1/4/2024 0 Comments Carrot weather command lineHaving stayed up most of the night prior to the race vomiting due to an unknown illness, he was slightly fatigued as he donned his protective helmet. When the starting signal sounded for the second time that day, Tallent bounded toward the ocean with her fellow female competitors, who plunged themselves into the frigid water and began to swim.Īs the females fought the pounding surf behind him, Kieffer emerged from the water at the end of the first leg, his stomach churning. As she stood on the Point Mugu beach, her competitive spirit came alive again. Tallent is now a seasoned triathlete, helping the Air Force women's team win gold medals in each of the three Armed Forces Triathlons in which she competed from 2010 to 2012. Tallent was drawn to the diverse challenges and test of mental and physical stamina triathlons provide. "Triathlons brought me back to my competitive mindset." "There was a time I only worked out to max my test," said Tallent, 710th Combat Operations Squadron flight commander. But like most avid athletes, the hiatus was only temporary. Tallent, a life-long swimmer, decided to lay down her goggles and cap and drifted away from the sport after her freshman year of college. As the athletes embraced the salt water and started to swim, Tallent and her fellow female competitors, anxious to begin their race, lined up where the males stood moments before. From then on, he had a passion for pushing himself beyond his perceived limits - which led him to the triathlon starting line that afternoon .Īs the crowd silenced, the starting signal sounded and the race began, the male participants dashed across the beach and into the Pacific Ocean as they began the first leg of the race. The moment he crossed the finish line, Kieffer knew the previous six months of intense training had not been in vain. On the day of the ironman competition, he stood next to the 2,500 other athletes and let his competitive nature take over. "At that point, I had never swum more than 100 yards, hadn't biked since I was 10 years old and had never run more than six miles at a time in my life." "I picked the one thing I thought I would never do in my life, and that was an ironman competition," said Kieffer, an Air Combat Command operations research analyst. Wanting to show his support, Kieffer pledged to lead a 6-month fundraiser in her honor, culminating with an ironman competition, the "ultratriathlon," subjecting participants to a crucible of a 2.4 mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run. Kieffer's love of triathlons started while in college when a friend's mother was fighting a battle with Lou Gehrig's disease. As they waited for their individual groups to begin, they reflected on their paths leading up to the competition. Their hearts raced and excitement grew as the culmination of their nearly 20 hour-a-week training regimens were about to be put to the test. Melissa Tallent, two Airmen from Langley Air Force Base, Va., selected to be part of the elite triathletes chosen from more than 500,000 Airmen Air Force-wide. Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, and athletes from the Canadian military forces, stood Capt. They visualized the strokes, strides and transitions about to take place in the nearly-two-hour-long triathlon.Īmong the competitors from the U.S. The male athletes, each poised to run at the start point of the Armed Forces Triathlon, June 1, at Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, Calif., mentally prepared to swim nearly a mile, bike 24.8 miles and run 6.2 miles. Behind them, 30 female triathletes spoke in hushed tones among themselves as they stretched, awaiting their turn in the water. Fifty men adjusted swim caps and snapped goggles into place, as ocean waves that struck the sand created a rhythmic roar, overpoweing the sound of their deep breathing.
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