Teresa Keeps Making Progress Toward First Triathlon

A couple of weeks ago, Teresa came into Ben's needing to rent a bike to prepare for her first triathlon. We asked her to keep us up to date since she was not an experience cyclist, and her story might inspire others to start riding more. We're thrilled she's making so much progress!


Here is her original story.

Here is what she wrote on June 19:
"My training is going well. I've started swimming every day during my lunch hour and I run about 3x a week after work. On the weekends I have been taking 10-ish mile bike rides on the Oak Leaf trail. 

I was very surprised at how slow I am on the bike. It's going to take me forever to finish the bike portion if I don't speed up. I plan to go to Pewaukee this weekend and ride the 17-mile bike trail to get a feel for the hills and see how long it takes me now. I also am starting to do brick workouts, which are combining two events in one workout to practice adapting muscle groups. Swim to bike is fine, bike to run is difficult."

Here is her report from Monday:

"The Pewaukee Lake Triathlon has a mandatory swim clinic for all first-time triathletes. I attended a session today which was great. I have been swimming a lot in the pool at my gym, but being in the open water with other swimmers was way different! It was great to experience that and I feel a lot more prepared. Besides the swim, the instructors gave us newbies tips on how to effectively swim with others (e.g. if we're slow, keep left and take wide turns to lessen the chance of getting swam over). The instructor also answered all our newbie questions about the triathlon day. I've been having nightmares about not being able to find my stuff in the transition area and she calmed my fears.

I also had a great weekend ride on Saturday. I went to Fond du Lac to ride with a friend of mine. I thought I was really slow, but it turns out I just needed my seat moved up and a little more air in my tires!  I averaged around 14mph rather than 10 mph which I'm happy about. Having a speedy cycling buddy to lead me probably helped too! I also downloaded Strava which is a really cool way to track my rides and compare myself to other riders. Overall I'm really excited about my cycling progress.

After my ride last weekend, and the swim clinic tonight, I feel pretty good about those two disciplines. Running is still my least favorite, but I'll be focusing more on that the week before the triathlon because I'll be away from my bike and pool while I am in Colorado."

Teresa Craze is Tackling the Pewaukee Triathlon With the Help of Ben's Cycles

Teresa Craze, 25, is determined to complete her first triathlon in July. 

Teresa hasn't been riding much in the last 10 years, although she's been doing spin classes once a week. So Ben's helped her find a Specialized Dolce for the triathlon. 

"The crew at Ben's Cycle really hooked me up," she said. "Paul and Mike gave me a great cycling 101 course when I went in to pick up the Specialized Dolce I'm renting. I can't stress enough how much of a beginner I am. They had to teach me very basics, such as how to shift up and down, and how to remove and re-attach the wheel to get the bike to fit in my car."

She describes herself as "super non-athlete" and has never really done much in the way of sports. But when her company PKWARE offered to pay for a triathlon and created a work group to train, she decided to make it her personal challenge. 

She will compete in the Pewaukee Tri, a sprint distance event, on July 13. She'll swim a quarter mile, ride 17 miles, and finish with a 5k run. 

For Teresa, the goal is all about getting active, enjoying Milwaukee's trails, learning to ride a road bike, and participating in a really cool athletic event.

"I think it will be a good way to find my sport,: she said. "I always thought cycling looked like something I could get into. Training for a triathlon on a really nice road bike would give me the discipline to figure out if it is a sport I want to invest in."

She moved to Milwaukee nearly two years ago and noticed the trails and parks along Milwaukee's lakefront. 

"I felt it was such a waste for me not to go out and be active on them. I ran a couple 5ks last summer for the first time ever, which was kind of a big deal for me." 

She now participates in summer kickball and volleyball rec leagues in Milwaukee just to have fun.

Teresa is following a sprint triathlon training plan, but she's realistic about her results.

"This race is with myself," she said. "I'm going to do the best I can on the day of the triathlon. I don't quite know what that is yet. I'll be happy with myself for finishing."

Teresa will be updating us on a regular basis on her training progress. We'll also try to get photos of her at the triathlon and report on her success! 

We're excited to be a part of Teresa's efforts and determination to make cycling and fitness a part of her life.