Ironman Arizona 2012
This past weekend I drove out to Phoenix, Arizona, to see some of my friends compete in Ironman Arizona 2012.
This is a BIG day—a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and 26.2 mile run. I was SO proud of Toby Baum, SheriAnne Nelson, and my good friend Ryan Chapman from Tribase Training. They all finished the race in style. SheriAnne even managed to finish third in her age group, which qualifies her for the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii! That is a MAJOR feat for a first time athlete!
I’m so proud of Ryan for all his hard work. He is an incredible guy.
Back in 2004, he weighed in at 275 pounds (at 5′-10″) and feeling miserable. He had ridden the weight loss roller coaster his whole life. It was a conversation with his Dad that started him on the track of tackling his weight. He started with racquetball and reducing his caloric intake and got down to 230 pounds. Then, he stalled. In 2005, he started a weight loss competition with a work buddy, who ended up introducing him to triathlons.
By the end of the contest, and the start of his first triathlon, he was down to 195 pounds. For the next three years, Ryan used triathlon training to increase his fitness and completed his first half ironman in 2008, and his second in 2009. During this time, he continued to lose some weight and definitely got in better shape, but he felt he was missing out on strength and core work and stretching.
In late 2009, he decided to give P90X a try during the triathlon off-season. He was able to run his personal best in a 5K race just after finishing the program. P90X made him a better triathlete! Now Ryan incorporates the P90X workouts and Tony Horton’s One-on-One series into his triathlon training to keep a balance of strength, core, yoga, and cardio.
While I was there, I filmed some video of Ryan competing in Ironman Arizona 2012. Check it out:
Just a short time ago, Ryan—now an IRONMAN after successfully completing Ironman Arizona 2012—quit his day job to spend more time with his twin girls and help others get fit as a full time Beachbody and triathlon coach! Check out his wide range of very FREE triathlon training plans:
