Cheryl Scigousky     When Cheryl Scigousky swam her first lap as a triathlete in training in 2001, the swimmer in the next lane asked her, “Are you okay?”   Cheryl managed to survive the race—and she was hooked. “I fell totally in love,” she said. Over the next few years, Cheryl gradually added distance, from the sprint event, to the Olympic distance triathlon and, eventually, the Ironman. She also was inspired to help other athletes achieve similar goals so, at the same time, she became certified to be a personal trainer and a USAT coach.   Today, Cheryl is on the road to compete in the 2008 World Championship Ironman in Kona, Hawaii, after winning her age category in the September 2007 Madison, Wisconsin Ironman.   She believes her story is a testament to the fact that anyone can compete in a triathlon. While she was building up her own strength as a competitive athlete, Cheryl hired a coach in order to help her break through some of her own personal training barriers. “I wanted to get better and I knew that, without a coach, I’d be stuck.”   Cheryl’s experience as a triathlete—having gone from being a rookie to an elite-amateur level athlete in just six years—informs her coaching style. “I’ve been there, I’ve done it. I know how they feel,” she said. And her experiences in coaching have made her a better athlete. Seeing the determination in the people she has trained, and seeing them achieve their goals, provides a source of inspiration when she is pushing herself in training and competition.   Since 2001, Cheryl has overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles, including injuries that kept her out of competition for months at a time. Still, she has found a way to balance a busy home life (she has three kids, ages 8, 10 and 11), with work and training. To Cheryl, all of the effort she makes to fit triathlon training into a demanding lifestyle has paid off. In triathlons, she has found “competition, a challenge;” the kind of thrill and physical high that motivates her to keep working hard.