Galloway Captiva Triathlon Contest Winner a True Inspiration
Self-taught and Self-trained Competitor to Experience Her First Triathlon
Naples, Fla. (September 1, 2011) – Barely a year ago Regina Redmond was 60 pounds heavier and her blood pressure was “through the roof.” She had tried multiple weight loss programs, “everything that came down the pike,” but her success was short-lived – until she added exercise to her efforts. The 47 year-old Ft. Myers resident knew she had to get moving to get results that would last. So she started walking, ½ a mile a day. She slowly picked up the pace and the walking turned into running. Then she added bicycling to her regime. Wanting to burn off even more calories, Regina taught herself to swim and added that to her routine.
Now she spends 3 hours each morning running, biking and swimming, rising at 3:30 a.m. to get her exercise completed before heading off to work. Then she runs another 6 miles or so in the evenings, ending her day with a few more laps in the pool. And she does it all by herself, in her own home, with no personal trainers, gym memberships or fancy exercise equipment.
One day her boss, Ann Montgomery of Comforcare Senior Services, remarked, “You might as well be training for a triathlon.”
“I laughed it off,” Regina remembers. But Ann had planted a seed and Regina began researching triathlons. She found one close to home – the inaugural Galloway Captiva Triathlon – but didn’t register right away. “I had to overcome my fear of swimming in open water,” she explains. “I thought I’d be swimming ¼ mile or so out in the Gulf and the theme music from ‘Jaws’ kept playing in my head!”
A chat with race organizer Angie Ferguson assured Regina that she’d be swimming close to shore and be in no danger. With her fears allayed she was ready to register, but the race was full. Regina was disappointed. Not only had she been training hard, and saving her money for the entry fee, but she’d had a lot of encouragement from friends and family members along the way. Regina has competed in some 5ks and is training for the 2012 Disney Marathon, but the Galloway Captiva Tri event was to be her first triathlon. She added her name to the waiting list, but this go-getter didn’t sit back and wait, she took a chance in the Zehr Center for Orthopaedics’ Entry Contest.
Contestants uploaded a photo and explained in 100 words or less why they wanted to compete. Photos and essays were posted online and a voting system was put into place. The winner was to be chosen based on a combination of essay and votes. Regina’s essay told a tiny bit of her story:
"Dr Zehr, My name is Regina and I would love to compete in the inaugural Galloway Captiva Triathlon in Sept. I started training in Oct 2010 and to date have lost 56 pounds, taught myself how to swim and am running on average; 9 miles a day. I am so looking forward to this event only to find out today that the event is full. I have been saving each month to be able to pay the registration fee and have finally saved enough on my small budget. Please consider me for this event."
Regina wasn’t leaving much to chance however. After her entry appeared online August 23rd she shared the link on her Facebook page and her friends voted for her and shared the link as well. In just 8 days she had amassed 9,105 votes, almost 50% of the 18,608 votes cast.
“Regina’s story is truly inspiring,” said Dr. Robert Zehr, founder of the Zehr Center for Orthopaedics. “In my educational seminar on arthritis I emphasize that obesity is one of the main risk factors for developing arthritis and that exercise is the key to losing weight and making a difference in your joint health. Losing just 10 pounds can ease 50# of force on your knee joints. Regina has lost almost 60 pounds! We congratulate her on her successful lifestyle changes and we’ll be on hand to cheer her on in the Galloway Captiva Triathlon September 18.”
The sprint length event will be held at South Seas Resort and includes a ¼ mile swim in the Gulf of Mexico, a 10 mile bike race along the paved island roads of Captiva (which will be closed for this event) and a 5K run along the Gulf, Redfish Pass and the South Seas golf course on a combination hard-sand and paver course. Visit http://captivatri.org/ for more information.
