Quest for Fitness Put Her on Road to Triathlon Wins

Joan Jeter is 49 years old and in her second childhood. “I hope it lasts a long time,” she said.

Well, so far, so good for a woman who was so sickly 5 years ago she couldn’t walk around the block but then built herself up to win 12 straight triathlons in her age group the past 2 years.

“I understand now I’m anemic,” she scowled. “If I ever get my body together, I’ll really be good.”

She is currently preparing for triathlons in Boca Raton, Fla., and Antigua in the West Indies, and Jeter thinks she will win both events. Each consists of a 1,500-meter swim, a 40K bicycle ride and a 10K run.

“When I was sick, my doctor said I would get stronger if I started some regular exercises,” said Jeter, a former home economics student from the University of Colorado who admits that “if I can’t cook it in a microwave or boil it, forget it.”

At first she began swimming, but the doctor told her running was better. “I really didn’t like running, but I found out I was good at it,” she said, “so I got into some real serious swimming and running programs and started to compete with others.”

What’s more, she really enjoys the competition. “I found out it was more satisfying than dating,” she said, spiking the interview in her home with one-liners.

Her days are split between training and working in her office filing-system business in her Costa Mesa home.

“The boss is real lenient about my training,” quipped Jeter, owner and president of the business. “I’d be unemployed if I worked for anyone else.”

She trains 4 hours a day, 6 days a week, but sometimes cheats and trains 7 days. “I train hard, work hard and go fast,” said Jeter, who got the nickname “Joan the Jet” from other triathlon competitors.

An admittedly goal-oriented person, Jeter wanted to be the top triathlete in her age bracket this year. “I accomplished that. Now I want to do it again next year. I feel I was cheated out of a sports career when I was young and really healthy. I probably would have been a good athlete.”

Her earlier sports activities included snow ski racing, kayaking, outrigger canoeing, scuba-diving, horse showing and synchronized swimming. In between, she worked as a professional model and owned a plant store.

Competing in triathlons has become somewhat lucrative.

In her last triathlon victory in Utah, Jeter collected a $700 first prize, and before that, she won a mountain bike for a similar victory in another state.

“Prize money is getting into the serious area now,” she said, “which gives everyone an incentive to compete and do better.”

For that reason, Jeter plans to train longer and put a greater emphasis on winning.

Her bumper sticker tells it all: “I’m not old, just a recycled teen-ager.”

Clinical social worker Carol Schubeck used the word enough to get her point across to the 50 people who attended her recent seminar at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center. They wanted to learn how to control the stress that often accompanies the holiday season.

In her workshop titled “Holidays: Fun or Stress?” Schubeck explained the meaning of ENOUGH this way:

E--for expectations by yourself and others.

N--for nucleus, deciding who you are and what you stand for.

O--for overindulgence of food and drink.

U--for you, who you are and why you should take care of yourself.

G--for groups you participate with during the holidays.

H--for healthy and how to stay that way.

“The lessening of stress comes when people identify what is important to them when they celebrate the holidays,” said Schubeck, a Costa Mesa resident. “People should decide what they can change and what they can let go of to eliminate some of the stress of the holidays.”

Acknowledgments--Santa Ana High School choir director Brian Akamine has been named to the state Committee for Visual and Performing Arts. He was selected from a field of 120 applicants.