How a 330-pound dad overcame obesity and achieved an Ironman dream
- 7 years ago
The Unlikely Ironman: Zach BoivinAge: 31
Occupation: Air Traffic Controller
Home: Castleton, NY
Height: 5’7”
Starting weight: 330lbs
Current weight: 210lbs
Total pounds lost: 120lbsBack in 1980, Lake Placid, NY, was the site of the “Miracle on Ice,” the victory by the American hockey team over a heavily favored Russian squad.Last weekend, there was no ice in Lake Placid—but there was a small athletic miracle in the form of Zachary Boivin, a 31-year-old who claimed his own personal victory.[RELATED1]Two years ago, Boivin was watching the Lake Placid Ironman triathlon in support of a friend. Inspired by all the endurance athletes coursing the event, Boivin promised himself that he would be an Ironman one day. The main problem: At the time he weighed 330lbs.Returning to Lake Placid as a competitor would be no easy road, of course. Boivin started with the Couch to 5K app, which got him moving again. A year ago, he struggled through his first triathlon, a 70.3-mile half-Ironman that nearly wrecked him. (His time of 8:25 beat the cutoff time by a mere five minutes. “That was real awful,” he said. “It was real close at the end.”)Boivin needed help—and got his break by winning the Make Me An Ironman competition, which seemed tailor-made for him: free equipment (triathlons are notoriously gear-intensive) and coaching from a veteran tri coach. With his support system in place, Boivin was closer to his goal of doubling his distance and finishing the Ironman with plenty of time to spare—and actually having fun along the way.As for his weight? After putting in many miles on the bike, on the road, and in the pool, Boivin managed to drop 120lbs—and made good on his promise. What would've seemed like a miracle on that summer day in 2015 became a reality on July 23, 2017, when he completed the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run in the Olympic oval in a time of 15 hours and 34 minutes.Men’s Fitness talked with Boivin shortly after his finish to find out more about his fitness journey, and how it has impacted him and those around him.[RELATED2]Were you always on the heavy side growing up?I’ve always been on the heavier side. It’s always been that way. A lot of [my] family is that way. It’s all I knew. I was about 250[lbs] in high school.So what got you up to that 330?A sedentary lifestyle. I have a job that is not very active. It became more fun to sit around with friends and eat food and drink beer than to get off my butt and actually do something.Those first few months starting out must have been tough.It was painful. I started on a treadmill because I didn’t want to be seen running around my neighborhood. The only way I got off the treadmill was when the treadmill stopped working. I had terrible shinsplints. Everything was hurting. My feet were hurting. My knees were killing me. I bought stock in frozen peas.How many miles were you doing before the Ironman?My top weeks on the bike were about 135 miles. Running was right about 30 miles, and the swim was around the five-mile mark.What dietary things did you do to help lose weight?A lot of the weight loss initially came from making smarter decisions from my diet. Once the pounds started dropping, everything started getting easier from that point. I cut back a bit on the carbs. I didn’t go crazy with it. It was mainly just controlling my portions, making the right choices, not sitting in front of the television with snacks. I’m not super religious on tracking my caloric intake. I don’t really deprive myself of anything. If I want something, I’ll have it. I’ll just have a little bit of it and not go overboard.[RELATED6]You got your inspiration from watching the Ironman in Lake Placid?We decided we’d go spectate the race. I thought they [the athletes] were absolutely insane. I didn’t know much about it except the distances, but they seemed ridiculous. It all came together when we watched the finish line. It’s electric. There’s nothing like it. I knew in that moment I needed to do something, to see if I could push myself to do that. It was a real inspiration for me. I had to experience that. I had to hear Mike Reilly say, “You are an Ironman.”A month later I signed up for the 70.3 (half-Ironman, in Syracuse). I had no idea how to swim, I could only run about a mile at that point, and I didn’t have a bike yet.Did your wife think you were crazy?She stared at me for a second,
Occupation: Air Traffic Controller
Home: Castleton, NY
Height: 5’7”
Starting weight: 330lbs
Current weight: 210lbs
Total pounds lost: 120lbsBack in 1980, Lake Placid, NY, was the site of the “Miracle on Ice,” the victory by the American hockey team over a heavily favored Russian squad.Last weekend, there was no ice in Lake Placid—but there was a small athletic miracle in the form of Zachary Boivin, a 31-year-old who claimed his own personal victory.[RELATED1]Two years ago, Boivin was watching the Lake Placid Ironman triathlon in support of a friend. Inspired by all the endurance athletes coursing the event, Boivin promised himself that he would be an Ironman one day. The main problem: At the time he weighed 330lbs.Returning to Lake Placid as a competitor would be no easy road, of course. Boivin started with the Couch to 5K app, which got him moving again. A year ago, he struggled through his first triathlon, a 70.3-mile half-Ironman that nearly wrecked him. (His time of 8:25 beat the cutoff time by a mere five minutes. “That was real awful,” he said. “It was real close at the end.”)Boivin needed help—and got his break by winning the Make Me An Ironman competition, which seemed tailor-made for him: free equipment (triathlons are notoriously gear-intensive) and coaching from a veteran tri coach. With his support system in place, Boivin was closer to his goal of doubling his distance and finishing the Ironman with plenty of time to spare—and actually having fun along the way.As for his weight? After putting in many miles on the bike, on the road, and in the pool, Boivin managed to drop 120lbs—and made good on his promise. What would've seemed like a miracle on that summer day in 2015 became a reality on July 23, 2017, when he completed the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run in the Olympic oval in a time of 15 hours and 34 minutes.Men’s Fitness talked with Boivin shortly after his finish to find out more about his fitness journey, and how it has impacted him and those around him.[RELATED2]Were you always on the heavy side growing up?I’ve always been on the heavier side. It’s always been that way. A lot of [my] family is that way. It’s all I knew. I was about 250[lbs] in high school.So what got you up to that 330?A sedentary lifestyle. I have a job that is not very active. It became more fun to sit around with friends and eat food and drink beer than to get off my butt and actually do something.Those first few months starting out must have been tough.It was painful. I started on a treadmill because I didn’t want to be seen running around my neighborhood. The only way I got off the treadmill was when the treadmill stopped working. I had terrible shinsplints. Everything was hurting. My feet were hurting. My knees were killing me. I bought stock in frozen peas.How many miles were you doing before the Ironman?My top weeks on the bike were about 135 miles. Running was right about 30 miles, and the swim was around the five-mile mark.What dietary things did you do to help lose weight?A lot of the weight loss initially came from making smarter decisions from my diet. Once the pounds started dropping, everything started getting easier from that point. I cut back a bit on the carbs. I didn’t go crazy with it. It was mainly just controlling my portions, making the right choices, not sitting in front of the television with snacks. I’m not super religious on tracking my caloric intake. I don’t really deprive myself of anything. If I want something, I’ll have it. I’ll just have a little bit of it and not go overboard.[RELATED6]You got your inspiration from watching the Ironman in Lake Placid?We decided we’d go spectate the race. I thought they [the athletes] were absolutely insane. I didn’t know much about it except the distances, but they seemed ridiculous. It all came together when we watched the finish line. It’s electric. There’s nothing like it. I knew in that moment I needed to do something, to see if I could push myself to do that. It was a real inspiration for me. I had to experience that. I had to hear Mike Reilly say, “You are an Ironman.”A month later I signed up for the 70.3 (half-Ironman, in Syracuse). I had no idea how to swim, I could only run about a mile at that point, and I didn’t have a bike yet.Did your wife think you were crazy?She stared at me for a second,