About Me..

Ok...so I've got lots of ideas for these types of blogs.   The main reason why i'm doing this is so in 10 years I can look back and see exactly what my thoughts were and how I was preparing for this 2nd Ironman.

So about me..  I'm 38 (will be 39 on raceday 2014).   I grew up in a small down about 100k east of Toronto called Cobourg.   Growing up I was pretty active with Baseball, Hockey, Tennis...  When I went to college it was a different story...being out on my own, I gained lots of weight, cut down on the sports, and got introduced to alcohol.    These trends continued til about I was 33 when i was pushing about 240lbs.  I knew something had to change..  this was me about 10yrs ago...

I remember going watch a bunch of my friends go to toronto island in 2005 and run a 10k.   I was the 'fat guy' on the side of the road cheering them on.   On that day i vowed that I would be out running with them the following year.   I found a 5k plan..started running 1 mins, and walking 1mins.   It came so fast, and within months i was running 5ks.  In 2006 I ran my first 8k and first 10k and got hooked.    In 2008 I bought my first bike, and started sprint duathlons.

In 2008 my friend Stephen was training for Ironman Lake Placid and a few of us decided last minute to go down and cheer him on.   I remember watching the Ironman on NBC, but figured that was something that people were 'drafted' into.. much like baseball, or hockey.  I didn't realize regular folks did this crazy event.   Watching the Ironman that day was much like watching that 10k 2 years earlier.  It was something that I had to try.    Since I hadn't swam since I was a kid, I wanted to train right and take the right amount of time to tackle that race...  I had set a plan to do IMLP in 2011.  Spent years learning to swim, build my endurance, then on July 24th, 2011 completed that race.  It was a tough tough day(see my race report), but loved every second of it.

For my nutrition I try to stay as close as I can to a Paleo lifestyle... I don't eat grains or dairy.   I find that I feel better eating this way rather than a typical food pyramid that we've been told to eat since we were kids.

For 2012 and 2013 I stuck to doing half Ironmans(70.3) and attempting to get stronger at each discipline.   I've set some pretty realistic goals for IMMT in 2014... just need to buckle down and get the right training in.

Here are some of my PBs
Running
5k - (no races) 21:30(training) - 2013
8k - 39:13 Harrys Spring Run Off - 2009
10k - 45:07 Sporting Life - 2009
21.1k - 1:35 Goodlife Half Marathon

Triathlon
Sprint(750m swim/20k bike/5k run) - 1:14:42 Chatham YMCA Sprint -2013
Olympic(1.5k swim/40k bike/10k run) - 2:26:55
Half Ironman - 5:15:02 (2k swim/90k bike/21.1k run) - MSC Welland half Iron
Ironman - 12:58 (3.8k/180k/42.2k) - Ironman Lake Placid

I'm still making changes to the way I eat/train... its a constant struggle to find that 'perfect' balance... but i'm doing my best!