FEATURES

"Grind While They Rest....."

Monday, 27 March 2017 23:10

By Kristina Swenson (kristinaswenson.wixsite.com)

Over spring break, I had the opportunity to travel to the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado with 8 teammates from the Iowa State Triathlon Team. We traveled with 8 members of the University of Iowa Triathlon Team as well, and we paid their coach, who is a pro triathlete who lives in the Colorado Springs area, to coach us for the week.
 
Training at the Olympic Training Center (OTC) is a pretty unreal experience. You stay in a traditional style residence hall like you would find on a college campus, eat all your meals in a dining center, and train in some of the nicest workout facilities in the country. It is literally your job to get up, train, eat, sleep, and recover so you can do it all again the next day.
 
Four years ago I had the opportunity to train in this exact place. At the time, I was 16 years old and had just joined my first triathlon team, Minnesota Junior Elite Triathletes. Even though I had been doing a kids triathlon since I was 8, I had only been doing sprint distance races for 2 years, so joining an elite level team was a huge step for me. I like to think that this is really the moment where my triathlon journey began....

 
That trip 4 years ago was incredibly difficult, but also one of the best weeks of my life. I climbed into a van with 8 strange teammates and 2 strange coaches and spent my first full week away from home. I don't remember the sets we did in the pool four years ago or how fast I ran my timed mile out there. But, I do remember the amazing sights we saw, the experience of training in a world class facility, and how tough the bike rides were. When I left that place 4 years ago, I thought I would never see it again. I left it inspired to become a better athlete, a better teammate, and a better person.
 
When I had the opportunity to go back to the place where my triathlon journey really began a few weeks ago, I was ecstatic. I knew that God had given me an opportunity to go back and prove to myself how far I'd come in 4 years. Little did I know just how much this trip would mean to me to me in the days that have followed.   READ MORE