Giving Thanks.

This Thanksgiving, I am more thankful than ever before. Since being introduced to the world of Triathlon a year and a half ago, I am having more fun than ever before and the people in my circle of family and friends have never been more supportive! I am SO blessed!

 Just a few of the specific things I am thankful for:

• Family! A wife who more than just “gets it” because she is a triathlete herself! Kids who are supportive and willing to “hold down the fort” while Mom and Dad are out “doing their triathlon stuff”. (Methinks they secretly like being able to sit around, unsupervised, watching too much TV, and eating powdered donuts for lunch!) Incredibly supportive Grandparents who are more than willing to watch the kids, house, and pets when we go out of town for races!
• Friends, non-Triathlete! Thankful for them letting me drone on and on about triathlons and related topics even though they are only mildly interested! My Facebook friends probably deserve a special place in heaven for having to put up with all of my triathlon-related posts, pictures, etc!
• Friends, Triathlete! You've been there through the smiles, the miles, the sweat, the blood, the tears, and the beers! You inspire and support me beyond words!
• My Coaches and Team Members at TriAttic (http://www.TriAttic.com)! Everything I have accomplished is a direct testament to the superior coaching and support that I have received from these amazing coaches and athletes. I love my TriAttic family!
• My Employer and Co-Workers! I work for an amazing company, Capital Health Plan, that truly believes in their non-profit mission. I could not do what I do without the unwavering support of my supervisors/managers and co-workers!
• GOD! I pray more before runs, rides, and races than I probably ever did in church! I always pray for my safety and the safety of everyone with me. Considering the nature of what we do and every aspect of my life, I’d have to say I have been very blessed! I may not get EVERYTHING I ask for, but I’ve never been given anything I couldn’t handle!

Again, these are just a few of the things I am thankful for! I could probably spend all day adding to this list. Please, tell me in the Comments what YOU are thankful for this year? And finally, I hope that you and yours have a very safe and very Happy Thanksgiving!

Why Are We Here???

If you read my initial, biography post, you know that I began running in late 2010 and did my first triathlon in 2012. In 2013, I did a number of Olympic distance triathlons and capped off the year with my first Half Ironman, Ironman Augusta 70.3.

I envision this blog as a place to share the trials and tribulations of a bottom-of-the-pack, age group triathlete setting out to complete his first Ironman, Ironman Florida, on November 1, 2014. I hope this blog will somewhat keep me from boring my non-triathlete Facebook friends to tears.

I have no formal framework for what I will post and how often. I think I will just do whatever feels good for now and see what kind of feedback I receive. So, if YOU can think of a framework or even individual topics (How much chamois butter should you go through in a typical training month?!) that would make this space somewhat useful and/or entertaining, please let me know in the comments!

How It All Began...

Michelle, Katie, me, and Megan

I am a swimmer, a cyclist, and a runner. I am a triathlete. I am 45 years old (9/7/1968) and have been married to my wife, Michelle, for 24 years (8/7/1989). My wife is also a triathlete, competing in many of the same events that I do. We have two amazing daughters, ages 10 and 15. My youngest daughter also now competes in youth triathlons!

I am an Applications Training Supervisor at Capital Health Plan (CHP) (http://www.capitalhealth.com) in Tallahassee, Florida. CHP is a highly-ranked, non-profit HMO that provides evidence-based medical care under the direction of primary care physicians in an effective, timely, and cost-effective manner. I love CHP’s proactive and innovative quest to improve the health of our community!

I am a disabled veteran, having previously served in the US Army for eight years. Nearly six of those years was spent overseas. After getting out of the military in 1994, I focused on building a career in Information Technology and mistakenly adopted a much more sedentary lifestyle. In 1996 I had surgery to repair a meniscus tear in my right knee. I did not rehabilitate from surgery properly and continued to become more inactive and gain weight. In June 2010, I weighed MORE than 281 pounds. My daughters bought me a gym membership for Father’s Day and I decided that some changes had to be made.

