A
brief History of how I, John, got here;
A few years back I had some health issues, at the ripe age
of 48 years old; I was spiraling downward, leading to a heart attack and ending
up in the hospital for a short stay.
Once out, I saw my doctor, he sat me down and let me know that if I didn't
do something to change my lifestyle, I would have about 3-5 years left on this
planet (this was in 2008). I had heart
trouble that required daily medication, diabetes that required daily injections,
blood pressure issues that required daily medication, and a couple other health
issues. Not Good! I have a lovely and wonderful wife and did
not want to leave her all alone in this world.
We had way too much more to enjoy in life together. And I needed to change in order to share a
long and wonderful life with her.
Here I am in 2008
just before I had my heart attack.
I remember sitting there as the Doctors’ words sank in. I kept thinking of what Morgan Freeman said
in the epic film, “Shawshank Redemption.”
“Either get busy livin, or get busy dyin.” I chose to get busy living. I had a long road ahead of me and basically went
old school. No fancy diet plan with any
name attached to it, just basic healthy eating habits and exercise, lots of it.
I started walking, then jogging, then running over the
course of the next year. Things were
coming along nicely. I was up at 4:00am
daily, hitting the gym and then again in the evening after work and sometimes
throwing an extra session in at lunch.
We have a gym at work we can use.
Along with that, we provide lunch time activities for all employees,
which include soccer, volleyball, basketball, yoga, Zumba, and Adapt cross-
training. By year end I had lost 85
pounds, and was ready to enter my first official 10K run. I finished my 10K and was grinning from ear to
ear the rest of the day. In the past, I had run the Hood-to-Coast relay
8 times and really enjoyed the freedom, solitude and camaraderie running
allowed.
Helvatia 10K, my
first race a year after my heart attack.
“What next?” I asked myself.
Do I stop here and consider it a goal accomplished and be done with
it. No way! My wife was excited and happy to see my
progress and me getting back into shape, the way it was when we first met. I truly enjoyed seeing the smile on her face as
she gazed at the new me. I remember her
saying, “It’s nice to have my husband back.”
That meant a lot to me and is still a motivation for me to continue this
lifestyle.
By the way, I had gone back to my doctor for a follow up
after the year was up. He grinned and
almost didn't recognize me. He listened
to my story and then he proceeded to tell me that I no longer needed any heart
medication, blood pressure medication or any daily injections for Diabetes
and that not only have I recovered nicely and gotten back on a nice healthy
track, but I also got fit in the process.
He told me I should live to be a very old man. He was happy in that he usually gives people
the not so good news and then never hears from them again, so he never knows if
they took his advice or not. I learned
later that this was a great success story for him to tell others. I liked that, and hope it inspired others
onto the road of happy, healthy living.
I used to mountain bike a lot in Bend and around Mt. Hood
National Forest and loved it. So I broke
out my old mountain bike (Cannondale DeltaV500), brushed the dust off, got on
it and started to hit the streets and trails again. I was having a blast. So now I was running and riding. It felt great!
Then one day I had heard about an Ironman event. What was that all about, I thought? I checked into it and saw they had different
distances from the Sprint all the way to a full Ironman. A full Ironman, now that would be an accomplishment.
I started reading everything I could
get my hands on with regards to Triathlons and becoming a triathlete.
Swimming, well I grew up in Florida not far
from the beach and pretty much every state I lived in always had a coast line
not far from where I lived. I loved open
water swimming so much I took up scuba diving while I was in the Navy. I was certified sometime around 1979 or 80 in
the Philippines. And still dive to this
day whenever I get the chance
.
Freestyle swimming long distances was much different than the
swimming I did in scuba diving and free diving.
However, in order to do some of the more advanced diving, your swimming
skills need to be fairly strong. I had
done some pool swimming to keep my skills high for diving in areas with lots of
current. Now I just needed to get back
in the pool and learn to swim correctly and more efficiently.
