Latest / Zone2Speak Podcast / Defying Age: The Enduring Spirit of Thomas Edward, 78 Years Old Triathlete

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Defying Age: The Enduring Spirit of Thomas Edward, 78 Years Old Triathlete · Zone2Speak Podcast

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Now, let's get into the episode.
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So happy to see you Tom thank you so much for making the time to be on the podcast
4:16
you look amazing I think I last saw you in 2018 and like I said you haven't aged a day,
4:23
well thank you but you look terrific too by the way thank you,
4:31
sorry say that again yeah 2018 Ironman 70.3 World Championship where we met
4:38
in St. Port Elizabeth. Port Elizabeth.
4:41
And you, after that, went on to other World Championships, right?
4:47
Just one other. Just one other. Just another World Championship. No big deal.
4:56
Well, maybe right now I'll explain those things. Can I explain?
5:00
Welcome to Zone to Speak. In this inspiring episode, I'm thrilled to sit down
5:06
with Thomas Edward, a 78-year-old endurance athlete, a multiple 70.3 Ironman finisher,
5:13
and World Championship finisher, who is redefining what it means to age gracefully and athletically.
5:21
From conquering grueling triathlons to embracing the challenges of training
5:26
and recovery, Tom shares his remarkable journey of perseverance,
5:30
discipline, and passion for pushing boundaries.
5:33
I will dive into what drives him, how he trains and adapts to his body's needs,
5:40
and the lessons he has learned about resilience, longevity, and living life with purpose.
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Whether you are an inspiring triathlete, an endurance enthusiast,
5:50
or just looking for a dose of inspiration, this conversation will remind you
5:55
that age is truly just a number.
5:57
So let's get started. Tom, welcome to Zone to Speak.
6:01
Well, thank you. Thank you very much, Juliana.
6:04
So tell me, how can you share your athletic background?
6:09
Were you always active or did you develop this passion later in life?
6:14
Well, I started swimming competitively in high school. Wow.
6:20
And that's the only competitive. It was a team, but it's not a team sport.
6:28
So that's the only competition. Then there were years of doing nothing, but always swimming.
6:35
Whenever I had a chance, I would swim. Swimming was my main thing.
6:40
Athletic.
6:44
I found out later, it wasn't just physical. It was definitely mental because
6:50
when I would swim at times of stress, it would de-stress me.
6:55
Every time I swim, I feel better when I get out. So I'm a swimmer.
7:00
Okay. Then I did run one marathon, but didn't train well. Well,
7:07
this was in 86, so I guess I was 40.
7:11
That was a way of celebrating the 40th birthday. What a great way to celebrate.
7:18
And this was a New York marathon. It was just... Wow, a classic.
7:22
And you have to, I don't know if in the 80s how it was, but these days you either
7:26
qualify or there's a lottery.
7:28
There was nothing at the time. I don't know when they started,
7:33
but it wasn't that long after it had been started.
7:37
And, but I didn't train, I trained from a book.
7:41
I found out at the end, I didn't train well and didn't, didn't understand hydration or, or feeding myself.
7:51
And I was, I spent the next day in bed. Wow. Wow. So I wasn't ready.
8:00
But you finished? Oh yeah. Yeah, finished.
8:04
It was just a tough recovery. So you do have some athletic background.
8:09
You started swimming at school.
8:11
How did you become interested and started triathlons?
8:17
I was living in Ecuador at the time.
8:20
We had moved there in 91. This was maybe about 95 or so. I don't remember exactly.
8:30
Uh and i was talking to my sister she was never much of an athlete also a swimmer
8:37
and running and then she tried one triathlon and she just said you should do it,
8:44
and i go well i guess i i've been i'd started running again in ecuador gently
8:50
and so all was missing with a bike.
8:54
So I've got a quick antidote. I borrowed a bike. It was a mountain bike. Wow.
9:00
I changed the tires to, to what, slick tires that are,
9:05
And they did this race. It's the first and only time they ever did it in the
9:09
city of Quito, the capital of Ecuador.
9:12
Okay. And they drained this sort of pond where they had paddle boats.
9:21
And it was very cold. Quito is at 2,800 meters, so it's always cold.
9:28
Yeah, it's altitude training as well, right? It's pretty high, yeah.
9:33
You train for altitude sleeping there.
9:37
But anytime you go up, and it's very hilly, so you're almost always training.
9:43
Anyway, I finished, and I liked it. I enjoyed the three different disciplines.
9:49
I'm just imagining you with a mountain bike with skinny tires. What a warrior.
9:57
The thing was a mess, too, because they didn't control the distances on the
10:04
bike. And so it was not a good event, but it got me interested.
10:09
And so then I started, I would go to races, short ones, do the sprints.
10:17
I then maybe did, every time we'd go to the States, I'd rent a bike somewhere
10:21
and started doing sprints.
