Even in the world of competitive athletics, there’s a certain mystique around the triathlete. Anyone who can master not one but three sports, then switch between them in a single race, must be a little bit superhuman.

It’s easy to see how that description could fit Debbie LeCroy. By day she’s an investigator, helping public defenders sift through evidence in some of the most high-profile crimes in Buncombe County. By night, she’s a bodybuilding triathlete mother of five, doing 100-mile bike rides up mountains in between loads of laundry and baseball practice. But while LeCroy represents one end of the female triathlete spectrum, more and more women are joining the fray from the other end: casual runners, moderate bikers and noncompetitive swimmers are entering triathlons just for the challenge of it. Holly Jones, YWCA of Asheville’s executive director and a Buncombe County Commissioner (who recently participated in the Asheville Triathlon), says that in fact, most anyone can go from the couch to the finish line in 20 weeks with the right training.

Not all triathlons are created equal, but there are some incontrovertible rules: competitors swim, bike and run, in that order. There are sprint triathlons—approximately a half-mile swim, 12-mile ride and three-mile run. Or Olympic-standard competitions—an approximate one-mile swim, 25-mile ride and 6-mile run. There are half-Iron Mans, and then there’s the big kahuna of triathlons, Hawaii’s Iron Man (now the triathlon world championships), which features a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and full 26-mile marathon run.

For LeCroy, 44, preparing for a triathlon is a science. With the help of a multisport coach and a trainer, her training schedule and diet program is designed to improve her speed, endurance and transitioning (switching between sports). Training is a seven-day-a-week job: some days she swims for 45 minutes, bikes up to 125 miles a week (up to Mt. Mitchell and back, a three-hour trip each way to the highest peak east of the Mississippi) and then runs several miles for speed and endurance. She keeps carbohydrate-packed gels in her bike shorts pocket for long rides and downs a recovery drink at the end of workouts to make sure her body doesn’t burn through the muscles she’s building up.

On weekdays, when she gets to the pool at the local Y to start training at 5:30am, LeCroy may well find herself sharing a lane with Tamra Shea, a nursing instructor and mother of three. Shea, 36, recently placed first in her age group in the Asheville Triathlon in July. Shea says she didn’t set out to be a triathlete. She swam as a kid and had amped up her running schedule in an effort to shed baby weight after giving birth to twins, now eight. "Pushing that double stroller around will get anyone in shape real fast," she jokes. With two sports under her belt, adding the third—biking—seemed doable. It took her a few triathlons to get hooked on it, but now she participates in around eight races a year, setting different goals for herself depending on the size of the event.

When Ashevillean Beth Newman decided to train for the Asheville Triathlon this past August, she said she was only interested in competing against herself. An ordained Presbyterian minister and mother of two, the 41-year-old had run a few 5k and 10k races but couldn’t remember the last time she rode a bike. Still, the idea of a triathlon had seemed interesting when a friend told her about competing in one, and when the YWCA of Asheville passed around a flier about their 20-week training program, she decided to give it a go. She had two modest goals—get through it in one piece and finish in under two hours. The YWCA training program was incremental, so it didn’t feel overwhelming. "It’s about endurance and efficiency. You learn to use the least amount of energy to do the most you can," she says.

Holly Jones says that of the 17 women from the YWCA course who participated in the Asheville Triathlon, eight were first-timers and five placed in their age groups or categories. "It’s inspiring to see so many women of different ages, shapes and athletic ability take on this challenge and complete it," she says. Yes, the training can be intense and the race daunting, but once you’re out there, says Shea, "it’s thrilling." Above all, what keeps her in competition is the sense of accomplishment that comes with having done it. "It’s priceless in terms of self-respect—setting a goal, putting in the hours and then doing it," she says.

LeCroy says sticking to her regimen and maintaining a can-do spirit makes her feel like a more positive role model for her kids, all of whom are athletes. "When they say it’s hard, I understand—I go through that, too," she says.

Newman says showing her young daughters that you can achieve anything with enough effort was one of the best results of her training. When she crossed the finish line closer to the bottom of the list than the top, her five-year-old daughter greeted her ecstatically, shouting, "You won, Mommy! You won!" Which seemed to make the long hours of training worthwhile.Left to Right: Debbie LeCroy , Tamra Shea, Beth Newman.