My Triathlon story starts in 1982. I did a sprint in Camden Maine called the Tinman. I was a 16 year old sprint freestyle swimmer living in Southern Maine. Some of the folks on our team drove up to Camden to gave it a try. I was first out of the water which shocked the crowd as a super-skinny, 6’5” black kid in Maine. I spent the rest of the race going backwards but I was hooked on endurance sports.

I continued to swim at the Air Force Academy. As fast as 48.08 for the 100 (yds) Free. I rode and ran around our beautiful campus. I did the 1987 Denver Marathon. Slowly. I was stationed in Germany in the Air Force in the early 90s. I took up mountain bike racing very seriously. I had moderate success. Moving to Tucson in 1995, I continued MTB racing but mostly concentrated on being a Dad. Fast forward to 2009, living In Keller, Texas I enter a few Masters swim meets. 1:01.4 for 100m Free. I start racing MTB again. I upgrade to Cat 2 and come in Second in my Age Group in the DFW area. I also discover Cyclocross. Another move, this time to Chicago in 2013. I do some MTB races. I do some gravel races. I do some Cyclocross races. I start running 5k-marathons. I do some local tris. I like to race. I did my first IM in Madison in 2015.

After years of self-coaching, I signed up with my first training plan. It was soon after my 13:20 at IMWI and I knew I needed more. I love TriDot’s flexibility. I can move days around to match my unpredictable schedule. The periodic progress checks reset my training zones and keeps my training up to date and specific for the season. I like the data-driven approach. The numbers don’t lie. I’m accountable and can see where I do well and what my challenges are. I’ve knocked off about 20 mins per race since signing up with TriDot. My current PR is 12:03 at Challenge Roth this summer. I was on pace for a low 11 hour race at IMAZ when an old injury slowed my last 8 miles to a walk.

Ironman Mont Tremblant and the Flying Pig Marathon are in the cards so far this year. I’ve added a BQ attempt in the near future for this non-runner. I’m relying on TriDot’s smart training to get me there safely. Kona is a goal also.