Krista interviews April camper Christy Wyskiel

christy Krista recently interviewed business owner and mom Christy Wyskiel about her motivations for attending the second She Does Tri Camp coming up in Baltimore.

Here's what Christy had to say:

What gave you the desire to do a triathlon and sign up for the She Does Tri camp?

I decided to run my first triathlon for two reasons:

As motivation to get to the gym and have a goal in sight when I jumped on the treadmill and
To raise money for my favorite cause: Southwest Baltimore Charter School. I succeeded in raising over $15,000 for the cause, and I met you in the process!

Please note that I was not an athlete growing up - it was a big stretch for me to even enter a race.

I signed up for camp as another motivational tool and to get ready for the Columbia Tri in May. I feel like there is a lot that I don't know about training and preparation and I thought the camp would be a fun way to workout and learn at the same time. The techniques I have picked up in training with a real coach for both running and swimming have made a huge difference in my speed/ability. So I am looking for more pointers to continue to improve. I am also a bit intimidated by Columbia, as everything I have heard points to it as a fairly intense race, as opposed to the more laid back Osprey Tri I did last October.

What things have you accomplished through triathlon training?

I have lost weight and body fat, improved my running form, improved my swimming form, fit better in my clothes, feel like I am part of a community that trains and races together, and generally enjoyed weekly sessions (with my coach) that I want/need to prepare for, so during the week I am focused to try to continue to improve my endurance/strength. It made me realize how much I love different types of cardio, and my body feels better when I mix things up.

What are some of your goals for this year with triathlon, fitness, etc.?

Let's see, I would love to fit in Size 28 Seven jeans... but really I just want to be fit, healthy, lose another 15 pounds, run faster, be stronger, finish Columbia by running the entire 10k - in under 4 hours.

How does the training make you feel and what are some of the benefits to working toward a goal?

I feel great when I train. I love the intensity of the sprints during interval training. I try to focus on my heart rate and stay at a high intensity level during the sprints/intervals. Without having the triathlon looming, I don't think I would be training with the same intensity. I would probably just go to spin class a couple of times per week and maybe run on a nice sunny day. And bike with my kids at the beach. But knowing that I have a 10k to run AFTER a long swim and bike, I have ramped up my routine and been very consistent about working out. There was a week a few weeks ago during the blizzard where I couldn't get to the gym and my whole routine was off. I really felt sluggish after only a few days off, and I never want to feel that way again.

How has your nutrition changed or how would you like it to change?

Having to log my food was very challenging for me. I have a sweet tooth, and I always laughed to myself when I logged in Hershey kisses knowing my coach would see them. But I was very honest about my intake, and the feedback was very specific and helpful: cut way down in sugar. I had never paid attention to grams of sugar on nutrition labels before. I always looked at total calories. But now I can really focus on eating more whole grains, vegetables, and (non-animal) proteins. And ax the afternoon chocolate!

What does your normal weekly workout schedule look like and how important is each different activity you are doing (swim, bike, run and lift)?

My schedule includes two runs, two swims, and two bikes plus strength training/stretching. All are fairly high intensity. The swim is with a Masters swim class for 90 minutes 2x week. I love my spin class, and we ride 50-60 minutes 2x week. Thanks to my wonderful running coach, I am now running approx 3 miles 2x week at a 10 minute pace (give or take a little). Before I was solidly at a 12 minute pace and often had to walk. 3 miles seemed long. Now it seems easy and I am ramping up my running to 45-50 minutes now. All of those activities include interval training - we sprint in all three. It's real work for me - I am not a born athlete - but I love it. The key for me is getting up first thing in the morning - usually 5am - and getting it out of the way. I am not good about getting to the gym other times during the day and I know myself enough to know that it just won't happen. As the mother of two young kids and an entrepreneur who just founded my own business, I don't have a lot of free time. But I have made exercise my priority, and I feel so much better now that it's an immovable part of my routine.

We're excited to have Christy join us and hope you can, too! - KS