Michael Simon
Michael Simon’s story is not typical for someone who enlists in the military fresh out of high school or in their early 20’s. His parents wanted him to go to college, so he did. “It was okay. I wasn’t focused like maybe I should, but made it through.”
Originally from Missouri, it was how he would end up in Minnesota. Upon graduating, Simon went into sales and marketing in a couple different industries. A semester abroad in Australia would eventually lead him to get a Master’s Degree in International Business.
Around that time, however, a significant event occurred in this country that impacted Simon, as well as so many other Americans: the attacks that took place on 9/11.
“I never feel like I’ve done much for my community or country and that event pushed me to do it.” So he enlisted in the Minnesota Army National Guard. Approximately two years later, in 2004-05, he would be called up to Iraq. Originally it was intended to be an 18 month deployment, with a 6 month train-up and 12 months of combat theater. “We were about a month from coming home, in 2007, they ordered the surge so we were extended another four months in country.” In all, it ended up being about 17 months in combat and about 2 years after released from active duty.
Simon would go back to his civilian career and he was newly married. We were excited to start our lives together and nine months later my wife said something was up in regard to my mood, behavior, and emotions. I thought it was PTSD.” So he went to the local VA.
Ultimately, they ordered an MRI and found a large tumor. “My life changed overnight. My military career was over, because I wasn’t deployable anymore. I went into a funk for about 18 months.”
Then he attended the DAV Winter Sports Clinic in Colorado. He had grown up skiing. “I got back on skis and really liked it. And it was also the fact that I was around other veterans.”
Six months later, Simon would attend a summer veterans event in San Diego and got back on a bike. “That’s what pushed me. The second I got on a bike, the light totally came on. About a year afterwards, I did my first triathlon. Once you start that, you are hooked on it.”
In the summertime, he now does triathlons and endurance sports. In the winter, he does skiing. He’s been involved with Courage Kenny, a Move United member organized in Minnesota. Simon helps instruct other skiers and would like to get his PSIA (Professional Ski Instructors of America) Level 1 done within the next year. “Skiing has done so much for me; it started to bring me to life. So I want to give back and get others out. I love to ski and live for it in the winter.”
2011 was his first triathlon. “It was a sprint, because I wasn’t training right. I didn’t know how to train until I got hooked up with Dare2Tri (a Move United member organization based in Chicago). I now have a coach that puts together workouts and consults with me.”
Among the events Simon has done, one is the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. “I loved the venue and seeing things and the other veterans made it fun as well.” His favorite though is the Chicago Triathlon, also because of the venue but also because of the opportunity to be with other Dare2Tri athletes. “I’m not the fastest. We have folks like Melissa Stockwell. But being out there with them and learning from them is a big thing. Dare2Tri also has the best coaching for triathlons in the country.”
The cycling portion of the triathlon is no problem for Simon. Neither is swimming. While a freshman in high school, he swam in a summer recreational league. One of his friends then suggested he try out for the team, which mainly focused on sprint events at that level. He would also swim in college. “In college, I realized as long as I am conditioned right, I’m a lot better at longer distances. I may not be the fastest off the blocks but I can do consistent paces. Same for triathlons.”
Running, however, is a different story. “Running is not my favorite thing. When I got out of the Army, I was done with it. It is the necessary evil for triathlons.”
His long term goal is to do an Ironman. “Hopefully by the end of 2022, I will have the first one under my belt. It’s a lot of training. But it’s also mental.” He has some half marathons coming up and other events that will get him closer to that goal.
In addition to training, Simon has recently become a Move United Warfighters Ambassador. “Move United has done a lot for me and I’m tickled to be an ambassador.”
