I grew up in a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with two wonderful parents and an older sister. I always wanted to do what my sister did so when she joined the track and cross country teams at Greensburg Salem High School I followed closely behind. I soon found that I loved to run. I was lucky enough to have wonderful coaches at GSHS who fostered that love.

 

After high school I moved onto Penn State University where I continued my track and cross country career. While I was plagued by injuries at PSU, I still had a wonderful experience competing in the Big Ten and at the Division I level. 

 

Also at PSU I met my husband-to-be, Oscar, who was from my same home town. Although we only grew up 10 minutes from each other we didn't meet until we came to Happy Valley! I graduated with a BS in Nutrition from Penn State in May of 2001 and then continued on for one more year to complete my Dietetic Internship while Oscar finished his MS in Industrial Engineering.

 

Oscar and I were married on June 22, 2002 and moved to Virginia for a short 6 months before coming back to the Pittsburgh area in January of 2003. Once home I started working as a registered dietitian at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian Hospital where I still work. Oscar hadn't had enough of school yet though so he went back for more to get his teaching degree. He is now a math teacher at Mount Lebanon High School. 

 

After my college running days were over I continued to run, some times more seriously than others!  I completed two marathons and several shorter distances races before injuries started to slow me down again. Frustrated from a 6 month battle with plantar fascitis, one of my co-workers suggested that I try a triathlon. What a great idea!

 

I swam and took spinning classes (I didn't have a bike!) all fall/winter of 2005/2006 and then finally started to try running again in January of 2006. I bought my first triathlon bike in March of 2006 and as they say, the rest is history! I completed my first sprint triathlon in June of 2006 in Charleston, SC and fell in love. I thoroughly enjoyed the variety of training the triathlon brought as well as how healthy it kept me.  And I've never stopped loving the sport since.  I've been lucky to travel all of the country the past two years competing against some of the best amateurs in the sport!  I have many more goals to achieve and I can't wait to see where triathlon takes me next.