“I should have trained for this race!” was the predominant thought screaming in my head on September 29th at the SEE JANE TRI triathlon for women. What was I thinking to do a Tri-Sprint cold turkey?!

My morning started at 5:30 as I ate my usual race-day peanut butter and jelly toast with coffee. Admittedly I thought about not getting up when the alarm went off that Saturday morning. I’d pondered, “Why don’t I just sleep in and tell everyone I was sick today and couldn’t do the triathlon?” The wine I had the night before were still lingering on the brain anyway. How could I compete in less-than-ideal condition? Hundreds of excuses were created that early morning.

But as I pulled into the Race parking lot that morning as the sun came up, saw the steam on the lake where I’d be swimming soon, and felt the buzz of excitement from my female competitors, I remembered why I’d come. I love this stuff!

Last year was the first time I entered a Triathlon and I’d taken the time to train for the event. For a first timer in the 25-29 year-old bracket, I’d done well with a 1:27 finish time. As a new 30-year-old in a later start bracket, this time I marveled at the athleticism standing around me. It’s a contagious energy–all women preparing to race each other, but more importantly, to race themselves for a new personal record.

The water was warm when I sprinted in at the sound of the air horn. I got caught in the middle of the pack and was pushed, kicked and drank lake water until the 2nd leg of the swim. The year before I was wise to swim on the outside of the group and start passing on the way back in. This year I was chatting with a fellow competitor and forgot to pay attention to the start strategy. As I finished the swimming portion of the race and dragged myself out of the water, I laughed, remembering the very few laps I swam in the gym pool prior.

My muscles weren’t used to the biking portion, and the borrowed mountain bike with fat tires didn’t help my speed. I smiled through the embarrassment of being passed by 3 later waves of athletes in this leg of the race, and got back up when I crashed my bike at the bike-run transition when I realized I had not unclipped one foot from the pedal. There was no point in beating myself up; the last time I was on a bike was one year earlier at the same event.

The run portion was fantastic because I’m an endurance runner. It’s a great feeling to cheer on the other female competitors who are struggling, but finishing. My finish time came in at 1:30, 3 minutes later than last year’s race.

As a perma-grin etched my face and the runners high set in, I thought, “I feel good. I didn’t train, but I tried, and that’s what matters.” There is nothing like that satisfying feeling of completing something, regardless of your results.

I’m not the only one tired of the constant bombardment of media coverage on the reckless lifestyles of our Hollywood celebrity princesses. Frankly I’m tired of hearing so much hoopla about who is shaving their head, getting DUI’s, or going commando!

Thank goodness for User Generated Content! It’s high time we redirect the spotlight on people worthy of celebrating, and that is the purpose of Women Who Win™.

The kicker for me to launch the show happened when I placed a mic in the hands of a 15-year-old girl in front of a large wealthy crowd of Silicon Valley folk at a reserved club and asked her to ‘tell her story’. My company was sponsoring the weekly mixer and she was representing the non-profit we focused much of efforts to support. The first words out of her mouth were, “the landscape for our female role models is pretty bleak”. (Cue crickets)

Those words hit me pretty hard, and I promptly got off my lazy heiny and resurrected the concept of this show. It’s a starting point and a mere sample of the types of incredible women out there, celebrity or relatively unknown, that we’d like to know more about. There are accessible, humble, downright dynamite females of all ages doing awesome things across the globe and I feel so fortunate to be able to spend 30 minutes interviewing them.

I hope our efforts spawn more monthly themes, shows, and wonderful UGC (User Generated Content) so that spotlight from Hollywood starts refocusing its misdirected lights.

Women Who Win has lined up some of the most encouraging and courageous women to tell their stories and inspire listeners to overcome their challenges, shoot for their dreams and ‘go for the gold’ in life. Whether famous or relatively unknown, each guest is a strong woman who has reached a personal goal or inspired others to reach theirs’. These women range from athletes and corporate executives, to political figures and breast cancer survivors. Each month has a different theme, such as “Authors”, “Social Change Agents”, and “Pioneers”, in hopes to reach and motivate all women no matter their interests or passions. Women Who Win will set the standards for women-friendly, inspiring podcast listening.

Immortalized by her game winning goal and sports-bra celebration during the 1999 Women’s World Cup Finals, soccer star Brandi Chastain will kick-off the opening month of September, which is dedicated to highlighting female athletes. Also included in September’s lineup is triathlete Jessi Stensland, who has made a name for herself on the triathlon circuit, and whitewater kayaking pioneer Beth Rypins, who will reveal her strategy to overcoming fear. Rounding out the month will be a dual interview with both extreme triathlete Sally Edwards and WNBA superstar Jennifer Azzi. For more information about the show, please visit www.womenwhowinradio.com.