Katz triumphs in triathlon

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Nearly 600 people took part in this year’s Napier Realtors Richmond Sprint Triathlon Sunday, Oct. 12. The sunny morning and cooler temperatures made it a perfect day to race. Among those familiar local faces hitting the trails was Elaine Katz. Though she felt some nerves before the race, Katz said her training had paid off and she was ready. The 25 year old spent 14 weeks in serious training, a year in preparation and lost 160 pounds in the process.

“It’s been challenging and it’s been rewarding,” Katz said. “It’s one of those things I never thought I would do but it’s one of those things I never thought I could do, so the fact that I can do it is an accomplishment in itself … I’m going for completion. It’s for me, myself and I, that’s it.”

Katz said she began the process of training about a year ago. The idea of a triathlon had always seemed daunting until she found the Richmond Sprint Triathlon in an online search. A sprint triathlon consists of a 400-meter pool swim, a 20K bike ride and a 5K run, all distances that seemed attainable. It was the thought of completing a triathlon that got Katz motivated.

“I said ‘alright, I can’t do it when I’m still this heavy.’ I had lost weight at that point but [I] knew that I needed to lose more because my body [couldn’t] handle running with that much weight on it,” Katz said.

So it was with the triathlon in mind that she continued working on weight loss goals. Then about four months ago she happened to be meeting with some friends for a weekly Bible study and one of them, Amanda Southall, just happened to have done the sprint triathlon and was up for starting a training group.

“I asked her about it and I said ‘I definitely want to do it, but I don’t think I’ll ever be ready,’” Katz recalled. “She said, ‘I’ll train you.’ I said, ‘If you train me, I’m in!’ Then a few of our other friends joined so there was a bunch of us.”

Katz said she thought running would be her biggest obstacle but says she found that zumba classes and training on the elliptical at the gym worked with a lot of the same muscles and made the running portion easier than she had imagined. She swam a lot as a kid and had always enjoyed biking but it was actually the biking that proved the biggest challenge.

“Whoever said ‘It’s like getting back on a bike’ lied because it’s not that easy,” Katz joked. “I hadn’t been on a bike in about 12 years, so for the first time I got on a bike, it was comical … It’s probably my weakest part.”

Katz said while her group helped her with the training for the 5K, she did most of the swimming and biking training on her own. She practiced transitions in the days leading up to the race as well, saying she was especially preparing for the switch from biking to running which can be especially tricky.

She says she reached a plateau in weight loss when she first started training but lost 20 pounds in the last four to six weeks. Mostly, Katz said, she lost a lot of inches, plus she reached her goal of finishing the triathlon.

Katz says she and her group will continue running on their regular schedule. In fact she is now training for the Ntelos 8K as part of the Richmond Marathon on Nov. 15 and that she’d like to do the triathlon again next year. Still, Katz says she doesn’t think she’s done anything much out of the ordinary.

“To me it’s not a big deal because I break it down into manageable parts because if you look at training, if you look at weight loss, if you look at whatever as a whole, you’re going to freak yourself out and say, ‘There’s no way I can get there.’ If you break it down into manageable parts, you can do it.” Katz said adding that a strong support system is a definite plus. “Without the support of my friends and family, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t have lost the weight and I would not be ready for this triathlon.

“Anyone can do it,” she continued. “I don’t feel like I’m doing anything that’s miraculous or that sets me apart from anyone. Anyone can lose weight, anyone can train for a triathlon. You just have to put your mind to it.”