FITNESS PROFILE
Drive to stay fit keeps kayaker going
By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer
Traci Phillips has a natural competitive spirit that simply won't quit. She cannot tolerate mediocrity. Although she only started paddling kayaks in late 1985, she participated in the 1988, 1992 and 1996 Olympics as a kayaker. From 1987 to 1996, she was America's fastest woman kayaker.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
Name: Traci Phillips.
Traci Phillips, who kayaked in three Olympics, paddles four days a week, lifts weights several times a week and works out at the gym.
Age: She lives by the famous saying attributed to Satchel Paige, "If you didn't know how old you were, how old would you be?"
Profession: Stevedore with McCabe, Hamilton and Renny.
Height: 5-feet-4.
Weight: 122 pounds.
Workout habits: Canoeing or kayaking with the Outrigger Canoe Club four days a week; lifting weights (full body) two or three times a week; jumping rope; using the elliptical machine and stair climber at The Gym; riding a racing bike with added resistance that's on a stand at home.
When and why I started working out: "I grew up with a mom who was a ski instructor and swimming teacher. My first sport was skiing. When I was 8, we moved back to Hawai'i, and every day after school I went surfing with Charlie Amalu and Bill Capp. At 10, I started canoe paddling and playing beach volleyball at the Outrigger. It's a great place for a kid because you have no choice — you're surrounded by sports and the good athletes all around you push you to participate."
My good foods/bad foods: "Nutrition affects everything in your body. I eat junk food and I love sugar, but 90 percent of the time I eat lots of salads and lean meats, chicken, fish. I choose to eat better because I know I'll feel better. But then I love Red Vines, chocolate and Guinness Stout. Guinness has lots of B vitamins, you know?"
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
My biggest motivator: "It's a natural, innate drive. I have to stay active and not let myself go. I don't want to admit I'm getting older; the longer I can stay lean and fit, the better. I'm not ready to let the youngsters pass me by."
Traci Phillips says athletic parents fostered in her a desire to be active, and an innate drive has kept her motivated to work out.
My biggest roadblock to fitness: "My job hours — it's three weeks on night shift, then three weeks on day shift. The ships come in and they need people to unload 'em, 24/7."
What saves my sanity: "Laughter. I have to see the humor in something every day. And working out helps because it relieves stress. I haven't lost it (my sanity) yet, so maybe it doesn't need saving."
My next challenge: Moloka'i-to-O'ahu Canoe Race, Sept. 26.
Advice for those in the same boat: "Find something you like that's fun and not a chore; something that satisfies you mentally and physically. Once you find it, don't run it into the ground to where the joy is overshadowed by your ambition. Mix things up, try other things that will improve your sport. Don't look back and say, 'I should have done that.' "
