Did you know that this Wednesday is International Women’s Day? We are very fortunate as a squad to have so many strong, powerful, and inspiring females, as well as one of the highest percentages of females in a squad.
We decided that one day to celebrate women wasn’t enough, so we’ll be celebrating and highlighting a few women in the squad all week!
Our first inspiring woman is Tanya Jenkinson – You may have seen her around in her rainbow tape and always have a laugh at training. Here is her story and how Tri-Alliance and her tri friends have helped her through her life journey. Thank you Tanya for sharing your story with us 
Ten years ago, one of my closest friends inspired me to do a triathlon with her. I was well over 120kg, and I finished, admittingly I couldn’t 
walk properly for about a week and had chaffed in areas that I can’t speak about in this blurb, but I finished, and I loved it… Let’s be honest though I didn’t love the run, but the freedom that I felt not only in the water but in an inclusive environment was next to nothing I had experienced before. Seasons, reasons, and different chapters happened in my journey and four or five years ago I was the biggest I had ever been, being about 170kg, and my future was clear cut…either do something drastic or end up in a box. Whilst the struggle was real in the end the decision was simple, I had to put on my big girl pants and literally fight for my life.
walk properly for about a week and had chaffed in areas that I can’t speak about in this blurb, but I finished, and I loved it… Let’s be honest though I didn’t love the run, but the freedom that I felt not only in the water but in an inclusive environment was next to nothing I had experienced before. Seasons, reasons, and different chapters happened in my journey and four or five years ago I was the biggest I had ever been, being about 170kg, and my future was clear cut…either do something drastic or end up in a box. Whilst the struggle was real in the end the decision was simple, I had to put on my big girl pants and literally fight for my life.Fast forward to now and endless tubes of chaffing cream, tears, gym clothes that no longer fit, injuries, surgeries resulting in over four metres of scars on my body, and constant self-doubt, I type this from my couch as Yesterday I finished my first ever Sprint Triathlon. There were many times I could have simply thrown in the towel because everything was screaming at me, from it’s too hard, it’s too hot, I’m hurting too much and my toenails I am sure are coming off, my HR was too high, I was feeling sick, I can’t do it and I’m not good enough…but in these moments of uncomfortableness I had to simply suck it up and become comfortable with my own fears, that were just that, unfounded judgments that were preventing me from reaching my goal. I knew I would succeed because I had already been through so much and I was sure that my stubborn, headstrong mind would get me there in the end, it may not be pretty, but I would do it.
In many ways Triathlon saved my life, from the seed that was planted by one of my friends ten years ago, to set myself a goal from my hospital bed after two lots of 8.5-hour skin reconstruction surgeries, to get back to triathlons. To feel the water surrounding my body, and the wind against my face and to hear the crowd support every athlete along the way, this was freedom from all the baggage that I carried that I no longer needed to have held me back. I joined Tri-Alliance really to get my new bike and to enter the series, but I got so much more. Throw in a Try the Tri program, a new bunch of like-minded athletes, and coaches that see your goals as realistic with the right preparation and training and here I am. A dear friend once said to me it doesn’t matter how slowly you move forward, the fact that you are still moving in that direction is progress. Life is not always just and fair, but if you lay down the consistent foundations and remember your goals, you will get there. My scars are my outward battle wounds, my inner ones aren’t visible, I could let these ones hold me back, but I choose to embrace the uncomfortable and push through these barriers to fight for my life. The question is simple…the answer may also be simple…the challenge is loving and respecting yourself enough to go out and make it happen.My name is Tanya Jenkinson I am a strong independent woman, teacher, and friend, and thanks to Tri-Alliance, I am a Triathlete.