10:23
So I did maybe, I don't know, eight or 10 sprints to different parts of the
10:27
country, wherever we were vacationing with my wife and son.
10:34
And just kept liking it. So I finally bought a bike, my own bike, and started training.
10:41
And then in 2017, this was the year before South Africa,
10:48
a brother-in-law and I started sort of talking with each other,
10:53
giving each other a hard time, and somewhere between cajoling and joking and encouraging.
11:02
And we go, all right, let's do a 70.3.
11:07
And it was even more challenging for him because it was in Ecuador.
11:11
And it was the first one they had ever done, first or second,
11:15
that they'd ever done in Ecuador.
11:17
Wow. So you did your first half Ironman distance in your 70s?
11:22
I was, let's see, 70.
11:26
Yeah, I was 70. Incredible. Incredible.
11:31
Then I'll tell you the one thing. How did I get to the World Championship?
11:36
At my age, I mean, I think anybody listening probably already knows this.
11:42
You know, it's only in the categories where there are a lot of competitors that
11:46
more than one person can go to the, you know, qualify for the world championship.
11:52
Well, I was the only one in my age group.
11:57
But you still got to be in it to win it. It doesn't matter. Yep.
12:01
And so I did finish under the time and they go, you have to decide in that moment.
12:08
That's kind of challenging also.
12:11
Yeah. So just for the listeners that don't know, because cycling is a little
12:15
bit different, in the Ironman brand, when you race, if you're not elite, you race your age group.
12:23
And each age group, it starts, I think, at 18.
12:26
You need to be 18 to compete. and then it's every five
12:29
years it's a different age group and then for
12:32
the world championship whoever is first in the
12:35
podium qualifies for the world championship that token
12:38
can roll down in case the first place doesn't want to go to the world championship
12:43
or already qualified at another event and you do have to decide right then and
12:48
there because you have to pay a fee for that token and it's not cheap so you
12:52
have it's tough because you have you're on the spot and you don't know, like,
12:56
I remember when I qualified for South Africa as well, I raced in Vietnam.
13:01
I qualify in Vietnam. And then they were like...
13:06
Yes or no? And I'm like, wow, South Africa? I guess yes, because,
13:12
you know, it was my first world championship as well.
13:14
But yeah, you are right on the spot and you have to decide on this investment for a race, for a trip.
13:21
Anyways, go ahead, Tom, just a little bit of education for the listeners.
13:24
No, no, that'd be very, very helpful for somebody who's never competed in any Ironman event. Yeah.
13:32
So I already knew that it was South Africa. Okay.
13:36
So I had my credit card ready and jumped on it. I said, sure.
13:44
I had already been to South Africa visiting my son and his then girlfriend, now wife.
13:51
And so I liked it. So I was interested in going back.
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And it turned out that so far has been the best location.
14:03
It's beautiful.
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Beautiful, beautiful. I'll encourage anybody, if you just want to go visit Port
14:08
Elizabeth, it's just a gorgeous sight. People were very friendly.
14:13
Very friendly, yeah. Very well organized.
14:16
And I met a lot of people. I really liked people who do...
14:21
Ironman events. And that's where I met this wonderful person, Juliana.
14:28
And here we are. How many of this? Six years later, seven years later.
14:33
We're still in touch. We're still in touch.
14:35
Yeah, I'm not going to let you go. I was like, I remember we met at the beach
14:40
maybe a day or two before the race.
14:42
We were doing practice swim, which was a wake-up call for me because I never
14:47
swim in such cold waters. I think it was 12C. the temperature.
14:52
And I just remember everybody putting little neoprene shoes and neoprene caps and gloves.
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And I was like, I don't have any of this.
15:01
But yeah, I got out of my practice swim and I saw you, we started chatting and
15:05
I was and still am in completely awe of you because triathlon is not something easy in any distance.
15:14
You know, it's three sports. It's a lot of dedication and
15:18
uh yeah and then when i started the podcast i was like i
15:20
have to share tom with the listeners because
15:24
i think you were a true statement of perseverance i mean i know for me it's
15:30
hard the time commitment to train and just finishing each discipline and it's
15:35
different training for each discipline and and on the 70.3 distance you're putting
15:41
it's about two kilometer swim,
15:43
90 kilometers on the bike, and after that, you have to run a half marathon. It's a lot.
15:48
And you have to plan your nutrition and hydration through all that.
15:53
Take me through your routine, training routine. What does that look like?
15:58
Well, after when I went to the year before, training for the first one in Ecuador,
16:06
and then training for South Africa, I did it all with a book.
16:13
And I said, I gave that book away for, it was written by a woman.
16:18
Okay. And I gave it away to somebody to help, and I can't remember who that
16:21
person is, and I've never been able to find the book again. Oh, no.
16:26
It was very, it was very good.
16:28
And, but anyway, that was, just to give people a general sense,
16:33
as you said, you're training for three disciplines, three sports.
