This month’s Athlete of the Month, is actually a family! Their coach, Brad Seng, had this to say about what it’s like working with the 4 of them: “Working with the Nabitys is a fun challenge for me. They are each wired a bit differently. Triathlon has provided a conduit for strengthening their family relationship and providing a great opportunity for memorable experiences (with some good old fashioned smack talking with each other!). It’s a privilege to work with each of them towards their individual goals knowing they are supportive of one another through the training process.”
Team Nabity – 2 Timothy 4:7
How did it come to be that all three of you decided to start racing triathlon?
Colin started the domino affect when he completed Ironman Coeur d’Alene in 2013. Lynette, my wife, daughter Chloe, and I went to watch him race. While at the dinner the night before, I sat there in awe observing all the different types of people getting ready to complete the 140.6 race the following morning. Sub-consciously, the Ironman bug was planted. Colin completed the race and became the first Nabity Ironman!
In the fall of October 2013, I was water skiing in Tennessee and I ended up tearing off all three hamstrings tendons of my right leg. After being life-flighted, having surgery to reattach the tendons, then 6 weeks in a body brace and three more weeks of recovery, my doctor told me to give up water skiing and take up swimming or biking. I told him those are wimpy sports. That was the wrong thing to say.
March 2014, A friend of mine, convinced me to buy a bike to lose the 25 pounds I gained. Two weeks later, I bought the bike and the Ironman bug surfaced. I decided to hire a local triathlon coach and take swim lessons. After 25 yards, she told me to stop and get out of the pool. I didn’t realize you breathe out underwater. I looked like the Lochness monster slithering back and forth. The triathlon journey began!
In the summer of 2014, I convinced Colin and my daughter, Chloe, to start doing triathlons with me and we did a couple of sprints and we had a great time. So we came up with the idea of all of us doing a triathlon together. We chose Ironman Austin 70.3 and Team Nabity was born. Colin, Chloe, Lynette, Summer Nabity (Colin’s then fiancé) and Brock Booker, fellow new triathlete, headed to Austin from Omaha, NE in a 12 person passenger van. Colin, Chloe, Brock and I did the whole race and Lynette and Summer, participated as the “Fire Breathing Rubber Duckies” relay team. We all finished the race. Lynette took one for the team, retired from triathlons and the next day and became our professional Team Nabity Sherpa!
Who else is in your family?
buy a bike to lose the 25 pounds I gained. Two weeks later, I bought the bike and the Ironman bug surfaced. I decided to hire a local triathlon coach and take swim lessons. After 25 yards, she told me to stop and get out of the pool. I didn’t realize you breathe out underwater. I looked like the Lochness monster slithering back and forth. The triathlon journey began!
In the summer of 2014, I convinced Colin and my daughter, Chloe, to start doing triathlons with me and we did a couple of sprints and we had a great time. So we came up with the idea of all of us doing a triathlon together. We chose Ironman Austin 70.3 and Team Nabity was born. Colin, Chloe, Lynette, Summer Nabity (Colin’s then fiancé) and Brock Booker, fellow new triathlete, headed to Austin from Omaha, NE in a 12 person passenger van. Colin, Chloe, Brock and I did the whole race and Lynette and Summer, participated as the “Fire Breathing Rubber Duckies” relay team. We all finished the race. Lynette took one for the team, retired from triathlons and the next day and became our professional Team Nabity Sherpa!
Who else is in your family?
Our Team Nabity captain is Cara Kay Nabity. Cara was born with a congenital heart defect and she died of complications from her final surgery at the age of 19. Cara’s favorite Bible verse was 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” We all have that verse as a tattoo. We miss her dearly.
What do they think of your interest in the sport? How do they cheer you on on race day?
Lynette is learning what it means to be a Sherpa in a triathlete family and how zoned in we can get before the race. It’s not easy. ☺ She’s learning the Ironman routine and what’s all involved getting us ready to race.
