They’re a Couple With an Iron Will

Inspiration comes from many places for those who enter the grueling world of competitive triathlons. For Tim and Nicole DeBoom, it comes from across the dinner table.

That is, if their busy schedules allow them to dine together.

Most of the time one or the other is off training or competing, and those dinner engagements have become infrequent. Doesn’t matter, though. They both understand.

The DeBooms, married in 1996, have become the “first couple” of triathlon. Both accomplished competitors with Ironman-distance victories on their resumes, they are among the favorites in the Los Angeles Triathlon, which takes place Sunday.

Tim, 34, is a two-time champion of the Ironman Hawaii, considered the world championship of Ironman races. Nicole, 33, won the Ironman Wisconsin last year, her first victory in an event that consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run.

Training for such grueling events can be taxing, so the DeBooms cherish that they have a spouse who not only understands but is going through the very same process.

“You would have to say that triathlon is the basis of our marriage,” Nicole said. “I’ve never known Tim as anything other than a triathlete. Training and competing is a huge component of our lifestyle.”

Training together is rarely an option. They usually don’t compete in the same race, and so often find themselves gearing up at different times. Besides, they train at different speeds anyway.

Nicole said she enters anywhere from five to 20 races a year and about 25% of those are with Tim. They have pulled off a husband-wife sweep at a handful of races, the last coming at the World’s Toughest Half triathlon in Auburn, Calif., in May 2004.

“It’s pretty special when that happens,” Tim said. “It’s special when we get to race the same event. I enjoy traveling with her and having her there for support. We’ve never [swept] a real big race, so it would be nice to do it in someplace like Los Angeles.”

This is Tim’s first time racing in the L.A. Triathlon, which is an Olympic distance race (1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bicycle ride and 10-kilometer run). He’s only six weeks away from the Ironman Hawaii and is using Sunday’s race as a tuneup. He won in Hawaii in 2001 and 2002.

Nicole has a good record here. She finished sixth her first time in Los Angeles in 2001 and had back-to-back second-place finishes in ’02 and ’03. She did not compete last year as she focused on launching an athletic apparel company, Skirt Sports.

The business has taken off more quickly than Nicole imagined and it has her considering retiring from competition. That’s why she now wants to focus on enjoying each race, especially those in which Tim is also competing.

“I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily fuel for the fire or anything,” Nicole said of trying to win the same event as Tim. “I look at it as an extra bonus when we get to race together. I’ll be happy for him no matter how he does and I’m sure he’ll feel the same for me.”

Tim and Nicole met when they sat next to each other on an airplane in 1995 on their way to a triathlon in Cancun. They moved in together a few months later and were married in December 1996.

There was instant mutual understanding, Tim said. They both knew how grueling their chosen lifestyle could be. They both understood that birthdays, Christmas and other special occasions might be interrupted for training.

“It’s kind of a weird job,” Tim said. “You have to do it every day. It certainly helps to have someone who relates to the sacrifices you have to make to be a competitive triathlete. I don’t think either of us would be where we are without each other.”