FSU Cares 5K, 10/31/2010

The biggest step I took to turn things around was when I joined the annual Gulf Winds Track Club’s (http://gulfwinds.org) Beginner’s Running Class in September of 2010. The “Beginner’s Running Class” is an 8-week class that prepares beginning runners of all skill-levels to successfully complete their first 5K race. The class graduation was the FSU Cares 5K charity run. I showed up to the first class on September 8, one day after my 42nd birthday, barely able to run a mile. A few short weeks later, I finished my first 5K and somehow managed to finish 3rd in my age group! You’ve heard the proverb, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Give a man an age group medal and he’ll only want more… and more… and more!”? Or something like that?! Yes, I was hooked on running!

The course has not always been smooth. In April of 2011, while training for my first 10K race, I tore the meniscus in my right knee and underwent surgery. This time, I rehabilitated from surgery properly and, six months later, ran my first half marathon! For as emotionally trying as being injured was, it introduced me to cross-training. There is a humorous saying that triathletes are born from injured runners. This is absolutely true in my case. After my injury, I began cycling. In December, 2011, I began learning to swim freestyle while training to run my first Sprint-distance triathlon.

In May of 2012, I began working with an amazing, USAT-Certified Coach, Sandy Holt, of TriAttic (http://www.TriAttic.com). Sandy has done SO much to help me understand my unique capabilities, individual strengths, and personal limits. I am thrilled with the results and the knowledge I am gaining from her, the entire TriAttic coaching staff, and other athletes!

Speaking to the 2013 Beginner's Running Class, September 2013

The most amazing thing about any sport and especially triathlon is how your greatest accomplishments may not come atop a podium, but simply in competition with yourself and the existing conditions. Since I began this journey, I have so many achievements that I am proud of. A few are listed below. One that isn’t listed there is how the year 2013 was capped off by the incredible honor of being elected to the 2014 Gulf Winds Triathletes Board of Directors by the club members. However, that and these other accomplishments pale in comparison to beginning the 2013 Gulf Winds Track Club Beginner’s Running Class in September of 2013 as a Coach and weighing in at 181 pounds! Three years and 100 pounds lighter/later from when I first started my journey!

Accomplishments:

• Triathlon Sprint, First in AG, 2012, Army Strong Triathlon, Ft. Rucker, Alabama, 1:14:56.
• Triathlon Sprint, PR (Second in AG), 2013, Army Strong Triathlon, Ft. Rucker, Alabama, 1:08:02.
• Triathlon Olympic, PR, 2013, Chattahoochee Challenge Triathlon, Columbus, Georgia, 2:24:37.
• Triathlon Olympic, Qualified 2013 USA Triathlon Age Group National Championship, 2013, St. Anthony’s Triathlon, St. Petersburg, Florida, 2:25:58.
• Triathlon Half Ironman Distance (70.3), PR, 2013, Ironman Augusta 70.3, Augusta, Georgia, 5:27:04.
• Running 5K, PR, 2013, Fight for Air 5K, Tallahassee, Florida, 21:15.
• Running 10K, PR, 2013, Springtime Tallahassee, Tallahassee, Florida, 46:39.
• Running 15K, PR, 2013, Gate River Run USA 15K Championships, Jacksonville, Florida, 1:15:58.
• Running Half Marathon, PR, 2013, Mount Dora Half Marathon, Mt. Dora, Florida, 1:55:12.
• Running Full Marathon, PR, 2013, Tallahassee Marathon, Tallahassee, Florida, 4:33:29.
• Cycling Metric Century (~68 mi.), 2011, 2012, and 2013, Spaghetti 100,  Miccosukee, Florida.
• Cycling Century (100 mi.), 2013, Horrible Hundred Century, Clermont, Florida.

As important as my past accomplishments are to me, I am focused and very excited about the future!

Future:

• Gate River Run, USA 15K Championship, March 2014.
• Red Hills Triathlon (Sprint), April 2014.
• Gulf Coast Triathlon (70.3), May 2014.
• Ride for Hope Century Ride, June 2014.
• Army Strong Triathlon (Sprint), June 2014.
• Ironman Florida 140.6, November 2014.