Second up in our interview series in 2017, is athlete / gymnast all round lover of life Amanda Kenny from Florida. What caught our attention with Amanda wasn’t just all the normal sporty pics that tri people on Instagram typically share, but it was her amazing accomplishments over the years despite holding down full time jobs! That and her swim training in an alligator filled lake…we needed to find out more!
Amanda, judging by your Instagram, it looks like you were a gymnast before you got into triathlon? What made you switch?
I “retired” from gymnastics after high school having been to Nationals 6 times, and receiving many state, regional, and national titles. After 16 years I was ready move on, and be a normal college kid and not be in the gym 5 days a week like I had been almost my whole childhood. After becoming quite the alcoholic in college (like most college students), I moved to Florida as soon as I graduated. It was after working for Disney and hearing about the Disney marathons that I wanted to start training for my first half marathon. Once I got the running bug, my friends persuaded me to get a bike for cross training, and then came the obvious suggestion to do a triathlon. Only problem was that I couldn’t even swim a lap in the pool. As a true testament to “you can do anything you put your mind to”, I decided I would teach myself to swim, and sure enough a few months later I completed my first triathlon and placed second overall in the Novice division. From that moment on, I was hooked on Tri’s!
Swim / bike / run- which do you enjoy the most?
One of the reasons I like triathlon training so much is because it’s comprised of three disciplines. The variety in the training keeps things interesting and helps break up the long races mentally. But if I had to pick one, it would be cycling, because it’s the most social. There are so many different cycling/tri groups in the Orlando area that I literally never have to ride alone. And I just really like my pink bike 🙂
In your Instagram, we can see you survived Lucy’s Lake! We might be heading that way in about a months’ time – how are you not terrified of swimming with gators? How do you keep them out of your mind? Must be good for the mental training in tri?
Lucky’s Lake is the best! It’s voted one of the top 100 Open Water Swims in America by the World Open Water Swimming Association, and for good reason. It’s a beautiful, clean lake, surprisingly right next to Universal Orlando Resort. You actually drive by the roller coasters on the way to the lake, and then you get there and you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere. When it comes to the fear of gators, there is a real risk because almost every body of water in Florida has them. Thankfully I’ve never seen a real gator at Lucky’s, although he does have fake ones in the water near the entrance which make for some great photo ops.. I like to tell myself that a large group of people splashing around will scare the real gators away, but when it comes down to it everything in life comes with a risk. I have more of a chance dying in a car accident driving to the lake, than I do by being attacked by a gator while I’m swimming. The same goes for ocean swims or any other risks that we take when we do triathlons. I won’t let the fear of what could happen thing stop me from doing what I love.
What has been your biggest tri challenge? Either distance or particular part of a tri you had to overcome? How did you plan / train for it?
My biggest tri challenge was definitely training for my full Ironman. Some people get burned out with all of the training, but I absolutely loved it. I never got tired of the workouts, but my big challenge was how much time they took out of my week. I was spending so much time prepping, driving, actually working out, driving home, recovering, etc. that I had no time for silly things like doing laundry and going grocery shopping. It definitely made me appreciate having free time in order to do just normal, mundane human things; which most people don’t think about. I will say that as stressed out as I was with my lack of free time during training, crossing that finish line and hearing “Amanda Kenny, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!” made it all worth it!
Most of us who are into triathlon tend to work full time jobs to pay for our obsession with neoprene, shoes and bikes! How do you balance the two?
Thankfully my current job is very flexible and accommodating to my training and race schedule. In the past I worked crazy hours (sometimes overnight shifts) and had to work before or after long training days or even races. I once even had to go into work after running a full marathon! But all it comes down to priorities and deciding what’s most important to you. There will always be other things to use your time on, and challenges to overcome. Everyone gets the same 24 hours in the day; it’s up to you what you do with it.
We started TriPals as we had loads more fun training with pals than on our own. What about you? Do you have a TriPal that keeps you going when training gets tough?
I am so thankful and blessed to have a really great group of people to train with. I credit my running friends for introducing me to the world of triathlon, and I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today with my training if it wasn’t for them. They have become my best friends, and I honestly look forward to our training sessions because it’s also a social gathering of all of my friends. I think it’s really important to have a group of supportive friends around you to push you harder than you think you can go and back you up on your less than stellar days. I’m happy that I’ve found such a great group and I would encourage everyone else to try and find the same!
If you were to start over in triathlon, what piece of advice would you give yourself to a newbie into the sport?
I would remind myself that everything gets easier with practice. No one is going to be the best on their first tri, but hard work pays off! Stick with it and you’ll see results. It all depends on how much you want it, and how much you are willing to sacrifice to get it!
What’s your next big challenge?
Next up on the calendar is an Olympic distance Tri in March, and Ironman 70.3 Gulf Coast in May. Who knows what will come my way after that, but I’m sure whatever my next challenge is, it will involve a lot of swimming, biking, and running!
Thanks Amanda. We look forward to hearing how you get on in March!
If you want to follow Amanda’s progress, check out her instagram here.
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- iron woman amanda kenny
