Skip to main content

About me

Embarking upon this triathlon endeavor in 2008, I didn't realize how much the years of running on the soccer field as a kiddo and progressing to road running and racing as a teen and young adult would essentially lay the foundation for my activities today. Currently, I find myself using past experiences and lessons learned to propel myself forward in this sport of triathlon.

I live with my husband, Bryan, in Nine Mile Falls, Washington. We enjoy our 5 acres on Long Lake with our fur babies. By Bryan's standards, we've likely progressed to a borderline menagerie as far as fur (and feathered) kids are concerned, but having grown up on a small hobby farm as a child, our "predicament" feels relatively normal to me.

For ten years, I raced as an amateur, finally obtaining an elite status when I won my first amateur race at Ironman Muncie 70.3 in 2015. Since then, I accrued two more amateur titles and several subtitles in the 70.3 amateur division. While I actually qualified for my professional license in 2017, I knew I still needed to check off one more bucket list item: racing the Ironman World Championships in Kona. Thankfully, my age group win at Ironman Canada qualified me to do so. After racing and completing the toughest course in my racing career, I signed up to race with the highest caliber of women triathletes and have started my professional career in 2019.

I feel fortunate to have also graduated from Eastern Washington University with my doctorate in Physical Therapy so that I may continue to support myself financially when I wade even further into the realm of competitive triathlon. In addition, I have also opened up some coaching opportunities for those who find interest in working with me to accomplish their own fitness and racing goals.

Like many have already said before, there exists this alluring and intriguing challenge of pushing oneself to the limit. I want to see just how much this body my parents blessed me with can take. My coach, along with the words and actions of encouragement from Bryan, has enlightened me as to what I can achieve with a significant amount of dedication and hard work.

Photo by Craig Thorsen
Therefore, I plan to use these next few years to focus more sharply on triathlon. I look forward to continually improve upon previous performances, so long as there exists the motivation to realize my best self as an athlete. I use my initials, MF, to stand for more than an abbreviated version of my name. Instead, they guide me in my personal quest for mastering fitness, which I encourage others to do, too.

As of 2021, I have decided to retire from racing in the  sport. I will still be coaching my MF athletes and will be devoting more time and energy to working as a full time physical therapist at Dynamic Bracing and PT in Spokane, WA. 




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My opinion...For what it's worth

My first Half Ironman 70.3 turned into Boise 29.3. I may be the only one to say that I respect the officials' judgment call on this one, because apparently, a few of my triathlete comrades lack sufficient brains themselves. The comments I'm reading on Facebook leave me pretty disturbed. Let me just put this out there: I entered this sport because it looked tough and challenging. It pushes anyone who enters these races to their ultimate limits and requires a demanding amount of time to complete the training necessary to succeed. I entered this sport because of the people. Healthy, smart, fit, inspiring, motivating. I can't think of a single person who has questioned my ability to participate in this sport. I entered this sport because anyone can do it. I passed people younger and older than me, some as old as 74. I watched one woman hobble along the run course, surely just on her first lap. She looked like her knees were going to cave in. Yet she was running. I did not ent
2 comments
Read more

How strong are your feet?

Who knew my first post in 2020 would be about the work I'm doing on my feet. Not just any work, but the work required to make them strong enough to propel me to faster running paces, the work to make them durable enough to heal up some old injuries and prevent new ones from taking hold. Jay Dicharry , a Physical Therapist and researcher in Bend, OR, says that almost all ankle, foot, and lower leg injuries can be attributed to faulty foot mechanics and a weak foot core.  I listened to him speak on a podcast called Trail Runner Nation today, and all the advice he provided me during my two personal visits with him last year rushed back in a torrent of memory. It seems fitting that his reminders would hit me like a hammer over my head when I consider the nagging foot pain that has cropped up again over the past couple of weeks. I'm going back to my toe yoga, short foot exercises, and working hard to build up the strength in my foot intrinsic muscles. Meanwhile, here's a b
Post a Comment
Read more

Pain loves misery. Misery loves company.

I remember running through complete darkness along the paved trail between Moscow and Pullman during my years studying at University of Idaho. Five years ago, my training consisted entirely of running. Cycling served as something to do on the weekends, and swimming didn’t even exist until my sophomore year. What I remember most, however, revolves around the early morning runs. I awoke at 4:30, donned my warmest clothes, started my GPS, and turned my headlamp on in preparation for eight to ten miles of farmland along a lonely stretch of highway. Running served as my outlet. I buried myself in 20+ credits of biology, chemistry, physics, and human anatomy courses to fill my time. And fill my time it did. So running every morning was my recourse to stay sane. Every. Lonely. Morning. It wasn’t until the thrill of riding my bike overtook me did I realize riding alone—training alone—hardly compared to the enjoyment of working out with other people. My dad always stressed the importance of r
2 comments
Read more