Ambassador Spotlight: Michele Reimer

Spotlight for this post is on SBMAT Ambassador, Michele Reimer.

Survivor and a true inspiration.

Michele Reimer

City/State: Lanoka Harbor, NJ

Age Group: 45-49

Biggest Inspiration: One of the first people I met in triathlon was a 4x cancer survivor. I had just been diagnosed with metastatic thyroid cancer and was finishing treatment when I became friends with her. She had been doing triathlon for 6 years after her diagnosis. She is amazing and at 55 years old, she podiums frequently – I can’t seem to catch up to her, so I always tell her when I grow up, I want to be just like her!!Scary 2015 Goal I hate to even put this into words/print – I would love to finish a half ironman distance triathlon with a 5:xx! (There, I said it!) I love to do new things every year that challenge me – 2013 brought a full distance marathon and 2014 brought the 140.6! I am not sure how to top that, but I am still looking!

How Triathlon Changed Me: Oh goodness, in so many ways. I am a mom of 4 great children, a wife, a board certified veterinary internist, and I am also a cancer survivor. I became a cancer survivor on April 9, 2010 when I heard the words: you have thyroid cancer and unfortunately it has already spread to your lymph nodes. Naturally I was scared, but with my youngest daughter only 1 year old, I had to gather my strength and courage, and I underwent treatment. I had an extensive surgery to remove my entire thyroid with all of its masses, 13 enlarged lymph nodes, and I subsequently lost 3 of 4 parathyroid glands. It was a difficult recovery, but I feel that it was due to my previous level of physical fitness that it was as quick as it was. I followed surgery with radioactive iodine therapy, a form of radiation, to try to kill any remaining cancer cells. I had a bit of a rougher recovery but again, I continued to do what I could physically to keep my fitness intact.
In April 2011, I ran my first official half marathon to commemorate one year of being a cancer survivor. After that, a long list of running races and triathlon followed – I was hooked. Triathlon took this band geek to athlete, and made me a SwimBike MOM!!!

In October 2012, I was diagnosed with recurrence of the cancer in my lymph nodes. I was really disheartened to find this out as I was just about ready to commit to the biggest race of my life. When my doctors and I ultimately decided that we would just monitor the cancer’s progression for now (and I had to learn to live with cancer in my body), I signed up for my first Half Ironman distance triathlon, Eagleman 70.3 in June 2013! I loved every minute of the training journey and I started a fitness page on facebook to help inspire others as I went through the process – www.facebook.com/momvetsurvivortriathlete. Since then, I have completed the Marine Corps Marathon and just finished my first full distance triathlon – Challenge AC 140.6!!!!
I believe wholeheartedly that triathlon was, and still is, a major part of my cancer ‘recovery’. Cancer isn’t going to kill me, it is actually pushing me to live life to the fullest!!! Cancer has motivated to live my life to the fullest and I try to find something in every day to be grateful for! Tomorrow is a gift!

Favorite Piece of Gear: Gear is fun, isn’t it! Triathlon is not cheap – it’s bad enough to buy equipment for one sport, but three!! CRAZY! So picking out my top three gear items…that’s tough. The things I picked are things I use a LOT, some even daily.

I train by heart rate, therefore, my first and probably most important piece of equipment is my Garmin 910XT with the heart rate monitor. I had the Garmin 305 before the 910Xt and just love the ability to take it in the pool or an open water swim.

My second favorite piece of equipment would have to be my Cycleops Mag trainer and my Specialized Amira Comp Force! See how I did that….two equipments in one! I spend about 95% of my cycling time on the trainer – just like Andy Potts (love him!)!

Let’s see…my new favorite piece of equipment is my CW-X compression leggings. I have both the full leggings and the capri length. I actually raced Marine Corps Marathon in the capri length (and it was the first time I wore them – usually a big no-no, but it worked out great!). My legs really do feel fresher for longer and I like the support on my lower back. I also wear them after a long run or hard workout and seem to recover faster (it could just be in my mind, though!).

And as a bonus I will share my two favorite nutritional supplements!

SKRATCH Labs for Hydration – tastes SO good for a sports drink. Pineapple is my favorite. All natural with no artificial anything which is just what I love. It really is the only one I can stomach.

Huma gels – I think I tried every gel that was on the market. I hated them all and sometimes even gagged on them, until I found Huma. Again, it is all natural and tastes so good.

So these are the things that have powered me through 2013 and some of the races that I love! I look forward to trying new races!

I Race For: All the Cancer Survivors that can’t!!!

What Else You Should Know About Me: I have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do!! We have 1 dog, 4 cats, 3 rabbits, 2 chickens, a snake and too many fish to count!