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Karen Underwood - "Underdog"
 Because all of the T3 athletes achieve success on a daily basis, the T3 Coaches want to recognize you for your accomplishments! Going forward, we will announce an Athlete of the Month that has shown strong T3 values such as teamwork, determination, motivation and leadership. This athlete will also receive a special gift from one of the T3 Partners.
The T3 Coaches would like to recognize Karen Underwood (left in pic) as the T3 Athlete of the Month for July! Karen will receive a FREE Massage from Performance Wellness for her accomplishment. |
| Karen's Story
Karen's story started in 2007 when she signed up for Ironman Arizona. She trained with the T3 Team and completed numerous Ironman workouts from November 2007 until March 2008. However, at the end of March, Karen hurt her back and had to make the tough decision that she wouldn't be able to race IMAZ in April. Instead of finishing the IMAZ training with her peers, Karen had to schedule back surgery. |
| Life Commitment
In a difficult situation that could have gotten her down, Karen instead realized that triathlon training was a life commitment and that her training days had not been a waste. Training for Karen became a choice to better herself as a person and an athlete. |
| Positive Attitude
Karen continued to cheer on her fellow teammates and showed her desire to be a true team player when she attended core practices even though she couldn't train. She stayed positive and never wavered in her excitement for her teammates. Karen flew to Arizona in April and was out on the course with T3 regardless of her personal setback. |
Perseverance
After the race, Karen underwent a successful back surgery. Even when it would have been easier to give up, Karen had the fortitude to set goals for her recovery and get back to training as soon as possible. When she was ready to start training again, she experienced a lot of pain and discomfort from her injury. Rather than giving up, Karen persevered through the pain and worked hard to continue her recovery. We have all seen Karen out on the track walking/running or biking during practice with a smile on her face. |
Road to Recovery
Over the summer, Karen successfully raced the Danskin Triathlon, a huge accomplishment after such a hard road to recovery. She is also signed up with the T3 Team for Ironman Coeur d'Alene next year! Karen's tenacity and tough attitude should be an example for all of T3. She has taught us to be team players and never give up! |
A Word from Karen
"I think what keeps me going, besides being in the company of and having the constant support of so many wonderful folks, is that I believe people are defined by what they do when times get tough. This is my time to define who I am.
It takes so much more to keep going and finish a race when things do not go well or as planned. At IMAZ, I saw folks walking in the marathon that had never walked in training. I saw many folks having to make goal adjustments because of items not within their control. For some, it was the oppressive heat, for others it was nutrition failure. But, it did not matter. They did not give up. They finished. I got so close; it's now my turn to finish. For me, this is all just a snapshot of life. It's easy when all goes well. Who we are is defined by how we handle the hard times." |
