About Me

Hi. My name's Steve...and I'm a triathlete. But I wasn't always.

In high school I played trumpet in the marching band. Music was my way of zoning out all the day to day stuff that weighs on our minds. It was cleansing. I was on the swim team my freshman year, but my breastroke was faster than my freestyle so I never had dreams of Michael Phelps-like grandeur. Same goes for the track team. I tried the hurdles and high jump for 1 year and retired gracefully at the end of a lackluster season. I just never caught the bug.

In college I caught a different bug when I became goalie for the club water polo team. I was tall and had quick reflexes. There wasn't much swimming involved and I always got to play. What's not to like? Over time my skills improved, our team really gelled, and we qualified for Collegiate Club Nationals my last 2 years finishing 4th and 8th respectively.

After college I landed my dream job of making toys for a living and moved from Georgia to California. It was one of those jobs where you wake up everyday happy to go to work. Having stopped playing water polo, my workouts stopped, but my appetite remained. I gained 40 pounds that first year.  Coincidentally, that was the first year I watched the Hawaii Ironman on television.

In 2007 I decided that I did indeed want to become an Ironman -- more specifically, a Hawaii Ironman. I figured I could get through the 2.4 mile swim thanks to my water polo background. And as long as I could stay on the bike, I could outlast the 112 miles. But I hadn't run more than a mile since a 7th grade PE test. How horrible would it be to make it 114.4 miles and then have to stop because I couldn't run a marathon? So I started training for one.

I found a 17 week training program online and began training for the 2007 San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon. I didn't really know what I was doing other than the fact that I was running. I didn't know about shoes, or energy gels, or heart rate zones, or recovery periods. I just knew that each day I was supposed to run a certain amount and I did. I remember my very first run was 4 laps around a track on a 2 minute interval with 1 minute rest in between. 12 minutes total. Making it around the quarter mile track in 2 minutes was hard, and I threw up after the last one. Thus began my running career. I've since grown to love it and appreciate a "fun run" 5k as much as a marathon.

Also in 2007 I bought a used road bike on Craigslist. It sat in my garage for the next 2 years and would probably have sat there for a few more if my girlfriend at the time hadn't started getting interested in triathlons. Honestly I was scared about riding clipped into my bike, so I never bought the shoes or a helmet or spandex bike shorts or anything else I thought cylcing required. Eventually I sucked it up, got all my equipment and went out for the first ride. I fell 11 times in the alleyway behind my apartment on that ride courtesy of nervousness, gravity, and not knowing how to unclip from my pedals. But once I got the hang of it, I loved riding. Nothing beats a fresh paved road and soon I was searching the South Bay area near Manhattan Beach for new housing developments and untouched asphalt. In the couple years since, I've only found the perfect gear, the perfect road, and the perfect weather come together a handful of times. That in itself is enough motivation for me to hit the road for another 40 miles.

In the spring of 2010 I joined the LA Tri Club, signed up with the SCAQ masters swim team, and registered for the Strawberry Fields Olympic distance triathlon. Fully intimidated going into the race, I came out both completely exhausted and completely hooked on the sport. I've since done other sprint and Olympic distance races and will be competing in a couple half Ironman events in 2011 and my first full Ironman in 2012.

I'm not sure when I'll get to Hawaii. I don't want to get in through the lottery, but rather by qualifying through my finishes in other events. I love hearing stories about guys in their 70's who race. I just hope it doesn't me take that long.