NICOLE SWIFT F40-44

coconut creek, florida

What is my favorite product available at Trisports.com?  What isn’t?  Everything but my bike frame!  Best array of multisport clothing on the planet!

How did you get your start in triathlons?  One day I decided to watch FAU Wellness Triathlon in Boca Raton.  I was in AWE as I watched a young, pretty, overweight woman with her mother, trudging through each event.  The swim I was mesmerized as she swam better than I thought I ever could; the bike, they rode one in front of the other, not fast, but no slow pokes either; the run…totally hit me…. They were smiling, laughing and when I read the back of her T-shirt, it said “JUST TRI-ING TO TRI”….. I thought at that moment, “I can do this”….” Yes, I can”  and so I did…

What is my favorite workout?   I love doing “ladder” workouts on the treadmill!!!½  mile warmup, 800m @ 7.0 (8:34 pace), 400m easy run, 800m @ 7.5 (8:00 pace), 400m easy run, 800m @ 8.0 (7:30 pace), 400m easy run, 800m @ 8.6 (6:58 pace) (gotta break the 7), 400m easy run, 400m @ 9.0 (6:34 pace), 400m easy jog, 400m @ 9.5 (6:15 pace), 400m easy jog, 400m @ 10.2 (5:58 pace), 400m walk cool down

If I could train for a week with one other triathlete, who would it be and why?  Well, I love those Aussies…. Michellie Jones has always been a favorite, Chris McCormack also…. I love the underdogs!  Emma Snowsill and Laura Reback-Bennett are also great fav’s.  They all know how to have “fun” in the sport and not take it all so seriously all the time.

If you could have one superhero power, what would it be?  That’s an easy one:   I feel the need, the need for SPEED!  To swim like a barracuda and not like Dori from Finding Nemo!

Describe your biggest race disaster:  9/23/05 Kansas City, KS Nationals long course….My first race where I knew absolutely NOBODY!  No support, no one to cheer me on… It was all ME and MY MIND… I was having open water phobia at that time in my life and the water was very dark and eerie… I panicked so bad in the swim, within ¼ mile, I had stripped my wetsuit down to my waist “Dragging” it for the remainder mile I had yet to go.  I was hyperventilating, crying; the lifeguard on the boat kept asking if I wanted to get on, tearfully, I said no and kept swimming any way I could, sideways, dog paddle, backstroke….I was the last one out of the water… as I came to shore I felt like Columbus… I finally hit land and it was a new day…. (so I thought)…. Then I got on my bike (untrained for a hilly course, I live in South Florida)…within 2 miles of what appeared to me the day before as rolling hills was really big hills will no roll.  The downhill was your rest period because as soon as you got to the bottom you were going up again!  I cried more, then laughed at myself as I heard myself say “I just want to go home”.  I felt like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz…. I told myself that I could quit after the first loop… Well stubborn as I am.. I cried my way through the 2^nd hilly loop.  I then got to start the run; something I excelled in yeah I thought.  NOT… Of course more hills and the heat was incredible.  I trudged my way through, having to walk for 30 seconds or so every mile…. Finally 3 miles to go and I said “just get it over with”; so I plowed my way to the finish and literally went to my car, amazed that I even completed that tough course.  Never again I said…I ended up placing 4^th in my age group… Pretty amazing despite such a brutal race.  When I got to the airport I bought a T-Shirt that summed up Kansas City for me… “Dear Dorothy, Hated Kansas, took the shoes, find your own way home, Love Toto”

Do you have a non-negotiable pre-race ritual?  I use to years ago… Now I pack the night before, stretch & shower in the morning; eat a banana, drink coffee, pray I go to the bathroom and pray for me to race the best I can, kiss everyone goodbye and out the door I go.  Less is more… I don’t dwell on the preparations, I know I’m trained, I experience it!

What culinary indulgence do you allow yourself after a big race?  I’m so predictable…I love a huge chicken salad with all the fixins… sometimes Pizza is a splurge…

Have I ever destroyed an expensive piece of gear?  Never destroyed a piece of gear except MYSELF! (biking of course, what else)

What is the worst job you ever had? Working in a title company plant, typing legal descriptions of properties for 8 hours a day…. Can you say B O R I N G!

What adjective describes you best?  “Swift” of course;   Ok seriously, “DETERMINED”

Do you have any advice for athletes new to multi-sport competition?   Don’t compare yourself or judge other athletes, No one really knows if they can win, until they win!  It may be YOU.  Be confident in yourself.  Join a group or club; go on club runs or bike rides.  Share the fun and keep it fun.  It keeps you motivated and loving the sport.

Recent Results: CB Triathlon 9th OA, 2nd Masters;  Miami Int’l Tri 5th AG;  Nautica South Beach Tri 6th AG; Tradewinds Triathlon 4th OA, 1st Masters- PR 55:56; St. Anthony’s 27th AG- PR 2:37:52; Miami Olympic Triathlon 8th OA, 1st Masters- PR 2:33:33, Qualified for AG Nationals; Florida 1/2 Ironman 26th AG; Deuces Wild International Triathlon 8th AG; Key Biscayne Trilogy #1 2nd AG; Ameriprise Financial July 4th Tri 3rd Masters OA; Huntington’s Disease Olympic Tri 1st AG 40-44