16:40
So that and i have to mention one other thing i i could dedicate that time because,
16:46
because i'm older i don't i don't have
16:49
a family i have a my son has two i've got two grandkids but my time is mine
16:57
so so i but i know i know couples couples in ecuador who have kids and And they both, of the couples,
17:07
train and compete in triathlons.
17:09
That, to me, is just amazing.
17:12
Much more amazing than what I'm doing.
17:15
You're so humble. But, yeah, it's hard with a family imbalance. Wow.
17:21
I can't imagine, yeah. It's a lot. Because it takes, it's not only the time,
17:26
it's the energy. Absolutely.
17:29
Yeah, you can go home and take a nap. They can't. That's right.
17:35
And I do. I take a nap. Almost every day I take a nap. Yeah. I love naps.
17:44
So where were we? Get back to training. Your training routine, yeah.
17:48
Okay. Well, after that, I thought, okay, I'm going to keep doing this.
17:52
I like it. I like the training.
17:55
I like the experience of the competitions.
18:01
So via, it's a long story, but anyway, I got connected with a,
18:06
at the time, pretty small training group, and they would assign a coach.
18:13
And they met several coaches, and they would work with different,
18:16
each coach would work with several different people.
18:20
And this particular coach, I had met her previously as a yoga instructor.
18:27
Okay. And so I already knew her, and she was good.
18:32
She was good to work with, so I stayed with that. and I've stayed with that group.
18:36
They changed. She quit to work on her own. And let me throw in a plug here for yoga.
18:45
Was thinking about this the other day. I would encourage any endurance athlete,
18:51
whether it's triathlon or biking or running or whatever, to start doing yoga.
18:56
It's going to make you more flexible. It's going to make you more aware of your
19:01
body and how to take care of it.
19:04
And this one sounds strange, but it's going to teach you to relax.
19:08
So when you're on the bike, I don't know, I'll be biking along,
19:16
and then all of a sudden I go, relax, relax. So I relax my hands.
19:21
I relax everything that I can. And then the bike, you can relax everything from
19:26
the top of your head down to your waist.
19:28
So I kind of go through this relaxation mental routine.
19:34
That's really good advice. I agree. And actually, I just told my husband last
19:39
week that we should start doing yoga at least once a week.
19:42
You know, it'd be good for us as an activity together.
19:45
I mean, not that we need more activities together because we're ready to cycle and live together.
19:50
But I think it would be good for us as well because, yeah, it's wonderful for
19:54
your joints and for flexibility, mobility.
19:59
And you bring up a very good point because it's something that I have to consciously tell myself.
20:04
And a lot of times I forget on the bike to say, relax.
20:08
Because sometimes I started to see pictures where my shoulders are all the way
20:13
up. My face Because I guess I'm all tense And I have to relax You're absolutely
20:18
right It's a very good tip,
20:22
Okay, that may be the only one I can give.
20:27
So I've been training with this group with a young man who was also just,
20:32
he trains other people, of course.
20:35
And he was a top-notch swimmer in Ecuador also, and also runs and also does triathlons.
20:46
So he understands. I think that might be another important tip is if you're
20:53
looking for a coach, and I think you could probably coach yourself.
20:57
There are so many books. There are so many videos out there.
21:02
There are so many YouTubes.
21:04
There's more than I don't even have an inkling of what's out there.
21:08
But you could probably do it yourself.
21:11
But a coach will keep you on track. And I think it's helpful that the coach,
21:16
if we're talking triathlon, but whatever your sport is, I think it's important
21:22
that that coach also competes.
21:26
So that's going to give them a different level of understanding and empathy,
21:33
comprehension of what you're facing and what they can do for you.
21:36
Absolutely, it's the mindset as well It's not just the knowledge of physiology,
21:42
And the training I think the mindset Is important as well.
21:48
No, I kept doing them. I did six. I've done those two world champions.
21:55
The second world champion was in Utah.
21:57
That was, wow, another spectacular setup. Must be beautiful.
22:04
It's fabulous, but it's tough.
22:08
It's got a lot of... Where do you swim? Lake? Yeah, yeah. It was, I think, a reservoir.
22:15
So that was fine. That was fine.
22:18
But the bike was tough and then
22:20
the run you had to run twice on a course and so the first time you're going
22:27
up this very steep hill down a very steep hill which started bothering one of
22:33
my knees then you gotta go oh no I gotta do this again.
22:42
Yeah then it's in your mind yeah yeah Yeah.
22:47
And I just barely came in.
22:51
There's another bit of information on the 70.3s and all triathlons.
23:02
The Ironman. I'm guessing all, but definitely the Ironman.
23:07
You have to come in under certain time limits.
23:11
So if you don't get out of the swim under the timeline, they stop you.
23:15
And the same thing for different points in the bike and the running.
23:20
And so for the 70.3, the maximum time, if you come in, the next time is eight and a half hours.
23:32
My daughter-in-law goes, eight and a half hours, that's a full work day.
