Hi, my name is Chris Herbert and I am The Chubby Tri Guy!
I am a 36 year old Australian and for the majority of my 36 years have been sedentary, obese and addicted to food.
In December 2020 I decided I wanted to become more active, so got on an old push bike and started riding. 3 weeks later I bought my first road bike (2016 Giant TCR Advanced SL0) and begun riding more regularly (3 times a week at first).
I signed up for an event in Perth called the Dams Ride, which was scheduled for March of 2021 – the event was a ride of 54km with approx. 1000m of climbing…in reflection it now doesn’t seem like much, however at the time it felt like training to ride up the side of Everest!
Once that was out the way, I hunted for my next challenge – and this was when I discovered the world of triathlon!
A friend had completed a few 70.3 events and after picking his brain I decided “I could do that”, and promptly signed up for the Busselton Ironman 70.3 in December 2021. This was in May and after realizing I could run around 200m and swim about 25m before collapsing in a heap, I decided I needed a coach.
Fast forward through 7 months of training, 2 duathlons and an Olympic distance triathlon, I made it to Busselton 70.3 on December 5th 2021 and finished the event in 6 hour 32 minutes and am now absolutely addicted to triathlon and endurance sports.
Update (July 2022): Since writing this, my journey has taken a bit of an unexpected turn; during an easy Sunday ride at the start of April I crashed my bike and fractured my C4 Vertebrae and also sustained significant ligament damage in my neck. I spent 12 weeks in a neck brace, but am now out of the brace and focused on my next challenge.
I have since signed up for the Sunshine Coast 70.3 on September 11th 2022, and have also gained a spot in the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in St George, Utah on October 29th 2022, which I am now building towards.
Update (September 2022): i am currently based in Boulder, Colorado – commonly referred to as the triathlon Mecca – completing a training block before the World 70.3 Championships.
Post neck injury, I completed in the Sunshine Coast 70.3 and finished in a time of 5:32 – a significant PB! Following the world titles, I will be working towards the Paris Marathon which will be on April 2nd 2023.
In the time I have been training a growing as an athlete, i have also been working on qualifications to become a triathlon coach – allowing me to share my experiences with other aspiring athletes who are on a similar journey to my own! I am a Triathlon Australia Foundation Coach, am a Training Peaks Level 1 Certified Coach, and am completing my Certificate IV in Personal Training.
MY TRIATHLON TIMELINE
Since starting this journey, I have made the following achievements:
- Lost over 88lbs of weight and counting
- Completed a half marathon
- Went from swimming 25m to being to swim 4000m straight
- Improved my cycling FTP by over 70%
- Competed in 4x Olympic Triathlons
- Competed in 3x Ironman 70.3 Events (with 1 more scheduled)
- Competed in numerous Criterium cycle races and sprint distance triathlons
- Completely overhauled my nutrition and diet
- Trained a minimum of 6 days a week for nearly 2 years
- Suffered, and subsequently recovered from, a fractured neck
- Completed my Foundation Triathlon Coaching Certification with Triathlon Australia
- Achieved TrainingPeaks Level 1 Coaching Accreditation
This website is to serve as a way to document my journey in triathlon and weight loss and provide guidance to those people that are new and/or developing triathletes, as well as to hopefully help inspire other people to enter the sport of triathlon!
I am also a bit of a tech nerd, so there is no doubt in my mind that there will be some product reviews that anyone can benefit from, be it cyclists, swimmers, runners, age group triathletes or elite endurance athletes – my aim is to share what knowledge I have with anyone who will benefit!
