Ironman Frank: Week 1

Augusta Sports Council President Frank Gibbs, Jr. is training for his first Ironman 70.3 triathlon. Frank will compete in the ESi Ironman 70.3 Augusta on September 26, 2010. In his weekly blog, "Ironman Frank" will share his experiences leading up to his first competition, as well as basic guidelines and training tips for other first-time triathletes. An Ironman 70.3 encompasses 70.3 total miles of racing – a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run. For more information about the ESi Ironman 70.3 Augusta, visit IronmanAugusta.com.

Hello, I’m Frank Gibbs, Jr. and I am the current president of the Augusta Sports Council. This blog will track my training for the 2nd annual Ironman 70.3 that the Sports Council brings to town. Last year we had over 3,000 entries and hope to have even more this year with the excitement of last year’s success.

I have done some internet research on this quest, and boy, are there a lot of brave souls out there participating in this sport! The training will be steady until September so we are in for a long, hot summer. This will be my first attempt at something like this, so please e-mail me with any suggestions!

I started taking a circuit training class a couple of years ago when I weighed 195 lbs. Today’s weight is 179 so things have gone well so far. I have a closet full of 36 waist and XL shirts collecting dust! You know, when you start out on a mission and continue to do it and see the results it’s a pretty cool thing. I ran my first 5K last year, the Heart & Sole, and finished in 26:50. Last week, I ran the 2010 Heart & Sole 5K. There were 834 entries and I finished 70th with a time of 24:45, so I shaved off two minutes from last year. In the past I’ve also run the Swamp Stomp 5K, and last year decided to take it to the next level and run the Augusta Half Marathon. I finished the Half in 2:05, so I have a few goals now to better those times each year. This Saturday I am participating in The Family Y Cloverleaf Duathlon (2 mile run / 10 mile bike / 2 mile run). This is my first duathlon, so check back next week and I’ll share the results.

Training for your first half Ironman is not cheap, especially if you don’t already have the right equipment. I have gotten a few sponsors to assist me in the purchase of my gear. I’d like to thank Ricks Paint & Body, Augusta Pet Crematory, Trucks & Moore and Andy Jordan’s Bicycle Warehouse for their generosity.

We’ll chat next week,
Frank