23:37
You're out there doing that? Yeah.
23:42
So there's a sense of craziness about this, yes.
23:47
But I came in at eight hours and 15 minutes. Perfect. Fifteen minutes to spare. That's right.
23:57
And then it's always in the back of your mind. I should say it's always.
24:01
Then it starts going, wow, if I could do a 70.3, a half Ironman,
24:06
maybe I could, maybe I should try the full.
24:12
And Juliana just gave us the distances, but you just double those distances.
24:17
And you end, just to give you a sense, you end with a marathon,
24:22
running a marathon. It's a huge, huge challenge.
24:25
Yeah, you have the swim and the bike, and then you have to run a marathon.
24:30
And the bike is 180 kilometers, then 42 kilometers run.
24:36
So then after the two world championships, you decided to take on the new challenge,
24:42
a full Ironman distance.
24:45
Yes. And what were the specific challenges you faced in the training and the race for that?
24:53
The training just became more intense. or longer distances, more,
25:01
let's say, swimming would include more,
25:07
It's muscle building, but so it's strengthening. Strengthening plus,
25:12
and I'll let you know more about this than I do, then your VO2 max,
25:17
so you're working on the ability of your body to produce oxygen.
25:23
But you know more about that than I do.
25:27
I'm not sure. I'm not sure if I do more. If I know more.
25:32
So you're getting your body in even better shape.
25:37
Put up the distances and so
25:40
swimming just to give an example i'm i'm relaxing right now
25:43
i'm gonna i'm gonna do a the
25:46
end of last weekend in uh april do
25:50
what's the second it's the olympic distance oh nice
25:54
and so the swims are maybe just to
25:57
give you a sense 1500 meters uh 1800
26:01
2000 thousand well they got up to
26:03
four thousand wow yeah training for the for the army the full yeah and you would
26:10
do bicycle rides right now i'm riding mostly inside i don't know i'm sure your
26:15
cyclists know all about this riding inside i don't have a fancy machine i just
26:20
have i just to mount my bike on a roller,
26:23
and off I go, and then we'd take long rides.
26:29
So the rides I rode, but these are just keeping a good pace,
26:36
not race pace necessarily.
26:39
And so, but I would ride sometimes six hours. Wow. And that's just getting you ready to ride.
26:47
We had to back up again. but.
26:51
Remind us what happens when you get old
26:54
tell us and you
26:58
get slower yeah i mean
27:02
want to or not so yeah you
27:06
get slower but your body is doing amazing things i mean it's incredible you're
27:11
78 and you are swimming biking and running crazy distances it is crazy i get
27:19
that yeah you said what? Why are you doing this?
27:23
You mentioned your daughter a lot. Does your family, I mean,
27:26
I'm sure they're super proud of you, but they probably think you're a little
27:29
bit nutty. A little. Yeah.
27:33
My son has come to accept it. The first couple of times, he goes,
27:38
he says, why are you doing this?
27:42
He said, isn't this a little crazy? I said, yeah, it's probably.
27:46
It's probably, I don't know what psychologists think about endurance athletes.
27:53
That's a good question. I should have someone here to tell us. Okay.
27:57
All right. Let me know. I'd like to listen to that one. Absolutely.
28:03
And I mean, I suspect that we're a little bit,
28:09
what's the term where you tend to really focus on something and just to an extreme.
28:21
There's a psychological state there.
28:25
Okay, I don't know. Let's find it. I don't know if it's OCD or laser focus.
28:30
I don't know what's the expression.
28:32
I think what my son uses is OCD. OCD, yeah.
28:37
Obsessive-compulsive disorder.
28:40
It's a good one to have. It's a healthy one. Oh, good. I think.
28:46
That's just my opinion, not an expert.
28:49
Between us, let's just call it OC and take away the disorder.
28:54
Yeah, I like that. We're OCs.
28:59
And what motivates you to keep pushing those boundaries and competing in this crazy event? Yeah.
29:10
I like seeing, part of it is seeing what my body can do.
29:15
I think I've also been, I've always been interested, like I said,
29:19
I've been doing yoga maybe for 20 years now.
29:23
I did something else once from a book called, what is it?
29:30
I just forgot the term again. But it's psychic something or whatever.
29:35
The series of exercise by a man named Chilean, Oscar.
29:42
Boy, I'm really seeing your moment here. Oh, I have those all the time.
29:48
Oscar Hichasso. Okay. I would look him up and put him on the description because
29:53
I think everybody will be Googling. Okay.
29:57
Know your secrets, Tom. It's very interesting.
30:00
I started this years ago. I mean, 70s, mid-70s, and it's very interesting, psychocalisthenics.
30:13
Oh, okay. I know calisthenics. I didn't know about psychocalisthenics. I have to look it up.
30:19
So anyway, just looking back on things, I see that, okay, I was always interested
30:24
in things. What can the body do?
