It started as a means to lose weight.<\/p>\n
In a little less than a year since, it has blossomed into a passion to become fit, eat better and reach goals that once seemed impossible for Kent\u2019s Sheryl Sprague.<\/p>\n
\u201cOriginally, I started out doing a 5k walk,\u201d said Sprague, who has lost more than 100 pounds during the last year and now weighs in at 350 pounds. \u201cEach one I did told me that I could do more than I originally thought I could do. Sometimes, you\u2019re scared and think, \u2018Oh gosh, what if I can\u2019t do this?\u2019 Then you do it, and you\u2019re amazed and wonder, \u2018What can I do next?\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n
Sprague\u2019s \u201cnext\u201d will be the Lake Meridian Triathlon on Aug. 22, the first event of its kind at the East Hill park. It will be the first triathlon for the 52-year-old Kent woman.<\/p>\n
Why now? And why this particular triathlon?<\/p>\n
Unlike many of the other triathlons each summer in the area, the event at Lake Meridian offers a Super Sprint Division, which is comprised of a quarter-mile swim, eight-mile bike ride, and two-mile run.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had been thinking about (competing in a triathlon) for a while,\u201d Sprague said. \u201cWhen I found out they were doing the Super Sprint, which is the lesser (of the three) courses, I thought this would be a great way for me to start. I thought it would be a little easier for me. And I\u2019ve never done anything like this before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nothing like this. Sprague did, however, ride in the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic last month. She completed 75 miles of the 200-mile extravaganza, and now is taking aim on the triathlon.<\/p>\n
Of course, two years ago, triathlons weren\u2019t in the mind \u2014 or on the horizon \u2014 for Sprague, who is a bookkeeper for Consolidated Foods Inc. in Kent. In fact, becoming serious about nutrition and getting in shape didn\u2019t begin until a little more than a year ago for Sprague, when she met Patty Swedberg, director of Raise the Bar, a Covington-based triathlon training organization.<\/p>\n
One of the sub-categories of Raise the Bar is Raise the Hope, which is comprised of women within the triathlon team who, like Sprague, are at a heightened risk of heart disease. The members of Raise the Hope work with coaches, a nutritionist, and a physician to lower their risk of heart disease.<\/p>\n
\u201cPatty introduced me to Raise the Hope, which encourages eating better, exercising, and lessens the risk of heart disease,\u201d Sprague noted. \u201cThe triathlon was a whole new concept.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year, I am going to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sprague will be able to complete the triathlon in unique fashion, too. Joining her at the Lake Meridian event will be stars Daris George and Kai Hibbard, along with Matt and Suzy Hoover from the reality television show \u201cThe Biggest Loser.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her motivation, however, isn\u2019t to meet and compete with a handful of stars, but rather to continue her journey to lose weight. Sprague has lost 130 pounds so far and figures she has \u201c100-and-some to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
But she\u2019s getting there.<\/p>\n
And she\u2019s loving the direction her life has taken and where it\u2019s going from here.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d love to do a marathon one day,\u201d she said. \u201cRight now, I\u2019m doing what I\u2019ve got to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
LAKE MERIDIAN TRIATHLON: AT A GLANCE<\/p>\n
\u2022 WHEN: Aug. 22, 7 a.m.<\/p>\n
\u2022 WHERE: Lake Meridian Park (14800 SE 272nd Street)<\/p>\n
\u2022 CATEGORIES: Sprint, Olympic, Super Sprint. The distances include: Olympic is 1.5 k swim, 40 k bike, 10 k run; The Sprint Division is \u00bd mile swim, 15.8 mile bike and 3.1 mile run; The Super Sprint Division is .25 mile swim, 8-mile bike, 2-mile run.<\/p>\n
\u2022 MEET BIGGEST LOSERS: From 4-7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 21 at Lake Meridian Park there will be an open registration for the triathlon and a meet-and-greet with Kai Hubbard, Daris George, Matt Hoover and Suzy Hoover, all of whom have starred in the \u201cBiggest Loser.\u201d In addition, those who have already registered for the event can pick up their pre-race packets.<\/p>\n
\u2022 ON THE WEB: weraisethebar.com or lakemeridiantri.com or raisethehope.com.<\/p>\n
\u2022 OF NOTE: During the day of the race, traffic on Kent Kangley Road at the entrance of Lake Meridian Park will be impacted between 7:10-10:30 a.m. There will be a lane closure and traffic will be stopped so athletes can cross safely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It started as a means to lose weight.
\nIn a little less than a year since, it has blossomed into a passion to become fit, eat better and reach goals that once seemed impossible for Kent\u2019s Sheryl Sprague.
\n\u201cOriginally, I started out doing a 5k walk,\u201d said Sprague, who has lost more than 100 pounds during the last year and now weighs in at 350 pounds. \u201cEach one I did told me that I could do more than I originally thought I could do. Sometimes, you\u2019re scared and think, \u2018Oh gosh, what if I can\u2019t do this?\u2019 Then you do it, and you\u2019re amazed and wonder, \u2018What can I do next?\u2019\u201c<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":3708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-3707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3707"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3707"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=3707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}