Deb Peters knows that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. After all, that is exactly what she did. The 59 year-old Venice resident left her high-pressure position as a Tampa Bay area Home Depot store manager in 2006, the intense demands of that job during hurricane seasons saw her completely swamped and exhausted. Unhappy with her health and weight—she wore a size 12-14 back then and was tired all the time—she enrolled in a women’s gym. She began hitting the cardio and weights to get herself back to a place where she felt well. All of that hard work paid off this past September when she finished the Iron Man Chattanooga course at 16 hours and 54 minutes, just under the 17 hours allowed for the course of a 2.4 mile swim, 116 mile bike ride, and a full 26.2 mile marathon. This accomplishment is a stunning achievement for anyone, let alone someone who did not have a history of working out.
“I was overworked and had no time for myself for years,” Deb—now a personal trainer—says. “I had no background in fitness when I began, but I was determined. After about a year, I earned a Personal Training Certification through the American Council On Exercise and was offered a trainer job through my gym. I was 44 years old when I made that career change and completed my first triathlon when I was 47. I worked my way up to my first Iron Man competition when I was 57, failed at the first try, and finished the race on my second try at 59.”
Deb runs her own fitness and wellness business now, Deb Peters Coaching, where she preaches the importance of sleep, nutrition, hydration, and personally tailored exercise. She offers her coaching both in person and online. Among her areas of expertise are coaching first-time triathletes, helping menopausal women navigate their bodies at that phase of their lives, and she is also passionate about her youth triathlon program, the TriMonsters. The same doggedness that helped her be successful in opening many new stores for the Home Depot now helps her students compete at the highest levels of physical fitness.
“It took me three years from the beginning of my training to get to a place where I wasn't repulsed by how I looked,” Deb says. “It took another two years to feel thrilled by how I looked at size 2-4. Mental ability is the secret to all serious training. When I attempted my first Iron Man in 2019, my body felt fine the whole way. It was my mind that was the real challenge.”
During that race, Deb was pulled off the track by the organizers during the bicycle leg for not making the required time, a crushing blow. She trained another year during Covid, when the race wasn’t held, and then returned to Chattanooga in September for her second attempt.
“I trained differently this time,” she explains. “The hills in Chattanooga on the bike were really hard and we don’t have hills here in Florida to practice on. I got equipment to attach to my bike in the studio to simulate hills. I gave up so many things to achieve this, I was so focused. I am not the same person I was before Iron Man. I am so confident and comfortable in my body now.”
Deb is a fitness and lifestyle coach bar none. Her motto is, ‘It’s never too late to do what you think you should have done before.’
Everyone at City Lifestyle Venice congratulates Deb on her achievement. Deb, you are an Iron Woman!
813.731.8767. Deb@debpeterscoaching.com. Debpeterscoaching.com