Roz Puleo, a Somerville resident, competed in the Timberman Ironman Triathlon this past weekend at Guilford, New Hampshire, just three months after she donated a kidney to her father Andrew.

By Mike Rubin

For years, Roz Puleo challenged herself on the track, on bike paths and on the ocean. Now for the first time in her life, she faced a tougher obstacle – the operating table.

As Puleo prepared for Sunday’s Timberman Half Iron Man Triathlon at Guilford, New Hampshire, she is still only three months removed from donating her kidney to her father Andrew Puleo.

Andrew, who was suffering from renal failure back in January, was on the verge of dialysis before Roz offered to donate her kidney. After several months of the match process, Puleo donated her kidney to her father on May 11.

“It was a simple decision and it was a no-brainer,” said Puleo. “We had to go through the match process and when I was a match, I just knew it was something I had to do. It wasn’t a difficult decision, and I don’t regret it one bit.”

As a result of Roz’s sacrifice, Andrew is progressing quite nicely and has returned to enjoying a normal life.

“He’s doing great and he’s progressing quite nicely,” said Puleo. “It’s such a great feeling, knowing that I was able to help him at a time when he needed it the most. Ever since the operation, he’s been doing great and it’s awesome to see him up and about again.”

Originally from Nahant, Puleo excelled in athletics during her high school years before pursuing her career in the medical profession at Hofstra University. Currently, she’s a public health faculty member at Tufts Medical School and is a nurse at Lynn Community Health Center. She’s also in the process of obtaining her master’s degree as a Nurse Practitioner at Mass. General Hospital.

“I really don’t have a lot of time for myself right now, but I love keeping myself busy,” she said.  “I’ve always been up to challenges and right now, I’m facing one of the toughest challenges of my life.”

Following graduation, Puleo emerged as a dominant force in the Mountain Biking Circuit. Competing in races throughout the country, Puleo captured nearly a dozen titles and as ranked as the No.1 national amateur.

“It was a lot of fun competing, and the more I raced, the better I became at the sport,’’ said Puleo. “I always tried to push myself to the next level, and I enjoyed a lot of success, but at the same time, I wanted to diversity my training, so I decided to do other things.”

After several years of competing as a mountain bike racer, Puleo decided to venture her training in a different direction by training for triathlons.

“Training for triathlons are a lot different from other races,” said Puleo. “You have to make adjustments and you have to be versatile. You have to pace yourself as a runner, a swimmer and a biker, and it makes it that much more challenging to train.”

For the past several years, Puleo has competed in approximately six triathlons throughout New England, while posting an average time of just under nine hours.

“I always try to pace myself when I’m racing,” said Puleo. “It takes a lot of mental and physical preparation to do one of these (triathlons), and there’s a lot of hard work involved.”

What made the preparation for this Timberman Triathlon even more challenging for Puleo was the fact that she had to hold off weight training and other forms of preparation for nearly a month. In fact, she considered not participating in the event as a result of the operation.

“I thought about it, but in the end I decided that it wasn’t going to hold me back from competing in the event,’’ said Puleo. “This is something I’ve always wanted to do, and I decided that it wasn’t going to slow me down and that I was going to give it my best effort, no matter what was going to happen.”

Despite the obstacles that Puleo faced, she had every intention of competing in the race.

“It was very tough,’’ said Puleo. “I couldn’t really do a lot of weights, and I had to slow down and take it easy for a bit. A couple of weeks after the operation, I started to do some light exercise on the bikes and then slowly but surely, I was able to regain my training again for the triathlon. It was a definitely a challenge getting ready, but I feel like I’m ready to go and I feel great.”

After living in Bedford for a number of years, Puleo moved to Somerville in 2008, where she’s enjoyed the close proximity to both Lynn and Boston.

“Somerville is a great city, and I love it here very much,” said Puleo. “It’s very close to my work and I live in a great neighborhood.”

The Timberman is one of the toughest triathlons in New England, with a 1.2 mile swim around Lake Winnepesaukee, along with a 13.1 mile run and 56 mile bike ride.

“The goal is merely to finish,” said Puleo. “Of course I’d like to finish in around nine hours but that might be pushing it. Overall, I want to prove to people and to me that (organ donors) can compete in (triathlons) and still do the things in life that they’ve always wanted to do. I’m definitely looking forward to the challenge, and I can’t wait. It’s a tough course, but I know I’m ready for it.”