**Disclaimer: the information below, while accurate at one time, might not be as accurate now. Take it with a grain of salt, and check back later, because an update is in the works.
Here’s the quick run-down – the story of my life (abridged).
Here’s the quick run-down – the story of my life (abridged).
I was born April 2, 1987 in Boise and am a proud Idahoan! If you have been lucky enough to spend time in the Treasure or Wood River Valleys, then you have been lucky enough. But keep it to yourself – we don’t want word getting out. I have two siblings, Jordan and John, my parents Kate and Joe, and the best extended family a guy could hope for. I was blessed to grow up amidst a beautiful network of cousins, aunts and uncles, and there was no shortage of love, support, role models, and good times. I played some soccer and – despite very little success – swam consistently through junior high and the first part of high school. The summer I was 16, my cousin Dan and I caught a couple stages of the Tour and instantly became huge cycling fans. I bought a steel-framed Lemond and raced it throughout the second half of high school. I actually did my first triathlon that same summer, just for kicks. I had a blast, but then I didn’t race another one until six years later.
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| Brother, Sister, Puffman |
In the fall of 2005, I enrolled at Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA to study biology with an eye on medical school. Searching for an athletic outlet post-high school, I joined the men’s rowing team which to this day remains the toughest sport I’ve ever tried. I have such respect for rowers, but after a year I knew it wasn’t a fit. Not everyone can be 6’4”, 220 lbs. And races were only 6 minutes long. So sophomore year I left rowing to return to my true passion in the world of athletics: endurance sports. Some friends and I founded the Gonzaga Cycling Club, I started getting back into the pool for some workouts, I picked up running, which by some miracle had actually become fun. It was all just about staying fit and enjoying time with my friends. I studied abroad, I did a little of this, a little of that.
Then in the summer of 2008 I watched some buddies race Ironman Coeur d’Alene, which isn’t far from Spokane. As anyone who has spectated a triathlon can attest, the environment is infectious and very inspiring. I recalled how much fun I had had at my first race all those years ago. So I decided to sign up for a couple local Olympic races (for a quick explanation of what that means, click here). By the end of the summer I was hooked. Triathlons provided that outlet for goal setting, staying fit and competing. Plus, three different sports meant it would be a lot harder to burnout, something I’d definitely grappled with in swimming. And while I had never been particularly great at any of them, combine mediocrity at three disciplines and you almost have one complete athlete (my constant joke about triathletes). But more than anything, they were fun.
After five glorious years at Gonzaga I unfortunately had to graduate. Ready for a little break from school, I moved back home and got a great job as a fitness trainer at the YMCA, which I held for a little more than a year. I worked with some incredible people – both coworkers and members – who really cemented my long-term aspirations in health care. But as an added bonus, I also had plenty of free time to train and race, and ended up doing well enough to earn my pro card in the summer of 2011. This was a gratifying accomplishment for sure, but my involvement in triathlon was still just about healthy living and having fun.
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| Just before the swim start at 70.3 Boise in 2011. Really the only picture I have of me doing one of these things. Thanks Matt Brown! |
Cheers!
Now if all of that was pretty ho-hum/left-brain/painfully boring for you, here is my effort to describe myself in a more abstract, right-brain format. Although I myself am more left brain, so this won’t be stellar.
Name: Andrew Langfield
Birthday: 2 April 1987
Hometown: Boise, ID
Current Residence: Portland, OR
Height and Weight: 6’, 156 lbs
Other Interests: skiing, golfing, fishing, homebrewing, music, cooking, reading, traveling, flossing, posing, posturing, spending an inordinate amount of time writing about myself
Favorite Color: yellow
Favorite Band: Zeppelin
Favorite Movie: A River Runs Through It
Three things you will always find in my fridge: chocolate milk, yogurt, and beer
Go-To Power Food: cottage cheese
If I could have one super-power: flying
Who I would want to play me in a movie of my life: Tom Hanks
Who would actually play me: Meryl Streep
Animal I most respect: bald eagle
If I was reincarnated as an animal: elk
Deathly afraid of: snakes
Where I would go on my next big trip: Belgium/Northern France (actually happening this August!)
Favorite city in the whole wide world: Firenze, Italia
But to actually live there: anywhere in the northwest CONUS is a candidate
Biggest Joys: shredding the nasty gnar with my friends on skis and/or bikes
Biggest Frustrations: homebrewing, putting and chipping, sand saves… really just my entire short game. I think it’s healthy to be deeply invested in pursuits that you just frankly aren’t any good at.
Now that I think about it, my iron play isn’t rock solid either.
How many 8 year-olds could I take in a wrestling match: I would hope at least five, but realistically one or two
Biggest Goal: a life of fulfillment
Freaked out by: unenclosed high precipices, not because I’m scared of heights, but because I get this unpredictable feeling like my body is suddenly going to convulse and throw itself off
Things I care deeply about: IPAs, art, recycling
Things I don’t care for: barleywines, sauerkraut, insincerity
Ten minutes left to live, what would I do? eat a fantastic sandwich, and a warm cookie dipped in milk
These are good questions to ask yourself. Do you have answers for them?
