Southwestmba's group-Full

Name: Southwestmba/Andy
Story: Entering my 8th season doing Tris. Started to lose weight (lost 65 pounds) and get in shape but it has become a passion. I finished 6th to last my first sprint with a 9.8 mph bike split, but I was totally hooked. My second season I did an olympic, my third a Half Ironman, and at the end of my fourth I completed Ironman Florida. The next year I won a lottery spot and got to compete in the Ironman World Championships in Kona, HI. I have kept it up and done an Ironman each of the last four years (FL,HI,AZ,UK). Last year I cut back and only did two hilly half ironmans (Black Bear and Rev 3) but they were back to back weekends and did Ironman UK in Bolton, England. While I have improved greatly since that first race, the most important thing for me is having a good time and enjoying training and the experience of racing. I have gotten the chance to compete in triathlons in 11 different states, 6 different times zones and two countries. This sport is so unique, I have met World Champions, (Andy Potts, Natash Badmana, Chrissie Wellington) and they are as down to earth and friendly as any triathete you would meet at a local race. Triathlon is a great sport and has helped my grow in many way and achieve many goals and a few lifelong dreams and I would love to help folks get into it and achieve their goals. I have reached two of my lifelong dreams in a 6 month period when I had the opportunty to compete at Kona and then run the Boston Marathon 6 month later. There is no greater feeling than realizing a dream, and if I could share that feeling it would be great. I did my first mentor group last season.

Family Status: Married with 2 boys (13 and 9).

Training Status: Planning on completing the full REV 3 triathlon series in 2010. An Olympic in Knoxville TN, a HIM in Middleton , CT, and a full Iron Distance in Cedar Point Ohio. I do a lot of base distance work and hills, not much emphasis on speed. I have a Computrainer and got two new interactive course (IM Canada and IM Lake Placid -one of which I hope do in 2011), so I see a lot of cycling in my future.

2009 Races: Black Bear HIM, Revolution 3 HIM Middleton, CT, Ironman UK, and 3 Local 5Ks

2010 Races Planned: The full REV 3 triathlon series in 2010. An Olympic in Knoxville TN, a HIM in Middleton , CT (and possibly the Olympic distance the same weekend), and a full Iron Distance in Cedar Point Ohio.
Weightloss: I lost about 55 pounds my first year from 230 to 175, and have maintained that weight until this year when I dropped another 5-10 pounds to help reduced the ponding on my knees.

Why a good mentor?: As I am starting my 8th season, having completed 4 Ironmans, 11 HIMS, 8 marathons, 17 half marathons, and over 45 Tris and DUs, I have learned a lot of things the hard way. I am self coached, have have to balance family, a demandding job with quite a bit of travel, but along the way have improved greatly (Bike splits from a 9.8 mph ave to 21+ mph, running from 9 min miles to 7 min miles, and swim from struggling to breath to 1:42/100 ave for an ironman swim). I am a MOPer, who has been able to do 4 ironmans keeping training volumes to 10-12 hour week max.

I was also selected the BTer of the Month for Nov 2009, so you can listen to the podcast to learn a little bit more about me. http://beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=1850


Edited by southwestmba 2010-01-03 12:44 PM