40 year old couch potato turned Ironman athlete.
Please help end the epidemic of Childhood obesity by donating to this great organization.
How I became a 40 year old couch potato:
I have always wanted do an Ironman triathlon (swim/bike/run), but never liked running.
As a child, I was athletic. I grew up a competitive swimmer and in high school, I took up cycling. I used to swim 2-3 hours per day, and bike approximately 20 – 30 miles per day. I always dreamed of competing in an Ironman triathlon, but I did not like running.
After high school, I came up with the same excuses many people use to let their dreams slip away. Life’s responsibilities got in the way (like paying bills). I went in the Navy, then afterward I worked odd jobs for many years until in 1998, I met the woman of my dreams. Our wedding was in the summer of 2000 and we had a child in the summer of 2001 but the next thing you know... I am 40 years old, getting divorced, and overweight (not obese, but a solid 20-30 lbs overweight).
As might be expected after 13 years of marriage, I had a difficult time adjusting to single life. I was feeling lonely, a bit depressed, and having a difficult time adjusting to living in an apartment again. One day I decided that I could sit around and feel sorry for myself, or I could get out and live my life.
The first thing I did was take a scuba diving class. I got certified last summer (2011) and dove over 30 times in approximately 3 months. I love scuba diving. However, scuba diving made me realize that I was not happy with my body. Try putting on a skin tight wet suit when you are 30 lbs overweight, and you will know what I mean.
I was also approaching my 40th birthday. My father had his first heart attack in his 40′s, and so did my grandfather. Given that I was overweight and my cholesterol was sky-high, I was not liking my chances of avoiding being the third generation of Musgrove men to have a heart attack in his 40′s.
So I started running, and guess what? I discovered that I actually love running! (Don't knock it until you've tried it for a bit). I added eating better to my daily routine and you know what happened? I lost weight! I lost 25 lbs in about five weeks, and I felt great.
Now, next step in this amazing journey is to accomplish my dream of finishing an Ironman triathlon. Further, I have always enjoyed helping others, and I also wanted to do more for charity. This blog is my attempt at all three things.
I hope that by writing about my journey training for an Ironman and the lessons I learn along the way, I may inspire other people to get off the couch, lose a bit of weight, and do something they have always wanted to do. I am also hoping that this blog will help to hold me accountable to my goals. since I know there will be challenging days in the coming weeks. Training for an Ironman takes dedication and a lot of training hours, building up to as many as 18 – 20 hours per week. Lastly, I hope that through this blog my personal journey I can raise money for charity. I have chosen a charity that is helping to fight childhood obesity. This is a very important to me, as my heart breaks every time I think of innocent kids that are sick with diabetes, getting picked on and bullied, or are depreseed because of their weight. All it would take to fix this is a healthy diet and excercise which are both easily available to every child, and yet the epidemic continues.
Thank you for visiting! Please follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Google + and this blog. Please also take a minute to check out my “charity” page for a way to contribute to the charity I have chosen.
Chad Musgrove
