Now Is The Time – Debbie Moreno

I signed up for a sprint triathlon that I had been wanting to do for several years. I had quite a bit of self-doubt and was scared to commit to an event. There was an aligning of the stars for me. Fund Her Tri was on the Mighty Mujer Triathlon site looking for athletes to sponsor and thought to myself: Why not me? I love to run and have done many 10Ks, 1/2 Marathons as well as a marathon. I began wondering what more could I be doing when I saw the site and that’s when I thought: Now is the time, no more telling yourself next year! 

The event was scheduled for April 2020. The Mighty Mujer is an all women’s race and that gave me a lot of comfortability. I bought a bike in November 2019, then the pandemic hit. I was able to do two virtual Mighty Mujer duathlons in 2020 and in April 2022, I did finally race the Mighty Mujer in person. Was I nervous? Words cannot describe how nervous I was. I was also just so happy that I was finally there. The race was no longer a dream.  I just let out this, from the gut, yell of excitement while standing in the line to get into the pool. It was such an emotional moment for me, I had to hold back the tears of joy!! I saved them for the finish!!

Virtual Races Helped Me Stay Disciplined

Those virtual raced helped me be more disciplined in the training than I had previously been for running races. I only had one sport to train for and that was ‘easy.’ Training for a triathlon required me to get more organized and to understand how much time it would take.

Working with the mentors that Fund Her Tri provided helped out tremendously. They provided advice and also encouraged me during my training. As I mentioned, I came to triathlon through running and was a decent swimmer. I got the most anxiety from the bike (and still do.) My mentors  encouraged me to keep getting on my bike. They told me to work on getting stronger as it will strengthen my weaknesses.

I Am Hooked On Triathlon

When I finished the race, it was pure happiness. I am hooked. I love the challenge of the three sports in one race. Like I mentioned, I love to run and I feel comfortable in the water so I thought, “ I can do that!!!!” Well, it is certainly a challenge for sure!!

For those of you just getting started and reading this profile I want you to know that you will need to be consistent in your training. It is not going to be easy but keep going. Just keep showing up. You don’t have to be the fastest and it’s ok to be the slowest, it doesn’t matter, just keep showing up. Another thing I would say is talk with others that have done triathlons and ask for advise about anything and everything from gear to how to set up transitions and everything in between, and HAVE FUN!! Try not to put too much pressure on your performance. I have found that everyone is so happy to share advise. Love the Tri community!!!

Because I enjoy the sport and the camaraderie so much, I am signed up for another sprint this August called Eagle In the Sun. My goal is to do a Half Ironman in 2023. 

Just so thankful to be able to get out there and feel the love of the sport!!

If you want to support Fund Her Tri and help send a first time female triathlete to a race, you can do so through the purchase of a Run Tri Bike Hat. 20% of the purchase price goes toward funding 2 scholarships through Fund Her Tri.