Hello! Here you will find a brief history of yours truly.

I met Marty in the summer of 2000. A mutual friend of ours, Wendy Johnson, thought that the two of us might hit it off, so she gave him my email. And thus started our internet relationship, much to the dismay of my friends. ("You mean you have an internet boyfriend?!") Really, it wasn't like that.

Wendy was right, we did hit it off. Our personalities were very similar and we got along great. The rest is history and pretty boring to the average human, so I won't go into the details. Suffice it say we are very happy together.

A little background on me now, which is extremely exciting!

I was born in St. Petersburg, Florida on May 25, 1979, weighing in at an enormous 10 lbs. 14 oz. I was the youngest of three girls, and I will openly admit that I was spoiled. (Although we all were, Heather and Shana!)

I had a pretty normal and privileged life as a kid - loving parents, both sets of grandparents around the corner. I am definitely one of the lucky ones.

My dad got into cycling while I was young, and had been a runner for quite some time. He ended up being the race director for a popular local race in 1987, the St. Anthony's Triathlon. It was held out at Fort DeSoto park and was a minuscule event to the one we all know now. My sister, Shana, and I had started swimming at the neighborhood pool in the summer, and she began to do some youth triathlons. All it took was for me to get a good look at the trophies she was bringing home. I wanted to bring one home, too.

My very first triathlon was St. Anthony's Youth Triathlon in 1988. I was 8 years old. I had a pretty good race, placing third in my age-group - but most importantly I got my first trophy! Woo-hoo! When's the next race? (I must let you all know on a side note, that although I only finished 3rd among the 8 year olds, I was up against some pretty stiff competition. First place went to Katy Radkewich, whose brother Nick represented the US in triathlon's Olympic debut in Sydney, and second place went to Brooke Bennett, who has won several Olympic medals in long distance swimming.)

From then on I was racing all the time. My dad, my sister, and I would drive all over the state for youth and sprint triathlons. We always had a great time, and I will never forget those road trips with my dad blasting Led Zeppelin to get us psyched up.

During that time, my dad also had us out in the backyard perfecting our shooting form for basketball. I have him to thank for my 3-point shot, and free throw ability. Because of all the practice ("Shoot with your eyes closed, Annie. You need to feel the ball.") I won the first five rounds of the Elks National Free Throw contest and made it all the way to the national competition in Indianapolis. I got an all-expense paid trip to shoot in Market Square Arena - pretty cool. This is just to let you all know that I'm not just a running nerd turned tri-geek :)

Once I got into high school, my bike began collecting dust, and my speedo's never left the dresser. There just wasn't any incentive to keep on training for triathlons. The junior program was pretty much non-existent and if I wanted to get a college scholarship I needed to concentrate on one sport. It was a no-brainer; I loved running.

So throughout high school, I had a great deal of success between cross-country and track. I ended up winning 9 individual state championships (3 for cross, 3 for the mile in track, and 3 for the 2 mile in track) along with 2 relay state championships. I also had a lot of fun playing basketball all four years and managed to be named an all-state player my junior and senior years.

And then it was off to college. I went to Auburn University my first year, but got a little homesick for Florida and ended up transferring to the University of Central Florida. I ran all 4 years, with limited success. Here's what I have to say about college-running: MARCIA MANSUR-WENTWORTH IS THE WORST COACH IN COLLEGE. IF YOU HAVE ANY DESIRE TO RETAIN YOUR LOVE FOR RUNNING, DO NOT RUN FOR HER!!!!! (in my humble opinion).

Enough about the evil-lady. Seriously, any high school runners that may have stumbled across this and are thinking about running for UCF, talk to me first.

The main reason why I got back into triathlons was because I was about an inch away from being burnt out. I had begun to hate running; I didn't have any desire to win. My parents knew this was just not in my nature, and it was my dad who suggested I jump into some of the Clermont sprints in the summer of 2000. I borrowed my sisters bike and got into the pool. (very grudgingly I might add - why is Northshore so cold?!)

And that about wraps it up. I started having fun racing again, and I met Mad Marty. He helped me get through my senior year of running with scary Marcia and once my eligibility was over I seriously got back into the triathlon scene. My swim has slowly been improving, and I'm trying to get stronger on the bike.

So after getting my BS in Accounting, my Masters in Business Administration, and working at Lockheed Martin for almost 4 years (internship included), I'm now currently bumming around the world with my wonderful husband Marty!