"I don’t have many regrets in life, but if I had to pick one, it would be that I didn’t discover the sport of triathlon until pretty late in life! I have been a life-long swimmer and when I retired from elite level swimming, took to running as a means to support my eating habits!! In 1997, following graduate school, I had 3 months off before starting work. I had no money, no desire to travel and figured I’d pass the time by trying an Ironman. I raced the Vineman in 1997 and loved it, but a demanding Wall Street job ended my triathlon career before it really began.

Fast forward to 2002, I decided to give triathlon one more shot and raced Ironman Florida. In a totally unexpected turn of events, I finished as the top amateur and qualified for Hawaii. Gulp!?! In well over my head, I had the good fortune of being introduced to Karen Smyers. In turn, Karen agreed to take me on and coach me and then introduced me to CompuTrainer!

Living in Boston where the winters aren’t what one would even dare call balmy; working full time as a busy Wall Street trader, the CompuTrainer proved an invaluable tool. Under Karen’s coaching guidance, I started to incorporate CompuTrainer sessions to my training 3 to 4 times a week in the winter time, and even in the summer when the weather is ride-friendly, I will still ride the CompuTrainer at least once a week. Karen introduced me to:

1. low cadence workouts in the ergometer mode to build strength and power
2. high cadence and spin scan workouts to help build efficiency and proper technique, and
3. my most dreaded, lactate threshold workouts in either program 3 where I use gears and cadence to affect heart rate, or on a course such as long hill repeats against a pacer where I am working at threshold to build tolerance at that effort level.

Training with a CompuTrainer enables me to get a great, focused workout in a time effective manner; perfect for a busy, working athlete.

After just 2 years as an amateur, I’d developed the skill and ability to race with the pros and decided to give it a go full time! Certainly now I have more time and flexibility to train, but the CompuTrainer is still a critical part of my training arsenal.

Turning pro, many asked, "So are you going to move someplace where you can train full time?" The answer is no. My life is here in Boston. My husband is here, and more importantly, his job is here! Our home is here and we had no intention of changing that. CompuTrainer makes it possible to be a professional triathlete and live in a climate where for a good 3 months of the year, the roads are not really ride-able. The versatility of training with a CompuTrainer throughout the winter makes me race-ready even in the early spring. I am able to pre-ride many race courses in the comfort of my living room with my husband and dog to keep me company! Group rides with the multi-rider software are great too. The only ride where I don’t get dropped!