Cara Kay, as our triathlon captain, is in close contact with us. We have her picture and the 2 Timothy 4:7 verse with us during the race. We know she’s cheering us on and it gives us comfort knowing that we’ll see her again.
Surely you have a few races that you’ve all done together. Describe your favorite race memory from when you have all 3 raced!
The race we did all together was Ironman Austin 70.3. We all got Team Nabity kits and this was the first race for Chloe, Lynette and Summer. We have stories after stories from that race that we’re still laughing about. Chloe ended up in the medical tent, Lynette decided she didn’t need the wetsuit during the swim and took it off after 500 yards (she swam competitively in high school), I thought the bike elevation was 800 feet, instead of 2800 feet, running with people asking me what 2 Timothy 4:7 meant on my jersey, …. Everyone had issues that day that keep us laughing at the dinner table! One thing we learned is that we’ll never again drive 14 hours each way in a 12-person van with 6 triathletes and all their gear, bikes, etc. By the time we got home, we wanted to kill each other.
The best thing from that race was the Team Nabity photo at the finish. It became the photo for our Christmas card that year.
Chloe and I trained for Ironman Boulder 2015 at the D3 Ironman Boulder training camp. The camp was invaluable in getting us ready for the Boulder altitude, race conditions and the course. It was a great camp and I’d recommend it for anyone who wants to do Ironman Boulder.
Do you train together (do you live near each other)?
With Chloe living in Auburn, AL and the rest of the family living in Omaha, NE, it’s tough training together. If we get the chance to train together, we take advantage of it. The nice thing is that Brad Seng is coaching all of us. (We all wonder if Brad, being head coach of the University of Colorado Buffaloes Triathlon Club team, is punishing us with his workouts for all the times the Nebraska Cornhuskers beat Colorado in football!)
Do you have any special family ceremonies or traditions related to triathlon?
We don’t have any family ceremonies, but currently, I’m the holder of the figuratively infamous Nabity Triathlon belt. I wear it proudly. I know if won’t be for long, seeing how Colin and Chloe are progressing. I’ll be lucky to hold on to the belt in 2016.
Also, it seems that every triathlon we do ends up having it’s own set of songs that become our motivation play list for the race. The unfortunate thing is that the songs end up with some crazy dance moves. Yes, I’m the best triathlon dancer, right Chloe. Go figure, living the dream.
How does triathlon bring the three of you together (not just proximity on race day, but as a family)?
Triathlon in the Nabity family is an interesting subject. We all have this competitive nature and the smack talk is alive and well. At the same time, we encourage and help each other to succeed and to do our best.
I’m the triathlon cheerleader of the bunch trying to sign everyone up for new races in different parts of the world and researching the latest and greatest techniques, gadgets, products, workouts, you name it. I’m a techie nut. It’s nice to have Colin and Chloe as triathletes, so I have someone to talk to about triathlons. But even they sometimes get tired of me talking about triathlons and tell me to stop. Is that being disrespectful to their parents? Hmmm.
If the three of you were out on a ride together and all of a sudden you had the chance to catch up with someone in front of you … who would it be?
We all agreed on this one, we would race our hearts out to see Cara Kay again. We do know we’ll see her in Heaven.
What’s on the horizon this year for the three of you and racing?
Chloe is racing for the Auburn University Tigers triathlon club this spring. In addition to her Auburn club races, she will be racing Ironman Raleigh 70.3 and USAT Olympic Nationals in Omaha, in between her graduate studies. I’m still trying to convince her to do Ironman Canada with me. And, we just found out she got a spot in the Escape from Alcatraz this June!
Colin, newly married and an entrepreneur, will be doing Ironman Raleigh 70.3 and USAT Sprint Nationals in Omaha.
Steve will be doing Ironman St. George 70.3, Ironman 70.3 Raleigh, Ironman Canada and the USAT Olympic Nationals.
You each have to finish these two sentences …
Steve
It’s a pleasure to recognize this outstanding family for their love of sport and love of each other. Congratulations Colin, Chloe and Steve for being the D3 Athletes of the Month!
