**Dr. Mayes was so inspired after his experience in at Ironman in 2017 (described below), that he completed his own Ironman race in 2018.

““WE CAN’T WAIT TO CALL YOU AN IRONMAN!!!

“YOU’RE OUT THERE WITH 2,500 OF YOUR BEST FRIENDS ON A LONG TRAINING DAY.”

“YOU ARE A WINNER TODAY!!!””

These were the words of the announcer as the athletes at Lake Placid 2017 Ironman began their 140.6 mile journey. It was an incredible party at the start of the race as music blared, people cheered, smiles were shared and high-fives given all around...the energy was palpable and contagious!!

Take a minute to watch this quick video I captured at the electric starting line. I was so amped by all the fanfare that it almost felt like I was getting ready to race!

The Triathlon

For those unfamiliar with the triathlon world, a “tri” consists of a swim, bike and run. There are various distances you can choose to race, with the shortest being a sprint triathlon which typically consists of a ¼ -½ mile swim, 11-15 mile bike and 5k run. The most famous triathlon is the IRONMAN, which is one of the greatest achievements in the endurance world as it covers 140.6 grueling miles and takes an average of 12+ hours for athletes to complete the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run, a full marathon.

This level of sport performance requires months of intense preparation and dedication. I was blown away by the diverse athletes of all shapes, sizes, backgrounds and ages. There were nine finishers in the 70-74 ages group and one finisher in the 75-79 age group! The oldest competitor finished with an overall rank of 1,412 out of 2,200 finishers! Don’t tell that guy he’s too old to do something! What an inspiration!

ART® Ironman® Provider

I personally had the pleasure of working on a medical team using a highly specialized hands-on treatment called Active Release Technique (ART). We took care of the athletes on Thursday, Friday and Saturday prior to race day on Sunday. Although I was already certified in full body ART, my participation at this elite event designated me as an official ART® Ironman® Provider.

In addition to countless feel-good moments, the whole weekend was especially meaningful because it allowed me to provide the kind of performance care that I always preach about at home. If you’ve been around me for any length of time as a therapist, you know I am constantly talking about the importance of getting “tune-ups.”

Similar to taking your car in for preventative maintenance, people should do the same for their own bodies. The Ironman athletes received 1-3 sessions of specialized care that made a tremendous difference in their function, comfort and race day performance. This same “pre-hab” or preventative maintenance should be utilized by athletes on a quarterly basis (or more frequently during training season) to achieve the following:

Assess functional and sport-specific movement patterns to identify vulnerable areas
Evaluate chronic or acute issues to determine severity and appropriate intervention
Quickly relieve pain with specialized techniques such as ART or Graston

Nothing is more important than your health, whether you want to complete an Ironman or to simply stay active.

CALL TODAY TO SCHEDULE YOUR TUNE-UP!