AVON, Ind. — Ironman competitors are some of the toughest, most well-conditioned athletes in the world.
"An Ironman race includes three different events," said Ironman triathlete Kyle Beimfohr. "You start with the swim, jump on your bike and then, go do a run. The swim is almost two and a half miles, then you bike 112 miles and then you [run] a full marathon."
The 49 year-old Avon resident competed in his first Ironman triathlon five years ago, and he did it just weeks after breaking his ribs and clavicle while training.
"My surgeon was like, 'You're not going to like your outcome,'" Beimfohr said. "[The surgeon said,] 'Unfortunately, you're not going to be able compete,' but I'm a little stubborn."
So Beimfohr competed in his first Ironman Triathlon with sore ribs and a still-healing clavicle.
"For the clavicle, I had them put a metal plate in there [to] hold it and place," he said. "I had tears in my eyes as I crossed the finish line."
So what does Beimfohr do after competing in one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the entire world?
He enjoys decorating sugar cookies.
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"It's a stress-reliever for me," Beimfohr said. "Just like I schedule my workouts, I have to schedule time to do cookies. You get around the holidays and everybody's making food, and we were doing decorating cookies one time, [and] I'm like, 'Well, this is kind of fun!' So that's become my new side passion project."
Kyle’s cookies have become so popular that he’s now selling them under the name Kyle’s Sweet Tooth Creations.
"It started out with me just giving them out to family and friends," said Beimfohr. "Then, I started getting people contacting me on social media, saying 'Hey, I saw your cookies. Would you mind making some for my son's graduation?' or 'Hey, we've got a 2-year-old's birthday party coming up. I'd love to have some of your cookies. Would you mind making some for me?' And so it's gotten a little bigger than I had originally thought."
So is Beimfohr a better triathlete or a better sugar cookie maker?
"I would like to say triathlete, but I might have to go with cookies," he said. "It's early in the season!"
Kyle is a school teacher in Zionsville, and he says he uses his Ironman stories and his love of cooking to bond with his students. In addition to baking cookies, Kyle is currently training for another Ironman triathlon in Arizona this fall.
If you'd like to order some cookies, click here.