I finally decided to actually start blogging!! I’m so excited to share all my training stories, race recaps and just stories about my life as a student/athlete and sorority girl (my schedule isn’t that busy 🙂 ).

Anyways, I began my freshmen year at The University of Arizona back in August (cant believe its been three months). I came to Arizona to get out of the Chicago weather but also because it provides the ideal area for me to train. When picking Arizona, I had to think long term goals. I can’t say it was an easy decision considering a majority of my friends were staying in the midwest or going to school with people they knew. I decided to fly solo into this new adventure. I was ready to take on this journey and see where it was going to take me.

I’m training with the triathlon team on campus, the TriCats. It’s so nice to be able to train with a group of people- just like I did when I was at home. I did my first triathlon as a TriCat back in September. That day I had so much fun racing. When I crossed the finish line I remembered why I love this sport so much! Back to the race though: There were no other Tri-1 females competing so I knew I would just be racing against myself and the clock. My swim felt great and but by the time I was out of the water I could feel the Arizona heat. Since the paratri’s went out the last wave the swim exit was kind of crazy with age groupers coming out of the water and our handlers trying to find us to get us to T1. My T1 was great and I was out on the bike! The bike has been my main focus these past few months, just trying to get stronger. The bike course was so fun (yes, fun!). I was able to keep my pace and I loved seeing all the TriCats out on the bike. What’s a race without some kind of surprise? After I got out of T2 I was ready to rock the run. About 1/4 mile of the way out on the run I realize there was on/off patches of packed sand for about a mile. Sand + Racing chairs don’t go well together but it is what it is so I just pushed through it. The rest of the run went smooth and coming across the finish line I heard “Mary Kate Callahan…. A member of TriCats.” A Paratriathlete competing with their college team… it just shows how much Paratriathlon has grown over the past few years.

With the government shutdown effecting my traveling plans for one of my races in October- I made a last minute decision to go back to Chicago for a couple of days! Let me tell you… it was much needed! My body was worn out for the daily routine of training, classes and studying and I missed my family so much. My friends were all home the weekend before so I didn’t get to see any of them but being back home felt so good! My queen bed has never felt so comfy and it was so nice not having to drive for a couple of days. I was able to meet up with Keri to go for a nice little run a long the lakefront ( I cant believe how much I missed being able to run in the city). Three days went way too fast and I was on my way back to Tucson. I’m so excited to home for a few more days during Thanksgiving Break. I haven’t decided if I’ll smile, laugh, or cry when I see all my friends over break but I cannot wait. I have missed them so much. Besides my family, coaches, and my teammates from all around the country- my friends are some of my biggest supporters. They are always there to laugh, cry, and cheer me on. Love you Guys!

I am so excited to start working with Mark Sortino starting in December as my new triathlon coach. Mark is part of the Multisport Performance Institute (Team MPI) and has been the coach for the Paratriathlon National Team for a few years. I met Mark when I went to a High Performance Training Camp before World Championships at the Colorado Olympic Training Center and he was one of our coaches in New Zealand for World Championships. Not only will he be working with me to set my workouts and provide feedback but he’ll be able to help me set my race schedule for the upcoming seasons. If you cant tell by now.. I’m just really excited with how everything is turning out and I already cant wait for race season to begin! If you follow me on twitter- you know how I constantly talk about how AWESOME the triathlon community is. I really mean it- there are so many great people involved in this sport and everyone is always looking out for each other.

I competed in my first 1500 m. open water race in the beginning of November. It was definitely a different feeling when I didn’t have to run into transition to jump on my hand-cycle but it was so fun! I think the cold water worked in my favor this time. Besides a few 5k’s and 10k’s in the November and December this was my last race until February.

One of the biggest adjustments from being away from home is learning how to adjust and fix my equipment when need be and figuring out the puzzle of fitting my hand cycle, racing chair and everyday wheelchair all in my car by myself. My dad and the local bike stores I trusted with both my hand cycle and racing chair back in Chicago are not around to help me so its been a lot of trial and error the past few months. I cant say I know how to do everything yet… but I almost have the basics down. I’m not going to lie – I have relied on google and FaceTime calls with my dad to figure a lot of it out but thats what  technology is for… right? Being in Tucson (where roads aren’t the best) I quickly learned how to change flats on my racing chair. I had always carried the CO2 cartridges with me in Chicago but I now know how to actually use them!

School… yes I do go to school. Right now I’m in a lot of gen ed classes but they are going well. My class schedule is great because it allows me to be able to workout in the morning as well as the afternoon.  Funny story… The first day of classes I went to the building only to find out the elevator was broke. I guess my bad elevator luck came with me all the way to Arizona. If I’m not in class or doing a workout, I’m studying or doing homework. I have some great professors and I’m looking forward to having more of a selection with my classes next semester.

“Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough”

Until next time,

MK