Meet Jeremy Woodward
Fitness Journal member since 2004
Two years ago, Jeremy was in a battle for his very life. It began as simply feeling ill in April 2007, but his health quickly spiraled downward as doctors struggled to diagnose what was wrong. Baffled, they sent the 28-year old to a Boston hospital. It was here that specialists identified the problem: Jeremy was in the throes of heart failure. An aortic tissue valve that had been replaced a few years earlier had failed, disabling his heart's ability to effectively pump blood. In his second open heart surgery in 9 years, Jeremy underwent an aortic reconstruction and valve replacement - this time with a mechanical valve - and began the long, difficult road to recovery.
Now, working towards improving his physical condition is not foreign territory for Jeremy. He developed a passion for fitness through 16 years of training in the martial arts, earning a fourth degree black belt along the way. Transforming his passion to a career in 2003, Jeremy holds a certification as a personal trainer and has owned and operated Highpoint Fitness LLC, an on-site personal training service based in Concord New Hampshire, since January 2007. And just three months after launching his new business, Jeremy's most important client would be himself. Under the watchful eyes of several doctors and other trainers, he spent the next two years reclaiming his health, physical strength and mental wellbeing. Jeremy strove to "Live Life to the Fittest," which has since become not only his belief system, but his training program and website as well.
The desire to truly embrace this "Live Life to the Fittest" attitude is what first sparked the idea of becoming a triathlete. It's the ultimate test of body and mind. However, it was not a decision to be made lightly, or alone. Jeremy is recovering from open heart surgery, after all. He takes anticoagulants to prevent blood clots, so an injury while training for or participating in the Ironman competition could have dire consequences. But he refused to give up on his dream out of fear, and after gaining all of the proper approvals from all of the appropriate doctors and trainers, Jeremy was cleared for participation. His formal triathlon training began September 28th and will continue through the Ironman set for July 25, 2010 in Lake Placid.
Jeremy has selected The Nature Conservancy as his charity and has set a hefty goal of raising $140,600.00 - one thousand dollars for each mile he will travel during his Lake Placid race. Janus Funds has agreed to step up and donate an additional $10,000 to the largest fund raiser at the Lake Placid event. We decided that Fitness Journal should pitch in and do its part! Jeremy is an avid member of the Fitness Journal community. He uses Fitness Journal not only to track his own training, but utilizes our coaching tools to help others monitor their progress
| Fitness Journal is proud of Jeremy, what he has overcome, and his ambitious goal. Fitness Journal will donate $5.00 for each annual Fitness Journal membership (10% of our membership cost) toward Jeremy's cause between November 19th 2009 and his race day in 2010. |
Go Like Hell Jeremy!
