Brief Biography
Grew up in Orange County before it was the OC. I did play on the beach and swim in the ocean and I did see gang fights and drive-bys. At 10, I started playing softball. Then played every season of the year and I fell in love with pitching and catching. At 12 I started playing volleyball. My first games were played on asphalt in the Southern California heat. At 14 my parents divorced. I moved, with my mom, to the small town of Corvallis, Oregon. Complete culture change and completely at home. I missed the beach, sun, and mostly my dad, but I was finally in a place that felt like home. I kept playing softball and volleyball, tried basketball but it didn't take. Fall and winter were dedicated to hours of volleyball which easily became my favorite sport. In the spring I tolerated hours of high school softball then reveled in hours of tournament softball during the summer.
Then I chose a college (Western Washington University in Bellingham), applied, and tried out for the softball team. Made it, as a pitcher. Loved college but struggled with softball. Freshmen year I played in 2 games? Practiced for hours over the summer and came back in the fall as a starter. Our small team of unlikely champions played with heart. We played the best of any other team. As the last seeded team in the national tournament, we won. We beat teams with Chinese Olympians and Canadian Olympians. In the end, we beat our local rivals for the 1998 NAIA Softball Championship. Then, my back just refused to play as did my heart. My passion faded as did my body. I quit. Finished college with a few rough patches along the way.
Then I got a job with AmeriCorps. I worked at an elementary school as a reading tutor for2 years. Inspired by my AmeriCorps experience, I returned to school. In three years I earned my Masters in Teaching for secondary education and an endorsement in special education. It had been years since I regularly exercised. In my last year of graduate school a friend convinced me to sign up for a try-it-tri. I started running, slowly. I started biking, slowly. I started swimming, reluctantly. I trained and practiced and finished then signed up for a Olympic. I finished the Olympic, I dropped 15 pounds and found a new passion, cycling. I rode my bike all over Bellingham.
Then, I graduated, got a job at Woodland High School, and moved to North Clark County, WA. During my first year of teaching and hardly exercising, I was talked into playing doubles volleyball. Then I was talked into playing at the Seaside, Oregon beach volleyball tournament. I LOVED it! I played and played and played and played. Got back into shape, lost weight, and played in my first beach volleyball tournament that summer, it was 2007. 1996 was the last time I played volleyball. I forgot how much I loved it. I played indoor through the fall, winter, and spring then played beach the following summer. I've played beach volleyball every summer since then. In 2012 I dedicated the winter, spring and summer to beach volleyball. I trained for hours and played for hours and got into the best shape I've ever been in. The pay off was winning the AA women's tournament at Seaside and a few open tournaments along the way.
That fall, as my beach volleyball game progressed, my indoor game and passion faded. I needed a new challenge to stay is shape through the fall and winter. I found it at the credit union as advertisement for a local 10k. Even though I didn't really like running and it had been 5 years since my last run I signed up. Then ran 3 miles. Ouch! I was sore for a week. After a few days I went for another 3 mile run. My knees hurt. After a few days I ran 4 miles. I still had sore knees. Eventually I ran 6 miles then ran my 10k. It was long and difficult but so worth every step. I finished, recovered, and signed up for half-marathon. I was hooked. Now I run that half-marathon every year as my run-iversary. On December 14, 2014 I'll cross the finish line ending my 3rd year of running. I'm still hooked...and I love my cats!
Then I chose a college (Western Washington University in Bellingham), applied, and tried out for the softball team. Made it, as a pitcher. Loved college but struggled with softball. Freshmen year I played in 2 games? Practiced for hours over the summer and came back in the fall as a starter. Our small team of unlikely champions played with heart. We played the best of any other team. As the last seeded team in the national tournament, we won. We beat teams with Chinese Olympians and Canadian Olympians. In the end, we beat our local rivals for the 1998 NAIA Softball Championship. Then, my back just refused to play as did my heart. My passion faded as did my body. I quit. Finished college with a few rough patches along the way.
Then I got a job with AmeriCorps. I worked at an elementary school as a reading tutor for2 years. Inspired by my AmeriCorps experience, I returned to school. In three years I earned my Masters in Teaching for secondary education and an endorsement in special education. It had been years since I regularly exercised. In my last year of graduate school a friend convinced me to sign up for a try-it-tri. I started running, slowly. I started biking, slowly. I started swimming, reluctantly. I trained and practiced and finished then signed up for a Olympic. I finished the Olympic, I dropped 15 pounds and found a new passion, cycling. I rode my bike all over Bellingham.
Then, I graduated, got a job at Woodland High School, and moved to North Clark County, WA. During my first year of teaching and hardly exercising, I was talked into playing doubles volleyball. Then I was talked into playing at the Seaside, Oregon beach volleyball tournament. I LOVED it! I played and played and played and played. Got back into shape, lost weight, and played in my first beach volleyball tournament that summer, it was 2007. 1996 was the last time I played volleyball. I forgot how much I loved it. I played indoor through the fall, winter, and spring then played beach the following summer. I've played beach volleyball every summer since then. In 2012 I dedicated the winter, spring and summer to beach volleyball. I trained for hours and played for hours and got into the best shape I've ever been in. The pay off was winning the AA women's tournament at Seaside and a few open tournaments along the way.
That fall, as my beach volleyball game progressed, my indoor game and passion faded. I needed a new challenge to stay is shape through the fall and winter. I found it at the credit union as advertisement for a local 10k. Even though I didn't really like running and it had been 5 years since my last run I signed up. Then ran 3 miles. Ouch! I was sore for a week. After a few days I went for another 3 mile run. My knees hurt. After a few days I ran 4 miles. I still had sore knees. Eventually I ran 6 miles then ran my 10k. It was long and difficult but so worth every step. I finished, recovered, and signed up for half-marathon. I was hooked. Now I run that half-marathon every year as my run-iversary. On December 14, 2014 I'll cross the finish line ending my 3rd year of running. I'm still hooked...and I love my cats!