Taking Ironman to the extreme

Most people aren't faced with the decision to choose between a double or triple Ironman.

Dolph Hoch will make that choice in three months when he will decide if his body is prepared for the 7.2-mile swim, 336-mile bike and then a 78.6-mile run in a "squirrel cage" course in Fredericksburg, Va., on Oct. 10. He says the decision hinges on how his training progresses and the fact that four weeks after the triple Ironman, he will compete in the World's Toughest Mudder - a 24-hour obstacle course in New Jersey.

Just to register for the triple or double Ironman (the races are scheduled a day apart), athletes must have completed an "Iron distance triathlon or other significant accomplishments." Hoch, who deployed to Afghanistan in 2003 with an A-team for the Special Forces, had no problem registering.

"I know my body really well," Hoch said. "I never did this distance before so that's why training is important to let my body and mind recognize the hours."

He says that at the peak of his training, he will be putting in 40 hours of physical exercise per week. That includes four hours of lifting, six hours of swimming, 20 hours on the bike and 10 hours of running.

"The whole kicker is how to get to the starting line healthy," he said.

He will start tapering off his training in September before he goes through a period of non-activity just prior to the race.

Hoch grew up in New Jersey and discovered the Silver Valley seven years ago. Around the same time, he noticed that Ironman competitions were becoming more popular around the United States.

"I decided it was time to up the ante and that's when I found out about the double Ironman."

Hoch has been visiting the Silver Valley every summer since 2007 and is currently moving to Kellogg full-time with his wife and three children.

He says he met his wife, Francine, 12 years ago in New Jersey during a triathlete training session. She plans on running in her first Ironman in Coeur d'Alene next year.

After graduating from high school in 1983, Hoch joined the Marine Corps because he felt it was the first thing he needed to do. His father is a Korean War veteran and he has several other family members who have been in the military.

He traveled all over the world - eventually becoming a recon and scout sniper team leader - including training for jungle warfare in Panama.

After serving four years of active duty, Hoch went back to school to get his degree. He graduated from Rowan University in 1993 where he captained both the wrestling and soccer teams.

He then got a job after college as a health and physical education teacher at a high school in New Jersey. He was able to build a national caliber wrestling program, which under his direction, won four state championships.

It was in 1999 that he discovered his first Ironman in Lake Placid, New York.

"I didn't know anyone who was an Ironman," Hoch said.

He completed two Ironmans while still teaching in his home state.

"Then the whole place erupted and it was 9/11," he said of the chaos and commotion in his high school where classroom televisions showed the twin towers collapsing in New York City.

Hoch called a Special Forces unit that same day and gave his biography and was told to report to service.

"I didn't want anyone else to walk in my footsteps. I knew it should be me," he said. "The hardest thing to do at the time was leaving the programs I helped build at the high school. I told them this is bigger and that this is who I am."

He trained for a year and a half before he deployed in 2003 with a 12-man unit to southeastern Afghanistan. He said he has no regrets of his service and that the fighting aged him and his men.

"When I returned from my deployment, I got right back into working out," Hoch said. "The biggest reason is because it helps with stress. Every soldier has a portion of stress and working out is how I dealt with it."

Hoch then received a call from a Special Forces friend about the international military competition named Erna Raid in the northern European Republic of Estonia. Hoch says that the annual six-day event is one that attracts heavy media attention in Europe. There are up to 30 countries who feature four-man teams that complete cross-country navigation over a distance of roughly 95 miles while avoiding hostile security forces. He says that teams use live-fire, but there is no shoot-to-kill. The citizens of Estonia apparently assist in the capture of the international teams.

His team ended up placing third internationally in 1987 and again in 2007 and he says that after completing the Erna Raid only 12 other Americans had done so already. His team also received the honor of the Estonian green beret for placing in the top three teams.

"If I didn't do that then I wouldn't attempt the double Ironman," he said. "Completing the Erna Raid really opened up what I can endure."

Hoch has been taking advantage of training in the Silver Valley. He can run and bike in the mountains for strength and endurance and at the same time go on long, flat-terrain exercises.

"I do it to inspire my kids and learn about myself and to find where my breaking point is," he said. "Every race you find something out about yourself."

Nutrition is a large part of completing the double Ironman and Hoch will be equipped with supplemental beverages and food like potatoes and bananas. There will also be stocked aid stations along the course, but if a racer breaks his or her bike there is no turning back, Hoch said.

"The scary part is that I won't quit mentally. That's when it can get dangerous."