I practiced and practiced my swimming, bumped up my bike
riding to a more regular and frequent level, riding to and from work a few days
a week. It’s about 25 miles round trip
with a few nice hills thrown in. I also
increased my running. Running at lunch
and getting into the weekend longer distance runs. Here I was, doing all three disciplines’ of a
triathlete. Now I needed to find that
first triathlon to see if I have what it takes to put it all together.
My first Triathlon (Sprint distance) was in Bend Oregon in
July of 2009, elevation, 3,700 feet. I
was excited and nervous. The nice thing
I kept reading on the venue posters was “You swim like a Rock Star”. That was because you swam in a river, with
the current. So basically I could float
and still get a pretty good time. What
they didn't tell you was that the water is snow runoff from Mt Bachelor. So it was freezing. Also, the bike ride was uphill out of town
for the first half. Great, I'm used to single-track
mountain biking so it should be a breeze right?
Wrong. It was tougher than I
thought. I was pretty slow on the mountain
bike compared to those fancy expensive Tri bikes that blew by me like I was
standing still.
I wore my shorty scuba
diving wet suit. Didn't know they had
triathlon specific suits. I thought a
wet suit is a wet suit and the only difference was the thickness. Mine was 3mm thickness. However, being that the outside was
definitely not the right type, it was more like a sponge than allowing me to
glide through the water like the triathlon specific suits.
Deep in thought by my
mountain bike in Bend (What I was thinking about I haven’t a clue)
I got in the water waiting for our wave to start. The horn sounded and we were off. I tried to stay in the current as much as
possible. My sighting skills weren't the
best and I got off track a few times.
More like a salmon swimming upstream, almost seemingly bouncing from
shoreline to shoreline. It must have
been pretty comical to those on the shoreline watching us crazy folks swimming
in the freezing water, especially me. As
I passed under the bridge in the Old Mill District, the spectators were
cheering me on as I was dead last in my wave.
I was done with the swim, a bit cold and numb.
The great scuba
diving wetsuit. Top of the line for diving, bottom of the barrel for
Triathlon.
Bend Swim 2009,
second wave. Nice backdrop, but freezing
water.
The transition was slow but I was soon on my bike. Since it was my first triathlon I was on my
mountain bike. It was the only bike I
had at the time. And no, I didn't have
my knobbies, but they were Town and Country Continentals. The bike wasn't too bad. It felt like riding on a trail as I sat in my
seat grinding up the road the whole way.
It was a very rewarding speeding back into town. T2 was
fairly quick since I had my running shoes on during the bike leg.
Heading into T2 in
Bend
Now for the run. I am
two thirds done, just a 5K away from completing my first triathlon. I was doing great! My lovely wife, support
crew and photographer, met me at almost every corner and/or overpass along the
route. I think she did more racing
around than I did the whole day. Every
time I turned around, there she was cheering me on and waving to get my
picture. It was great; and almost a bit
creepy. How did she do that? Her secret I'll never know. I rounded what I thought was the last corner
on my way to the finish line. I still
had some energy left. I should turn it
on and push as hard as I can, finishing strong.
But wait, as I pass the finish line, I realize I am on the wrong side. I still have another mile to go before
reaching the real finish line.
Great. So I slowed a bit to
catch my breath as I still wanted to finish strong.
As I hit the last turn where we had to go under a short (in
height) bridge, you had duck to get under it, run ever so lightly along a short
path at the edge of the river, then back up onto the sidewalk, I heard what
sounded like a dog panting right behind me.
There was a doggie dash going on at the same time as our run. Out of the corner of my eye, I see this plump,
grey haired black Labrador, tongue hanging out and starting to pass me. “Oh hell no”, I said under my breath. And I picked up the pace as I wasn't going to
let him cross the finish line ahead of me and spoil my triumphant moment and
photo, crossing the finish line. I
crossed and my wife snapped the shot. I
had finished my first triathlon. I am
now a triathlete. What a glorious
moment. I was tired, but at the same
time, recharged. I hugged my wife and
gave her a big kiss, got my medal, and we headed home. I now have the triathlon fever.
