I was born in Greenville, Mississippi. I spent my childhood in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, then enlisted in the U.S. Army as an Engineer Mechanic (heavy equipment repairman) at age 17. I received a Associate of Science degree in Manaagement from Austin Peay State University while assigned to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. While in the Army, I served with the 1st Armored Division, 193rd Infantry Brigade, 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized), 2nd Infantry Division, and 1st Cavalry Division. After serving 20 years in the military with tours in Germany, Panama, Korea, Turkey, and Desert Shield/Storm, I retired at the rank of Master Sergeant.
Turning down the Sergeant Major's Academy, I pursued my interests in the field of technology and improving the quality of education for soldiers. I received my Bachelor of Computer Science and Master of Information Systems degrees from the University of Central Texas. After college, I worked as a software engineer, writing programs in support of the Army's Force 21 modernization efforts. During this time, I taught part-time for the University of Central Texas, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Tarleton State University, and Central Texas College until.
I now teach full-time beginning, intermediate, and advanced programming courses for Central Texas College. My classroom courses include Introduction to Computer Science and Programming, Computer Organization and Machine Language, Introduction to C++ Programming, Advanced C++ Programming, and Integrated Software Applications. I also teach the Integrated Software Applications course online.
I am happily married to my one and only true love, Susan. Together, we have two grown children, one son-in-law, the cutest grand-daughter on earth, two dogs and a herd of deer.
Throughout my 20-year Army career, I struggled to stay under the maximum weight standards. The mere rumor of a periodic weigh-in would cause anxiety and fasting in preparation for the “big event” that would decide my future military status. Fortunately, I always managed to shed the extra pounds necessary to be found “not-guilty” by the scales of judgment. When I retired from the Army in September of 1996 I was already 30 pounds over the weight limit. This was mainly due to a surgery earlier that year that left me not wanting to exercise anymore. Besides, I was getting out, so who cared, right? Freedom had come at last--freedom to become as big as I darn well chose and as lazy as I always wanted to be!
----My Road to Fitness & Les Mills----
As I settled into my new career of computer programming, full-time student and teaching computer science, life behind a desk took its toll. Within two years I hit my heaviest weight of 330 pounds standing at six feet. That’s when I had to accept the consequences of my sudden change in life style. That’s also when the real problems began. Over a short period of time I developed diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea and acid reflux. I also started having chest pain from a heart murmur I’ve had all my life, but never knew about. The extra weight began taking its toll on my back and knees, as well.
Exercise was the furthest thing from my mind, though I used to be quite the athlete. I could still do many of the things I enjoyed doing. However, I was depressed that I could not do more. I was sick of feeling tired all day from not sleeping properly due to the sleep apnea. Though family and friends continued to tell me I did not look overweight to them, I knew that something drastic had to happen. After living on the Atkins diet for three years, I knew that traditional diets were not going to satisfy my health needs nor solve my health problems.
My wife and I applied, and were both accepted by our insurance, for the gastric bypass procedure at the same time. We decided she would have hers four months before me. She accused me of using her as a guinea pig or that I was planning my surgery just to show my support for her. Though it is great having such solid support between us, the truth is, I needed it almost as much as she did.
I learned a lot from Susan during those four months after her surgery and before mine. She was a champ and seemed to have very little problems after surgery in adjusting to her new diet. I had never seen her so enthusiastic about proper eating. It was amazingly life changing for her. I even lost a little weight between her surgery and mine through experiencing her new found vigilant attitude and success. This made me want the surgery even more.
In December 2004 my doctor replaced the aging old man with a young vibrant athlete. As soon as the surgery was over, the young Army sergeant in me took over. I was determined to use this new tool to discover just how young I could get. First, there was the walking. Instead of having to be told that I needed to walk every hour during my hospital stay, some were telling me I was walking too much and over-doing it. Problem was, the more I did, the better I felt and I became more determined to increase my walking! I was on the road to recovery and refused to take any detours.
Once I achieved the goal of walking two miles a day set for me by my doctor, the young Army sergeant inside would not let me rest on my laurels. I determined to push on, set new goals and find out just what “be all you can be” truly meant for me. For the first time in eight years it really felt possible to recreate the young athlete I had become in the military. As the weight went down and my health problems subsided, my training increased.
First, I set a goal to complete a local 5K race in less than 30 minutes—which I met. Then, I wanted to see how I would do in a local 10K race—I completed it in less than 60 minutes. As I met each new goal that I set for myself, the determined young sergeant inside would immediately set a new goal. In July of 2005 (only seven months after surgery) I completed my first triathlon at Marble Falls, TX. It was quite a struggle for me to complete a 1K swim, a 23 mile bike ride and a 4.4 mile run, all in the same race, but I did it! My time was not the greatest and I, indeed, did not win any awards, but I was not last either. I had arrived!
I successfully completed two more sprint distance triathlons in 2005, but my true sites were set on completing the White Rock Marathon in Dallas, TX that year in December. At eight months out from surgery my only health problem was maintaining my weight while burning 1,000 to 1,500 calories a day in training. I had simply lost too much weight and could not afford to lose any more. I was at an unhealthy 8% body-fat rating. What a problem to have, eh? I met with a dietitian who understood athletic nutrition and completely revamped my eating habits. It wasn’t easy, but I was able to gain back up to 12% body fat and maintain it through all the intense training I do. Oh yea, I completed the White Rock Marathon at one year after my surgery in just under five hours. But guess what? Come January 2006, the marathon was ancient history in my mind. I began to seriously train for the upcoming triathlon year with a vengeance.
In July of 2006, 18 months after surgery, I actually won the 2nd place medal in my age group for the Boerne olympic distance triathlon race (1500 meter swim, 28 mile bike, 10K run). In August 2006 I won the 3rd age-group place award for the Woolman Capital Tri. In January 2007 I was awarded the first place age-group trophy in the local running race series called the CenTex Series, which consists of ten 5K and 10K races spread throughout the year. I’m proud to say that I completed my 3rd half-iron in Galveston in April 2007 with a time of 5:39:41 and actually placed 3rd in my age-group for the other two triathlons I have competed in this year (Cactus Olympic distance Tri in Austin, TX and The Rookie sprint in New Braunfels, TX).
I just kept winning first or second place in my age group on these local runs. I feel 20 years younger and plan to keep reversing the aging process! I’m going to keep fighting age and keep the young sergeant alive and well for an eternity (or as long as possible)! A life time of goals awaits me and my future looks younger every day. For now, though it may be several years before I get to Kona, I consider it a great achievement that I have, on occasion qualified for the National Half-Iron Championship. This year, I have my sites set on completing my first full Ironman in Panama City Beach, Fl. I not only hope to simply finish, but to at least place in the top 10 of my age-group.
Last year I was invited to become a part-time indoor cycling instructor, but was just recently introduced to Les Mills RPM, which I thoroughly enjoy. I hope to soon finish my video and then work on getting certified for Body Pump, as well. I feel like I'm in my second youth, getting younger all the time. I really enjoy life, fitness and my sport.