Chad Soileau, Ironman

For those of you that have never read Chad's story check it out at www.team464,com  Chad is one of the original athletes and now is definitely a true IRONMAN.

Thank you Rob.

I've spent way too much time away from Obesity Help in the past year or more.   No excuse for it, because the friendships and inspirational people that I've met on this forum over the past 4.5 years have driven and shaped me into the person I am today.   I've always said that the moment that my feet touched the finish line of my first Ironman and hear the sweet, sweet words from Mike Reilly declaring that "Chad Soileau, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN", that was the moment that I could unequivocally declare that I had won my own personal war against obesity.   That dream did come to fruition last Sunday but as I type this I still feel that the war will be something I will fight for the rest of my life.   I will always have that super morbidly obese person deep down within my being.   It's who I was at a point in my life and I cannot regret my mistakes because they do after all make me who I am today.   My mantra that I've lived and trained by perfectly explains this in:

"Chin up...  Chest out...  No Regrets... HANDLE IT!" 

I have no regrets. 

For those that do know me I am and have been a very goal oriented person throughout my weight loss journey.  Ironman was my dream, my "big goal' and now that I have achieved it I find the next logical step in my life is to give back or "pay it forward" per se to those that have helped me so much along my journey.   I will never quit tri.  I have a passion for the sport that is unbounded and I will be part of the community for the rest of my life.  I do, however, want to give back now to the community and people that have given me so much and been there for and with me.   The World Triathlon Corporation (Ironman) has given me a unique opportunity in giving me the privilege of being one of their Ironman Media Athletes.   I still hardly feel worthy of that but I do my best to utlilize this opportunity to become an ambassador to the obesity epidemic in the world, especially in our children.   

I'm taking baby steps, but the first thing I'm doing is hand-on training for a couple of my overweight friends for their first half-marathon in December.   I'll also be training a group of 3 ladies, including my girlfriend, for the Louisiana / Mississippi MS150.   I'll also be volunteering at the local school for the blind to help blind children ride bikes using tandem bicycles.   And of course I will continue to raise awareness to childhood obesity through my primary charity, The RocketKidz Foundation, which produces children's triathlons throughout the Gulf South.    

I am always open for questions.  Contact me anytime at chad.soileau AT gmail.com or visit my website at www.team464.com.  One thing I do promise is to become more active on this board again.    :) 

Best of luck to everyone on their own personal journeys!  

Chad 

Here's the 'moment' btw, frozen in time by the expression on my face...    http://www.team464.com/imcdafinish.jpg

hey chad,

i'm really happy to see you around again.  you were the guy i looked to when i first started my journey for motivation and inspiration.  you were the guy that made me realize that yes with enough committment and grit, i too could be successful with training and maintaining my "win" with the war with obesity.

thanks for the push and thanks for the inspiration.  let me know if i can help in any way with your work.

Bill

p.s., i was tracking your splits during your ironman and couldn't have been prouder for you!

Hey Chad!

I was happy to see you reply.  I'm also very happy for you as well, finishing IMCDA.  I really wish I could have been there (so close to Missoula), but cir****tances didn't allow it.  A friend of mine from school has volunteered at that one for the past 5 years, and has signed herself up to do it next year.  She's pretty stoked about doing that one since that's where she's from.  It's on my list too, but I'll have to wait at least until I'm in my 4th year of school.  Too time consuming to train AND study (for me).  Another friend from school, also in the same year as me, got 2nd in his age category again this year.  He's seriously thinking about turning pro when we're done with school.

I agree with how you look at the war against obesity.  I feel like I still fight it every day and it's been well over 6 years for me.

Anyway, just wanted to say 'hey' and let you know I was thinking of you on race day.  Recover well, and have fun with the next stage of your journey.

Linn

Glad to have you back Chad!!  You have been one of my inspirations as well.

Looking forward to your continued presence in our chat room.

Darrell

Good work Chad and yea, giving back is a great thing. You can help many folks out there who need a hand to lift them up. So get after it and keep motivating. I agree with you, there is a bit of a responsibility that comes with them putting your name out there to the community. I don't think it has anything to do with running a 9 hour IM, more getting people involved in the tri-sport community. Marathons, swimming, cycling, whatever it is. Great job and keep up the good work.

Jeff Benintendi

I'm so happy for you.

And I'm glad you decided that the war isn't over. I don't think it ever can be but I don' think maybe by now it's more of a "Cold war" where we have detente with our enemy.