Mike first joined On Ramp in November of 2012 and it began as a humbling experience, desperate for change. He knew that his flexibility and strength needed to be improved, but more importantly, CrossFit was his last resort to get rid of striking pain in his IT band.
Mike’s history with fitness includes endurance biking and running, but itall came to a halt during graduate school and entering work. For nearly 7 years, he stopped exercising. When he decided it was time to get moving again in 2010, he began feeling stabbing pains in his right IT band. After visiting multiple sports medicine doctors, getting x-rays, receiving phyiscal therapy, getting massage, and buying every shoe imaginable, nothing helped. Then, he read about CrossFit from an article written by an endurance runner and triathlete who promoted CrossFit. Mike recalls, “Looking back, I had fundamental strength and mobility deficiencies that I believe were the root cause of my problems. CrossFit definitely helped me remedy these fundamental problems.”
He didn’t always dream of competing in the Ironman; he simply joined On Ramp to get stronger, increase his flexibility and help remedy his pain. But little by little, his pain went away; he increased his endrance goals starting with a 5k, 10k, Olympic distance triathlon, Half Ironman, then finally, the Ironman. He received specialized programming from Jase Robinson, owner of CrossFit Retaliation in Columbus, Indiana with a 365-day plan. His endurance training volume was around 12-hours per week and his CrossFit training was 2 days a week.
On August 16, 2014, Mike finished a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run in 14:41:04.
From Mike:
“I’m happy to report that I finished Ironman Mont-Tremblant on August 16, 2014. My time for the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run was 14:41:04.
“I wanted to thank you, everyone at Hoosier CrossFit for helping me to realize my dream. I showed up to OnRamp in November 2012 without the mobility to squat below parallel or the strength to do a pull up. I never thought I’d be able to complete a workout like “Murph,” attempt an Ironman, or do deadlifts with my wife. I still have a long way to go until I’m fast by triathlete standards or until I have a large work capacity over broad time and modal domains, as defined by CrossFit. However, I just Rx’d one of the toughest endurance challenges on the planet, and that’s as close as I’ve ever come to doing something genuinely legit.
Paying my monthly fee, volunteering as a judge, and trying to be a part of Hoosier CrossFit community doesn’t seem to match what you’ve given me.”
