Testing the limits of his mind, body and spirit

Introduced to the benefits of a physical lifestyle as a youngster through his grandfather, Cary Epstein, initially a competitive swimmer, has continued being active as a triathlete.

Epstein, 31, a Hewlett resident, who has competed in several triathlons, completed his second Ironman triathlon in upstate Lake Placid on July 24. He shaved 17 minutes off his 2008 time in the same event that consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and 26.2-mile run. His time was 12-hours, 36-minutes.

“Swimming was always in my background,” said Epstein, a Jones Beach lifeguard, who organizes a team of lifeguards that competes in tournaments that tests their lifesaving skills. “My grandfather, former bodybuilder Dan Lurie was a major influence. His famous slogan is, your health is your greatest wealth.”

Typical triathlons consist of the same events, but the distances are much shorter than ironman competitions as the swim is usually less than a half-mile, the bike ride is a little more than 12 miles and the run is 3.1 miles.

To prepare for this ironman triathlon, Epstein, a Hewlett Fire Department emergency medical technician, amped up his training by working harder on some intervals and adding his individual intensity to the regimen created by his coach Donna McMahon through the Long Island Tri Coach, a group that train individuals for triathlons and are also triathletes. “I was definitely looking at it differently this time,” Epstein said. “The first time was for survival and now my goal was to beat that time. It was a matter of how hard I was willing to work for it.”

Work he did. Training for eight months, Epstein worked out six out of seven days for all three disciplines. Monday through Friday training for strength, then on Saturdays going for long distance bike rides of 50 to 100 miles.