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WILTON, Conn. Four children under 10 and a husband who works in the city doesnt make training for a triathlon easy for Wilton resident Amy Bevilacqua.
Bevilacqua says she spends an average of two hours a day, six days per week training. Shes only able to keep to her intense training schedule because the Wilton Family Y has babysitting services and programs for her 5- and 2-year-old children while the older two, 8 and 7, are in school. The support from her family doesn't hurt, either.
My husband is really supportive, Bevilacqua said. He does her bike maintenance during her races - when he's not doing his own races. We have a big support crew. We have a lot of family in the area, otherwise I dont think I could do it.
Her first event of the season is the St. Anthonys Triathlon in St. Petersburg, Fla., a race she has done before. It is April 29, just two months away. A triathlon requires an athlete to swim, bike and run. St. Anthony's is called an Olympic triathlon, which means swimming for 1.5 kilometers, biking for 40 kilometers and running for 10 kilometers.
Bevilacqua said that she usually completes a race in 2 hours, 5 minutes to 2 hours, 8 minutes.
I do it because I do love it, said Bevilacqua, who went pro by gaining her professional license in 2010. Last year was her first full year competing as a pro. She did five triathlons and two cycling races. Competing has kept me motivated, and it gave me something to focus on for myself and I think that was important, Bevilacqua said.
"I still do it mainly for recreation, but if I make few bucks that's great," she said.
Bevilacqua graduated from Staples High School in Westport and was an assistant coach there.
She wont be stopping after Florida. Bevilacqua says she plans to participate in two events this summer, one in Washington, D.C., in June and another in New York City in July, and possibly even more.
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