Any triathletes out there?

[zulubravo]

Who says you can't smoke cigars and be an athlete?

I spectated an Ironman event two years ago, weighing over 330lbs I was inspired and changed my life.

Sunday I took on Ironman Lake Placid where it all started two years ago and crossed the finish line to become an Ironman.

Great feeling! Didn't get a picture of the celebratory Behike I enjoyed, but this is the current situation.

 

 

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[GrouchoMarx]

Congrats!!!

 

[Islandboy]

4 minutes ago, GrouchoMarx said:

Does drinking, cigars, and food count? 

As long as you get up off the couch during the transitions, I believe it does. I’d stick with Sprint distance on this, though.

[El Hoze]

Great work! I did the NYC/NJ Ironman back in 2012. It was a fantastic experience. I am a similar story. I got up to 300lbs after college (beer, eating w zero regard, and fishing was exercise). I had three free months in 2004 in between jobs and I lost 90lbs in three months and eventually 120 pounds in a year. Cut the alcohol way down initially, started eating about as healthy as one can eat, and just started running like a maniac. That turned into marathons, long distance open water swims, and eventually Ironman. It was a special feeling, especially given I at one point never would have considered I might one day run a marathon much less a full Iron. I am now at 38 in the best shape of my life by a longshot. I don't do much distance anymore, mostly 4-6 miles pace runs. Do much more weight/resistance, different stuff. Mix it up w a trainer etc. I look alot better in the mirror this way!! 

My gameplan was to drink a bottle of Harlan wine after the Ironman. My mouth was so sensitive I could barely drink a beer. I couldn't eat onions for three days. 

Long winded response, but brought back memories... congrats on the weight loss and all that comes with it! Enjoy!!! 

PS - a recent post. 

 

[Booyaa]

Great achievement zb, well done.

[zulubravo]

Thanks guys! I guess my forum searching skills could be improved to not clutter things up here.


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[Islandboy]

Congratulations on completing an Ironman. That’s a serious accomplishment, if not a near-death experience.

I’ve only been enjoying cigars for about 3 years, but I’m still a pretty hard-core mountain biker. About 10 years ago I got pretty serious with competing in Xterra off-road triathlons, mainly because the World championship race is held here on Maui each year, and it’s pretty much the only opportunity for competitive mountain biking here as well. I qualified for and raced in the World’s here twice - it’s a brutal race in terms of technical challenge, with bloodied, broken souls here and there, but not nearly as long as an Ironman.

Bottom line for me is I absolutely hate running...so it’s back to just hard climbs and fast descents on my bike these days.

[Philc2001]

Awesome man! That is a great achievement. Whoa, Ironman - that is some serious dedication man, and that's some nice hardware. Keep it going.

I've always been somewhat athletic, mostly team sports (hockey, soccer, baseball, football) and racquet sports (tennis and squash), but I got a bit lazy when the kids got into their teens and I let myself gain about 30 lbs over a 5 or 6 year period. I cycled sporadically 2-3 times a week, but not consistently or durably. Then about 5 years ago I got the bug to lose some weight and managed to shed 30lbs over a period of about 8 months, mostly from improved diet and lots of exercise. I have stayed with it consistently since, doing cardio 3-4 times per week, and resistance training 2-3 times per week. At this point I'm just maintaining, I jog 7+ miles in an hour, without stops - down a little from my peak when I used to run sub 8-minute miles.

In a recent June competition at my place of business, we had over 100 coworkers participating in teams of 15, with the goal of first team to reach 5000 miles, cycling, running and/or walking. Individually I came in fourth place in overall miles logged, out of the 100+ participants, and I had the highest run miles logged in the entire competition. The other 3 participants that finished ahead of me in miles were little more than half my age, so I think I did pretty good for an old guy. The competition only lasted 1 month before one of the teams reached the 5,000 mile mark. My team came in second, we were 200 miles behind them.

I try to stay fit but I still manage to smoke 3-4 cigars per week, so I can certainly confirm that one can be athletic and still enjoy cigars.

[archosaur]

Congrats on a solid achievement!  There is something uniquely satisfying about challenging yourself, training hard, and achieving your goal.  Savor this.

[JamesKPolkEsq]

A most impressive transformation!

Congrats on your incredible achievement; Ironman completion is incredible, but nothing compared to completely remaking yourself!

[Stick burner]

ZB that's an awesome. Personal goals and achievements like that can never be taken away


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