Finding Ultra (38 page)

PLANTPOWER-FRIENDLY WEBSITE RESOURCES

KITCHEN ESSENTIALS

FOOD STAPLES, CONDIMENTS, AND MEAT AND DAIRY SUBSTITUTES

PROBIOTICS AND SUPERFOODS

Ascended Health,
www.ascendedhealth.com
.

This is a holistic wellness company offering a wide variety of the finest plant-based probiotics and superfood elixirs, including the Endurance Elixir referenced throughout this book. Among other top-shelf products, the company also offers
a heart health elixir with high quantities of resveratrol, sourced from the finest Bordeaux grape skins.

iHerb.com
,
www.iherb.com
.

An easy one-stop online shop for many hard-to-find superfood items, with a vast product line that includes most of the items referenced in this book, including chlorophyll, chia seeds, maca powder, marine phytoplankton, acai, resveratrol, and many more.

PROTEIN POWDERS AND NUTRACEUTICAL SUPPLEMENTS

DESSERTS

EFA AND OMEGA-3 OILS

ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE NUTRITION

PLANT-BASED FOOD DELIVERY SERVICES

ATHLETIC TRAINING AND RECOVERY PRODUCTS

ATHLETIC TRAINING AND WORKOUT TRACKING SOFTWARE

“When are you going to write a book?” is a question I've often fielded over the years. Finally having an answer is a reality I wouldn't have thought possible. In truth, this book would have remained simply an aspiration if not for the love, support, and encouragement of almost too many to people to name.

About two years ago I was catching up on the phone with Carter Cast, an old Stanford swimming colleague, when he suggested I meet his friend, literary agent Carole Bidnick. It was an introduction that changed everything. Carter, thank you for the spark that lit the pilot light. And Carole, thanks for taking me on when I knew nothing. Your tireless commitment to championing me can never be repaid. Thank you for always having my back and consistently trudging the extra mile. So much more than an agent, you've changed my life. For that, I'll always be in your debt.

I can't imagine even the most experienced writer having a better editor than Rick Horgan. Thank you, Rick, for taking a flier on a complete unknown. From the very first time we spoke, your belief in my story and my ability to bring this project to fruition has been unwavering. I'm grateful for your friendship, your master class in writing, and your ever-patient mentoring. Thanks also for the late nights, the long hours logged, and your dogged attention to detail—and for pushing me further and harder than any swim coach or boss.

Thank you to my dream team at Crown—which offers no better home for an author. Tina Constable, Mauro DiPreta, Tammy Blake, Caroline Sill, Christina Foxley, Nupoor Gordon, Nathan Roberson, Mark McCauslin, Elizabeth Rendfleisch, Norman Watkins, and everyone else behind the Crown curtain, your tireless parenting of this book from idea to market has exceeded every expectation a writer could have from a publisher.

To my publicity team—Anne Sullivan, Danielle Nuzzo, and Jeremiah Tittle—thank you for undertaking the task of promoting my story to the world.

To my friend Anne Espuelas, my right arm on this journey from the outset, thank you for helping me find the book within the story, mining structure from the chaos of my often muddled mind, and for always keeping me motivated through my many dark lapses of faith. Without your consistently deft editorial
eye, ever-honest feedback, and sometimes ruthless proposed revisions, this book would have fallen far short of what it eventually became.

To all the amazing writing mentors I'm lucky to call friends—those who've persistently encouraged me to take this leap, both directly and by living example—I thank you: from Jeff Gordon at Writers Boot Camp, who first took me to task on structure and story, to Belinda Casas-Wells for igniting a fire in my belly and pushing me to believe. Thanks to John Moffet and Mel Stewart for showing me that great athleticism and creative artistry need not be mutually exclusive. Thanks to Tim Ferriss for always finding time to respond to my relentless queries. Thanks to Sacha Gervasi for your unwavering support, devoted friendship, and incessant levity, which lit a path for me to pursue this “war of art” with a semblance of grace. Thanks to Kurt Sutter, for your integrity and indefatigable authenticity as both an artist and a family man. Thanks to Gordy Hoffman, for being the first to help me understand what it means to be a sober man, and your relentless example of veracity in the expression of your art. Thanks to Billy Ray, whose early encouragement strengthened my resolve. And thanks to Mark Gantt, for your loyalty and the way you embody the power of persistence.

Also, my gratitude to Dan Halsted for your constant friendship, honesty, and objective feedback—you've made me a better writer, father, husband, and man. Thanks, too, to Andrew Wheeler, Jeff Newman, Chris Uettwiller, Jesse Albert, Stevie Long, and L.W. Walman for your spiritual counsel. And to Alan Blackburn, Nicole Duran, Brett Blankner, Morgan Christian, Paul Morris, Dave Schraven, Drew Hayden, Gavin Holles, Mike Moffo, Peter Slutsky, Greg Anzalone, Dr. Shay Shani, and Stu Bone. You know why I love you.

To Dr. Garrett O'Connor, as well as the staff and my fellow inmates at Springbrook Northwest, thank you for saving my life and and providing the foundation for a new way of living. Without you, it's safe to say I wouldn't have a story worth telling.

To the two Skips in my life—Kenney and Miller—thank you both for being tough but fair mentors, urging me to push beyond my self-imposed limits and guiding me to a greater understanding of who I am and what it means to be a man.

Chris Hauth, you didn't just believe in my athletic abilities before I did; you showed me what it meant to pursue
true endurance
. I could never have achieved my athletic accomplishments without your steady and firm mentorship, and I can't thank you enough.

To my training buddies Dave Meyer, Darren Wald, Bob Steinberg, Tony Pritzker, Gary Bub, and Jamie Halper, thank you for always brightening those early and long Saturday-morning rides. I'm grateful to Sheri Zeibell for providing me with a quiet writing sanctuary away from the cacophony of home. And to Steve Kaplan, the most supportive law partner I could imagine, thank you for your friendship and the latitude to pursue this dream.

To Danielle Dellorto and Dr. Sanjay Gupta at CNN, I'm in your debt for so generously casting such a bright spotlight on my story, which created the broad audience that made this book a plausible reality.

To Julian Franco, Hector Rodriguez, Stormin' Norman Houck, and Ryan Correia of Franco Bicycles, thank you for your loyal support and for always promoting my efforts and keeping me fully geared while undertaking the herculean task of trying to write this book while simultaneously training for Ultraman.

Thanks as well to all my inspiring PlantPower mentors who've fearlessly blazed this path before me—Brendan Brazier, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, T. Colin Campbell, Kathy Freston, Brian Wendel, Lisa Lange, and Dr. Neal Barnard. And especially to Rip Esselstyn, who enthusiastically encouraged me to write this book as far back as 2009. Your friendship and living example have given me more faith than you'll ever know.

So many extraordinary athletes have graciously bestowed on me their camaraderie and wisdom throughout this journey of discovery. Pablo Morales, John Moffet, Craig Beardsley, Mel Stewart, Garrett Weber-Gale, Byron Davis, Mac Danzig, James Wilks, Ryan Hall, Chris Lieto, Luke McKenzie, Terenzo Bozzone, Jordan Rapp, Chris McCormack, Paul Ambrose, Vinnie Tortorich, Dr. Andy Baldwin, Alexandre Ribeiro, Jonas Colting, John Hirsch, James Bowsted, Dave Zabriskie, Levi Leipheimer, Ben and Eric Bostrom, and Ivan Dominguez—you inspire me with your remarkable talent, devotion to excellence, and example. I'm honored to know all of you.