My name is Abby Roden and this past July I did something I never thought I could do- I

completed a triathlon! This past March my mom, Theresa Roden and her friend Alyson Follenius

started a pilot program at my school called i-tri. They selected a group of girls who, like myself

did not consider themselves to be athletes.

Each week we would come together as a group- we would have lunch together and do fun

activities where we would learn about the power of our words (affirmations) we realized

how often we were saying and thinking negative things about ourselves and how that was just

wasted energy and when we turned those thoughts in to positive thoughts (affirmations) then

ANYTHING was POSSIBLE!

We learned to think of ourselves as strong and beautiful and courageous- we learned about

nutrition and since we were training to be triathletes, we needed to fuel our bodies to get the

best results- we planted greens in our school’s greenhouse and made salads and green

smoothies from them and they were DELICIOUS!

We discovered that exercise is fun- that there is more to being active than what we usually do in

gym class. We got to go to different studios and take spin classes, yoga, zumba, pilates even

bellydancing!

As the day of the triathlon drew near we focused on swimming, biking and running. For me

running was the biggest challenge- but my teammates and my coaches (mom, Alyson and

Sharon McCobb) would cheer me on and remind me to use what I had learned- I would repeat

over and over “I CAN DO IT” and I felt so accomplished each time I finished my run. Two of my

teammates did not even know how to swim at the beginning of the program and they were so

determined to do the triathlon that they faced their fears and swam in open water!

The night before the race, we had a past dinner at my house- at the end, my mom called us all

together, she played a song that had sort of become our theme song, “I Believe I Can Fly,” she

had us all close our eyes and listen to the words as she led us through a visualization of the

race- from stepping into the water before the start- to biking up that last hill and finally running

with all of your might across the finish line and into her arms. She had told us all along- if you

can go there in your mind- you will get there in your body … and we were READY TO TRI!

Race day came and we were full of nervous excitement- the day was here! The swim was hard-

the wind and waves were big- but we each bravely entered the water and swam our hearts out,

Kimberly, one of the non-swimmers had a tough time, but she did not give up- the lifeguards

stayed with her the whole time and she was the last kid out of the water- she had swallowed so

much salt water that she threw up- but that did not stop her- she took a drink of water and then

ran up the beach and took off on her bike- when we saw her coming down the home stretch of

the run- all of us formed a bridge with our arms and cheered as she ran under and crossed the

finish line!

On the back of our uniforms is the

motto:

Transformation Through Triathlon, those words are very, very true- each of us has been forever

transformed through the i-tri program.

WE ARE TRI- ATHLETES!!!!

www.i-tri-girls.blogspot.com

i-tri is a community based intervention program that fosters self-respect, personal

empowerment, self confidence, positive body image and healthy lifestyle choices for at-risk

adolescent girls. Through the sport of Triathlon and a curriculum of physical fitness /nutrition

activities, self-affirming lessons of respect, responsibility, teamwork and dedication, i-tri girls  

develop healthy habits & attitudes that last a lifetime.