30:27
And, you know, just being amazed at some of these things people do that are
30:30
these extreme endurance events. that I still call those crazy.
30:36
So that's one motivation. Let's just see if we can do it.
30:41
The other is I just enjoy what both physically and mentally slash emotionally, what it does for me.
30:51
And if I don't do it, I don't get depressed, but just not feeling as good.
30:59
Like I said about swimming, swimming is guaranteed. I don't care.
31:04
Sometimes I have to drag myself out, force myself to get into the pool.
31:08
But I know I'll save myself one time. Okay, you're going to feel better, so let's do it.
31:16
And then competition, I still like to compete,
31:20
but it's more, as you've read, people, maybe you've had other people on,
31:24
it's with yourself more than against somebody else, especially in those endurance
31:30
events, you never know where you are anyway.
31:32
You never know. That's true.
31:35
I mean, even in the age group I'm in, which is currently, what is it, 75 to 79.
31:44
In the States, there's usually five or six of us, but you never see any,
31:50
you never know where you are in relation to them.
31:54
So you're just dealing with yourself mostly.
31:58
Yeah, I remember when I was racing triathlons. I mean, it's hard to compare
32:03
your time to different races because every race is a different course,
32:07
but it still feels so good when you have your personal best.
32:10
You know if even if it's a minute it's always
32:13
a victory especially for me on the swim because i'm not a swimmer
32:16
so any second that i could cut off there i was so
32:19
proud of myself and i completely agree with
32:22
the the motivation on the wellness
32:25
and the mental health health
32:29
i i have the same pep talk
32:32
like you you know even when i don't feel like doing my train i'm like okay just
32:36
do it you feel great afterwards and yeah it's not like I feel worse if I don't
32:41
but it's just such a feel good feeling taking care of yourself and just have
32:47
those happy hormones rushing yeah,
32:50
I like that term happy hormones happy hormones.
32:55
And the other one is one of the reasons I like triathlon let's say rather than
33:00
just swimming just running which I've done for years,
33:06
is that those three different disciplines, I guess you'd call them,
33:13
sports, work different parts of your body.
33:16
And although there's a time when I wasn't able to swim, just for a very minor
33:21
skin operation, and I couldn't swim for about two months. Wow.
33:29
Just biking and running.
33:32
Just, quote-unquote. Well.
33:36
What happens is my body gets stiff. And so there's a benefit.
33:42
I mean, you can imagine, it's not that hard to imagine.
33:46
When you're sitting on a bike, the only thing really that's working is from your waist down.
33:54
Yeah. A little bit in your back if you're bent over, you know, racing.
33:59
Yeah, especially on triathlons. It's not like mountain biking or gravel.
34:03
Triathlon, you are really locked in on a TT position most of the time.
34:08
Yeah, that's a good point. Like I said, a little bit of core and back, but that's it.
34:12
Yeah, that's right. And then running, you're working a little more of your body,
34:16
depending on how you run.
34:19
Then swimming works your whole body. Yeah. And I found that after you start
34:24
getting stiff, and then it's that day that you swim, helps loosen you up.
34:31
So combining the three I like that aspect of it too yeah in the swim there's
34:37
really no wear and tear there's no impact so if you're not pushing you can you
34:43
know if you're just doing a few laps a few good laps,
34:47
it's always worth it yeah in the swim it's something you can do for the rest
34:50
of your life yeah it's really good I hope to yeah you.
34:59
But nutrition is super important. Like you said, your first marathon,
35:03
when you did the New York Marathon, you spent a day in bed because you didn't
35:08
plan it right, the nutrition and hydration.
35:11
How are you doing in and out? How are you planning? How are you doing?
35:15
What's part of your routine on your nutrition?
35:18
During the race or all the time? In general, everything, yeah.
35:23
Well, I became, that's one thing I became aware of when I was young,
35:29
when I was only, how old was I? My 30s.
35:35
And for whatever strange reason, got interested in diet.
35:40
You know, not diet as we think of, we say, oh, you got a diet to lose weight.
35:45
No, just diet as to what you're eating. Right.
35:49
And I started moving towards vegetarianism.
35:53
Never got there because I'd stopped eating beef and pork.
35:58
And I'm not going to throw this out as a recommendation.
36:01
It's not necessarily going to – that's not something that everybody should do, but I did.
36:08
And I haven't eaten, as I say, haven't eaten pigs or cows for maybe 40 years.
36:14
So I just stopped. And then I just became more aware of what foods are good
36:21
for you, what foods do you need, and then those, you can find, again,
36:27
so much information out there and then make decisions on your own.
36:33
Because there are some real basic diets that you can eat.
36:36
And then you can eat more because you're burning a lot more than the average person.
36:42
So eating carbs is not a bad thing.
36:47
No, eat carbs. Yeah, it's one of my biggest things with people.
36:53
You know, I do nutrition coaching.
