Occupation: Retail Management
Multiple Ironman Finisher
How long have you been involved in endurance sports and what
motivates you?
What motivates me is a desire to find out what I am capable
of. My favorite quote is by T.S. Elliott
who says “Only those who will risk going too far will find out how far one can
go.”
I have been doing endurance sports since grade school. I joined the track team when I was eleven and
a classmate said there was no way I could run a mile. I took that as a challenge and became a
distance runner … since I always seem to be the best distance runner in the
neighborhood growing up. My first real
endurance event was a one hour walk/jogathon in 1981. It was on a track at the local high school in
Federal Way, Washington. I ran the whole
time and did 7.25 miles tying the other top runner. I was only 12 at the time and promptly threw
up on the track after the run. I ran
track and cross county in junior high and high school until in 1985 I caught
the IRONMAN bug when a friend of mine suggested I do triathlons with him. I could run and started working on my biking
but I didn't know how to swim. I asked
my high school coach if I could join the team so I could learn to swim and do
triathlons. He had me work with an
assistant coach for a couple weeks learning to swim all the different
strokes. I went to SIU for college and
wasn't good enough to join the swim team there but I did become a lifeguard and
played on the water polo team to force me to become better in the water. After college I quit triathlons due to
constantly fighting injury and kept playing other sports such as racquetball
and volleyball. I had given up on my
IRONMAN dream thinking there was no way I could ever develop the endurance and
durability needed to do one... In 2008 unfortunately
my wife and I divorced and I decided to try triathlons again to give me some
purpose when away from my kids. I was
depressed, had gained a bit of weight, my blood work was dismal and I knew I
had to make fitness a central part of my life again. I set out a 3 year plan to try to work up to
IRONMAN distance, not knowing if I could even run distance again. I decided I would be happy if I could just do
short races but a dreamed of IRONMAN none the less. I revamped my diet and started slow doing a
sprint and Olympic that year. Things
went well so I upgraded my equipment and did a half IRONMAN the next year. I was on track and triathlons gave me
something to focus on when apart from my kids.
I signed up for IRONMAN Louisville in 2010 and trained hard all winter,
spring and summer. My motivation was
thinking of my two daughters at the finish line cheering me on. There was nothing in the world I wanted more
than to see them at the finish. That carried
me through my training every day. I put
decals of their names on my bike and Zipp wheels. They carried me to the finish. Now four years later I have finished my
fourth IRONMAN and their names are still there to carry me through every race I
do.
How would you describe your nutrition? Omnivore, veggie, vegan, raw, locavore…
I have adopted an athletic version of the Paleo Diet. I focus on eating lean sources of protein and
lots of vegetables with only a few starchy carbohydrates timed for recovery. To help with my IRONMAN training and the diet
I want to stick to I bought a Vitamix blender and use that after almost all of
my long workouts. My food choices are
driven by my body’s training needs with a source of protein at each meal and
low glycemic foods. My post workout
foods are high glycemic choices in the first 15 minutes and 90 minute windows
then return to lower glycemic choices after that. Specific foods I choose are selected for
their ORAC values and blood PH effects striving to eat an Alkaline producing
diet. I truly believe this “anti-inflammatory”
approach has enabled me to develop my endurance and minimize injury. Something I was unable to do in my younger
years.
How do you feel your nutrition affects your performance
during events and in daily life?
My nutrition is the reason I can perform at the level I do
and has improved my daily life. I truly
believe that my “anti-inflammatory” diet has been a key factor in allowing me
to develop the endurance needed to do IRONMAN distance.
What does it take to be an Ironman? Can you tell us about time spent training,
balancing family time and fueling for workouts?
To be an IRONMAN takes total commitment to the goal and a
diligent approach to training. For me I
needed to establish a clear goal with a series of intermediate goals to reach
as I progressed to ultra distance. For
11 months of each year I am in one phase or another of training whether it is
base work, a build period, race taper or peak.
Each week has a specific goal as does each workout within the week. I typically work 55+ hours a week and
training takes most of the rest of my time not spent sleeping. Summer vacations such as trips to visit out
of town family have been one particularly tough challenge as they always seem
to occur right when I am in my final few big training weeks before starting to
taper. This makes it hard but the challenge is that all those around you who
are not ultra distance athletes really don’t have a clue about the level of
training required and the level of dedication needed. Without realizing it others can cause you to
get behind on your training when they place demands on your time thinking you
can just shorten or skip a workout.
While missing one or two workouts won’t set you back much, when it happens
to a couple workouts each week it can really put you behind schedule. If you miss your long workouts for the week
it can mean that the week provided little or no gains at all. So the support of others around you in the
pursuit of the IRONMAN goal is critical.
My family really didn’t understand just what it meant to the athletes
and what type of dedication we have until they watch the athletes in person at
my first IRONMAN. I believe it was a
life altering experience for them as they saw the sport in a new perspective.
What does it mean to you to hear the words, “Brad
Gantt, You are an Ironman!”?
After my first IRONMAN finish I wrote a
blog about my experience. I had the
dream of doing an IRONMAN 25 years earlier and had given up on my dream after
nearly eight years of triathlon racing.
It was one of the hardest days of my life and aside from the birth of my
kids the best day of my life.
While this was my dream it was only an IRONMAN … not
“THE” IRONMAN. A year later I was
blessed with a lottery spot to compete in Kona.
I had already signed up for IRONMAN Wisconsin and was racing there on
9/11/11. I decided I needed to do this
race despite it being close to Kona since I worked at the airport in Madison,
and was on the airfield on 9/11/01 during the attacks. Returning to where I was that day and testing
my will to persevere would be my way of remembering the fallen from that
day. Over 150 first responders competed
in Madison on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 making it far more
memorable than I had ever dreamed. I
held back to save my legs for Kona. Four
weeks later I completed the IRONMAN World Championship in Hawaii. I just completed IRONMAN Wisconsin
again. How would I describe the
indescribable feeling to finish and hear the words “You are an IRONMAN” … I
can’t find the words. But I can say I am
honored to be among the truly outstanding athletes who had the will and
fortitude to prepare to succeed.
