REAL STORIES by REAL PEOPLE
A collection of articles on various POSE and other running related topics written by and/or about Pose Method Certified Coaches and Pose Runners of all levels.
FLORIDASPORTS.COM (USA)
September, 2005
Florida's Connie Sol: Why It's Never Too Late To Get Fit
by T.J. Cesarz
At the age of 45, Ironman triathlete/Eco Challenge finisher/mountaineer Connie Sol is the epitome of Florida’s “Fittest Woman.” However, things weren’t always that way.
“At age 32, I weighed 180 pounds, was a heavy smoker and had no fitness regimen whatsoever,” recounts Sol. “I realized that if I did not make some drastic lifestyle changes, I would more than likely be looking at some serious health issues down the road. So, I stopped smoking, spoke to a nutritionist and got on an exercise plan. At that time, I had no idea how far making those lifestyle changes would take me.”
A native of El Salvador, Sol had no real athletic background to lead her on the long road to health and fitness. She had done a lot of horseback riding in Central America, but had no experience in team or competitive sports. That would change quickly.
“I lost 60 pounds and started training with a local group of triathletes,” says Sol. “I did my first race in 1993, an ESM (Exclusive Sports Marketing), sprint tri at the Cheeca Lodge in the Florida Keys. I became hooked, and made the sport the focus of my new athletic ‘career.’”
By 1996, Sol was competing in the elite division of sprint- and Olympic-distance triathlons all over the country and doing extremely well. Her success led to her becoming a member of the El Salvadoran National Triathlon Team. She raced with the team from 1996-1998, gaining valuable international experience. However, by early ’98 she was ready for the next challenge.
“I was burnt out from the international travel and the sprint and Olympic distances, so early in the season I decided to focus on training for the Hawaiian Ironman. I qualified, completed the race and decided that if I continued to do tris, I would only compete at the Ironman distance.” The year 1999 brought another change to Connie Sol’s sports lifestyle. After the 1998 Ironman Triathlon World Championship, she competed in the 1999 Disney Marathon and came to another realization.
“I was tired of the pavement and all the running and cycling I had been doing on roadways to prepare for Ironman and the marathon. I made a vow to get out on the trails, which are plentiful not only in South Florida but around the state. I put my road bike in storage, bought a mountain bike and started spending my time off road.”
Her venture to Florida’s trails introduced her to the next sport that would become a major part of her life: adventure racing. The sport was just starting to take off in Florida, but many “sprint” or short-course races were popping up all over. Most competitions were done in a team format, with three-person teams racing together on courses that featured trail riding, trail running, kayaking/canoeing and a series of surprise “special tests.”
Sol’s introduction to competitive racing was with the Hi-Tec Series. She raced on a course at North Miami’s Oleta State Park, did well, and looked to expand both her racing schedule and the distances of the races she competed in. By the end of 1999, she was a full-fledged adventure racing “junkie,” competing in 12-hour races being put on by Ft. Lauderdale’s Adventurous Concepts. That led to 24-hour events and multi-day races up and down the east coast. Sol had found yet another calling.
“The adrenalin rush you get from adventure racing is like no other,” says Sol. “From the different terrains, not knowing how far you are going and anticipating the special tests and challenges. It’s a true test of how far you can go, both physically and mentally.”
Competing as an elite racer all over North America in 1999 and 2000, Sol reached the pinnacle of adventure racing success when she was invited to join Team Iron Range, a professional squad based in Minnesota. They would be competing in the 2001 Eco-Challenge in New Zealand, on a South Island course that would take them over 220 miles of the toughest waterways and terrain in the southern hemisphere. Sol accepted the invitation and spent most of 2000 preparing for the race that would be her biggest physical and mental challenge yet.
It took Team Iron Range more than 10 days to finish, but they got it done, over a course that many experts felt was the most difficult in Eco-Challenge history. For Connie Sol, it was her biggest achievement to date as an athlete.
“Just to cross the finish line was such an amazing accomplishment,” she reflects. “Remember, teams go around the clock, with minimal rest and hardly any sleep. You must work through injury, equipment failure, the elements… At times it seems like an impossible task. But you persevere the best you can because for most teams, the goal was not to win but just to finish in good enough shape to try it again.”
With yet another feather in her athletic cap, Sol returned to South Florida with a business, not an athletic, venture on her mind. In preparing for Eco-Challenge, she realized that there were few retail outlets that catered to the true outdoorsman, climber or extreme athlete in Florida. Along with fellow climber and hard-core adventure racer Jim Molaschi, she opened Outdoor Athletic Gear (OAG), a shop specializing in climbing, mountaineering, hiking and other hard- to-find gear.
“Jim is a longtime mountaineer who has also competed successfully in events like The Beast of the East and Raid the North adventure races. I had to get certified as a climber for Eco- Challenge and took that on as my next athletic challenge. Together we decided that it would be easier to afford our climbing/mountaineering habits if we could buy our gear wholesale. So OAG was born,” says Sol.
The store has been open for three years, and has become South Florida’s leading retail outlet for extreme athletes and outdoorsmen. In addition, OAG supports a ton of local events and sponsors racers who compete locally, regionally and nationally.
As a climber, Sol has summited a number of North American Peaks including 14,162-ft. Mt. Shasta in Northern California’s Cascade Range and 14,410-ft. Mt. Rainier. When time and the weather allows, she and her climbing buddies also do some “peak bagging” in the Rockies, trying to scale as many of Colorado’s “14’ers” (14,000-ft.+ peaks) as they can. On her “wish list” is a 50th birthday trip to Alaska to scale North America’s highest peak, Mt. Denali. “It would be awesome to climb the 20,320 feet at age 50. It would certainly complete my dreams as a climber.”
Until then, the all-everything endurance athlete/coach/educator (she has an M.S. in Exercise Physiology from Florida Atlantic University and an MBA from Widener University in Philadelphia) has a few “smaller fish” to fry. Earlier this year, she finished second in her age group at Ironman Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, qualifying once again for the Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Kona this October. To prepare, she’s been training 20-24 hours a week, doing 4-5 miles in the pool, 300 miles on the bike and running 25-30 miles. In addition, she’s a big proponent of strength and flexibility training and spends a lot of time in the gym doing both.
As a woman who didn’t get started in sports until her early 30s, Sol says that anybody can start on their own road to fitness at any age. Her keys to success and enjoyment?
“Don’t burn out on racing,” Sol stresses. “Try to enjoy your training, and have fun ‘getting’ to a race or event. Fit them into a long weekend or mini vacation, and travel with family and friends. It’s been my experience as a woman who got started later in life that it’s more important to have fun. If you can win or be competitive, that’s great, but enjoying the moment is what’s important—and having a good experience is what will bring you back again and again.”
Check out more about Connie Sol at the Outdoor Adventure Gear Web site at www.oagear.com.
T.J. Cesarz is a sports/event marketing consultant and freelance writer based in Lake Worth, Florida. You can visit his Web site at www.bighousesports.com and contact him at tjsoxfan@msn.com.
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