In a recent article about the
survivors of Flight 1549 – Miracle on the Hudson –
one man was experiencing nightmares and anxiety. He had been
a runner in High School but had not run in many years. His therapist’s
remedy…..start running again. Running can be a stress
reliever, an escape, a mood lifter and so much more. For Amanda
Tripodi, it’s like a best friend.
A competitive swimmer at Lincoln High School
in Brooklyn and S.U.N.Y. Stony Brook, she competed in several
triathlons while in college. Running was a casual approach to
keep up her fitness while in college. She did not know much
about pacing and competing. In 2003, Amanda became the mother
of twins. She would go out every day for a run with the baby
jogger. This casual running took a more serious turn in 2004
when Amanda decided to run her first road race. She ran the
Memorial Day Race with a respectable time of 30:12. This fueled
her energies to complete the Triple Crown that year. She ran
the Al Ronaldson Race in 23:13 and 36:52 for Pepper Martin where
she was the 12th female overall. The next year she met one of
the island’s top road racers, Terry Ballou. The two had
a common bond as they are both the mother of twins. Amanda credits
Terry with teaching her about pacing and competing.
In 2005 she was encouraged by long time SIAC
member Bobby Guidera to join the club. She and Bobby work out
at the same gym. She has been the women’s team captain
for the past 2 years. She has organized a Ladies Night Out the
past 2 summers, giving fellow teammates a chance to get to know
one another better. She has been a great asset to the team consistently
scoring for the women’s open team at various races.
“Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning
from failure, loyalty, and persistence” – Colin
Powell
Who knows this better than Amanda? In 2007,
she used an on-line coach to train for the New York City Marathon.
She became a bit obsessive with sticking to the program. She
followed the coach’s workouts no matter how grueling.
Very early morning runs were the norm during this training period.
With a time of 3:35:58, obviously this training method worked
well for her.
A frequent age group winner on Staten Island,
out of 1431 women in the 2008 Staten Island Half Marathon, Amanda
was 20th female overall and 5th in her age group with an excellent
time of 1:34:12. Her typical training week is about 35-40 miles
depending on upcoming races. Once a week she does a difficult
tempo run of 6 miles in Gateway Park. Tuesday mornings are speed
work at the Farrell track. Did I mention hill repeats? These
are also part of Amanda’s training. All the hard work
and persistence have definitely paid off.
2009 proved a bit difficult for Amanda. She
was plagued with plantar fasciitis right after running the Memorial
Day Race. She felt like she lost her best friend. Against her
better judgment, she ran the next two races in the Triple Crown.
Because of her superior athleticism, she clocked admirable times
despite the pain. 21:01 for Al Ronaldson 5K and 34:20 for the
Pepper Martin 5 miler resulting in 5th place overall for females
and 2nd in the 30 – 34 age group by only 1 point.
For 10 years, she has been a certified personal
trainer. Every 2 years, she must take a continuing education
course and test to keep up the certification. She enjoys personal
training and has several clients. She reads a lot to get new
ideas and keep the workouts fresh. She began a Core/Strength
Conditioning Class in January of 2009. This class is geared
toward runners although anyone who wants to improve their fitness
can participate.
When you first meet Amanda, you will encounter
someone who is warm and friendly with a beautiful smile, but
don’t let her good looks fool you. She can be tough as
nails as an instructor in her Core Training class. As someone
who has taken her class for the past year, I can honestly say
that you get your money’s worth. The variety of exercises
each week are never boring and always challenging. It’s
apparent that a lot of time and thought go into planning each
class. She is a selfless teacher who cares about her clients.
She does every exercise with us only she makes it look easy.
My favorite thing that she says in class is: “Come on
– you can rest later”.
Her favorite distance to run is the
half marathon. One of her favorite races is SIAC’s St.
Paddy’s race. She likes the time of year and the course.
In her down time she likes to knit and read. A compassionate
person who is raising a family, running a household, working
and training….it’s evident that Amanda is a dedicated
individual who inspires us all.
Written by: Lisa Rigolini
