Picture this… the date was July 26, 2015, in Lake Placid, NY, spectating Ironman Lake Placid. Beside me was my beautiful wife and 3 year old daughter. I was over 330lbs. I was sweating more in that summer heat than some of those athletes that had just passed the 100 mile marker of the bike. I was miserable. They were smiling. Smiling after 100 miles on a bike in the mountains. What was I doing wrong?
Fast forward some hours later to watching those same athletes cross the finish line after then running a marathon. Hearing this distinct voice repeating, “You are an Ironman!” With my whole world literally sitting on my shoulders at that moment, a tear came to my eye and I told myself I was going to be back there crossing that finish line no matter how long it took.
A few days later I began running. I can still remember the pain of the shin splints. I ran on a treadmill in my basement because I was too ashamed of running around my neighborhood. I bought a bike. I found a swim coach for 1 on 1 lessons. Before I could even run 2 miles I was signed up for Ironman 70.3 Syracuse. I had 10 months to train. The weight was falling off. The miles were increasing. I was getting stronger and my confidence building.
After an awful race day and finishing with less than 5 minutes to spare, my confidence was shot. I thought I’d take on another 70.3 at some point, but never the full Ironman. Funny how we are short-sighted people.
In 2017 I signed up to race Ironman Lake Placid. After winning a contest and being sponsored by Beach Body in their “Make Me an Ironman” campaign, I had everything I needed to be successful. After 15 hours and 34 minutes on that amazing course, I crossed that line and heard those words, “Zachary Boivin, You are an IRONMAN!”
After taking 2018 off from racing I returned to Lake Placid in 2019, besting my time by almost 30 minutes, then finishing Ironman 70.3 Traverse City a month later in 6:23. Future goals: Get faster. Stay healthy.