Tina Shiver is our Athlete of the Week!
Tina’s fitness journey began with swimming backstroke in high school, followed by running for fun in college. She also started training for triathlons in her 20s, but always felt like there was something missing. Tina liked the community spirit of Endorphin Fitness and the fact that it felt like one big family. About 9 years ago, she decided to join Endorphin Fitness to get back into training for triathlons, but this time with a group.
Tina’s first race with EF was her first ½ in California. She has raced mostly raced 1/2s, but also participated in sprints and Olympics. She decided to take the plunge and train for Ironman Maryland in 2016. That was the year they cancelled the swim, so of course Tina had to sign up for Ironman Louisville the following year. She had an accident on the bike and fractured about 5 weeks before the Ironman. So that did not happen. Since she couldn’t swim or bike, Tina decided to start really working on her run again. She trains with Coach Ryan and anyone that knows him will know, if he believes you can do something, then his words are convincing and definitely get you excited. Ryan suggested she trains for marathon and Tina thought he was absolutely crazy. When he followed up with, “I think you could qualify for Boston.”, Tina knew Ryan had lost it. But she remembered, if you know Ryan, he does not suggest it unless he really believes you can pull it off. So there began Tina’s journey to train for Wrightsville Beach Marathon.
Tina doesn’t really have a favorite race experience, because “racing for me is just plain hard, with fighting the mental game of racing hard and it just does not come easy for me.” However, this last marathon taught Tina a life lesson that she believes will help her turn that tough mental game around. What really encourages her, and just so happens to be her favorite part of triathlon, is the Sea of Red when she is racing. It’s so important to her to have that support of the people that she trains with.
Endorphin Fitness has taught Tina how to make a commitment, do the work, and see the hard work’s pay off. Plus the support from her peers and coaches make her want to go faster. Again, she is determined to qualify for Boston this year, so she has one more marathon in the books for September, just in time to qualify for 2019 Boston.
For beginners, Tina reminds us to learn the mental game of working through “I’m not going to be able to pull this off” or “I’m not as good as that other person”. “Believe in yourself, know that if you put in the work, you will succeed in racing, training, and life.”
We are proud to say that Tina Shiver is our team dietician. Check out her company Lighten Up’s website!
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