Page 62 - South Mississippi Living - January, 2017

MICHAEL BRUFFEY with brother Bill is all smiles after finishing
the Ironman.
For Bruffey, one of the many challenges was finding time to train. “You either give up time with your family in the evenings or you give up sleep,” he said. “I opted to give up sleep and did most of my training early in the morning. A primary training challenge in our part of the country is the heat, especially in the summer. Even in October, the heat was still challenging some days.”
To prepare for the Ironman, Bruffey followed a training plan that focused about 50 percent on swimming. “Having a nutrition plan is a must. My wife helped tremendously. She did some research online and found a great article by a nutritionist outlining step by step what to do the week before the race
and during the race from a nutrition perspective,” he said. “I followed
this plan to the letter, and it made all
the difference. One of my proudest achievements, besides finishing, was that my last two miles on the run were my fastest miles of the marathon.”
During the race, he felt great. “You might say, I was taking it all in. Imagine getting in the water at 6:50 a.m. as the sun is coming up, then seeing some of the most beautiful nature scenery for
112 miles on the ride, followed by a
run that began just before sunset and ended under one of the most beautiful moons I’ve ever seen,” he says. “I was so thankful to be experiencing all of that. It was a day I will never forget!”
As for advice to anyone contemplating training for a marathon event, Lund says, “Go for it. Set your goals and work towards them. You never know what you can accomplish.”
Bruffey’s advice is don’t give up or drop out. “Get to the start line and go from there,” he said. “Thinking and doing are entirely different. If you think too much, then you will never even attempt to do it. I have learned that you can do more than you think you can, but you have to try or you will never know.”
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