Four U.S. Army Contracting Command-Redstone Arsenal employees stationed at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, swam, biked and ran their way through sprint triathlons in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Danny Cowell, Patrick Clark, and Chris Baldwin with ACC-RSA's, Contracting Directorate in Colorado, competed in the Fort Carson triathlon while Vanessa Schweiger ran in the You Only Live Once triathlon in Aurora, Colo. A sprint triathlon consists of swimming 700 meters, biking 12.32 miles, and running 3.38 miles.
Schweiger said she enjoys the spirit of competition so when a friend talked to her about it she was all in.
"I decided to compete because my friend asked me to do it with her. I'm competitive by nature, so it was somewhat of a no-brainer for me," said the mother of 6-month-old Harvey and 4-year --old Hadley. "I did not own a bike and had not swum more than a lap or two in 20 years. Training for this race forced me to manage my time better between my family, job and household responsibilities, as well as push myself to new physical limits."
Scheiger wasn't the only one who pushed themselves.
"It's exhausting, painful, and very time-consuming," Clark said about training for a sprint triathlon. "There were many mornings when I had to sacrifice some extra sleep so I could get to the indoor pool on base by 6 a.m. to get my laps in and get to work on time. That was the toughest part for me, but at the same time that routine really started my day out great."
Baldwin said pushing his limits was both gratifying and grueling.
"I never considered a triathlon until Patrick challenged me back in March," said Baldwin. "It was an amazing experience to push myself to the limit and cross the finish line with my co-workers and family cheering me on. All those 4 a.m. wake-up calls really paid off. I can't wait for the next one."
Cowell, a contracting officer, decided to participate after Baldwin pitched him the idea.
"It sounded like fun and I liked the idea of doing something outside the office with my co-workers," Cowell said. "I usually try to run for 30-minutes over my lunch time whether I'm training for something or not. However, with the triathlon coming up I started integrating swimming and biking into my training. I was able to commute to work using my bike from time-to-time and I tried to swim prior to work at least once a week."
Anna Partee, ACC-Redstone, Policy/Contracting Officer in the Colorado shop and a tri-athlete herself, said tri-athletes are dedicated people who want to perform at the highest level possible and understand the only way to achieve this is by committing the time and giving 100 percent along the way.
"In fact, when you meet a tri-athlete, you are actually meeting a superior time manger; all the traits of a professional contracting officer/contracting specialist," Partee said. "The benefits from being so good at time management carry over to all aspects of life, including family, home life, work, etc. "
For Baldwin, Cowell and Clark, the triathlon was more about doing something together and not about who was the fastest.
"All of us were fairly close in time since overall we were only separated by about 14 minutes for an hour and half race," Clark said. "None of us were really shooting for specific times nor necessarily trying to beat anyone else. Given this was the first time for all of us we just wanted to finish."
All four set out to finish their races and all four did.
"To be honest, I don't remember my finish time as it wasn't important to me. I may decide to run another triathlon in the future where I take my times more seriously, but my goal this time around was to do my best and enjoy the time with co-workers," said Cowell.
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