in my family, we grew up swimming.  i was the least talented of the three.  my sister was a nationally ranked swimmer, my brother was a natural athlete, and, well, i always tried real hard.  the story of my life in many ways, i never seem to go about things the easy way.

each summer, my father entered us into peachtree city youth triathlon (peachtree city, ga) (years later, i would volunteer and announce for the event.).  it was my time to shine at least within my family.  triathlon (relative to swimming) was less about natural form and feel and more about work.

we moved to ohio my freshman year of high school where i graduated from bowling green hs.  my parents moved the year i graduated to vegas and the following year back to georgia.  my father was climbing the corporate ladder.  i signed with youngstown state university and my life continued in ohio as a fighting (swimming) penguin.  i realized early in my collegiate career that my main focus needed to be academics and that i had peaked within my swim career.

levels of disfunction began to grow at home, too many moves, loss of self, no extended family or solid support group, list goes on, but issues i was faced with my first summer home in gerogia.  my father took his life near the end of that summer, july 31, 2003.  it was a hard loss, and it had a dramatic impact on my choices.

i tried to go back to youngstown for my junior year, but i went to my fathers funeral and back to ohio within the same week. my sister still had a year left in high school, and emotionally, i needed to be at ‘home’.  i transferred to georgia state university, and shifted my athletic focus to triathlon, specifically, ironman hawaii.