Athlete of the Month, January 2010 – Yaicha Schuneman
Athlete of the Month

D3: Can you tell us a little bit about your sports background? Which sports did you do as a kid and as you got older?
Yaicha: Growing up I was not involved in sports at all! I had severe asthma that forced me quite inactive. In the past five years I have found a passion for anything involving exploring the outdoors! I will try anything once and usually I will add that on to the list of things I love to do. Through swimming, biking and running I have actually been able to pretty much get rid of my asthma, and my quality of life has significantly improved.
D3:What was your motivation to get started in triathlon?
Yaicha: Getting involved in triathlon happened by chance, and it may have been the best thing that happened to me. I had done a couple of running races and had done fairly well considering my lack of training. I had several friends that were involved in triathlons that convinced me to do a triathlon as well. Without ever swimming or riding a road bike I signed up for the 5430 long course (that was dumb). I was able to successfully purchase a bike suited for triathlons, and learned to swim. I trained all summer and successfully completed the long course in Aug 2007
D3: What is your current job and what do you do?
Yaicha: I manage a Starbucks in Denver. We like to rock and roll.
D3:You recently raced IM Germany as your first IM. How was that experience given the stress of the travel?
Yaicha: I have found that traveling with a bike (especially internationally) is a very stressful experience. So many things can happen. When I did the Ironman I actually got a flat tire which changed my day very quickly. Although I got the flat, it was still an unbelievable experience to do the Ironman in Europe! I cannot even begin to describe what a great experience doing the Ironman was. It took me awhile to be okay with the fact that I got the flat, and it took a lot of time for me to recover from the change in plans (And it took me FOREVER) to fix the flat. Today I actually fee good about what happened. It made me stronger and I realized how strong I actually am.
D3:Only 3 months after Ironman Germany you qualified for the Boston Marathon by racing the Chicago marathon. What did you do in between those 2 big events to stay focused and fit?
Yaicha: I ran!!! After the Ironman I was on a mission, I knew that I could potentially qualify for Boston (even though I had never done a stand-alone marathon) and that helped to keep me motivated to train.
D3:Best Triathlon moment?
Yaicha: Finishing the Ironman in Germany. I felt such highs and lows that day, it was an amazing experience to cross that finish line, and know what I had just accomplished.
D3:What is your favorite race and why?
Yaicha: I had such an amazing day at the Chicago Marathon. I knew going into it that I could potentially qualify, but my goals were much simpler than that. My two goals were to HAVE FUN and also run at a pace that I could maintain for the entire race and not go out too hard. I succeeded in having fun, the miles went very quickly and I made sure to SMILE the entire way. My pace stayed the same (within 5 seconds) for the entire race. It was such a great feeling when I knew that I qualified for Boston.
D3: What are your long term goals in triathlon?
Yaicha: I am itching to do another Ironman! I also want to continue to challenge myself and do my best everyday!
D3:If you could spend a day training with anyone, who would it be?
I am so lucky to have to people around me that I do, I love all of the people that I currently train with and I am really content just being able to train with any of them!
D3: What’s in your race future?
Yaicha: I am gearing up for RAW (race across the west) right now. It is a bike race from San Diego to Durango!
D3:What’s your favorite workout?
Yaicha: Hands down, any trail run is my favorite!
D3: What your least favorite workout?
Yaicha: I hate doing core work. I know it is really beneficial, but I just don’t like it.
D3: Tell us something interesting about you!
Yaicha: I climb 14ers year round with my dad!