{"id":204733,"date":"2026-03-25T00:57:39","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T00:57:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/204733\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T00:57:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T00:57:39","slug":"how-tampa-executives-train-for-ironman-while-running-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/204733\/","title":{"rendered":"How Tampa executives train for Ironman while running businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"

On most afternoons, as lunch crowds moved through Harbour Island and the pace inside Jackson\u2019s Bistro<\/a> held steady, Chris McVety<\/a>, the restaurant\u2019s managing partner, stepped away from the restaurant, crossed the parking lot and headed toward a pool, a bike or a treadmill.<\/p>\n

He kept that schedule for months leading up to his Ironman in October 2022, a race defined by a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a marathon, with distances that remained fixed as his days shifted around running a business<\/a> and raising a family.<\/p>\n

That structure did not come together on its own<\/p>\n

Rosa Laura Saggese Elbooz, owner of Tampa-based ForzaFit, coached McVety through his first Ironman, building his program around an already full schedule.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the hard work was in the time management,\u201d McVety said. \u201cSetting aside three hours per day to train, just that discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elbooz coaches a small group of clients, most of them business leaders, and keeps her roster to about 15. She builds each program around her clients\u2019 calendars, placing sessions between flights, meetings and late nights, then adjusting as those schedules change.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey want control over their time,\u201d she said. \u201cThey want discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her work follows a structure she has carried from career to career. After moving to the United States from Italy about 25 years ago, she left her career in fashion to become a personal trainer and endurance coach. She traded show schedules and production timelines for training plans and race calendars, but the approach stayed the same.<\/p>\n

READ: TAMPA BAY BUSINESS NEWS<\/a><\/p>\n

For her clients, the week is planned in advance, with sessions mapped around what is already in place, as long rides go early before flights, swims fit between meetings and runs take the hour that opens when something cancels. When a session is missed, the plan adjusts and the next day carries the load.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsistency is the most important,\u201d she said. \u201cTo show up every day and be strong mentally.\u201d<\/p>\n

That consistency was built over months for McVety while he ran a restaurant and raised a family. He rode before the city woke up, swam between lunch and dinner service and ran after the kitchen closed. <\/p>\n

\"ChrisChris McVety competes in the cycling portion of an Ironman race while balancing leadership<\/a> at Jackson\u2019s Bistro<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was lonely,\u201d McVety said. \u201cBut being a business owner is also kind of a lonely place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elbooz sees that shift with many of her clients as their schedules tighten, the work becomes more internal, decisions come faster and open time disappears unless it is planned.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey become more organized because we prepare one week ahead,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Business clients, she said, often have less free time and less margin in the day, which makes consistency harder and planning more important. Coaching them means adjusting the work to their availability without losing the larger goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey got less time, so it\u2019s hard for them to be consistent,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her own schedule follows the same approach, with her training set on her calendar as she advanced this spring to the semifinal round of Ms. Health & Fitness<\/a>, a national competition whose winner appears on the cover of Muscle & Fitness HERS and raises money for The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation, which supports families and funds childhood cancer research. <\/p>\n

She has also qualified multiple times for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship, training under the same structure she builds for her clients.<\/p>\n

\"RosaRosa Laura Saggese Elbooz crosses the finish line at Ironman 70.3 Florida, where she has qualified for world championships<\/p>\n

When she talks about the work, she stays focused on execution: sessions, recovery, pacing and sleep.<\/p>\n

She also understands the appeal. For some of the executives she coaches, the draw is the chance to take on something that looks impossible and finish it anyway.<\/p>\n

That repetition is what drew McVety to the race<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to do that,\u201d he said. \u201cFor no other reason other than it looked hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time he reached the starting line, the race itself mattered less than the work behind it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember being driven out to the swim start thinking to myself, I already won,\u201d he said. \u201cAll the training I did, I already won.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the race ended, the structure stayed with him and carried into his work.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I have a problem, I\u2019ll go for a run,\u201d he said. \u201cUsually in that time period, I have a solution.\u201d<\/p>\n

To support Rosa Laura Saggese Elbooz in the Ms. Health & Fitness competition, vote here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Stay Informed<\/p>\n

\n Stay up to date on Tampa Bay<\/a> business news<\/a>, executive profiles and the companies shaping the region.\n <\/p>\n

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