The fit from the firm

Nearly a dozen women talked and planned as they took a brisk walk the other day.

Could they change out of their swimsuits before getting on their bikes? No, came the answer, and there won’t be a place to change, anyway.

They hashed out who had the required bike helmets. One woman volunteered an extra. Kelly Pooley said she plans to wear her nephew’s “Cars” headgear.

“The little guy’s got a big head, so we’re good to go,” she said.

Four laps around the block surrounding the Metropolitan Utilities District’s downtown headquarters — a mile according to the pedometer — and the women headed back to the offices of YoungWilliams, a law firm in the Flatiron Building.

The walk and the talk were part of Team YW’s preparations for the Methodist Hospital/UNO Women’s Triathlon, a women’s-only swimming, biking and running event to be held Saturday at Wehrspann Lake and Chalco Hills Recreation Area.

The mini-triathlon, a noncompetitive event that’s not timed, will also serve as a kickoff for the wellness program a group plans to launch at the law firm next month, said Tracy Davidson, a supervisor at the firm.

Davidson had done the triathlon two of the last three years.

“I thought, let’s try to get as many gals as we could,” she said.

She and Stephanie Renner, another supervisor, have recruited 12 women from the firm. Last week, their boss surprised them with T-shirts with a bright pink “Team YW” logo. The women, in turn, have signed up seven additional friends and family members.

Some of the recruits had their doubts.

“We’re like, ‘No way,’” said Lisa Grossoehme as she walked last week.

But a number have been walking together at breaks and lunch and working through their concerns, even getting a bit excited.

“I think the term ‘amateur’ really helped,” said Betty Rubin.

Some, including Rubin, aren’t too keen on swimming with the fishes in a real lake. So Rubin and Renner plan to split their race. Rubin will bike, Renner will swim and they’ll walk and run together.

“I don’t like to swim where I can’t see the bottom,” Rubin admitted.

Todd Samland, who’s been involved in organizing the triathlon for 17 years, said the race is designed to overcome such roadblocks. Participants can skip the 100-yard swim or bring a kickboard or life jacket. The course allows participants to bike 2 miles, 4 miles or 6 miles and to walk or run a half-mile, mile or 1.5 miles.

The goal is to promote fitness and get people to try triathlons.

“We do not want to hold people back,” said Samland, women’s swimming and diving coach at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. “What we care about is them getting out there and feeling the energy of 300 women believing in fitness and getting into it.”

Davidson, 46, is a poster child for how that can happen.

The Council Bluffs resident started biking with her younger sister, Melody Charleson, four years ago.

“She’s the one responsible for getting me into fitness,” Davidson said.

The sisters, who catch up on life and families as they ride, started looking for “little challenges” to stay motivated. That led to the Women’s Triathlon three years ago. Davidson, too, had her reservations, particularly about swimming. But she got it done.

“It was great,” she recalled. “I’m over 40, and I’m doing this for the first time. I thought, ‘Well, I can do other stuff that I thought I couldn’t do.’”

She and Charleson still bike together. Davidson discovered she liked swimming and paddles the pool once or twice a week. She and her daughter, Miranda, who’s back after graduating from Iowa State University and works at YoungWilliams, exercise together after work.

In the past three years, Davidson has lost 80 pounds, 30 since January. She’s been able to reduce her high blood pressure medication, and she feels better.

Her fitness example — and her healthier eating plan — have caught on with her children. Miranda, 24, has lost 30 pounds since January. Son Jason, who recently graduated from the University of Iowa, has lost 60 pounds since high school. Chase, 25, started losing in college and has cut 70 pounds. Now a consultant with a political consulting firm, he recently called Davidson from a wilderness trail in northern Virginia.

“Me working out helped get them going,” she said. “And it helps keep me motivated, too.”

Research backs the role social support can play in keeping people moving.

Jennifer Huberty, an associate professor of physical activity in health promotion at UNO, found that women who are regular exercisers tend to have a lot of social support, education and self-worth. With that in mind, she launched a series of physical activity book clubs. Checking back a year later, researchers found that a lot of the women still were meeting. The social support was their favorite part of the endeavor, they said.

In the Davidsons’ case, that support is paying off in a number of ways.

“We recently went to a wedding, and people couldn’t believe it, ‘Oh, my God, the Davidsons,’” she said. “It was worth it to pass up those cheeseburgers. I feel good that all of us are healthy and taking care of ourselves now.”

Said Charleson: “It’s been awesome to see her get in shape and healthy and influence her family. Pay it forward, you know? She inspires me, she’s so disciplined.”

Indeed, this time it was Davidson’s turn to recruit Charleson for the triathlon. Miranda Davidson also is among the dozen that joined Team YW.

Next, Tracy Davidson and others plan to share some of what they’ve learned about fitness and healthier food choices with their colleagues. They will try to get pedometers and food journals for those who are interested and hold monthly meetings to share recipes and host speakers who can talk about healthy alternatives.

Meantime, the members of Team YW are taking their walks, prepping their bikes and rounding up kickboards. Some of those might have cartoon characters on them, too, Davidson said. One team member planned to try a swim in a lake near Burwell to get ready for Wehrspann.

“I think they’re going to have a great time,” she said.

Contact the writer:

444-1223, julie.anderson@owh.com

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