36:56
And yeah, so I always say, don't be afraid of carbs. Eat your carbs.
36:59
It's so important, especially if you're active. But even if you're not active,
37:03
it is one of your macronutrients.
37:05
Eat good carbs, obviously. You know, complex carbs are the best.
37:09
But if you're a trainee, simple carbs are the best because it's quicker.
37:13
So it hits your system quicker for energy.
37:16
But anything specific that you have done on your dietary, on your nutrition
37:22
that you changed once you started being more into competing and triathlons?
37:30
I focus more on protein, and that's, in my case, what they call white meat, so.
37:39
Have just happened to like i know not everybody does just i've
37:43
only found one thing that comes out of the sea that i don't like
37:46
everything else i do and and
37:50
then chicken and turkey you know white what they call white meat okay and that
37:58
meant so but also like i say moving towards and certainly working with to a
38:05
certain extent vegetarianism then there's there's,
38:09
I mean, I've met just another anecdote.
38:13
I was in Ecuador.
38:16
This was for my first and only century ride on the bike.
38:21
I figured I just need to do this. I just have to get this one done.
38:25
Cross off your list. Yes. And here was this guy. It happens he was from Peru.
38:31
And he had a shirt that said, I think it's Spanish, but it was something, vegan athlete.
38:38
So I stopped and talked to him for a while. And I said, how do you do this?
38:42
He just said, you just have to be careful.
38:45
He said, but it can be done. So if there are vegans out there, I'm sure.
38:51
But you as a nutritionist, I didn't realize you were a nutritionist also.
38:55
I may come to you for asking for some advice. I would love to help. Yeah.
38:59
No, yeah, you can do it in being a vegan. I talked to George Sayles.
39:03
He's an ultra cyclist, and he just did a grueling race of 1,300 kilometers all on the vegan.
39:09
And he's been vegan for 10 years, I think.
39:13
And there's so many weightlifters, so many other athletes being vegan.
39:18
You just need to know what you're eating because there is a lot of protein that
39:23
doesn't need to come from an animal source.
39:25
But most vegetables, beans, legumes, this type of stuff, a lot of it,
39:31
it's not complete protein.
39:33
So you just need to know, so everything is complementary. But yeah,
39:37
you can do it on the vegan as well.
39:40
So I play around with that to a certain extent.
39:44
And living in, excuse me, in Ecuador, in the Andean region, that's the home of quinoa. Okay?
39:52
That's the most, it's not the only, but you can fill us in on more about that.
40:00
But it's a seed. and a total yeah it's a great source of protein great source
40:07
of protein I have it a lot yeah as for carbs I love quinoa sweet potatoes I do a lot of those too a lot,
40:15
so I guess you're open to write in questions about nutrition then of course,
40:23
you have my whatsapp you have a direct line so.
40:27
Well there you go I mean any of your listeners now any podcast So that's,
40:33
that's what, and then in, in the racing.
40:37
Is what everybody else does. I just, I have different sources of,
40:41
you don't buy, all right, here's, this is an interesting thing.
40:44
Let me ask you, what I understand while you're racing in an endurance event,
40:49
you're not that concerned about consuming protein.
40:53
No, it's, it's more carbs. Carbs. And, and the, the different nutrients and
40:59
different minerals that you need that you're,
41:02
Yeah, I think for triathlons, because it's a day event,
41:06
you know, from a sprint to a full distance, it's a day event,
41:10
you know, from one hour to 17 hours, you need energy and you need electrolytes
41:17
because you're sweating out all your minerals and salts.
41:20
So it's super important to stay hydrated and properly hydrated. It's not just water.
41:25
You need electrolytes to replenish everything that you're losing and you need
41:29
the carbs, easy carbs. So that's why people also have gel because usually it's
41:34
a combination of fructose and glucose.
41:38
Glucose goes straight into your system. Fructose has to go through your liver,
41:42
so it takes a little bit more.
41:43
So that's why it has the combination, so you don't really have a crash.
41:47
Yeah, I mean, if we're talking endurance cycling, that people are on the bike
41:51
for two, three days or more, then obviously you do need some protein because
41:54
you're sleeping, you need to think more about recovery.
41:59
But for those days events few hours event then you're just thinking about electrolytes and carbs,
42:07
so i use i have to i really have to think about drinking i don't get that thirsty
42:14
but i have i force myself to to drink like you say a lot of water with some
42:19
electrolyte powder solution and so that's one I still have to work on.
42:27
And then I take different gels and I take different gels.
42:32
Do any advertising, but there's one I particularly like. You can say it.
42:38
No problem, yeah. Maybe I'll get a payment here. Yeah, you should be sponsored. I mean, you are,
42:46
amazing. This is one called Maritin. You know that one?
42:52
It's a little bit gelatin, right? The gels, yeah. Some people don't like that.
42:59
Yeah, you have to have... You need to like the texture.
43:03
Yeah. And the flavor, the flavors. The others are very strong flavors.
