Mrs. Bielski after completing her 67th Triathlon

Art teacher Mrs. Carolyn Bielski recently completed her 67th triathlon, where she took 1st place in her age group and finished 10th among all women. 

Q: What sparked your idea to train for and participate in the Chicago Triathlon?

A: “I got into it in the Chicago Triathlon coincidentally the day before I started teaching at Lake Forest High School. In 1998 was my first triathlon, and I did it with my brother. So I raced a lot of races, but I haven’t raced since 2012, and I had to stop because I had a lot of injuries. And then when my kids went away to college, I was sort of like, you know what? I’ve still got that bike in the basement. Maybe I could dust it off, and I love to swim, and I have been running a lot. So why not? “

Q: What hardships did you overcome or experience as an athlete in your life?

A: “Ready for the laundry list? Plantar fasciitis a bunch of times. IT band tendonitis. I tore my hamstring from sprinting. I also tore my glute. So that was all caused by running. But more specifically, this is a cautionary tale to anybody who doesn’t warm up for any of their sports. Because I wasn’t warm when I tore my glute and my hamstring, and I was in an all out sprint within maybe 4 minutes of starting running is when the issues started.”

Q: Going into this one, did you have any goals or expectations for it? 

A: “I wanted to be on the podium, so 1st or 2nd or 3rd in my age group. That worked out really well. In triathlon, one of the big things is the transitions between events. So, between the swim and the run or between the swim and the bike, it was 0.4 miles just to get out of the water and into the transition area. My goal was to sprint through that because in this distance race, a race can be won or lost in the transitions. I had a really, really good transition time and I’m proud of myself with that.”

Q: Are there any things you may regret doing or not doing? 

A: “I felt very confident in my training process and I have a lot of experience doing them, so going into this one I knew what worked for me. Nothing really comes to mind that I regret during my training.”

Q: What leg of the triathlon did you find hardest?

A: “Definitely run. In that case because it was so hot. That’s the last one. There is no shade. There is no shade anywhere at the end of the course, so it was brutal.”

Q: Do you have any more future ideas or plans to do anymore?

A: “I’m totally doing more. There’s one in a couple weeks in Geneva, and I love it because it’s in Fontana. I’ve raced it 10 times. The triathlon season in Chicago starts in the middle of May so I think I’ll set my sights on probably doing 6 next year. And then I think this past one qualified me for nationals, so I would love to race nationals next year.”

Q: Do you see any connections between the discipline required for the triathlon and other aspects of your life?

A: “150%. Well, I mean, you’re not gonna just run a marathon. You need to chip away, chip away, chip away, chip away. And I was talking to my freshmen in scout seminar about this the other day because I don’t know that they’ve ever had any big long term goals before. You chip away, and it’s a couple steps forward and a step back, but it’s so worth it.”