Cheryl JestisWe all have goals -- big ones, small ones and everything in-between. And there's no better feeling than when you cross the finish line in a race you've run with yourself. Sick and tired of struggling with knee troubles, hip pain and a weight problem -- Cheryl Jestis decided to change her life. This three-part series from GOTRIbal's Sara Cox Landolt chronicles Jestis's hard-won efforts every step of the way.
Part 3: Triathlon -- Living Life Out Loud
Cheryl Jestis and her family were celebrating the 4th of July when her sister Vicki noticed a bump on Cheryl's left scapula. The bump was easy to see, thanks to Jestis' near 100-pound weight loss over the past five years through diet and exercise. She asked her doctor to look at the bump during her scheduled physical later that week. While it was likely a harmless lipoma (fatty tumor), her doctor sent her for x-rays and set up an MRI for July 30.
100 Pounds Faster!
Cheryl Jestis lost almost 100 pounds in five years through diet and exercise. Now, when she overdoses on homemade sugar cookies or a big greasy burger, it's the exception, not the way of life. "After an episode like that I go, 'Wow, that was weird,' and maybe, 'It was really good too!' But it's back to real life and real food in reasonable quantities. I try to focus on eating foods that will enhance my workouts most of the time," said Jestis.
Bump aside, Jestis says she was on top of the world. "After five years of hard work and determination I'd lost nearly 100 pounds," she said. "I was biking, swimming and even running on knees I was told couldn't. I'd been doing strength training for almost two years and physically I was lighter, faster, stronger and healthier than I'd ever been."
She felt stronger emotionally too, surrounded by solid, deep relationships with family, friends and within her church. Bolstered by her stronger mind, body and faith Jestis ran her first 10k later that month while on vacation with her family in San Diego.
Running was still a love-hate thing for Jestis -- and sometimes a hate-hate. She'd started running the previous summer after losing weight and building strength through swimming and cycling. Initially she thought the idea of running a 5 or 10k was crazy, but now, after running three 5ks, she was ready to dabble in the crazy.
"Ahhh ... to run on Coronado Island," said Jestis. "If you're going to suffer, you might as well do it in a beautiful place!" Jestis finished her first 10k in 60:53, a full 12 minutes faster than she'd done in training.
Cheryl JestisCheryl Jestis continued running during her cancer treatments and was cancer-free on March 31, 2010.Next up was the mini-triathlon she'd been thinking about for three years, waiting and wondering until she felt ready. Could she do it? Would she become a triathlete?
"I was afraid to say out loud I thought I might be able to do it someday," said Jestis. But putting your dreams into words and then your words into goals are critical steps to crossing a future finish line. So after getting more comfortable with the run -- and after reaching her goal weight -- Jestis knew it was time. After all, she didn't need to qualify with specific times or fancy equipment. She only needed to say yes, I'm ready.
She chose a mini sprint tri on Aug. 1, two days after her scheduled MRI. The triathlon combined a 400-meter swim, six-mile bike and two-mile run.
Two nights before race day, when other athletes are walking through an event expo, prepping their race bags or taking it easy pre-race, Jestis got the call. Turns out, that bump on her shoulder was not a lipoma but something much more significant.
"When I read the report I wanted to throw up," said Jestis. "I learned there was one very large mass, another large mass and possibly a third." Technically, the bump was Non-Hodgkin's Follicular Lymphoma, Stage II, Grade 3, a slow-growing form of lymphoma.
Surrounded by the strength and support of her family and friends, Jestis decided to go ahead with the triathlon and run the race marked out for her. "I had to forget about the diagnosis for a while, and what that might mean and simply run my race," she said. Jestis took sixth in her age group in her first triathlon and celebrated with the friends and family who came to support her.
Post-race Jestis selected pictures from that first triathlon for her computer screen background. "I looked at it multiple times every single day," she said. "When I see those pictures I remember how much I was suffering in the moment and how amazing I would feel just a few strides later. Just a few more strides, keep on going, you can do this."
Jestis's chemo and radiation treatments began in August and went until Jan. 12, 2010. She continued running during her treatments and was cancer-free on March 31, 2010.
Jestis hopes to improve her running this year and to break 30 minutes in a 5k. She's training for her first Olympic-distance triathlon in summer 2011. This converted runner says she'd love to run a marathon one day, and admits that "even talking about marathons is like a foreign language for the old me."
"When I ran my first 5k with my sister, my brother-in-law [a veteran marathoner] got up that morning and decided he would run too," she says. "I remember being in such awe that he could get up and say, 'I guess I'll go run 3.1 miles today.' Now I can go knock that out any day I choose to!"
Check out Part 1: Swimsuits & centuries and Part 2: First steps -- I am able.
With stories like Cheryl Jestis', we think endurance sports' best feature is its people. Know someone we should feature? Please email Sara at sklandolt@yahoo.com with "athlete feature" in the subject line.
