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My
wonderful wife Donna got me started in this multisport insanity a
few months shy of my 30th birthday by talking me in to 'racing' a
sprint duathlon
in Boynton Beach, Florida. It was a short 2 mi
run / 10 mi bike / 1 mi run. I about died doing it, but I
finished and was more or less hooked - at least on the concept of
fitness. It would be a while longer before I actually started
to exercise with sufficient regularity for it to be called
'training'.
I
was not a college athlete. It wasn't until I was 31 that I
actually ran more than 4 miles in a single effort. I had not
swam a lap in a pool since I was a kid and I basically knew nothing
about cycling. About the only thing I really did between high
school and age 30 was lift weights and play an occasional pick-up
football game with friends.
Prior
to that day in Boynton Beach, I weighed about 185 lbs and was
heading down a path that ultimately led to that all too common
middle-aged, pot-bellied look. Praise be to Allah for allowing
me to discover endurance sports before I passed that point of no
return.
Last
week I accomplished a pretty important personal milestone by
finishing my first 5K of 2003 in a time of 15:56. You see, I
ran my very first 5K at age 29 in a time of 25:56 and I had a goal
of someday taking 10 minutes off that time.
In
1998, I decided to step up to the plate and do my
first triathlon.
I was pretty nervous because I had never swam before. I ended
up finishing 7th overall and gained some confidence. Job
changes, moving, etc. chewed up most of 1999. So, it wasn't
until 2000 that I really geared up for triathlon and triathlon
training. I started biking and running religiously - 4 to 5
times per week on average. I also forced myself to visit the
pool.
Ok,
if you are still here and can stomach more of me, me, me, I thought
I'd list some personal stuff below:
-
40
yd dash - 4.5 sec (1984)
-
100
yd dash - 10.3 sec (1984)
-
220
yd dash - 22.8 sec (1984)
-
330
yd hurdles - 40.0 (1984 - 5th Place in 2A State Meet)
-
5K
- 15:56 (2003)
-
10K
- 34:40 (2003, 10K split time during 15K)
-
15K
- 51:58 (2003)
-
Marathon
- 3:32 (Disney 1997)
-
Olympic
Distance Tri - 1:59:30 (St. Anthony's 2004)
-
Half
Ironman Tri - 4:18 (2001)
-
Full
Ironman Tri - 11:01 (Oct. 2004)
-
Max
Bench Press - 340 lb (1991)
-
High
School Football - 1984 Class 2A 3rd Team All-State, 1st Team All
County, 1st team All Conference Receiver
-
Current
Weight - 158 lb
-
Resting
Pulse - 38
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