Ironman Weekend

Posted Nov 13, 2006 by Marty Strasen

Updated Nov 13, 2006 at 12:02 PM

It was an inspirational weekend.

A friend from Iowa, whom we hadn’t seen in more than six years, was in town to compete in the Ironman 70.3 World Championship Saturday in Clearwater. That’s a 1.2-mile swim, followed by a 56-mile bike ride, followed by a 13.1-mile (half-marathon) run.

And even though Dave (above, in a file photo I found online) got skinned up badly in a chain-reaction crash on mile five of the bike ride, he still managed to pedal the next 51 miles, get through the run and set a personal best time. He was also able to join us for a Saturday afternoon at Busch Gardens.

What does that have to do with the meatball sandwich and salad I brought for lunch today?

Nothing, really. Except that, in training for these races, I learned that Dave cuts out all fried foods, loads up on fruits and vegetables, drinks lots of fluids and works out like crazy. It’s why the dude has a miniscule body-fat percentage and covers ground like a machine. And it’s how he was able to metabolize an enormous Beef’s Big Burger not long after riding Montu, which is no small feat.

I’d like to do a mini-triathlon sometime soon. But more than that, I’d like to copy some of Dave’s nutritional choices to the point where I can drop the 15 pounds I’d like to lose. You might be seeing some healthier choices in this space soon. And if not, I’m at least vowing to keep away from the office candy dishes and cake celebrations that I’ve rarely passed up over the last couple of months.

Janine also competed this weekend, though it wasn’t in the Ironman event. She and her kids did the Walk for Autism Research. And along the way, she apparently stopped at Publix and picked up a frozen lunch. Not with the money they raised for battling autism.