I loved a line in this article I saw at the Guardian on professionalism in sports: "Olympic athletes were ostensibly amateurs until the 1988 games in Seoul..."

I feel like that's a wonderful description of myself and many others at my level. Ostensibly amateurs. We're not pros. We're not sponsored. We're not paid to perform at any level. Ostensibly, all the work is on us. We're amateurs, but we dedicate countless hours a week (well, not countless, I do keep track) to training, and even more time spent on learning about training. We are competitive, and it consumes us. Yet we try to balance competition and training with life, a family, a job, school, and if we're lucky, a social life to boot!

So this is my journey. I'm not a pro. I'm not a beginner. I'm somewhere in that vast middle... amongst thousands of others striving to achieve our personal bests both in sport and in life. I have a husband and two cats. I am in graduate school at Oklahoma State, soon to continue on to another Master's degree in a completely unrelated field. I have been a cyclist for years, and a runner even longer, and a multisport athlete even less. I came from a background of absolutely zero athletics. My parents were not athletic - they were nerdy, and so was I (still am!). I was overweight and didn't care my entire life until college, when suddenly my father became very, very ill and I found myself caring very much.

I was always competitive academically, so applying that same drive to my health was a no-brainer. I first found endurance running, then found that I was better suited to the bike than the run. Eventually, my teammate and mentor led me back to running and I began competing in duathlon alongside her. My experience in both sports culminated into something bigger and better than I expected. And now I am on the road to my first national competition in duathlon, this June in St. Paul, Minnesota. And I've decided to start documenting that journey, here.

I always loved reading other sports blogs. Those from pro-ranked athletes I admired, or friends I had made along the way who aspired to become something more. I pored through their accounts, seeking a morsel of the thing that helped make them something great. Scouring for some tip about training, hydration, mental focus that I hadn't thought of yet. Hoping to become inspired for my next intense training session. I hope within these pages you may find something of your own of value. If you do, let me know. I'd love to hear it.

It's been a blast, and I hope you'll enjoy coming along on my journey with me.