#12 - Setting The Pace (September 9)

“The people I know who do triathlons are uniquely driven and successful people, and I think they bring a lot of that to the sport,” SELF editor-in-chief Lucy Danziger told Jennifer Lopez while training together for Jennifer’s first race. Jennifer certainly fits that description, but there’s another personality trait that will be a factor on race day:

“I’m so competitive, it’s crazy! And so are the other people that will be out there. I love that drive in people. It’s exciting to me. But I have to remember to go at my own pace and not worry what others are doing around me. It’s trouble when you’re a competitive person and you realize, ‘I can’t go as fast as they’re going.’ It kind of makes you angry!

“I’m going to just try to go at my own pace and enjoy the race. It’s so great watching people do things that you know they worked hard for. That’s what I loved about watching the Olympics. Every event brought a tear to my eye. You know it’s the person’s dream and they’ve worked every single day for years to get there. There’s something so noble about that dedication to a goal.”

Dedication is something Jennifer has in spades, and it makes a big difference in her training, says Gunnar Peterson, her trainer. “I know she’ll always get her workout in. Not to say that she never has to skip one, but she’ll get in the pool at 7 A.M. after getting up early with the babies, then hop on a plane if she has to. She’ll say, ‘This is what I’ve got to do, and it’s all for the charity, so let’s go.’ That’s cool.”