Birkierunner's (Jim Kelley) General + Long Course Group (OPEN)

My name is Roy I would like to join your group. I have been a mentor in the past and have really enjoyed the experience. My daughter age 23 and I (55) are doing IMTX in May it will be our first. Been in the sport since 2006 and have done all of the distances except IM. I have 3 marathons in the bank 3:59 is my pr. I think being apart of a long course group will be a great benefit. We are about to complete the first 10 wk block of Finks plan. I'm healthy, weight is in order and wanting to have the best experience I can have with my daughter. I'll send a better bio.

Welcome Kristen and Roy!  Things are a little hectic with Christmas in a few days but we can certainly start asking questions or start discussions.  I'll keep the group open for quite a while to let sufficient people in.  I look forward to working with you over the next few months!

Welcome!  Tell us a little more about yourself and your family situation and if you don't mind your first name - thanks

Todd, great to have you back for Round #2.  Yeah, I've gotten a lot of mileage out of that 5 second cameo lol !!

Thanks Jim, looking foward to this.

Story: I really got into the sport as a way to help my then 16yr old daughter begin her career in triathlon. She is/was a swimmer but didn't know anything about riding and running so old dad took up the challenge and we've both been at ever since. I'm a life long golfer but have not really played much in the past few years which is OK my choice. I"m 55 and still very much enjoying being fit and as healthy as I can be.

Family: Married 31 yrs, two daughters 25 & 23, the youngest one is who I'll be doing IMTX with. My wife is a great cheerleader and she always enjoy's our day at the races.

Training: Currently have begun to train for IMTX, using Don Finks Be Iron Fit program. Following the Intermediate program. This fits me to a tee, I'm a very time crunched athlete my only time to train is in the afternoon/evenings and weekends. Even my weekends need to be modified at times.

Weight: Fortunately this has never been a real issue for me I"m 6"1 and currently 168lbs. My wife and i did change our diets about 3 months ago and I did drop 10lbs which is what I was looking for. A more plant based diet now.

2013 Races: Blarney Sprint Triathlon, pool swim event 2nd AG, St. Anthony's finished 29 in AG qualified for nationals by percentile finish(did not go), Heartland Sprint 6th, Scenic 17 Sprint 4th and Longleaf Oly 3rd

2014: Blarney Sprint, Florida Challenge HIM(march event 8 weeks from IMTX), IMTX, Heartland Sprint, Scenic 17 Sprint and Longleaf Oly

Hey Jim, I’d like to re-up with your group if you still have room.

NAME: Scott K.

BIO:

55 Y.O. Male, married, 2 "little ones," 5 grand-kids (would've had the grand-kids first if we'd known how much fun they are!)

STORY:

I started swimming competitively when I was 11 and swam all through high-school and college. I was a world class swimmer in the late 70's and early 80's. I held a world record at one point, albeit for about 20 minutes, but it was a world record nonetheless (I set the record in a semi-final and it was broken in the next semi-final). Back in those days, an amateur was an amateur so as a swimmer, unless you were independently wealthy, you really only had one shot at the Olympics. After the 1980 U.S. Olympic debacle my swimming career began to wind down and in 1982 I finally retired from competitive swimming. That was, coincidentally, the same year my Ironman dream started. I suspect that many of you can trace the genesis of your own Ironman dreams to the same moment - Julie Moss on her hands and knees, crawling across the finish line in Kona. In my mind, that was, and continues to be, the epitome of athletic achievement. I immediately knew I wanted to do an Ironman. However, the sad reality was that I had spent 5-8 hours a day in a pool, seven days a week, 365 days a year, for over a decade, and the thought of going back to full time training was not very appealing. On top of that, I had another problem - running and I had never really been friends. The Ironman has that little marathon thing at the end and that simply terrified me. A couple decades later, I found myself over one-hundred pounds overweight, and I couldn't run 100 yards, let alone a marathon. Although I didn't move to fulfill my Ironman dream, I did tell anyone who would listen that, "I could do an Ironman." Then a couple years ago, I went to a client's house and there on the wall of his home office was a picture of him crossing the finish line in Kona. Of course, my first comment was, "I could have done that!" After a year of him hearing about how I could have done that, he finally called me out in May 2012. He basically said, "Your going to go to your grave saying you could have done it, or you can do it." He then challenged me to join him at the Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on October 11, 2014. After a grueling two weeks of researching everything Ironman, including how to qualify for Kona, I finally accepted his challenge.

GOALS:

1. Ironman World Championships - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii - October 11, 2014

WEIGHT-LOSS:

1. Started a weight loss program in May, 2012. Was at 297.6 pounds when I started. Graduated high-school at 180 pounds, college at 200 pounds. Want to get down to that range. Target is 200. I have lost roughly 75 pounds so far. Started out using the Atkins diet plan and have modified that as I started training.

UPCOMING RACES:

1. Entered in Indy-500 Half Marathon 05/14.
2. Entered in Ironman Louisville 08/14.
3. Ironman Kona 10/14?

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MEMBER:

Having competed at a world class level for several years, I vividly recall the pressure and nerves you experience at a high level competition. Plus I have a pretty good understanding of swimming and proper technique. That is experience I look forward to sharing with anyone interested.

I may not be the most competitive person you have ever met, but I will settle for being the second most competitive person you have ever met.
I have this theory, if you aren't going to be the best you can be, why try at all? That theory tends to be contagious and will spur others to higher achievement.

Most importantly, I know my limitations. I know I have returned to training after a very long "retirement." I know that I am no longer the 20-something world class athlete of the past (I acknowledge my body is older, but beyond that, I think being a world class athlete is largely a state of mind). I know training techniques have changed dramatically in the past decades and I know there are many people here with far more knowledge than I have. I anxiously look forward to hearing their expertise.

 Edited for punctuation.   (Really!  I are a callage gratueight!!!)

Hi Scott...I was actually going to send you a PM to ask if you would participate in my group again this year.  I think your vast swim experience will be a great asset to everyone!!!  Looking forward to watching your journey to Kona!

Welcome Scott!!!  I did IM Canada when it was at the old venue in Penticton...it was epic.  I hope to race the new course at Whistler sometime soon.  Feel free to start asking any questions (general or IM) that you might have.  Glad to have you join us!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!  Let's make 2014 a great one.

Great topic - IM nutrition   I'll do a write-up soon on my recent nutrition plan at IM Arizona last month and compare it to my past experiences that didn't go so well.

Hey Todd! Good to "see" you again.  Looking forward to 'round two.'

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate this day.  Look forward to getting to know all the new folks and reacquainting with the returning folks.

Welcome to the group Cage!  You'll like the venue at Racine...I've done it many times - including when it was the Spirit of Racine half before it become an Mdot 70.3 race.  Looking forward to having you with us for 2014!