43:08
This has a very subtle flavor.
43:11
So anyway, you take one of those. You obviously can't take anything in the swim.
43:17
So you want to maybe squeeze a tube or what do you call it? The gel.
43:24
Yeah. Pack it before you take the swim.
43:27
Have a good breakfast. you know with enough time for that to digest then you
43:33
get on the bike and the bike is where you're gonna that's where you're gonna
43:37
fuel yourself that's where you're gonna be,
43:39
taking the packets of gel and water and whatever liquid that you're drinking
43:46
yeah because when you're running it's you can gel that's no problem but,
43:52
water is difficult yeah and it's more i
43:55
guess because what's the word i'm looking for
43:58
i mean of course the bike you're also
44:01
moving but i think the running it's even more movement with the entire body
44:05
so you have to really be careful not to have stomach issues yeah and it's just
44:09
harder i mean you can't you have to stop the drink yeah yeah and you watch these
44:16
really fast people coming through on the bike stand running.
44:21
And they just grab water that these... The feed stations, yeah.
44:28
And take a swallow and throw it away.
44:32
I don't know how they do that. I need more.
44:36
Yeah, everyone has their different strategies. So I think you have to find your own.
44:41
And what would you... Would you have a piece of advice for anyone who would
44:47
like to be more athletic but feels, I'm too old to start something new?
44:56
Well, as I said, I started, I did the first half when I was 70.
45:02
But I had been doing something either, like I say, swimming most of my life, not always training.
45:10
And then ran for, started running after that one not so good marathon experience,
45:20
but started running in an Ecuador.
45:22
And maybe that would be one bit of advice.
45:26
It may sound kind of wimpy.
45:30
But I'm doing it right now for training, is combining running and walking.
45:36
I hear more and more about this. So it's a training technique I'm using right now.
45:41
The coaches, like this morning, I ran this morning. So I was a little over an hour.
45:49
And so it would run for, start walking for, I'm just going to throw this out. This is just an example.
45:55
Walk at a fast pace for 10 minutes.
46:00
Then I ran for 10 minutes and then walked again really fast for five.
46:06
And then it was 10 run, they dropped it down to four. And then 10 run,
46:11
dropped it down to three.
46:12
But you could start out, and that's what I did in Ecuador when I started running again.
46:16
I would run maybe five minutes.
46:21
And we're not talking full speed running. We're talking jogging.
46:25
And then walk. And so it's easier on, your body can adapt more in terms of endurance.
46:35
Yeah. Just oxygen.
46:37
Like I say, it was in Ecuador also, so we're extreme high altitude training.
46:43
But anyway, the idea... That's a good advantage for you, maybe,
46:46
when you go train somewhere else that it's at sea level.
46:50
You're cruising. It works for a while. It doesn't last very long.
46:56
I don't know. There's high altitude training centers in Boulder,
47:00
Colorado, for example. You may have talked to somebody who trained there.
47:03
Not yet. And then they have to move. They go from, or if soccer players, football players,
47:12
at altitude, but then when they get there, it only lasts a few days.
47:18
Anyway, it's not that helpful.
47:22
If you're operating at a really peak level, extremely competitive,
47:27
top-notch, then it probably makes a difference. But anyway, that would be my suggestion.
47:32
If you're going to spend money on something, spend it on really good shoes.
47:38
The rest of running really doesn't
47:41
matter you know you can wear whatever but yeah you
47:44
want to you want the best pair of shoes the ones that fit you that
47:47
that are there's there's some that are if you
47:50
have if you feel like started running there are
47:53
some shoes that are built for that more cushioning so do do some research either
47:59
talk to somebody who knows and there's again there's so much information out
48:04
there if you're starting if you're starting swimming take lessons the first
48:10
time you go Don't hesitate.
48:12
Swimming is, I've read this a couple of different places. It's 80% technique. Yeah.
48:19
And I even retrained myself at one point.
48:24
And then biking. You can tell us more about that, Julietta.
48:32
You don't need a $10,000 bike.
48:37
That's true. Okay. there's lots of bikes out there depending on what you want
48:43
to do and if you want to if it's road bike,
48:47
that's probably the easiest to start with I haven't done any mountain bike or
48:54
gravel and certainly not raced in either of those so I can't say much about it but,
49:00
there's a lot of used bikes out there and bikes don't get that used there's
49:05
only a few things you have to pay attention to so I don't know what else would
49:09
you add about biking Liana yeah no I agree with everything you said I think that.
49:17
It's good to have a starting point. Don't go for the most expensive one unless
49:22
you're really committed.
49:23
Though the very expensive ones might be, I don't know if it might be easier,
49:27
but, you know, holds a little bit more value and you can resell it.
49:32
But yeah, you don't need anything expensive to get started. You know,
49:35
the important thing is just to get on the saddle and be out there.
49:40
And that's an easier, it's easier for your body.
