Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Heather Germaine, F4 Denver Runner and Triathlete!
Heather Germaine, 39, has been an F4 athlete in Denver since 2008. “Training with FastForward has been nothing but positive for me,” says Heather, a natural resource specialist with the National Park Service. “I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today without my group.”
Heather discovered F4 when she was training for the Denver Marathon—her first marathon—and wanted a group to run with. “I’d tried a few other running groups, but they weren’t quite the right fit,” says Heather. “I received an email about FastForward because they were an official training group of the marathon, so I decided to try them. Everyone was so friendly, and there was such great encouragement and support.”
An injury forced Heather to back down and train for the half marathon that year, but she had the bug to run 26.2. So she signed up with F4 again in 2009 and successfully ran the Denver Marathon that fall. “My mom, brother and his fiancé were at the finish line,” she recalls. “I was so exhausted and my legs really hurt. It felt like the hardest thing I had ever done in my life, but I was so excited because it was a heck of an accomplishment!”
From there, Heather became a regular with F4, running the Moab Half and the Marine Corps Marathon in 2010, and the Colorado and Chicago marathons in 2011. “All of the coaches are amazing and their training tips are priceless,” says Heather of F4. “The people I train with are also great and I’ve developed a really nice group of friends. It feels like a family.”
Last November, Heather traveled to Arizona to watch a friend compete in the Ironman. Denver coach Garry Roseman was also competing, and Heather was inspired. “It was so amazing to see them finish the race, and I decided it was time I gave triathlon a shot.” It also helped that a fellow F4 friend in Denver was working on Heather to try a triathlon. “’WE are going to do triathlons’ my friend informed me, and I started asking ‘What’s this WE business?!’” laughs Heather.
This year, Heather competed in all of the Boulder Tri Series events, along with the IronGirl. “I’ve never been a swimmer, so I jumped in the pool in January. Then when the tri group started in March, I joined them,” she says. Heather also bought a bike and one of the super-cute F4 tri kits. “It’s fun wearing the kit during a race because all of the F4 athletes are cheering each other on and you know who they are on the course.”
It was a good year for Heather—completing four triathlons, including a Half Ironman, in less than two months—and she’s looking forward to next year and continuing her training with her F4 family. “Having never done triathlons before, I feel pretty good about this year,” says Heather. “I’ve learned so much about myself, and the sport, and the coaches and other F4 athletes have been awesome.” She’s retiring her wetsuit for the rest of 2012 and shifting back into running mode, with a bit of biking for fun. Up next: the Denver Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in September and then the Tucson Marathon in December. Go Heather!