At age 35 I was 5’7 and bumping 200 lbs. Ten years of sitting at a desk all day, minimal exercise, eating whatever I wanted and a slowing metabolism had taken its toll. I knew something had to change. I was pretty well burned out on the gym and knew that even if I started back there that I would not have a real goal to shoot for.

That same year I found out a few buddies were doing a sprint triathlon. While I despised the idea of running, the thought of training for three different events was compelling simply because of the diversity. The race they were signed up for was full so I signed up for one the following week in Waco.

I swam the first 100 yards of my first sprint triathlon and completely panicked. I had made it across the Brazos River to the other bank and literally walked the second 100 yards down the river bank of my “swim”. It was a defining moment in my journey. Either I was going to put my head down and swim back across the river, or my triathlon career would be extremely short lived. Little did I know that doing the backstroke across that river was the beginning of a life changing journey towards becoming an Ironman.

To those of you contemplating the impossible, making changes, facing fears, I simply say take the first step. Get a plan from someone who’s been there before and stick to it. Make sure you have someone to support you along the way, and then never, never, never give up.