And the photo my wife took was absolutely great. I am crossing the finish line with the Three
Sisters mountain range in the background.
Perfect! Now if I hadn't picked
up the pace in the final half mile you would have been able to see “Old Grey Hair”
right on my heels. I awaited his
crossing and when he did, I had to give him a hug and a pat on the head for
giving me that last bit of motivation. I
now have another great motivator when I start to fade, I think of “Old Grey
Hair” right on my heels and I say to myself, “Oh hell no,” and I pick up the
pace.
Crossing the finish
line with Three Sisters mountain range in the background.
Since 2009 I have moved up in Triathlon distances from
Sprint to Olympic. I have also moved up
my running events including some fun runs at 5K and 10K to half-marathons and
finally my first marathon this year in Eugene.
Are marathons really considered fun runs? In between all of that I was encouraged by a
coworker (Will ) to do a Duathlon with him. It was an absolute blast!
Will, Master bike
mechanic, and all around great guy and myself at the Spring
Classic 2013
Speaking of coworkers inspiring and encouraging me to step
up my game, my dear friend and training partner, David Hopper, inspired me to
finally do my first Ironman distance in Tempe, Arizona. We signed up last year. What an event registration was. I will have to tell you the story about that
some other time.
David has done 6 Ironman events already. He has been a wealth of knowledge and
inspiration for me.
David and 4 time Ironman World Champion, Chrissie Wellington at her book signing (A life Without Limits) we attended this year.
Between now and
November, I am also signed up to do a Half Ironman at Lake Stevens Washington
in July, an Ironman distance relay with David and another coworker in Penticton
Canada in August, I get to do the swim leg. Then it’s the Portland Triathlon
(Olympic distance) in September here in our lovely hometown of Portland
Oregon. Athletes Lounge did such a nice
job last year; I decided to do it again this year, and probably the next and
the next. In October my wife and I are
headed for Kona, Hawaii for 2 weeks to watch the Ironman World Championship, I
can't wait. Then it’s back to Portland
and the final stretch of training in preparation for Tempe.
I was fortunate enough to tack on a weekend visit to Tempe and rent
a bike on a recent business trip to Phoenix this year.
I was also extremely fortunate to be able to connect with one of the
employees at the Tempe Tri-Sport Shop (which is now unfortunately closed). Bummer!!!
Such great people!!! Laurel
Darren from the shop was gracious enough to escort me on a lap of the Ironman
bike course, show me the transition area, where the swim entrance and exit is
and a portion of the run course all before she had to get to work at 10:00am on a Saturday morning. She’s the greatest! It was so nice to be able to ride the bike
course to get a feel for the grade and terrain.
We also had time to take a detour at the turn around and go through
Fountain Valley, beautiful community, before heading back out on the course and
back to town.
So enough of the history lesson and how I got to this point
in my Triathlon journey, I have some “Thank You’s” I should say at this
time. I have met a lot of great people
along the way and they have all helped me get here. Mike my strength training partner and coach,
Will, my bike mechanic and teacher on how to keep my bike in tune, and David,
my training partner, friend and now mentor in the world of Ironman. A big Thank You also to my swimming buddy,
Ertan at 24 Hour Fitness and all his help in providing me guidance in getting
my swim technique dialed. He’s still
trying to get me to join a Masters Swim group, maybe next year Ertan. To all the many authors and story tellers
with their books and magazines out there I've read and continue to read and
everyone else along the way, THANK YOU for your kindness, helpfulness and being
straight with me.
But, most importantly,
the biggest THANK YOU goes to my wife Robin.
Without her and her support, I could not be where I am today and achieve
the dream I have of becoming an Ironman triathlete.
Okay, now you know a little of how I got to this stage in my Ironman journey. Now it’s time to tell you how I plan on
getting to Tempe this November. Yes, I
have a training plan. It’s already being
fine-tuned. I will post a summary of it tomorrow. Stay Tuned……….
