Why I started exercising...

     My father died at the age of 43 of a heart attack. I have always feared the year I turned 43. Well 2009-2010 was the year I turned 43.So I have decided in my mind that I needed to do something to honor him and come to find out it is changing my life.
    
     It all started July of 2009. Every year the STP (Seattle to Portland -204 mile bicycle ride) goes by my house. For years the kids used to sit in Denny's (my husband) truck and hi-five all the riders that would go by. Well last year when they were riding thru Chehalis I said I wanted to do it. I told Denny I wanted to do it, I can't remember what he said. Im sure he laughed just like most of the people I said it to did. I texted Renee (my boss and friend) that I wanted to do it. Im sure after laughing....  She texted me back that she would hold me to it.
I said OK.

     Now what you need to know about me is ... I have NEVER really exercised a day in my life. I also was a smoker for most of my adult life. So for me to say I wanted to ride a bike 204 miles, NO-ONE thought I would last a month of training.

     I had posted on Facebook that I was going to do the STP, my aunt Pam saw it and said "if I was going to do it then she was." Then my cousin Craig said if " Teri can do it then he would do it also." And my poor uncle Paul (who had already done the STP twice-- both times in 1 day (he's nuts LOL) he decided to support us by riding it also.

    So by the end of the summer of 2009 there were 5 of us doing it. Mind you all of them thought I wasn't going to really do it.... I proved them WRONG....