Finished my first IRONMANAs many of you probably know, the IRONMAN is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26 mile run. I often dreamed of the day when I’d finished my first IRONMAN.

As you can imagine there is a LOT of training involved to prepare your body for this type of performance. Long challenging training sessions are tough on our bodies, and as many that train for IRONMAN do – I injured myself during my training.

On a really hard training day I pulled my right hamstring. I just knew it would be four weeks before I could run again, but Dr. Dan Shuman at 1st Choice Sports Rehab Center evaluated my injury, set up my care plan,  and gave me great news – I did not have to give up my dream.

Under his care I was back to running much sooner than expected and my training continued. I also checked in with Dr. Shuman about every 2-3 weeks after he released me just to be sure everything was ok and to keep my confidence up during the final preparations for race day.

On race day I was ready. The swim went by without any issue (I’ve been a swimmer for a long time so that was no problem). The bike ride was tough in the British Columbia mountains. Due to the heat, I finished the bike ride a little later than I expected.

During the run, thoughts of my injury began to wander randomly through my head. But once I made it to the half way point of the run, I knew I could do it and I did!

Crossing that finish line was one of the great moments of my life – I am an IRONMAN!

Good nutrition and training are essential. But when you push your body that hard, you are likely to have an injury. If you do, its great to have someone like Dr. Shuman on your team, without his skill and encouragement, I might have given up.

Thank you Dr. Shuman and all the folks at 1st Choice Sports Rehab Center for being part of my great adventure.

Fernando Gonzalez – IRONMAN

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