Hey Doc, you can kiss my M Dot…

Yeah that’s right, let me pull down these bike shorts so you can get a good look! OK, let provide a little background for those of you who are not my doctor.

I was born with a congenital heart defeat that required surgery when I was three. If it wasn’t for the surgery, I wouldn’t have lived past 12. Well today I am 35 and yesterday I became an Ironman!

Three years ago I went to my cardiologist for my annual check-up. I was just starting to get back into shape but I was overweight (225 lbs). I was signed up for a local sprint tri and was explaining to my cardiologist that I wanted to do an Ironman. His reaction was one of shock and concern. We talked about what an Ironman is and the amount of training that I would have to do. My biggest concern was my heart and what impact this event would have on my body. I asked him if I could physically do an Ironman and he looked at this overweight guy before him and went through the risks. In the end, he said something that really motivated me. He told me that he felt my heart could withstand the stress but he didn’t think the rest of my body could.

Well, that was all I needed! I have always been a competitive person and began my journey to becoming an Ironman. I lost 50lbs in three years. The first year I did a sprint tri and closed the season with an OLY. The following year I did an OLY and HIM. This year I had one goal – Ironman Kentucky! Last night my journey was complete when Mike Reilly (at least I think it was him) announced, “You are an Ironman!”

I finished in 12hr 11min 53sec. Definitely not Kona material but way better then I expected. I had a great race and everything came together for me – except me losing my timing chip in T1.

Well, I just wanted to share my store. I don’t post much but find the tips that everyone posts on here every useful and this site was (and will continue) to be a great resource.