Most memorable race?

Triathlon – First IM Finish: Vineman

Marathon – Boston 2004

Ironman

This will forever be the dilemma of endurance sports! By nature, being an endurance athlete is a very selfish ambition which makes balancing family/work responsibilities and training a challenge. The key has been learning to train smart…quality over quantity. While sleep is as critical component as any to proper training, I get very little of it. Workouts usually begin at 4:00 AM in order to get back to see the kids off to school and to attend the kids weekend soccer games. To maximize time and focus, I generally train alone. While nothing beats outdoor workouts in the cool early morning hours, I supplement by training after the kids are in bed with workouts on the trainer and treadmill. All swim workouts are done during lunch time whenever I don’t have a business meeting.

In regards to balancing the responsibilities of training and work, I take what my schedule gives me. There have been times in the past where I have become obsessed with training and racing – up to five marathons and an Ironman in the same season. I have since abandoned this approach and have become very focused on 1-2 races a year. Backing off has allowed me to focus on my top two priorities, family and work, and to allow my body to recover and perform better. While running a professional sports franchise is very time consuming, there is no better remedy for the stress than my daily training.

They think I’m insane. As professional football players they are extremely well conditioned but in a very different way. I frequently ask them to join me if they want to experience a real workout. They generally respond by agreeing if I will reciprocate and join them in the weight room. Perhaps we can create a new sport – Full Contact Triathon, where we can all test each others skills???

Any players every workout with you?

I have extended a few invitations, and a few could actually hold there own, but to date I have had no takers. The truth is that I am home and off to work before most of the players have even thought about waking up.

The first year of starting the franchise seemed like an ultra-IM without a foreseeable finish line. However, since then, the learning curve has flattened out significantly and running the franchise has actually become a lot of fun. I recall making more “deals with the devil” in my first two IM races than I have ever made running the business but needless to say, both are challenging and rewarding in different ways. As an individual sport, Triathlon is very different from running a business where teamwork is paramount. Fortunately, the community has really embraced Arena Football and business is going well which has helped eliminate the “mile 20 melt downs.”