I remember sitting with my father watching television and cheering on the athletes completing the Hawaii Ironman in the 1980’s. Not too long after that my dad and I started running together weekday mornings before we started our days. Those are wonderful memories and the relationship that my dad and I had was definitely strengthened by being running partners.
In the back of my mind I have always wanted to do a triathlon. I thought that these were strong athletes who accomplished an amazing feat. However, life kind of got in the way. I went away to university, married and had three incredible children. While I continued to run for fitness, I reached a point after the birth of my first where I needed more of a challenge. So I conquered my nervousness and entered a few 5 km races. My dad was my biggest fan. I am not very fast but I can persevere and I found that I really enjoyed the quiet time that my training provided. I continued to run and after the birth of my second child worked up to completing a half marathon.
Then the unthinkable happened. In 1999 my dad passed away. Suddenly running became the way that I was able to survive the incredible loneliness that I felt with his death. My husband and I started to run together and I love the way that this time allows us to talk and spend time together accomplishing new goals. A few years after the birth of our third child and after three or four half marathons, I needed to do something big and conquer another fear. So my husband and I set a goal of completing the 2004 Disney marathon and we finished it strong. We have even managed to fit in the training to complete another and ran the San Diego marathon in June of 2005. This was incredibly satisfying and again I found that I loved and needed the quiet time that my training runs provided me.
I am at a point now though where I need to fulfill my dream of completing a triathlon. In some ways, ways that I can’t describe I am incredibly scared of entering a triathlon, even though my children entered some Kids of Steel triathlons last year, loved it and made it look incredibly easy. Last year I had toyed with the idea of entering one of the women’s series triathlons and swam, ran and hauled my old mountain bike out of storage but something stopped me. I guess I was nervous of not finishing, not knowing other women training for this, of not knowing how to train for all three sports at the same time and of not having my dad there to cheer me on. I have continued to follow the sport of triathlon the past few years and am incredibly inspired by the determination and spirit that these athletes possess. From the professionals to the challenged athletes like Sara Reinertson, these women are strong and inspiring. That is what I want to be: a strong determined woman, wife and mother setting goals and accomplishing them. I want to set the example to my children to set goals that scare you a little and work hard to accomplish them.
For all of these reasons, I would like to complete a sprint triathlon this summer. I am applying to this contest and am hoping to be able to benefit from the expertise that the Tri for the Sky team has to offer.
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