Road to Ironman: Training with Chris Thomas, USA Triathlon Amateur Athlete of the Year

GearPatrol.com—July 27, 2012

Training for Ironman is largely self-indulgent, in part because it’s an individual sport, doubly so because the athlete is so tuned in to his body, his strengths, aches, his response to nutrition and sleep, and so on.

The minor revelation here is that intense training of any kind requires focus and presence of mind — living in the moment, so to speak. This series isn’t about all that, however — at least not directly.

Ironman is an is an ultra-distance triathlon consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and 26.2 mile run.

Road to Ironman

Training with a USA Triathlon Amateur Athlete of the Year

Since I don’t know any Delta Force operators, I rode bikes and trains from Brooklyn, NY, to Southport, CT, where I met with Christopher Thomas, owner of Personal Training Professionals of Southport. Thomas has been a member of Timex Multisport Team since 2003. He’s a personal trainer with an office postered in certifications, a Lifesport coach, 6-time Ironman finisher (five in Kona, HI), 2009 USA Triathlon Amateur Athlete of the Year, top overall amateur at 15 70.3 (Half Ironman) races, and father of three young boys.

If anyone could help me get out of this rut, it was Thomas. He’s the guy former New York Giants wide receiver Amani Toomer looked to for coaching when he decided to run the NYC marathon in 2010. Toomer had never run more than a 5K, his knee had been surgically reconstructed three times, and his weight was up from 210 pounds to over 230. “The first thing I did is take him into Hospital for Special Surgery in New York,” Thomas says. “We did a run gait analysis to make sure he was structurally okay to do the training.”

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