Before we dive in, here's a quick message from Coach Vicki:
Michael came to Tri Fitness in 2021 looking for guidance training for his first 70.3 in July of 2022. With Michael being a coach himself, he understood what it was going to take to commit to a race of this magnitude. Michael started by making changes with his family around meal planning and making healthier choices at meal time. Given that we were in the "off-season", he quickly got into a consistent strength routine by joining us for RIP 1-2 days/week.
Michael is no different than many athletes. He was working training around his work and family schedule. The key was, that he was prioritizing what needed to be done for training and working it into his schedule. He made no excuses. There were occasional workouts that were missed but, he did a great job hitting the workouts that allowed him to have an incredibly successful season! I continue to be so very proud of Michael and his commitment to a healthier lifestyle!
Hello, where to begin. I have always enjoyed doing something physical and challenging . It was only a matter of time until I ended up competing in the endurance world. Cycling has always been my passion. Running my arch nemesis. Vicki has been working very hard to change my opinion of running. It’s a constant battle. Growing up I was involved in a variety of sports with lacrosse at the top. After playing in college, I began coaching. After 30+ years, most recently Centennial High School, I retired.
I was a spectator at my first triathlon in 2016 and thought “that looks like fun.” I entered my first triathlon in 2017 and fun it was not. So, I bought a new bike and signed up for two more. I’m the beginning my goal was to just finish. After finishing too many times while they were taking everything down or missing out on the snow cone machine, I decided to take this more seriously. Improvements were minor and that lead me to Tri Fitness. My current goal is to finish the race having a good suffer and without the painful suffer.
Outside of my triathlon activities, you can find me fishing, hunting, hiking, camping or canoeing. Love being outside. The same thing that draws me to Tri, drives me with other activities. The challenge. I never take the easy path. The more difficult it is to accomplish, the more I enjoy it. My wife’s family cans pickles every year. As per my nature, I organize a family 5k Pickle Run (walk/bike/rollerblade) each October. In order to enjoy your first pickle of the year, you must cover the 5k in some fashion. You even get a t-shirt.
I am currently married to my wife, Tina, approaching 19 years. Blessed with 4 children, John (32), Sydney (30), Ashley (17), Hannah (15) and 2 grandchildren, Michael and Mason. Our lives took an unexpected detour in October 2022. Tina was diagnosed with breast cancer. Having gone through a double mastectomy, two rounds of chemo and radiation, they also discovered a brain tumor. The last 16 months have been quite a whirlwind. We are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, as her chemotherapy is finishing up in March. Only 2 cycles to go. Racing and training have been the farthest thing from my mind. I recently started back up with Performance Cycle. It’s one of my favorite hits of the week and the hardest hour to get to. 2023 was a blur. 2024 is a clean slate. No plans to race this year as for now. We will see where life takes us.
If you were to ask my children for our family motto, they would all say “Suck it up.” Apparently, I may have stated that more than once when they were growing up. As of late, I like “courage is one step ahead of fear.”