About Me
Before I get into the who and why for this blog, let me quickly answer why I think of myself as the Dragonfly Swimmer. Actually, I can’t really take credit for the name, but I will gladly steal it for my own personal use. In short, the term refers to those of us that simply cannot do the butterfly stroke – instead, we drag our arms through the water, using up a ton of energy, making lots of noise and splashing huge waves of water without ever really moving anywhere. In summary, what we do can only be described as the “Draggin’ Fly”. I believe Michael from our training group gets credit for that one. Thanks, man.
Now, as for who I am and why I started this blog. Anyone that knows me even just a little, knows that I am a quiet person. Not shy – just quiet and reserved. So this site isn’t an extension of some “I’m awesome and you’re not” personality. I started this because I consider myself a typical wanna-be athlete that has been dealing with physical challenges that I think a lot of people out there can relate to. I also have it in my head that I am going to complete an Ironman, and I want to document the process… for myself. I have an awful memory – if I don’t document this, I will forget it. Guaranteed.
My stress fracture stories are documented elsewhere on this blog, but let’s just say that the injury has been both a blessing and a curse. If it didn’t happen, I would never have pushed myself into triathlons. In an effort to maintain, or even improve, my fitness while injured, I started working out with Olivier – a local trainer and competitive triathlete. I had him give me a few swim lessons and then I eventually started working out with his training group at a local aquatic center. In the gym, Olivier started working on building my muscle endurance and a leaner muscle mass. I was strong, but not in the right ways - a “heavy skinny guy” if that makes any sense (great for winning stuffed animals at the “guess your weight” stand at fairs). Olivier has helped me to maintain my muscle mass while losing over 20 lbs (as of April 2010). Everything is heading in the right direction to become faster, stronger, more efficient… and ultimately, I hope to become someone that has completed an Ironman.
I currently live in Raleigh, NC.
