How did I get here from where I was?

As many of you may or may not know, about 4 years ago I was 325 lbs. I would eat at the typical fast food places 2 or 3 times a day. My favorite drink was Dr. Pepper. I would drink on average about a 12 pack a day. Two years prior I smoked 3 packs a day. What spurred the change was a simple promise I made my mom as she was dying of cancer. I promised my mom that I would stop smoking. So unlike her, I would be around to see my grandchildren grow and achieve life accomplishments. I saw first hand what smoking leads to. On October 30, 2002 I stopped smoking cold turkey and have never even thought of going back. In the summer of 2004 I had enough of the way I was. This may sound stupid but, in my old house, when you walked in you would have to climb a flight of stairs to get to the living room. I would think to my self on the way home, "I have to climb those stairs again". This little flight of stairs would tire me out. I thought about my mom and what she said. I thought about my pre-mature son that was 14 ounces and how hard he fought to survive. I made a goal. I wanted to lose 30 pounds and not let those stairs tire me out. 30 pounds is a very little sacrifice compared to my mom and my baby boy. Now in my 325 pound mind set the 30 pounds would be a hard goal to reach. Realistically, 30 pounds is easy to lose at that weight. I made a very difficult move. No more "regular pop", only diet. I also stopped all fast food with the exception of Subway or Quizno's. I started walking at lunch and swimming at night. In about 2 weeks I had lost that 30 pounds. In my head it was too easy. Not nearly the suffering my 2 mentors had gone through. My next goal was triathlon. The walking and swimming was not enough. I bought a Royce union dual suspension bike off of eBay for $50 shipped to the house. I rode this bike for about 30 minutes every other day. The walking was not doing it for me so I would jog for 2 minutes and walk for 5. I did this for a few months. Soon I dragged in some of my co-workers to work out with me at lunch. There was a 5k route I had mapped out from the jobsite. I just wanted to be able to run that non stop. My swimming increased to 1k non stop and I bought a wet suit and would swim in boulder reservoir and Chatfield when I could. The Mountain bike could not provide the speed I liked so I bought a Fuji road bike. Pain and suffering. This is when I really learned what it is like to suffer. I started riding with Geoff Cooper and a few other roadies at work. I swear these guys kicked my ass every ride. I felt like they were "punishing the fat guy". In my head I thought they wanted me to quit. Throw in the towel on the ride. I never quit. I remember walking back in work to shower and my legs were quivering. I would sit at my desk and my legs would shake and ache. In reality, these guys built my mental power. I would say to myself, "one day these guys will fight to hold my wheel". As time progressed I got a little faster. Notice I haven't said anything about weight loss as a goal here. Remember I am focused on one thing, triathlon. I didn't care about weight anymore. The only changes I made now were this. No more fast food at all. No crap food since it effected my training. I also stopped all carbonated beverages. I would only drink water and tea now with no sugar. The weight dropped off quick as a by product of all my training. OCD is a good thing. Now I am training about 40 hours a week. I am working full time and every spare moment I was training. I stopped watching TV all together. I would pull my kids behind me in a cart as I rode. I would get up at 5am and run, go to work ride at lunch and the swim at night. I was addicted to this. My friends told me I was training to hard and would burn out. But I had a goal and I would achieve it. I started doing these duathlons in the winter called chilly cheeks. It is really fun but can be cold. One race I will never forget was in February. Geoff Cooper and another friend of mine Tony Pardoe signed up to race that day. I woke up and it was 13 degrees and windy. The temperature with wind chill was 2 below 0. I looked at my cell phone looking for an email saying, "I can't make it." Nothing! Tony shows up and we carpool to the event. The whole time I am looking for someone to back out. Not happening! Geoff shows up and we are really bundled up and apparently going to race. Sure enough we race. The bike section is first. -2 and riding… Not smart. I had ice in places that were not meant for ice. I saw Geoff in transition rolling in pain. I started the run out and couldn't feel my feet for 2 miles. Geoff passed me like I was standing still and asked if I was ok. At the end of the race I found out all of us were waiting for someone to back out of the race. All of us were too stubborn to be the first to back out of the race. Classic! In 2005 I started racing in duathlons and running events. My cycling was getting better and it was now my favorite training. I would just ride and ride. Sometimes I would go out for 5 to 6 hours and not even realize how long I had been out. 2006 I did my first Tri. It was a sprint and I remember kicking but in the swim and passing 5 guys in the lane. (Swimming pool) I ran out and got on the old Fuji. I hammered past 2 guys in full TT bikes with disks. The course was more like a short circuit with lots of corners. Then the run is where everyone passed me. But I did it. I got my tri. To celebrate I went to Burger King and had my old favorite, double meat with cheese and bacon. I ate that burger and in about 15 minutes it was right back up. I guess I wasn't used to that. What's the point! Yesterday I was talking to Jerry at the BBQ. He made me realize what makes people successful. Goals! Goals are the secret. When you achieve a goal, go to the next and make it harder. In the beginning of the season I told my wife I want BAR. I was rather embarrassed to express that to anyone else. Last year I had a great season. I won a GC in a stage race. I beat Gene Palumbo in a TT by 40+ seconds. For some reason I didn't have the confidence to tell my team my goal. This year I want BAR. I want to be #1. State Time Trial Championship! Yesterday I did something I didn't think was possible. Everything was right. I had a great nights sleep, excellent breakfast, good pre-race warm-up. My wife as always helped me get ready so I could focus on the race. With out my families support I would have nothing. I was placed the last to leave since I have had a good season so far. I was put behind Horacio. I talked to Ho before the race and he suffered a 2nd degree tear in his shoulder from the Hugo crash. He told me not to settle for passing him but to go for it hard. Here is my mental game I actually played. Ho is now Jan Ullrich and I am Lance in the 2005 TT. I start out cranking hard and put the image of Lance and Jan in my mind. I can see Jan in front of me and I am closing the gap already before the first corner. I still hit it hard and we come to a down section. I maintain pressure and see him closer and closer. We make the turn around and I am within 20 meters. I hear Jerry in my head tell me don't make up time on the corners but get up to speed fast after. I make the corner and am back up to speed quick. Jan is now 10 meters, I pass him commandingly. Now I see 3 others climbing the hill. In my head the Lance/Jan game is over but I picture Lance now trying to pass me. When ever I feel tired I tell myself if you can beat Lance, you will have the world championships. I pass 15 more before the end. I cross the line and see 53:48 on my Garmin. I see Colm at the finish and tell him my time. Next I see Brian Milnick. I stop and talk to him. He asked how I did and I told him my time. He said I had beaten him by 4 minutes. One of the guys said I passed him on the hill heading back like he was standing still. This made me feel good but I didn't think I won. I couldn't go look so I had my wife go check. She said she didn't see my name and I needed to go look for myself. She wanted to see my reaction. I walked up and Brian Milnick said, "You did it, you are the State Champion". I could not believe it so I looked for myself. It didn't really set in until I had the Champion Jersey and the Medal. All the credit to my success goes to my mom, my son and Geoff Cooper for giving me the power to reach my goals and introducing me to Road racing and BPN. Most importantly my wife Lisa for standing by me and letting me spend so much time on my bikes. You all rule! Pedal Hard, Rob