Phillip Kriss, Athlete & Chiropractor

Only one word to sum that up. Amazingfunhumiliatingexileratingconfusingenvious! Not all of us have the physical ability to perform as others do. Example being a Clydesdale probably is not going to have the same ability to run as someone weighing 160# with the same height and age. Subtracting that factor, I have the pleasure of witnessing what superior athletes do, which makes what they do seem easy. Hard working. The athletes realize they are parents, spouses, housekeepers, (multiple) job holders that realize they must do those things and still train. Sleep becomes the option. Her IPhone does not have a snooze button in it like my Samsung does. I don’t get it. Determined. There is that “be nice to everybody” spirit and attitude balanced with never, never quit or give up. Always push beyond uncomfortable and be happy about it. I do not get that. Balanced. Life is not all about the race or training. Parties, travel, turning off the TV and “making” others do things like play games ...

Goodlife Fitness Victoria Marathon Why? Heidi loves pacing, and was named the 3:55 pacer. I did not volunteer/get chosen to be a pacer for this event. I found I was going by and e-mail that said something like “congratulations! Your wife signed you up for another marathon. By the way, we hit your card for well over $100.” The Training What training? I had a combination of unfortunate things operating in symphony like a 3 week illness that hit me hard (I still have not fully recovered). A pain in my butt for the last month (a real one). 2 bad legs (likely from the same pair of shoes for almost 2 years) (oops). And a few weeks ago I did a series of box jumps and screwed my knee up. Since this is not my first marathon, and seemed to be recovering I decided to man up and get it done rather than run the half. We get up to Vancouver with our group of buddies, check in, and do all the stuff. A comment I heard on Saturday afternoon while eating a bison burger and sucking down the lo...

“The Tin Man” Why? In my head I have not yet performed well in an ironman race. Each one either had crummy conditions, or I had some issue that prevented me from performing to my expectations. I wanted redemption. I wanted to get through a race clean. I wanted to prove to myself I could do it. Last winter we were up skiing at Whistler with the Elton’s and Heidi fell in love with the place. While there she said “We are coming back next summer to watch our buddies’ race. Since you will be training with them anyway, you may as well sign up for the race”. That really meant she did not want to hear me complain about my buddies having more fun than I did. It didn’t take long for me to sign up and made the decision to upgrade my P5, which was replaced by Cervelo since my P4 had a frame failure. Several thousand dollars later I had my dream bike. I love toys! The Training I fumbled through doing what I could do to train based on the time I had available and the circumstances of li...

Phillip Kriss June 29, 2014 Why? I planned this race a year and a half ago knowing I was moving into a new age group. It was another opportunity to produce the goods and possibly earn a coveted Kona spot. My last 2 races did not go as well as planned with Lake Tahoe being high in elevation and freezing cold, and St. George being excruciatingly hot. This could be my big day! My fastest ironman time in the past was at CDA on the old course. The Training Training proved to be difficult. Heidi and I decided 18 months ago to open a Massage Envy. It was to open in October, but due to a series of delays it opened 2 weeks before the Ironman. So, I missed several key rides and runs due to meetings and a million other things to do. Special thanks to Heidi, Mark Casey and Eivind Naess for helping me during this long training process. Several other people also showed up consistently and helped make what others would term a miserable experience into something kind of pleasurable in a sick way. I...

Lake Tahoe race report September 23, 2013 “It was colder than…” Why? Who knows? I have not been able to successfully answer that question. My friend Mark Casey was hot on doing Ironman and him and Heidi decided to do that. Somehow I got sucked along. Also I have a lot of stuff going on including starting a new business, which takes up a lot of time, so this would force me to be efficient. In the past when I throw an Ironman into the mix of the most busiest life circumstances, somehow it all gets done and I ended up being very much more productive I also wanted to see what I can accomplish. I was not happy with the results of St. George two years ago and wanted to see myself improve. My goal was to get through the race clean and then add speed and potentially of Kona qualifier in Ironman CDA next June as I would race as a 55-year-old. Reviewing my records indicated that I did better under the Supervision of a coach so I had hired one and stuck to about 75% of the recommen...

Fat is the latest hero of the foodies. For years, it was taboo to eat more than a blip of fat in your diet. Fortunately, science has prevailed and you are once again able to eat fat guilt-free. Essential fat comprises three to five percent of a man’s bodyweight; eleven to thirteen percent of a woman’s. Fats are involved with just about every process in your body. They are necessary for cell membrane integrity, hormone production, energy metabolism and proper heart function. A diet too low in fat will kill you just as quick as a diet too high in fat. Like everything else you eat, there is a proper balance that will enable your body to be at its peak level of health and performance. Three types of fats have to be eaten in the right balance: omega-6, saturated and omega-3. Omega-6 fats are unsaturated and monounsaturated fats that come from vegetable sources like safflower, canola and olive oils. Omega-3 fats, which are also unsaturated, come from fish (espec...