body. Their son and daughter -- two children from Rucker's first marriage -- came to visit often, and Annita Rucker found herself entertaining the young kids while her husband remained stationary. I used to complain that he was living life on the sidelines, never participating, she said. Now, he's so active with them. Last year, my father had Parkinson's and was hospitalized for 10 weeks. Mark stepped up to the plate and did all the cooking, the laundry, everything. Before this, that never would have happened. My wife jokes, I 've got a brand new husband, Rucker said with a long laugh. I think she's a lot happier with me... because I 'm much happier. August 18, 2011 -- Three mile walk at work on my lunch break. Some days I got ta dig down deep to find the motivation. Some days it's really hard. Today is one of those days. Rucker is now training for his first Ironman competition. A typical week includes 4:30 a.m. swims, 6-mile runs after work and hours of cycling on Saturday and Sunday. At 260 pounds, he's stopped focusing on losing weight and started focusing on building muscle. There are good and bad days. Some blog posts sing of the serotonin rushing through his brain. Others show his discouragement of a bad swim or a slow run. He's a beast, but one who feels pain. Ironman champ: The importance of R&R Still, it's amazing, even to him, that a guy who less than two years