Training Time Hard to Find for Triathletes
Training for an Ironman triathlon takes endurance, strength, determination and, perhaps most of all, lots and lots of time. The distances involved--2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bicycle ride and 26.2-mile run--require spending at least 20 hours a week training.
That’s no problem if you are a professional triathlete or an age-group amateur with plenty of free time. But it’s more complicated for recreational athletes who often must come up with creative ways to carve out training time.
Consider Huntington Beach’s Pat Gleason, one of the 15 people from Orange County who will start the Ironman World Championship Saturday in Kona, Hawaii.
Gleason, 39, runs a small general contracting business out of his home. He and his wife, Gina, have two young children and another due to be born next month. Gleason sets aside Sundays to spend with his family. The rest of the week is up for grabs.
“I think of myself as always trying to do two things at once to make it manageable,” Gleason said.
He fits in swimming during lunch hours, surfs as much possible (he considers that part of his swimming training) and runs or rides his bike daily.
Fridays are for long rides; he usually drives to San Clemente and rides more than 100 miles on Camp Pendleton’s Ironman California course. True to his multi-tasking ways, he keeps his cellular phone turned on for business calls.
“If the phone rings three or four times,” Gleason said, “I’ll pull over and check my voice mail. I return the urgent calls.”
PUSHING THROUGH
Saturday will mark the second Hawaii Ironman for Gleason, an Edison High graduate who rowed for the crew team at Orange Coast College and on a national championship boat at Washington. He finished his first Ironman last year in 10 hours 42 minutes, but he said he felt thoroughly defeated by the course.
“I was thinking, ‘I’m a good athlete, I’m going to be able to do a 10-hour Ironman,’ ” Gleason said. “When I realized I was starting to fall off that pace, it just destroyed me.
“The course just humbled me and broke me.”
Gleason said he fell behind on the tough bike leg and then went through the motions on the run. After the experience, he didn’t expect to return. “I thought, ‘This is way too much of a commitment to have a bad race,’ ” he said.
But Gleason decided to continue after being inspired by a magazine article by triathlon hall of famer Mark Allen. In the article, Allen recalled thoughts of quitting during a Hawaii Ironman that he eventually won. Gleason figured that if a six-time winner could have a crisis of confidence, he should be able to cope with his own.
“It just reminded me,” Gleason said, “that the challenge of this race is you are going to have doubts but you have to break through them and keep going.”
So Gleason continued Ironman training and in May finished the Ironman California in 10:08. He was 37th overall and sixth in his age group, qualifying for another shot at the Hawaii race.
ONE MORE TIME
Chris Johnson of Laguna Niguel is something of an Ironman ironman. Saturday he will start his eighth consecutive Hawaii race.
He will also be trying to extend his age-group winning streak. Johnson turned 50 in May, two days before the California Ironman, and won the 50-54 age group, finishing 76th overall in 10:29. He also won his division at the Los Angeles Triathlon, the Oceanside USTS triathlon and the Pacific Coast Triathlon, the national sprint championship.
Last year, Johnson finished the Hawaii Ironman in 10:27, his personal best. “I’m getting older and I’m getting faster,” Johnson said. “It’s kind of amazing.”
The other Orange County athletes in the field are Gina Aubrey of Corona del Mar, Jack Boyster of Laguna Beach, Kory Burwell of Corona del Mar, Jay Hunter of Dana Point, Kirk Matkin of Dana Point, Dan McCluskey of San Clemente, Kyle McNeil of Silverado Canyon, James McPartland of Irvine, Liz Richardson of Huntington Beach, Thomas Rollinger of Irvine, Mickie Shapiro of Costa Mesa, Kirk Waymire of Trabuco Canyon and James Wells of Newport Beach.
LONGBOARDING
Professional surfing has spawned a dynasty. Australia’s Beau Young, son of legendary champion Nat Young, won the Oxbow World Longboarding Championship Sunday at Praia Do Rosa, Brazil. Young defeated Joel Tudor of Del Mar in the final and defending champion Colin McPhillips of San Clemente in a semifinal.
LONG RIDE
Two veteran Orange County ultramarathon bicyclists will tackle one of the more difficult rides in the West, the Sun Precautions Furnace Creek 508, this weekend.
The nonstop 508-mile race from Valencia to Twentynine Palms starts Friday near Six Flags Magic Mountain. The route features a total of 35,000 feet of elevation gain and takes riders through Death Valley.
Perry Smith, 50, of Costa Mesa and John Williams, 52, of Capistrano Beach are each entered in the solo race. Smith has attempted the 508 the last four years, finishing only in 1998. Williams has finished three times as a solo rider and twice as part of a relay team.
Charles Graffice of Orange and Dan Crain of Irvine are riding with a four-man relay team this year.
The race can be followed on a webcast at https://www.the508.com.