 College Graduation 1997 |
 2001 Austin Marathon |
As I’m getting both excited and nervous before my big “A” race of the year, Ironman USA in Lake Placid, NY this Sunday, I’m going to take a minute to reflect back on some things I’m proud I accomplished.
Weight Loss
As I kid I was thin and active in sports, but things changed my 1st year of college when I tripled the normal “Freshman 15″ weight gain and put on 45 lbs! I went from 175 to 220 in about year! Ouch. I hovered around this weight for most of my college years as I became less and less active.
I picked up running in graduate school in the late 1990s, but I didn’t drop much weight as I continued to have bad eating habits (eating out a lot, regular cokes, not understanding the basic calories in/out principle, etc.).  After I graduated and started working full time, I put on even more weight reaching a maximum of 252 lbs (and a 44 in waist) when I weighed in as a “clydesdale” for the 2001 Austin Marathon. Disappointed about not losing weight during marathon training, I tried to join a local gym a few months after the race.  They tested my blood pressure, and it was high enough that they required an “OK” note from my doctor before they’d even let me join! Now while I knew I was heavy, I had previously thought I was always in decent health. So to have someone tell me I had high blood pressure was quite a shock and turned out to be a pivotal point in my life.
I went to the doctor, got the note, joined the gym, and started working out during lunch. However, it wasn’t the physical exercise that really helped me lose weight, it was the new eating habits. I switched to diet coke, started having protein smoothies meal substitutes, minimized eating out, went to bed hungry occasionally instead of having that nighttime snack, ate a lot of fruit, etc, etc.  Lo and behold, the weight started coming off nicely.  I can’t remember exactly, but I’m pretty sure I was close to 200 lbs by the end of the year.
Now, as I’m about to race my 2nd Ironman, I’m about 170 lbs and have a 32 inch waist. I’ve been under 190 for 4 years now and I’m proud that I’ve been able to keep the weight off.
 170 lbs = Ironman Weight |
 2008 Austin Marathon |
Sharing My Passion
Over the past few years, I’ve developed quite a passion for physical fitness, and I’m proud that I’ve been able to share that with a few important people:
- My wife Sarah: Our first date was a half marathon and the rest is history as they say.  Sarah already enjoyed running before we met. I simply encouraged her to start racing and achieve her best. She now consistently places in the top 5 within her age group at most her races.  We enjoy swimming, cycling, and running together and exercise is a big part of our lives.  I’m so happy that we share this together and its a big reason for my success.
- My best friend Jason: Volleyball has always been our first love together, but back in 2001 I partially inspired him to run with me in the Austin Marathon. Â While we didn’t have the opportunity to train together much as I was in CA at the time, we did enjoy swapping training war stories and celebrating our successes after the race.
 Learning Triathlon |
 Ironman Prizes |
 Sharing their logs |
- A younger generation: Just recently, I started visiting a classroom at a local elementary school to encourage them to engage in and log physical activities. This is part of NA Sports program called Adopt-An-Athlete where they provide a neat log booklet for the kids to log their exercise along with some really fun prizes to reward them.  I, as the athlete, go into the classroom for about 30 mins once a week and teach the kids about the importance of physical activity along with what triathlon and Ironman are all about.  While the Ironman training itself often feels like such a selfish endeavor, this program provided me the perfect opportunity to share my enthusiasm with others while giving something back to the community where I train.
Even though I still have to race the 140.6 miles on Sunday, the hardest part is actually over: the training.  Training for my 2nd Ironman has been more enjoyable than my first primarily because I involved more of my friends in the process. I’ve done a handful of key workouts with close friends such as Brad and Greg, and it’s been great sharing my training with all the super supportive members of BeginnerTriathlete.com. I’ve also had the pleasure of meeting some other local athletes racing IMLP and it’s been fun training with them occasionally.
I’m confident in my training and I know I can finish. I hoping to set a Personal Record (12:43) despite the tough course, and if the weather cooperates and I have a perfect day I could go sub 12 hours. My friend Greg however made his own prediction of 11:48!
Wish me luck, and stay tuned for another report after the race.
- David
