For as long as I can remember I was always at a swimming pool. Some of my oldest memories are from the YMCA where I learned how to swim, and I think it's there that the foundation for my passion and drive for sport were developed. I begged my parents to put me in swim lessons so early that they had to lie about my age just to get me on the team. But as I went through middle school, my eagerness for the sport faded and I struggled to stay motivated (all swimmers know the sport is a lonely and frustrating one at times). My parents forced me to stick with swimming to occupy my free time, and it wasn't until entering high school that I saw the sport more as a pathway for me to attend a great college. With a newly-found determination to swim at a Division 1 school, I was able to refocus and push myself. After swimming for 4 years at Penn State, where I graduated with a marketing degree, I started my first full-time job and decided to start running to stay in shape. After a string of injuries sidelined my running, I bought a road bike and immediately fell in love with cycling.
Completing a triathlon was always in the back of my mind as something I'd love to cross off my bucket list one day, but after watching a close friend compete at Ironman Florida, a spark was lit and I found a new goal to set for myself. Soon after, I entered a local triathlon, followed shortly by my first Half-Ironman. It took a while for me to get there, but I finally found a new sport that I loved, and I have embraced triathlon fully ever since.
I've received a lot of great advice over the years from people I respect and admire. First and foremost, my father always taught me to be flexible and embrace change. He taught me that in order to improve in sport and in life we need to be humble enough to admit when something we're doing needs improving.
Another great piece of advice I got was from my college coach, who told me to "get comfortable being uncomfortable." It's one of my favourite lessons because it teaches you to be comfortable pushing your limits and get familiar with that feeling of ‘going to the well’. Anyone who has done endurance sport knows that there are inevitable times during your event that your thoughts turn negative and the feat in front of you seems insurmountable. I realized that when you face these obstacles, it's easier to break the issue down into more manageable pieces, and chip away at it piece-by-piece.
I’ve also had some not so great advice. One of the most common things people tell me prior to any of my races is: 'You should win the swim!' I am fully aware of my ability to swim with the front group in any of the distance races I do, but I also try to be cognizant of how much effort I’m putting out in the swim. While it’s thrilling to come out of the water first (and does make for some cool photos), that doesn’t count for anything at the end of the day. I’d much rather sacrifice 'winning the swim' in order to place on the podium at the end of the race.
Outside of swimming, I played soccer, basketball and baseball. Balancing multiple sports and school is one of the skills I developed at a young age, and has helped me balance working full-time and competing as a professional triathlete. I didn't realize it at the time, but looking back at my childhood I'm forever grateful for how busy my parents kept me.
While my parents pushed me to be active in sports, they also ingrained in me conservative values (always save for a rainy day, never put all my eggs in one basket, etc). So when it came time for me to choose between pursuing baseball or swimming, I chose swimming for the practicality of having it help me on a pathway to attend a great university. As passionate as I am about triathlon, I'm equally as passionate about ‘winning’ in my professional career, so I couldn't be happier with the balance in life that I have with my job and being a professional triathlete.
“I’ve been blessed with natural talent, but I’ve worked very hard to reach the level of triathlon at which I compete and when I think about what has driven me to continue pushing my own boundaries, I keep coming back to the feeling of missing out on my own potential.”
I have always been fascinated with highly complex engineering and craftsmanship. My dad got me into muscle cars from the 60s, so I was always watching closely as he worked on his 1969 Corvette. I also developed a fascination with mechanical watches. I love how intricate the workings are in the movement and how much manual labour goes into putting them together. I’ve been a watch guy since I was little, but that obsession has really been kicked into high gear in the last 3 years or so.
My obsession with craftsmanship and engineering has carried through to my profession and triathlon career as well. I work for a company that makes the warmest jackets in the world (all by hand), built to explore the arctic, and I compete professionally in a sport where it’s not uncommon to see 50 or more bikes that cost more than my Nissan Altima. I’m proud that the brands I'm involved with personally and professionally are continuing to push the envelope when it comes to engineering and technology.
