Shane Jackson mentioned in one of our Tri training workshops, “Crossing over that finish line will be a celebration of your discipline and it will be something that pushes you over the finish line in other areas of life.”

We salute our challengers for their discipline, sacrifice and 16 weeks of hard training! This challenge was designed to produce strength in overall goal setting, deepen friendships at work and to get us in top shape!

We all cling to idea of "being our best", and programs that push us toward a goal can be the pathway from better to best! Upgrading our quality of life is the philosophical backbone of every one or our programs and challenges. Everything we have in place is strategically designed to not only bring feelings of fulfillment from crossing a finish line, but more importantly laying down a life habit of striving for lifes finish lines, wherever your goals and dreams may drive you.

When you have explored your "limits", exceeding what you thought they were, and then come to the conclusion that there are no limits with a plan, a goal, determination, a solid program and people to partner with- that is when the psychology of the finish line becomes permanent in your soul. Lifestyle and behavioral impact is what we are after.

Challengers: Savor the finish line experience and apply that emotion to future challenges!

Get psyched up! Let the images and stories below inspire you to see and cross your next Finish Line!

Celeste Jackson, Leang Chhung, Kellye Barnes, Dawn Hafif, Juan Carlos, Danny Freeman

Len

"I don’t know that I was serious about doing the Sprint Tri at first. I didn’t even sign up myself, I got signed up by an associate here at JH. Still, I figured, why not, let’s give it a shot. The Sprint Tri gave me more reasons to celebrate wellness and feeling good and how lucky I am to have my family. It would’ve been unthinkable 3 years ago that I could’ve done this. Yesterday reminded me I can do most anything I set my mind to. I’m a big believer in settings goals and attaining them. Yesterday I accomplished a goal that pretty much just creates another one. That’s cool with me. I get to keep moving forward and I hate standing still almost as much as meetings!"

"Completing the triathlon meant several different things to me. This year was all about going beyond my comfort zone! I learned that while physical fitness is a huge part of the training, so is your mental attitude. Believing that you can and pushing yourself beyond your comfort level is what it is really all about it. I amazed myself with what I could achieve physically once I got past the mental block. One of the quotes that continued to push me through training was 'Don’t stop when you are tired. Stop when you are done.' It is easy to stop when you are tired, but to keep going is the sign of true strength.

I was on what I called the “tri high” for days after. That was such an incredible experience. I cannot wait to compete in my next triathlon and beat my time. Thank you Jackson Healthcare for the tremendous support through this journey!"

"What an AMAZING journey! The Tri was exactly that for me and I was so lucky to train with my fellow JCers, Staci, Lauren, Maggie and Woody. We started training the end of May and completed 16 weeks later. The finish line was such a beautiful site for us all! I DID IT! I celebrated with my hubby and kids waiting at the finish line along with the Jackson Healthcare!

We are LIMITLESS!! And that truly resonated with me personally. It’s our VISIONs, our GOALs, our DREAMs that push us and get us to the NEXT path, the NEXT journey, the NEXT…This journey has been truly amazing and I feel blessed to have shared it with my fellow Tri Teamers and feel like a true athlete with the support of Jackson Healthcare, the training team in the Coliseum, and my colleagues and family."

"Doing my first Sprint Triathlon was AWESOME! I’ve been able to add another style of training in swimming to continue my journey of continued health. A couple weeks prior to the tri, I went in for my check up at the clinic. Resting Heart Rate at 56 bpm and blood pressure at 116/72. This was the first time IN MY LIFE that my numbers were in the ‘healthy’ range moving out of the borderline between prehypertension and hypertension. I don’t quite know how that happened, but I attribute it to the next level of training that I had to do for the tri. It’s an awesome feeling.

I wouldn’t have been able to finish training or finish the race without the support system. Old friends, new friends, TRI friends. I have to give a special thanks to all of them for the motivation. TIME TO START TRAINING FOR NEXT YEAR’S TRI!!!"

"If you rewind back to the Turtle Crawl race October 2013, I remember laying down on the grass after completing the 29 mile bike portion of the relay and yelling out, 'I’m never doing this again; I never want to get on a bike or do a race like this ever again.' It’s funny because as early as March 2014, I was immediately approached by the same JH colleagues about doing the Lake Lanier Islands triathlon and I hesitantly agreed-------- for some crazy reason. I immediately hit the ground running; I joined as many group workouts, runs, spin classes, & swims as I could. Working out with other people made everything easier and more fun. We pushed each other to train even when we wanted be lazy and take the day off. Throughout the rest of 2014, I’ve never worked out harder or pushed my body more to the limit. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you have the support of your friends and family.

As I look back, the overall experience was amazing and it’s something that I will always remember. I never thought I could complete a triathlon nor would I have ever pushed myself to sign up. The triathlon really reinforced the importance of team work, to always keep pushing yourself to achieve new goals, and to never give up.

Some of my favorite quotes from this year :

#cantstopwontstop

#becomeonewiththewater

#idontwanttodrown"

"So, it was a Sunday morning in early June, I was at church, and Shane Jackson approached me and casually asked if was going to participate in the sprint triathlon that our company was entering this year. I rather scoffed at him, saying no, I hadn’t even heard of it. He told me it wasn’t the full tri, and that it would be relatively easy in comparison. I remember thinking that I needed an excuse to start exercising, so I told him yes. I would do it. And so begun a 16 week training adventure. In the course of it, I realized that I enjoy swimming FAR more than the other two events. I also found out that I don’t hate running, as I thought I did. Overall, I really enjoyed the exercise and event itself. Sad to say that I did not catch Shane by the 20 mins that we had wagered on, he beat me by 37 mins. However . . .there’s always next year!"

And the beauty is, it's a reimbursable program!

Training pays in many ways!