She Forced Herself to Take the Plunge

Krista Muhlenkamp has learned to navigate past her fears.

Just close your eyes and think positive thoughts.

Breathe deeply and concentrate on the task at hand.

But when that piece of kelp floated by as she was swimming 100 yards offshore last week, it opened up a brand new case of the heebie-jeebies.

“It was only a piece of seaweed,” Muhlenkamp said, “but it looked like an eel.”

Muhlenkamp, 27, from Newport Beach, won’t let that experience keep her out of Sunday’s Pacific Coast Triathlon at Crystal Cove State Park.

After all, she has been frightened much worse than that.

Muhlenkamp grew up in a small town in west-central Ohio, running track and cross-country in high school, but never further than three miles until coming to California in 1996.

Southern California’s healthy lifestyle and favorable weather ignited a new passion for running, and within a year she completed the L.A. Marathon.

Muhlenkamp decided to plunge into triathlons a little more than a year ago, looking for a more modified way to stay in shape and limit injuries. If she was suffering from shin splints, for example, she could still ride a bike or swim.

Muhlenkamp bought a bike and signed up for a triathlon preparation class that focused on the swim portion for last year’s Pacific Coast Triathlon. But that’s where she discovered her fear of the deep.

“I’d have complete shark panic attacks,” Muhlenkamp said. “I’d just stop and scream.”

Muhlenkamp survived her sudden bouts of terror and charged into the ocean with more than 1,000 others on race day last year. She wasn’t too worried about shark attacks that morning, mainly because she was too busy fending off other competitors, who kicked her in the face and swam over her. She said another woman even grabbed her arm midway through the swim and held on for dear life.

“I’m not that strong of a swimmer,” Muhlenkamp said. “I was even looking for the lifeguard thinking I wouldn’t finish.”

Muhlenkamp’s running ability helped her moved through the pack to finish fifth in the 25-29 age group.

“After the swim, I was just happy I finished,” Muhlenkamp said.

Nan Plato, who helps run those swim training sessions for hopeful triathletes, said it’s not uncommon for runners to struggle in the water.

“Runners tend not to be good swimmers,” Plato said. “They’re usually so skinny and they don’t float as well.”

Muhlenkamp said she’s making progress with her swimming. She went out with a group last week and, except for the seaweed incident and a few mouthfuls of water, was happy with her performance.

“As long as I can calm myself down, I can make it through the swim,” Muhlenkamp said. “Not being a strong swimmer definitely adds to the excitement. If I can make it through the swim, then I’ll feel pretty good after that.”

Muhlenkamp works full time and is also pursuing an MBA at Pepperdine’s Orange County campus near John Wayne Airport. With her busy schedule, training tends to come in spurts.

She recently devoted four months to training for her first attempt at the Boston Marathon. Muhlenkamp finished the race in 3 hours 31 minutes, missing a personal goal of 3:30. But she satisfied one of her 10 lifelong goals, which also include earning that MBA and finishing the Wildflower Triathlon next year in Lake San Antonio, Calif., which is considered one of the toughest half ironman courses in the world. Muhlenkamp ran on a relay team that finished third overall last May.

“I go through phases where I’ll train really hard and then I’ll slow down,” she said. “With so much going on in my life, it all has to take priorities.”

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Triathlon

* What: Pacific Coast Triathlon

* Where: Crystal Cove State Park

* When: Sunday at 7 a.m.

* Parking: Available at Reef Point, Los Trancos and Pelican Point parking lots, which are expected to fill by 5:15 a.m. The $6 parking fee will be waived for car pools of three or more. A free shuttle is available at the Coldwell Banker complex at Pacific Coast Highway and Avocado and runs every 15 minutes from 4:30 to 6:30 a.m. Return shuttles start at 10 a.m.

* Registration: No race-day sign-ups. Athletes can pick up their race packets from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. today at the race expo in the Los Trancos parking lot.

* Information: 949) 675-3498 or https://www.pacificcoasttriathlon.com

Triple Test

Sunday’s Pacific Coast Triathlon is considered a sprint event because of the relatively short distances of the swim, run and bike events.