My first attempt at blogging

Oh where to begin...I guess I will tell you an introduction to myself considering I have never blogged before and nothing interesting has happened so far today. My name is Katie Hursey, from Maryland but just graduated from Syracuse University in May 2012 and have remained in upstate New York. Up until about a week ago (when it started getting cold) I had decided I never wanted to leave Syracuse. However, now that the gorgeous autumn has passed and many of  the trees are bare and it's chilly I am reconsidering that declaration.

While at Syracuse University I ran cross country and track and majored in physical education. As I will tell anyone coming to Syracuse was the best decision of my life. I love the school, program and fell in love with the Finger Lakes area! Surprisingly Syracuse has some wonderful places to ride, and you can get quite the variety of rides too! But altogether, I love the people I have met while in Syracuse. My coaches are more than just my coaches they are like family that I know I can count on for any troubles. My coach's wife even came with me when I had to get stitches, and she almost passed out. That kind of support is what I am talking about. The friends and teammates that I have had while at Syracuse are also just as irreplaceable. There is just such a wonderful, supportive community that does make it hard to leave Syracuse even when it does get a bit cloudy and yes sometimes snowy. 

Anyways, I guess I will try to stay on track with this blog considering it is primarily a blog about triathloning and my journey as a triathlete. I started training for triathlons in June after participating in NCAA track and field nationals. Unfortunately my college running career didn't end quite as I had hoped but I was happy to have made it to nationals by the skin of my tail. Right after track ended I began training for triathlons. I hopped on the bike and re-introduced myself to the water. I also finally had a coach, Steve Wright, provided  to me by the USA triathlon recruitment program. In July USAT invited me out to their Collegiate recruitment camp in Colorado Springs. It was an amazing learning experience especially for someone who was as naive and inexperienced as myself. What I was taught in those 10 days by the specialists, the other athletes and the coaches was life changing! It was amazing to meet so many awesome people and it really helped prepare me for the rest of my season.

In my first season I competed in 7 triathlons and 2 road races:

6/24       Cohasset Tri   3^rd overall female

7/29       Delta Lake Tri     1^st overall female

8/4         Fronhofer Tool Tri   1^st overall female

8/18       Age Group Nationals   3^rd overall female, 1^st in 20-24 age group

8/26       Chicago Lifetime Fitness Tri   1^st amateur elite female

9/8         Pumpkinman Tri  1^st overall female

9/23       Fabius Bread for Schools 5k 1^st overall female, 17:26

10/7       Dallas Toyota U.S. Open Lifetime Fitness Tri   2^nd amateur elite female

10/13     Baltimore Half Marathon  1^st overall female, 1:18.30

I was very happy with how my first season went, but I am not content and can't wait to continue to improve. I especially am looking forward to improve on the bike. My weakest leg by miles! ...But really I think when people pass me they put miles on me. Next March I will begin my career as a professional triathlete and in order to accomplish my goals that bike is going to have to get quite a bit faster. Which I know it can. 

So if you made it this far in reading, I believe this is my close out because I am about to go run on the canal  and enjoy the blue skies, even with a bit of a chill!