NAC Masters: Getting to Know Vicki Updike

NAC Masters

Vicki Updike

 

Tell us a little about yourself.  Where are you from?    

 

I grew up on a working farm in Maine.   We raised beef, cattle, sheep, and grew various crops.   What I realize now, is all that work my parents had us doing was actually building bodily strength and solid work values.

 

 Tell us about your family?  

 

I am married to Dawson  Updike.  We have two sons, Cooper and Dawson a.k.a “Lil D,”and a dog named Kona. We thought it was fitting our rescue dog was named “Kona,” as I had finished Kona a year earlier; we all considered it  fate that she would be an

Updike!  

 

What brought you to Nashville?

 

Our oldest son was diagnosed with Autism in 1996 and that’s when I started the journey to find him the best program I could! We came to Nashville to be part of the TRIAD program at Vanderbilt because at the time it was the only program in the country doing what I felt Cooper would need to succeed. 

  

Is there a history of athletics in your family?

 

No.

 

What is your athletic background?

 

I don’t really have one.  My parents did let me dive on the swim team in the winter because we were slow on the farm, but I was not very good! 

 

When did you start doing triathlons? 

 

In 2001,  I did my first triathlon at Music City Tri when it was at Nashville Shores.  I borrowed a bike and had never run more than 30 minutes!   Let’s just say I went directly home and took a nap.  From there it progressed and snowballed to 2009 with me doing my first full Ironman.  

 

Today there is so much pressure to do an Ironman!  I hear it all the time from athletes, “I must do an Ironman to be a triathlete.”  Really? Are you not a runner until you do Boston?  No. One day while I was swimming at Maryland Farms, a seasoned triathlete said something that really impacted me: “Ironman isn’t going anywhere but your kids are… and they’re growing up fast.” Don’t compromise your family time for Ironman because the race will still be there even when the kids have grown and gone!

 

How has NAC/Ashley helped your swimming? In Open Water and Triathlons?  

 

Oh, well, this part of my story could be a documentary!  When I came to swim with Ashley, I couldn’t even make it down one length of the pool!!  She had me buying all this equipment including fins, paddles, and buoys. I had no idea how to use any of them. We are so lucky to have Ashley in our community.  She is always encouraging, warm and knows when to push us versus just letting us swim.  Plus, she knows everyone’s stroke counts and splits so there is no hiding from her, which I love to hate!  

 

Brag a little. What are some of your athletic accomplishments? What are your Goals?  

 

As with anything … my goals shift and change.   My first goal was to finish a triathlon. My next goal was to be a USAT All American; I followed that by completing an Ironman and then became an Ironman All American. Next, I qualified for 70.3 Worlds and then I finished Kona. I am looking forward to going to 70.3 Worlds in Nice, France this year and qualifying for Kona again.  

 

Tell us a funny anecdote from the pool? 

 

This story sticks in my mind because it’s so fresh!   Shelia  Taormina was telling us to enter the water with ‘our middle finger.'  Marie Berry and I couldn’t stop laughing because we said we could finally give Ashley  the finger while swimming up and down the pool.

 

Why do you do Triathlons and get up early to swim ?

 

I continue to do triathlons because of the comrade and the challenge.  PLUS, my family would have no idea what to think if I was home when they woke up on the weekends!