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| Pre-Race 2011 Nautica SoBe |
Samara
I am a mom and lover of balanced, healthy, and fit living. I have always been an athlete; I swam competitively from age 5-22. When I graduated from West Point and entered the Army, I managed to stay athletic, but I also managed to gain 20 pounds. I competed in triathlons during this time, but I still kept on that weight...partly due to the fact that I loved to cook and eat. It wasn't until I left the Army, that I began my transformation. My good friend and I decided to trade services; I would cook her healthy meals and she would train me along with one of her clients and our friends. Adding weight lifting into my regimen (with the toughest trainer) reshaped my body; I added muscle and shed pounds. It wasn't a fast transformation, but over time, my clothes fit better and eventually didn't fit at all. I loved the results and learned to love working out to see those results.
During this time, I also relearned how to eat. I grew up with a mother who embraced natural and healthy foods long before they were the 'in thing'. I was the kid who brought chocolate chip bran muffins to school on my birthday - yep, that cool! Then, looking back at my time at West Point, I'd learned to eat as much as I could of whenever I could, because you'd never know when your next meal would be. Well, I finally had to relearn that I didn't have to stuff myself at every meal; I also needed to be selective with what I ate and so I stopped wasting my calories on food that I didn't really like - some might tell you (my husband namely) that I've now become a food snob! :) I'm okay with that!
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| Running view along the coast of Lima, Peru |
Since then, I've also become involved in the fitness industry. I've become a certified Personal Trainer, as well as group fitness instructor, to now share my experience with others. And I love the feeling of finishing a class, where we're all sweating and exhausted, but so proud of our accomplishment!
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| Post Race: 2010 IM FL 70.3 |
Today, I live with my husband, Matt, our beautiful blessing of a daughter, our dog and our two cats in Texas and I train, teach and compete. Here are some of the races I've in which I've competed:
Triathlons:
Ironman
Ironman Florida, Nov 2009, 13:01.40
Ironman 70.3
Ironman Miami 70.3, Oct 2010, 6:07.01
Ironman Florida 70.3, May 2010, 6:02.05 PR
Longhorn Ironman 70.3, Oct 2008, 6:26.55
Prairieman Half-Iron, Sep 2006, 6:06.33
Olympic
Nautica South Beach, Apr 2011 (Classic Distance), 2:03.28
Nautica South Beach, Apr 2010, 2:34.47 PR
Austin Triathlon, Sep 2008, 2:51. 18
Austin Triathlon, Sep 2007, 2:57.26
Sprint
Capital of Texas Tri, May 2006, 1:24.53
Running:
Marathon
Miami ING, Jan 2010, 4:29.34
10K
Holiday Run, Dec, 2010, 50.59 PR
Miami Turkey Trot, Nov 2010, 58.11
Holiday Run, Dec 2009, 55.37
Capital 10k, March 2006, 1:05.46
5K
Rocket Run, Feb 2012
SoBeFit, Feb 2010, 24.00 PR
Tropical 5k, Jan 2010, 25.49
Swim
Nike Swim Miami Mile, Apr 2010, 28:30
