Triathlete races from couch potato past
Andrea Chan gears up for good health with four pairs of running shoes and a daily breakfast of oatmeal.
Story and photo by John Perry
“If I can, anyone can,” said Andrea Chan, senior assistant city attorney, referring to her journey from couch potato to a triathlete.
“I believe everyone can start some sort of physical fitness program,” said Chan, who completed her 24th triathlon Oct. 1.
That doesn’t mean everyone has to train for a triathlon: a grueling, endurance competition combining swimming, bicycling and running.
“What’s important is finding a program you can stick with,” Chan said. “That’s the only way to achieve your personal fitness goals.”
You’ll never know where or when inspiration will hit.
For Chan, it began on an airline flight in the fall of 1999. On board were some marathon runners exhilarated from the race they had just completed.
“It was exciting just to listen to them. They were on a runners’ high,” she said.
“I had just turned 35 and wasn’t in very good shape,” said Chan, who considers herself a goal-oriented person. “I said to myself, ‘I’ve got to do something.’”
She decided to start running.
In 10 weeks, the former couch potato was a 5-kilometer runner.
Chan’s next big challenge was training for a 26.2-mile marathon: a distance that would take almost 30 minutes to drive at 60 miles per hour.
While running a half-marathon as part of her training, Chan was passed by a blind runner. That gave her even more motivation, she said.
“I wanted to get stronger,” Chan said.
And so she did.
Two and a half years later, Chan had completed two marathons, two half-marathons, about a dozen 5-Ks and two 10-Ks.
Then it was time for the big one.
Toward the triathlon
For most people, the difficulty is looking at the enormity of the three events, Chan said.
“I wasn’t very good at any of the individual sports, but I could at least do all three,” said Chan, who hadn’t been in a swimming pool for 15 years.
She kept training, refusing to be intimidated by more seasoned athletes.
Training time became a high priority, Chan said. She learned to prioritize and manage her day job while juggling her demanding training schedule.
“But it actually made me a more organized attorney,” said Chan, with Legal since 1992, frequently representing the city in appellate court litigation.
Concerned about her nutrition, Chan consulted a registered dietitian.
“She tweaked my diet by emphasizing a good breakfast that was high in fiber. I got off Gatorade and started drinking 64 ounces of water a day.”
Chan completed her first triathlon in 2002 while maintaining a sense of moderation.
“My goal was not do anything to myself that would require medical attention, but to just finish the race,” Chan said. “There are people who try to kill themselves to get a fast time, and they end up with an IV. That’s not what it’s about for me.
“Being an athlete means setting your own goals, not meeting someone else’s.”
She is a strong advocate of fitness programs.
They increase your energy and discipline and improve your quality of life, Chan said. And it’s a good way to meet new friends with similar interests.
“I’m doing things at 41, I never dreamed of doing in my 20s,” she said.
In October, Chan got her Level 1 coaching certification from USA Triathlon, the sport’s governing authority. In May, she completed her master’s degree in biblical studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. In September, she began the master’s program in public health at the University of Texas School of Public Health.
Whatever her future holds, it’s a safe bet Andrea Chan will be on the go.
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