Who Me? An Athlete?

Post by Randi Strunk

I’ve always been interested in sports, maybe even borderline obsessive over my favorite team, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, but I never considered myself an athlete. Sure I spent summers as a kid riding my bike on the 3/4 mile stretch of gravel road between our house and my grandparent’s house. My younger brother and I played whatever was in season baseball, basketball, football. However, my pursuit of athletics never got far past the front yard. I’ve been blind since birth with a little bit of residual vision so when I tried sports that were available in my small town school such as volleyball, basketball, and track I was terrible at them, so I just figured I wasn’t an athlete, no big deal some people just don’t have that sort of talent, right?

 Fast forward to 2012 when a friend of mine said she had started running and she knew a lady who taught Learn to Run workshops. She thought we should take a class together. So four of us got together and contacted Magna Health & Fitness owner Jenny Halstead. We weren’t sure how she would react to the thought of teaching four blind people how to run, or if she’d even consider the idea. There was no hesitation from her though. She said an enthusiastic "yes!", found us volunteer guide runners, and brought lengths of rope we could use as our first running tethers.

When you’re used to a world full of "watch out!", "be careful", and "you can’t", the class and Jenny’s attitude were truly a refreshing experience. Throughout the class Jenny would make comments about my running form, how it was really good, and how I should run a marathon someday. Naturally I thought she was nuts and after a lifetime of thinking I was a terrible athlete I didn’t really believe her, I thought she was probably just being nice.

Randi and Dr. Tara running the TC10 October 2014

Then about six months later I got the urge to train for a marathon. Of course, Jenny was all for the idea. I didn’t end up finishing the marathon due to injury but I did run the TC 10 mile last year. I liked training for a goal. I enjoyed the energy of race day, and the thrill of accomplishment when it was all over. For the first time I set out on a quest for an athletic goal and I achieved it. Over a couple of months training with Jenny, she mentioned how she did triathlons and she bet I would enjoy them as well. Again, I thought she was OUT OF HER MIND. It’s not like running, you’d have to have somebody to guide in the swim portion, you’d need a tandem bike, and then a guide for the run. On top of that, I still wasn’t quite sure I could ever be fit or strong enough to do a triathlon, people don’t just do those on a whim. Somewhere in the back of my mind though, there was a little spark, a tiny thought that I could even when 99% of my brain said it would never happen. Over time training with Jenny she’d make comments about how I was an athlete. Every time that happened, I felt like I’d just aced a test or won an award. Slowly I began to believe her.

It’s a humbling experience to have somebody believe in you enough and with such conviction that you start to believe in yourself. I think great teachers, mentors, and great coaches can inspire that in an individual and I’ve felt that in my time training with everyone at Magna. On a random evening in February I texted Jenny “So when are we going to start training for a triathlon” I also included a winking smiley face so maybe she’d think I was kidding because I was enthusiastic and terrified at the prospect. Naturally, she didn’t think I was joking and responded with a resounding “Hell yeah!” and here we are training for a triathlon. We’re not going for the short sprint distance either, it’s Olympic or bust. I felt good about the running part, and figured if picking up on something you haven’t done in a while is “like riding a bike” I could pick that up again pretty quickly. The swimming part however, was going to be my biggest challenge.

I could save myself should I be thrown in water, but beyond that I had no technique to speak of and breathing properly was something I’d never done...