JJW: Hi Colin, could you tell me a little about your athletic career?

Colin: I grew up as a hockey player, very competitive. That was my life growing up. I played at Quinnipiac University for a couple of years. I wasn’t getting much playing time as a goalie, so I ended up transferring to Arizona State.

After I graduated from Arizona State, I fell into drugs and alcohol for a few years. Then I got really big into triathlon, and that’s where I have been for the last 13-14 years. Now, I’m headed to the Ironman World Championships for the 7th time. I won the overall amateur race at Ironman Florida a few years back. In May of 2022, I was 8th in my age group in the world and 1st American at the Ironman World Championships.

JJW: Why triathlon? How did you go from hockey to triathlon?

Colin: Arizona State in Tempe has an Ironman. One of my teachers did it one year when I was there, and I thought it’d be cool to do one someday. I like to say my endurance career started at about 3:00 in the morning. I was very high and told my friends, “I’m going to run the Boston Marathon this year.” And all my buddies laughed at me and said, “Yeah, sure, have another beer.” And so I ran Boston in 2009. Right before that race, I thought, “Alright, what’s the next thing? I’m really enjoying this, and it’s definitely improving my lifestyle.” So I did my first half Ironman later that year and got totally hooked on triathlon.

JJW: Did triathlon help you get away from the drugs and alcohol?

Colin: Absolutely. But not right away. I didn’t quit cold turkey. I was still kind of training and partying on the weekends. It’s actually only been 6 1/2 years since I’ve had any alcohol or cocaine.

JJW: What made you realize that you needed to stop?

Colin: For years, I considered myself more of a weekend addict or a functional addict. I wasn’t missing work or anything like that. But I’d usually party all night on Thursday. Maybe get a couple hours of sleep, then work Friday. Sleep some over the weekend. Then Sunday would come, and I’d be totally smashed. I would be just exhausted and have nothing left.

Every one of those Sundays, I’d say, “That’s the last time. I’m not doing that again.” On Monday, right after work, I’d eat dinner and then go right to bed. On Tuesday, I would start feeling a little bit better. Wednesday, I would almost be back to normal. And then Thursday would come, and boom, it started all over again. Somehow, I’d figured out a way to rationalize doing it one more time. It was a vicious cycle that I lived for years.

However, I made sure I didn’t jeopardize too much, but at the same time, I knew the way my life was not headed where I wanted to go, not what I was capable of becoming. I knew it was definitely holding me back.

JJW: How long do you expect to compete?  

Colin: I need to have something like this, some kind of focus, in my life. I haven’t been very successful with the alternative. I expect to be involved in endurance sports for a  long time. It’s another addictive behavior, but positive. I really enjoy the long-distance stuff, and it helps me in a lot of other ways.

JJW: Other than triathlon, what is your career focus?

Colin: Well, I have a full-time job. I’m a technical account manager for a cybersecurity company, so that’s the main way I support my family. I also have a triathlon coaching business with a full-time load of clients. And I own a Wellness Center in Manchester, NH, where we offer cryotherapy, float therapy, infrared sauna, and light therapy.

JJW: When did you start your online coaching business?

Colin: I started coaching just after my second year of triathlon. I have always enjoyed helping people and kind of, I think, have the mindset and the ability to work pretty well with people. So I grabbed onto the coaching very quickly and ran with it. Now, it’s been 13 years or so since I’ve had my triathlon coaching business.

JJW: What is your coaching website?

Colin, It’s peaktricoaching.com

JJW: What services or support do you offer?

Colin: We build fully customized training plans for people. But for me, it’s more than just about the workouts. It’s about helping them to schedule or plan their days, including all the obligations outside of training, like family and work.

It’s really about making sure we have the schedule in place that makes sense for you and is realistic so that you can actually achieve it. If we go too aggressively with a program, it will be overwhelming, deflating, and demoralizing, and we won’t succeed.

In addition to building customized training plans, we offer next-level coaching where you get regular feedback on your workouts. The workouts get uploaded to Final Surge, which is the platform I use. Then, we give them feedback on splits and those kinds of things. We also help our athletes with gadgets, picking races, race schedules, and anything to get ready for a race.

JJW: If you could give one piece of advice for athletes, what would it be?

Colin: I would take it one day at a time, or as I like to say, a day and a half at a time. For me, it goes beyond training. It’s thinking about my schedule. So, the night before, I’ve got my next day planned out: my training schedule. I have these things to do for work, make these calls, take my kids to where they need to go, and whatever it is I’ve got to do during the day. That way, I don’t get too caught up in worrying about everything.

For instance, this time of year is the major part of my training for the Ironman, but you can’t be too consumed by the race or too anxious about the race, especially since it’s still five weeks out. I think a lot of people struggle when they hit a challenge. They get so consumed by that challenge that they don’t realize they can succeed if they just take a step to the side and reset.

JJW: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Colin: It’s kind of cheesy, but anything is possible when we set our mind to it. If we dedicate ourselves and want to achieve something, we can find a way to do it. For me, since I’m family-oriented, it’s important that I’m not taking away too much time for my family. So, if we can figure out ways, get creative, and look at the whole scenario, I think anything is possible.