Our friend, Jason, is competing in Ironman Texas tomorrow. He’s going to swim, bike and run a long way! After a 2.4 mile swim, he’ll jump on the bike and pedal 112 miles. He will finish the day with a 26.2 mile run. When he’s done, no matter the time, he’ll be in rare company as an Ironman!
As his strength and conditioning coach, I’ve had the pleasure of watching him progress over the last year. But it’s just the last few weeks that have been the most eye opening.
When he first called me the one thing he wanted to know was, “Will CrossFit training make me a better distance athlete?” Since I was on a 5 day, 365 mile bike ride from Waxahachie to Lubbock during this conversation, I told him, “Yea, I’m pretty sure it will!”
Jason jumped right in and went to work! He had enthusiasm and really pushed himself in the challenging workouts I threw at him. His goal was the Ironman. Everything he did was in preparation for obtaining that goal.
He ran long, he biked, and he swam. He did intervals and tempo runs on top of his strength work. He especially liked when we had running days at the box. Often he would come back in the afternoon for a second chance at those workouts!
One of the best things he could have done happened near the end. Jason found out what would happen if he went on a strict Paleo diet. And an already seemingly fit athlete lost body fat (from an already lean frame) and got faster.
Kudos, Jason! Your CFW Family wishes you the best during your race tomorrow! We’re already proud of you!