I do think I could've pushed myself harder in high school. I could have been more focused on the small details and processes that would've added up to big wins in the pool. I'm a huge fan of professional cycling, and Team Sky has had the philosophy of focusing on the ‘marginal gains’. It's essentially the idea that small gains add up to big wins when you combine them all together. I think if I had focused on the marginal gains more growing up in sport (working on my underwater kick, distance per stroke, kicking with a board) that I could've been a much faster swimmer by the time my collegiate career was finishing up.
It's a lesson I've tried to learn from and a mentality I've embraced now in triathlon; to slow down and make sure I'm getting the details right. It's crucial for me to focus on the little things due to the limited amount of free time I have between balancing a full-time profession as well as competing at the top level in triathlon. I hope it will pay off over a long career in triathlon.
“I don’t have any race day “mantras”, but I do remember watching Kona coverage on TV and hearing one of the older age groupers give this advice: “Enjoy it, it goes quick.” That answer sounded crazy at first when referring to a race that’s 140.6 miles, but after thinking more about what he said, his answer rings true to me.”
When times get tough during an Ironman (and let’s be honest, there are always a few of those dark moments in every race), I’ve learned to break the race down into manageable chunks to help myself keep pushing forward. I set little goals for myself throughout the day, rather than focusing on tackling 140.6 miles at once. This helps me keep my mind centered on the task at hand, but even that fails at some points when you’re 4 hours into a race. I keep a journal of all my workouts, and think back on those when I’m in really tough spots on race day. The specific sessions where I’ve had successful results help me regain my confidence and remind myself that I’ve put in the work to finish the race strong.
I also can’t understate how crucial a coach has been in regards to the positive self-talk that goes into a race. I found that prior to working with a coach, I was always doubting myself –“did I do enough long rides?”, “did I do the right run workouts?”, “did I swim enough?”, “did I taper enough?”, “did I taper too much?” The inner voice has a long time to second guess yourself during an Ironman.
Having a coach allowed me to let go of all those inner thoughts and put faith in the work I’d done and have confidence that I’m prepared to get the most out of myself on race day.
I'm lucky that I can honestly say my wife Sam is my best friend and partner in crime. She supports me living out my passion to the fullest extent; pushing me out of bed in the morning when I don't want to get up, or cooking me breakfast after I get home from a long brick workout. And, she’s always my biggest fan on race day. When she comes to watch me race, I make a point to stop on the run and give her a kiss when I see her. It gives me something to look forward to, and it costs me 5 seconds, but it's my favorite way to tell her that I'm grateful for her supporting me. (I have yet to lose any race by 5 seconds, so until that day comes, this tradition will continue...). She's also my balance and keeps me from pushing too hard when I'm starting to burn out. After years of watching me train, she usually knows how I'm feeling based on how I'm acting, talking, or even looking. She's my rock and my number one.
Her dedication to everything she does is also inspiring, and incredible to be a part of. I love being her number one supporter in all of her passions. She supports me, balances her own career, all while getting her MBA at night. She’s pushed me to be my best and balance work, triathlon, and being the best husband I can be on a daily basis. In a deep rut during an Ironman, I push harder knowing the sooner I’m done, the quicker I get to celebrate with her.
“After a week or so of thinking about signing up for my first Ironman, my internal disregard for what other people think took over (I call it the “Fuck It Factor”- basically when I throw my hands up and say “fuck it”, and do what I want anyway) and I signed up for Poconos 70.3.”
My funniest rookie mistake was in prepping for my first full Ironman, and also happened to be my first marathon (and also happened to be in Kona). Needless to say I was overthinking every aspect of race day and was overcompensating. I overthought my bike choice and was worried the bike I owned was “slow”, so I borrowed a bike from Kona Bike Works (a bike brand and model I’d never ridden before) and used it for the race. It ended up working out fine, but it was a stupid decision.
I also overthought my nutrition for that race. I was so worried about taking in enough calories, that I decided to try a new drink for race day (I had never practiced using it leading up to the race) and it packed all the calories, sodium, and protein I needed into 1 serving size. Besides the fact that I was completely disregarding the saying 'don’t try anything new on race day', I also decided I needed to condense the drink in order to pack more calories in my drinks. You can probably figure out where this is going: I ended up frequenting the port-o-potty, but still managed to finish in just over 9 ½ hours.
© 2026 InnerVoice
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