| |
 |
 |
Athlete of The Month
Travis Funk
Athlete of the Month Profile
- Where are you originally from? Caseville, Michigan AKA “the thumb”
- What do you do, career wise? I’m a Packaging Engineer and work in Innovation for a global spirits company. It’s a good blend of marketing, design, & engineering work. My latest claim to fame was helping bring Pharrell Williams new liquor Q’ream to life.
- How’d you get involved in endurance sports/triathlon? My parents signed me up for my first tri when I was 8! I could barely swim so I crawled down the edge of the pool and cried the whole way. After that I was home free ripping up the course on my BMX bike for a win in my age group. I was hooked and went on to compete in the Ironkids series where I was quickly humbled. I feel a little better now knowing that Lance Armstrong, Hunter Kemper and other great athletes were the ones kicking my butt. In high school I ran cross country, and then rode on the MTB team at MSU. After college I took a long hiatus from anything resembling an endurance sport.
- What is your strength in triathlon? Transition… Seriously, I try and make every second count, it’s free speed. My bike has really come around thanks to Eric’s coaching. The focused workouts have been great to help boost the FTP.
- Are you strict with your nutrition? What’s your favorite “cheat” food? Not really, I eat pretty healthy in general and I like to cook so that makes it easy to eat healthy. The typical dinner is fish, veggie, quinoa or some sort of pasta/stir-fry concoction. The hardest part is not letting things slide while I’m traveling for work. I try and keep to my rule of at least one salad per trip. My “cheat food” has to be rhubarb crisp. I can put down a whole pan before you know it.
- What was your biggest accomplishment in 2011? That’s tough, I PR’d every distance I raced this year….5k to IM. I would say IM Lake Placid was the big accomplishment though. It was the perfect race, the whole day was a breeze. I took almost an hour of my PR and was on cruise control. If only they were all that easy. IM Wisc taught me how to dig deep and push.
- What are your big goals for 2012? Sub-10hr IM and hopefully a Kona spot.
- What’s the last book you read, and what’s your favorite movie(s)? Books are for winter….. A bike magazine is probably about as close as I got this summer. For movies, I can always watch the Bourne Ultimatum series, but I really like comedies too. The Hangover was great!!!
- Tell us about one of your best training days ever? The first and only time I climbed Mt. Lemmon. Man was that tough, but I learned a lot about myself that morning. Sometimes it’s nice to be in your own zone. More than once during the season I looked back to that ride for inspiration to keep pushing.
- Light beer, IPA, or porter? I’m not picky…. It’s all good. Guinness Draught is my stand by.
- Name some huge events/races that you want to do at some point in your life? Kona, Boston, Vermont 100
- What is your current race bike? Trek Speed Concept 9.9 / Di2 / Zipp 808 & disc – It was a promise made to myself on the way up Mt. Lemmon.
- If you could train with anyone for one day, who and why? My parents, because that’s where it all started.
- What’s your favorite meal? A great burrito!
- Is there anything else we should know about you? I try to do all my own bike work, 1 )because it’s therapeutic & 2) because it’s good to know how things work so you can McGuiver the roadside repair. 3) There’s no one to blame when something breaks down. Surprisingly I’ve never worked at a bike shop, but I probably should have
Home Page
|
|
