At the grand old age of 38, while living and working in Korea I decided to try my luck at triathlon. Having been a runner and a swimmer less so in my youth, the thought of competing again was both intriguing and nerve wracking at the same time.
With triathlon consisting of three disciplines, firstly swimming, then cycling and lastly running, a commitment to the sport meant that I could keep myself fit as 'the Big 40' crept up on me.And that was fine by me.
Racing in Korea, I managed to attain a modest level of success, actually placing in five of the 10 triathlons I entered. However, being a less than average swimmer the perennial frustration of never making huge gains in my swim times while managing to maintain better than average cycling and running times only compounded my feeling of frustration.
Hence, my admiration for those triathletes who are able to post fast competitive times for all three disciplines is great. None more so for professional triathletes and none more so for arguably the best triathlete over the Olympic distance of all time, Alistair Brownlee.
Last weekend, I was fortunate to witness the great man completely destroy a world class field to win the ITU World Championship Series race at the birthplace of triathlon,San Diego. Exiting the swim (1500 m)in the lead group in 16 minutes or so(I usually take around 26 minutes on a good day)AB lead out the cycle for a few laps before sitting back in the lead pack racing at an average of over 40 km's per hour. As a small breakaway reached transition, marginally in front of AB and the chasing pack ,the true testament of the man's abilities came to the fore.
Surging past the lead runner in a little over 500 metres of the three lap 10 km course, the remaining 9 km's or so was a master class, a parade of world class middle distance running on any stage.And this after a 1500 meter swim and a 40 km cycle. Never looking like wilting in the hot afternoon sun, AB stretched out his lead at will.
In my time as an amateur runner my gait and posture has improved over time. I often catch myself running past shop windows, and as I do,I always glance to observe my form. Does it look natural, easy, comfortable etc? That said I often see runners moving in all sorts of unusual ways and the first thing that springs to mind is, are they comfortable ? Is that style efficient?
So, seeing AB put his foot down on the accelerator, shoulders pinned back while turning over his legs at an incredible cadence, a sense of awe gripped myself and the watching crowd as it looked just too god damn easy.
The commentator giving regular pace updates as well as AB's progress being monitored on the big screen amped up the anticipation of the expectant crowd as he raced past the main stage at the start of each lap.I was, as was everybody else witnessing something special.
As AB rounded the final bend into the final straight he strolled the last 200 meters, high fiving the crowd before actually walking the last 50 or so meters soaking up the atmosphere, while occasionally looking over his shoulder before crossing the line and holding aloft the winner's tape.
Gracefully, congratulating second and third place as they too posted incredibly fast times respectively, AB had managed to run, jog , walk a 29:30 min 10 km's and win at the Mecca of triathlon.
The event itself was free to the public. It gave the spectator literally a front row seat to the world's best triathletes.And I managed to take advantage of this. As he stood on the podium spraying champagne over his contemporaries before giving interviews to the media, a small crowd had assembled close to the athletes tent.And I was one of them.
As we patiently waited for AB to fulfil his media commitments he eventually made his way to the triathlon ' groupies' hoping to grab an autograph or even better a photograph with the great man.And I wasn't to be disappointed.As I congratulated him on his awesome performance, he was more than happy to acquiesce to my request for a photograph, making this forty something adolescent's day.
Greatness really is enhanced by a sense of humility and generosity and in many ways that is why I love triathlon. It feels like one big club, with many of its protagonists just going out there and doing their best regardless of their abilities.Most triathletes endeavor to finish, post a PB and if they're lucky stand on the podium.
However, being an Olympic and World Champion doesn't and didn't stop AB from giving a little back to the triathlon community, and his efforts were very much appreciated by those that waited outside the athletes tent on a great day for the sport of triathlon.
To borrow a line ' in most sports you only need one ball, in triathlon you need two' . I'm just glad I found mine at the age of 38.
With triathlon consisting of three disciplines, firstly swimming, then cycling and lastly running, a commitment to the sport meant that I could keep myself fit as 'the Big 40' crept up on me.And that was fine by me.
Racing in Korea, I managed to attain a modest level of success, actually placing in five of the 10 triathlons I entered. However, being a less than average swimmer the perennial frustration of never making huge gains in my swim times while managing to maintain better than average cycling and running times only compounded my feeling of frustration.
Hence, my admiration for those triathletes who are able to post fast competitive times for all three disciplines is great. None more so for professional triathletes and none more so for arguably the best triathlete over the Olympic distance of all time, Alistair Brownlee.
Last weekend, I was fortunate to witness the great man completely destroy a world class field to win the ITU World Championship Series race at the birthplace of triathlon,San Diego. Exiting the swim (1500 m)in the lead group in 16 minutes or so(I usually take around 26 minutes on a good day)AB lead out the cycle for a few laps before sitting back in the lead pack racing at an average of over 40 km's per hour. As a small breakaway reached transition, marginally in front of AB and the chasing pack ,the true testament of the man's abilities came to the fore.
Surging past the lead runner in a little over 500 metres of the three lap 10 km course, the remaining 9 km's or so was a master class, a parade of world class middle distance running on any stage.And this after a 1500 meter swim and a 40 km cycle. Never looking like wilting in the hot afternoon sun, AB stretched out his lead at will.
In my time as an amateur runner my gait and posture has improved over time. I often catch myself running past shop windows, and as I do,I always glance to observe my form. Does it look natural, easy, comfortable etc? That said I often see runners moving in all sorts of unusual ways and the first thing that springs to mind is, are they comfortable ? Is that style efficient?
So, seeing AB put his foot down on the accelerator, shoulders pinned back while turning over his legs at an incredible cadence, a sense of awe gripped myself and the watching crowd as it looked just too god damn easy.
The commentator giving regular pace updates as well as AB's progress being monitored on the big screen amped up the anticipation of the expectant crowd as he raced past the main stage at the start of each lap.I was, as was everybody else witnessing something special.
As AB rounded the final bend into the final straight he strolled the last 200 meters, high fiving the crowd before actually walking the last 50 or so meters soaking up the atmosphere, while occasionally looking over his shoulder before crossing the line and holding aloft the winner's tape.
Gracefully, congratulating second and third place as they too posted incredibly fast times respectively, AB had managed to run, jog , walk a 29:30 min 10 km's and win at the Mecca of triathlon.
The event itself was free to the public. It gave the spectator literally a front row seat to the world's best triathletes.And I managed to take advantage of this. As he stood on the podium spraying champagne over his contemporaries before giving interviews to the media, a small crowd had assembled close to the athletes tent.And I was one of them.
As we patiently waited for AB to fulfil his media commitments he eventually made his way to the triathlon ' groupies' hoping to grab an autograph or even better a photograph with the great man.And I wasn't to be disappointed.As I congratulated him on his awesome performance, he was more than happy to acquiesce to my request for a photograph, making this forty something adolescent's day.
Greatness really is enhanced by a sense of humility and generosity and in many ways that is why I love triathlon. It feels like one big club, with many of its protagonists just going out there and doing their best regardless of their abilities.Most triathletes endeavor to finish, post a PB and if they're lucky stand on the podium.
However, being an Olympic and World Champion doesn't and didn't stop AB from giving a little back to the triathlon community, and his efforts were very much appreciated by those that waited outside the athletes tent on a great day for the sport of triathlon.
To borrow a line ' in most sports you only need one ball, in triathlon you need two' . I'm just glad I found mine at the age of 38.