Hey, What’s Doin’?  First and foremost let me start by thanking you for taking the time to check out my blog and saying that I hope you find at least one thing here interesting, entertaining, or helpful.

My name is Paul.  I am a twenty-something self-proclaimed endurance junkie.  I eat, sleep, breathe, and bleed endurance sports.  My life has not always been this way however.  I was your average slightly overweight kid in high school, went away to college and put on the freshman fifteen. I ultimately started working as a pizza delivery guy and eventually got myself up to a surplus of 280 pounds.

This photo about summed up my life…Cheesecake Factory and not a care in the world about what I was putting into my body

Then, I met Amy.  She had just graduated college and was a mutual friend of my best friend Joe from childhood.  I went to visit him randomly and just so happened to meet Amy.  Well, needless to say some things changed from May 2010 to now.  Amy was a runner.  She loved to lace up the running shoes and pound the pavement on a weekly basis.  She told me about how she had run a half marathon and wanted to see if she could find one to run in the Spring.  Challenge Accepted.

For Amy’s birthday that year, I decided to sign us both up for the Binghamton Bridge Run, a half marathon being run for the first time in Binghamton, where I had just graduated from grad school.  Long story short, it was an experience, and at the time I didn’t know it, but I was hooked.  Amy told me these stories of how her aunt and uncle had participated in the Ironman World Championship in Kona, and I knew that I wanted that.

I believe that I always had the fuel in me, but just needed a little spark to light the fires, and Amy was just that spark.  Since meeting Amy, I have run in almost a dozen half marathons, a full marathon, countless 5K, 10K, and sprint triathlons, a handful of Olympic Triathlons, two Half Iron distance triathlons and a Full Distance Ironman in Louisville, KY.  I have had a total body transformation and have slimmed down 180 pounds losing more than 100 pounds while training for these races.

I do have a life outside of the sport though as well.  I am heading back to school to pursue a PhD in biomedical engineering at Stony Brook University.  I spent four years exploring the world of education and trying to get the lucrative full time, tenure track teaching position.  I, unfortunately, was entering the field at quite possibly the worst time, and have been unable to find that job.  This made the decision to pursue other options much easier

Amy and I are recently engaged and are planning a wedding for the summer of 2014.  We recently adopted a puppy named Winslow.  He is very cute, and hopefully will become my running buddy.

I can surely go on…and on, but I will let you decide if you’d like to know more.  Feel free to ask for any additional information you’d like to know!