Kona Inspired
I’ve been having vivid dreams of Kona. I’ve always been a dreamer, ambitious goals with far reaching plans, but this Kona Inspired contest has me completely captivated in a new way.
Just about everyone has at least caught a little of the Ironman world championships on TV. I can remember seeing it ages ago as most people have and know the grueling 140.6 mile endurance race is epic by any standard.
When I dove into triathlon last year it was a physical challenge to do a sprint distance (less than 1/8 the distance of the Ironman) and little did I know how addicted to the sport I would become.
Like other interest of mine I began consuming every book, magazine, and movie I could find. Not surprisingly most covered the holy grail of triathlon the Ironman World Championships in Kona Hawaii. I quickly learned the challenges of the race start well before you even land in Hawaii – qualifying and the level of competition at other Ironman events was an eye opener. Being willing and able to do the race was easy, earning a spot is a challenge.
Experience, physiology, and a number of other factors put me well behind the pack in the chances of qualifying for Kona. I’m not one to say “never” , but I’m also a realist and know there are physical and biological limits. Luckily there is always the Lottery – You can enter and win a spot to race, and then qualify your spot by completing some other race. Two ironman races in a year, training, travel, and expenses. It is certainly an option and helps keep the “every man” feeling within triathlon alive. Which is why we love the sport so much. Anyone can go head to head with the worlds best.
Kona Inspired opened a new door to this coveted race. One that I was happy to step up to. There are 8 media spots up for grab.
For the first time ever, and driven by the inspirational stories that have made the sport of triathlon what it is today, the search for the athletes who embody the spirit of Ironman and the mantra ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE®, will be a public, interactive process For the first time ever, and driven by the inspirational stories that have made the sport of triathlon what it is today, the search for the athletes who embody the spirit of Ironman and the mantra ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE®, will be a public, interactive process.
The Ironman legacy is not short on inspirational stories. And so far neither is the Kona Inspired contest entries. The anything is possible mantra resonated well with me, apart from triathlon I had been saying, doing, and proving the words through my own radical life transformation.
Obesity sucks. There is an unofficial taboo on it. Culturally we obviously discriminate and belittle over weight people while taking thinness to unreasonable levels as an ideal of attractiveness. Even still, we will not directly confront weight issues and how they apply negatively to health. It puts people with weight problems in a bad place.
While nobody enjoys cancer & other chronic diseases, there are a lot of support for the victims and awareness programs. Very passionate and driven people working to find cures and hope for others. However, so many of the diseases people are passionate about are directly related to obesity, weight, exercise, diet & nutrition!
Weight loss is it’s own industry – You don’t see any obesity non-profit groups out there, just paid weight loss “solutions” The money spend on weight loss is growing as fast as our waist lines
“The U.S. Weight Loss & Diet Control Market.” which in its 2007 study estimates the size of the U.S. weight loss market at $55 billion. It is now estimated to have reached over $60 Billion.
While;
As of 2008, more than two-thirds of the adult population over the age of 19 in the U.S. was obese or overweight–64.1 percent of women were overweight or obese, while 72.3 percent of men fell in that category. About 35 percent of American women were considered obese, and 32.2 percent of men were obese.
From the statistics one would think weight loss is impossible. Let alone increasing fitness and exercise. I mean, look at this short list of related diseases and health problems that come along with being overweight.
- Diabetes, a disorder where the pancreas is not producing enough or sometimes not any insulin. Diabetes can lead to a whole host of other medical issues and obesity is one of the main causes.
- Cancer has many different forms and types; many of them could be prevented with more attention to eating healthily and avoiding obesity.
- Congestive heart failure is a condition in which your heart can’t pump enough blood to your body’s other organs.
- Enlarged heart is another heart condition where the muscle of your heart becomes larger due to being overworked, which naturally happens if you are overweight.
- Pulmonary embolism is a sometimes fatal blockage of an artery. Being overweight causes most people to reduce activity, and after time lack of activity can result in an embolism.
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome is a condition in which cysts develop in your ovaries. These can burst, causing even further problems.
- Gastro-esophageal reflux disease happens when stomach acid and juices flow from your stomach back up into your esophagus. It is common in overweight people.
- Fatty liver disease is a reversible condition in which large pockets of fat accumulate in liver cells.
- A hernia is caused when the hole in the diaphragm weakens and enlarges.
- Erectile dysfunction is the inability to develop or maintain an erection, which can be caused by a medical problem due to obesity.
- Urinary incontinence is the inability to control urination. It is frequently associated with obesity, weak bladder and pelvic floor muscles
- Chronic renal failure, meaning your kidneys fail to work, is a much greater risk to those who are overweight or obese.
- Lymph edema is a condition that occurs from a damaged or dysfunctional lymphatic system, sometimes caused by people suffering from obesity actually crushing their own lymphatics.
- Cellulitis is a spreading infection, involving both the dermis and subcutaneous skin tissues, resulting from poor lymph flow caused by obesity.
- Stroke is caused by a lack of blood supply to your brain.
- Pickwickian syndrome is characterized by sleep apnea resulting from obesity placing an excessive load on your pulmonary system.
- Depression is a condition where a person feels miserable constantly, even to the point of being suicidal. It can be worse for someone who also has a weight problem.
- Osteoarthritis is a clinical syndrome in which low-grade inflammation results in pain in your joints. It is caused by abnormal wearing of the cartilage, oftentimes due to obesity.
- Gout occurs when uric acid accumulates in your blood. Nerve endings then become irritated, causing extreme pain, which is made worse by carrying extra weight.
- Gallbladder disease commonly affects overweight people as a result of high blood cholesterol levels, which cause gall stones.
That’s what motivated me to get serious. More-so that all those diseases most likely meant I would die sooner than later and be a misserible father to my daughter.
So that is just what I did. I lost weight. I didn’t spend any money on programs or pill (In fact, we probably saved money by not eating crap food and drive through) ((although getting into the sport of triathlon probably cost 2x as much as I “saved” eating healthy)) There was no fads, starvation diets, off limit foods.
If you want to know exactly how I did it, you can read it all here.
So, Kona Inspired – I have hall the inspiration I need from my daughter. The Ironman world championships is a dream, an opportunity to experience life at it’s fullest. I know anything is possible, I believe I have a chance to be one of the lucky 8. What I really want is to be Inspiring. I want to inspire others.
I am here to save lives, and my goal is to inspire people. I want the world to see my before and afters and know that I didn’t do anything dramatic like surgery or drugs. I didn’t spend thousands of dollars on a plan or meals. I just decided to do it.
