But he pushed his limits, continuing to play, which resulted in three more procedures. So Dacus finally stopped altogether. His knee doctor recommended bicycling and swimming, instead.

"I sold my car and I commuted to work on my bicycle for 10 years, but still couldn't lose the weight — I went from 190 to 240 pounds," Dacus said. "The additional weight caused daily knee discomfort."

But life took a turn for the better six years ago, when a friend introduced Dacus to Team Ulua, a triathlon group.

Name: Chris Dacus.

Age: 40.

Profession: Landscape architect for the state Department of Transportation.

Height: 6 feet.

Weight: 205 pounds during off season, 190 pounds during training season.

Workout habits: "I train five to six days a week for triathlons — swimming, bicycling, running, yoga and strength training. I swim twice a week with Boca Hawaii at the Palolo Pool and cycle twice a week with TriMoving, two or three runs a week, yoga on weekday mornings, one or two basic strength training sessions at the gym. Most of the training occurs over the weekend with long rides and long runs or bike/run combinations. After all that training, Monday is my rest and recovery day."

When and why I started working out: "Six years ago, one of my bicycling friends introduced me to a triathlon group, Team Ulua, and I got hooked by the camaraderie, sport's complexity and the low impact to my knees. My wife was at the time also training for the Tinman Triathlon and that helped, too. Over the following 18 months, I went from 240 pounds to 205 pounds and all the daily knee discomfort stopped and has not returned yet."

My good foods/bad foods: "My favorite good foods are Indian or Greek food. I love Zaffron, India Caf? and The Olive Tree. During training season, which usually stretches from January to September, I stick to a pretty strict diet and only once a week or two cheat with something like a cheeseburger and french fries. It's really hard to eat something bad when you train so much. You actually feel guilty about it. ... It's kind of funny, but after sticking to a strict training diet during triathlons, I usually motivate myself to keep going and finishing the race by thinking of the reward of eating a sinfully large cheeseburger and french fries or a pepperoni pizza after the race."

My biggest motivator: "Working out with friends and having a goal! Working out with a group is the real secret to sustaining your training and having a goal like a race keeps you focused and prioritizes your time. It keeps you honest because it's much easier to cancel your workout when you train by yourself, but if you're meeting some friends, you gotta go! I've been really fortunate to have an incredible training partner, Dan Fujii. We have similar goals and abilities. Dan usually pushes me to go a little further and I usually push Dan to go a little faster."

What saves my sanity: "A long bicycle ride with the TriMoving group! Bicycling is such a fulfilling workout, especially in Hawai'i. It's very therapeutic, exploring roads you might not drive on and enjoying the incredible scenery. Plus good friends all helping and looking out for each other. It's so fulfilling traveling 50, 60, 70, even 100 miles on a bicycle on your own power. And anyone can do it with some training!"

My next challenge: "Honu Half Ironman Triathlon on the Big Island in June and then my first Ironman triathlon — Ironman Canada in August 2005. It's been six years in the making and it's exciting to finally be counting down to the big day."