With so many inspiring stories and great personalities, it’s time to share my athletes with you. During 2009, I will pass along the story of one of our exceptional athletes at the start of each month. What I hope you’ll find is that each athlete is exceptional in how they focus, balance and persist towards their personal multisport goals.
Let’s get started!
January’s featured athlete is Danni Kruse from North Carolina. Danni has been involved in multisport for 3 seasons. It all started when she decided to sign up for her first half marathon back in 2005 with little experience in running. She trained for the race, crossed the finish line and found herself instantly hooked. From there, she wanted to see what else her body could do and triathlon presented a whole new set of exciting challenges.
Of all three sports, Danni enjoys biking the most because she loves the feeling of going fast and feeling powerful. In her words, “There is nothing better than seeing a hill up ahead, climbing it, feeling the burn in your legs, reaching the top and realizing that you could have walked but didn't.” When you live in North Carolina, power like that in your legs is a very good thing!
When I asked Danni which was the most challenging sport, she admitted – like many athletes – that it is swimming. Danni has grown to understand that swimming is a very technical sport that takes many yards of patience and diligent focus to improve technique. So how does she keep motivated despite the challenge? In her words, “it is a very important part of multisport and if I want to be good at multisport (which I do) I have to be good at swimming.”
Well said!
2008 was Danni’s first season working with a coach. What has she enjoyed most about being coached? “I have enjoyed the friendship the most. Liz is a great coach, very knowledgeable of all things multisport. At the same time she is extremely good at helping yourself pick your own brain and finding what motivates you. She is there to "slap" you if you need it, to make you feel proud when you should and to help you cut yourself some slack when you have been too hard on yourself; which us “Type A” personalities tend to do a lot of.”
Danni achieved many of her goals in 2008. Her top goal was to finish her first half Ironman and finish the season feeling strong. Looking back on 2008, she has two highlights:
“The first one came in late September when I successfully completed my first half-Ironman. I would have never thought I'd be able to do it; after all I went from a non-athletic person to a sports "junkie" in the span of 3 years. I had so much fun that it did not feel like I was racing for as long as I was. It was challenging yet immensely rewarding.”
“The second one came in early December when I decided to "just run" the half marathon I had attempted to train for. During the month of November, I couldn’t shake off an illness. So Coach Liz and I decided I should not race the 1/2 marathon since I was not able to complete the training to get me to my goal of breaking 2 hours. After a few weeks of rest, I just showed up for the run to get in a good workout. You can imagine my surprise when at mile 11 I saw the clock and realized I was on pace to reach my goal. I did not set out to PR, I did not even put the effort during the race, I felt wonderful the entire morning; and yes, I crossed the finish line in under 2 hours and set an 18 min PR!”
Of all three sports, Danni enjoys biking the most because she loves the feeling of going fast and feeling powerful. In her words, “There is nothing better than seeing a hill up ahead, climbing it, feeling the burn in your legs, reaching the top and realizing that you could have walked but didn't.” When you live in North Carolina, power like that in your legs is a very good thing!
When I asked Danni which was the most challenging sport, she admitted – like many athletes – that it is swimming. Danni has grown to understand that swimming is a very technical sport that takes many yards of patience and diligent focus to improve technique. So how does she keep motivated despite the challenge? In her words, “it is a very important part of multisport and if I want to be good at multisport (which I do) I have to be good at swimming.”
Well said!
2008 was Danni’s first season working with a coach. What has she enjoyed most about being coached? “I have enjoyed the friendship the most. Liz is a great coach, very knowledgeable of all things multisport. At the same time she is extremely good at helping yourself pick your own brain and finding what motivates you. She is there to "slap" you if you need it, to make you feel proud when you should and to help you cut yourself some slack when you have been too hard on yourself; which us “Type A” personalities tend to do a lot of.”
Danni achieved many of her goals in 2008. Her top goal was to finish her first half Ironman and finish the season feeling strong. Looking back on 2008, she has two highlights:
“The first one came in late September when I successfully completed my first half-Ironman. I would have never thought I'd be able to do it; after all I went from a non-athletic person to a sports "junkie" in the span of 3 years. I had so much fun that it did not feel like I was racing for as long as I was. It was challenging yet immensely rewarding.”
“The second one came in early December when I decided to "just run" the half marathon I had attempted to train for. During the month of November, I couldn’t shake off an illness. So Coach Liz and I decided I should not race the 1/2 marathon since I was not able to complete the training to get me to my goal of breaking 2 hours. After a few weeks of rest, I just showed up for the run to get in a good workout. You can imagine my surprise when at mile 11 I saw the clock and realized I was on pace to reach my goal. I did not set out to PR, I did not even put the effort during the race, I felt wonderful the entire morning; and yes, I crossed the finish line in under 2 hours and set an 18 min PR!”
Like many athletes, Danni balances her multisport goals with being a mom to her adorable daughter, Megan, a wife to her supportive husband, Todd, and a full-time career. When I asked her how she balances everything while keeping time for herself she said:
“This is the hardest of all the questions. It takes some creative planning and some smart managing of your time. I get up extra early in the morning to fit in my workouts while my daughter is sleeping. My husband travels so during the weekdays I am mostly limited to riding my bike indoors and running on the treadmill at home. I use my lunch hour at work to swim at the local pool, or squeeze in an outdoor run weather and time permitting. At nights I make sure that before I go to bed I have all my clothes laid out and ready to go, as well as my lunch and snacks ready for the next day. I am not saying it is easy, but with a little practice you find the combination that works for you and yours. My training time is the only time I have for myself, my selfish time. This sport keeps me centered, focused and balanced. So I make it a priority, with being a little selfish for a couple of hours of the day, I can be a better mom and wife.”
After all of her success in 2008, Danni is already looking ahead to 2009 - the year of her first Ironman. Danni admits that she has some pretty ambitious goals for this race so she will be scaling back her racing to focus on the training. She has a few other races for the year with some other goals yet considers them building blocks to Ironman success.
As Danni’s coach, I am excited about working with Danni towards her first Ironman. One thing that I enjoy most about working with Danni is her attention to being the best she can be. In the past year, she has committed to being successful in this sport and realized that success is more than just doing the workouts. She has taken the initiative to improve her nutrition, recovery and mindset. That combined with passionate enthusiasm makes Danni one of the smartest athletes out there on race day. When you race smart, you reach your goals. When she puts her mind to something, she not only thrives on the challenge but persists until she gets it right. Driven, sharp and dedicated are three words that make me think Danni will reach her 2009 goals.
For those just entering the sport, Danni has a few words of advice:
“Have fun! This is an opportunity to discover yourself, to test your limits, to see what you are made of. Be prepared to become addicted. Once you taste the accomplishment, you will want more and you won't be able to stop. And that is just half the fun!”
Thanks, Danni! Let's get going towards 2009...
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