Devon, 52

Coached by Kym since 2016, Zest Ed Athletic Life Coaching Student Level since 2017


Things I’ve trained for with Kym:

  • RAGBRAI 2017
  • Minneapolis YWCA Women’s Triathlon 2018


The initial challenge in preparing both for the RAGBRAI and the YWCA Women’s Tri was arranging my demanding professional life and family obligations around my physical health – and not the other way around.  I look at it like those speeches that flight attendants do before take-off, “Secure your own oxygen mask first before assisting others.”  Physical health and well-being is the proverbial oxygen mask that needs to be secure, firmly in place and non-negotiable, before I can function effectively in my life. 


Once training became my anchor, around which everything else was scheduled and planned, I was off to the races.  Training at the core means, for me, lower anxiety, better sleep, healthier appetite and nutrition, increased energy during the day, and a more positive, open attitude. 


What I learned from Zest Ed is just that – I learned the importance of learning.  Training is as much cardio and sweat as it is learning about my body – how to challenge it without ruining it, how to prevent injuries, how to listen to what it’s telling you about when to rest, how to build strength and improve balance.  Zest Ed isn’t a service.  You can pay anyone to chart out a training plan to follow.  Rather, Zest Ed is a partnership where the training process is in relationship with knowledgeable people who attend to the “why” – why these stretches, why this plan, why this suggestion?  And it puts the trainee in relationship with others in training who also want to learn as an integral process toward achieving a goal. 


Fun trivia:

Odd jobs I’ve had: I once was paid to stand guard over about 4000 bottles of water at a women’s music festival

Work/jobs I’m proud of: $4.2 million capital campaign for the Twin Cities YMCA Camp du Nord

Favorite sedentary activities: reading; Netflix

Top three pieces of gear or clothing: triathlon kit, bike calculator, and bungee laces!

Favorite fuel for during activity:  Nuun tablets (grape!)

Favorite indulgent food or drink:  cocktails

Favorite comfort food: I like cutting a circle in a piece of sourdough bread and frying an egg in it

Favorite tree or plant: bleeding hearts

Favorite body of water: Lake Michigan

Favorite travel destinations:  Gotland, Sweden; Ely, Minnesota

Your pet’s names: Manuel and Milo (dogs); Comet (cat); Cheryl, Dora, & Luna (chickens)

Preferred superpower: seeing into the future

Favorite workout or exercise: cycling

Dreaded workout or exercise: running

Fictional character or animal you would like to be for a day:  Mary Garth from Middlemarch

Secret talent/skill: I can wiggle/move my ears


Devon has also written two guest blog posts for Midwest with Zest!  They are “She Shoots! She Scores!”

‍ and “Claiming the Hidden Wholeness”