49:43
The worst thing the hardest thing on your body and to get your body used to it is running,
49:50
without a doubt this town I live in in Florida there's lots of people my age
49:57
I see people you can tell that they're they're older,
50:02
riding bikes they're just gentle bikes and if you want to I know a place here
50:08
where you can buy bikes for just a couple hundred dollars.
50:12
Absolutely If you just want to take it, I'm not sure.
50:16
I don't know if I'm really going to like this. You can also rent one like you did.
50:20
I mean, you did so many races renting a bike. You don't need to commit to buying one.
50:26
You can rent and see how you like it.
50:29
Yeah. So, but it's, what is it?
50:33
One of the companies that makes equipment for you, They just,
50:39
their slogan is, just do it. Oh, yeah, Nike.
50:45
Nike, okay. That's a good slogan.
50:48
Yeah, just do it, exactly. Yeah. And if you need encouragement,
50:53
there's all sorts of groups out there also.
50:56
There's a group here in St. Pete that rides bikes on Saturdays,
51:01
and they ride in different categories, different how fast they think they can ride.
51:09
But I suspect that one's bike riding in the north right now.
51:15
Wait till the weather warms up. So you can start swimming.
51:19
But that's good advice. I think looking for people in the community,
51:24
I think those groups are a great support. I know it was a great support for
51:29
me when I first started. I joined a women's group and it was wonderful.
51:34
I learned so much with them and also the accountability. you know, the coach or a group.
51:40
You have to be somewhere at certain time to meet everybody. They're waiting for you.
51:44
So he pushes you, gets you out of bed.
51:48
And there's a lot of different groups, you know, groups by age, groups by gender.
51:53
And it's great to enjoy one of them. I mean, enjoy, no, join,
51:57
join one of them. Enjoy as well. Enjoy, enjoy.
52:01
So that's, yeah, I would say that's, you know, it depends on what kind of.
52:06
Prefer being by themselves, you know. Yeah. So it can turn into a social event,
52:12
which is very good also. Yeah.
52:15
So that's about all I would say. And just start slow.
52:20
This is kind of tricky, especially for anybody, men or women,
52:25
who were athletes when they were younger.
52:28
That could be high school or college or even later in life. And then they go
52:34
out and they want to get back up to that same speed or distance. Yeah.
52:41
And they mess up something. And, you know, you hurt something.
52:45
But you can get through. It's important to start slow. Yeah.
52:48
And then you're going to, I guess one other thing is, and this is kind of tricky,
52:55
but maybe your experience also.
52:57
Yeah, I'm sure. I'm sure you, I think you mentioned once this, is working through.
53:05
Damage, whether it's a strain, whether it's a pull, whether it's a twist, it's going to happen.
53:12
I can almost guarantee it because you're going to start pushing it a little
53:16
bit or maybe for whatever reason, you trip or whatever.
53:23
And then you got to really back off.
53:28
Yeah i think recovery taking the time to heal it's super important don't rush
53:34
back ever that's my opinion yeah no i would say the same thing and tom what
53:42
does the future hold for you,
53:45
what's next well i we
53:49
didn't we didn't get very far on the full iron man
53:51
so let me yeah i won't get
53:54
into details but so so i said
53:57
okay i'm gonna try it so this was in what
54:00
year was this we're 25 now maybe
54:04
20 22 and there was this brother-in-law who who doesn't brace much anymore he
54:12
doesn't it's kind of backed off but he lives in arizona and there was there
54:17
was a full Iron Man in northern or southern outside of Phoenix.
54:26
So Bill, the brother-in-law, said, well, come stay with us a few days.
54:30
I'll take you up there and stay with you. Be your backup. I said, whoa.
54:36
All right. That's a nice offer. It's a wonderful offer.
54:42
But not to get into details, but it was swimming in a reservoir.
54:45
And here it is in November but in Phoenix and,
54:52
up to, you know, like 110 during the summer.
54:55
But the water in that reservoir is so cold.
55:01
It was, I still work more with Fahrenheit than. It's okay. We can do Fahrenheit.
55:06
But it was one degree.
55:09
Another thing about Ironman for the wetsuits and wetsuits are an advantage.
55:16
They not only keep warm. For the buoyance.
55:19
And so most people, I would say maybe everybody, with a wetsuit on, you're faster.
55:25
So they don't allow wetsuits. They have different temperature ratings,
55:30
different temperature controls.
55:32
Right. Depending on the water temperature, it's wetsuit legal.
55:36
Otherwise, it's not, and you cannot wear a wetsuit.
55:39
And then, or, but there's another one at the bottom end, at the cold end.
55:45
They have one when it's so cold, and that's 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
55:50
I don't know what that is, centigrade.
55:52
I don't know, maybe 12 or 13 Celsius, I think.
55:58
Anyway, if it's 60 degrees, you have to wear a wet seat. Right, mandatory.
56:03
Yeah, I think it's about 15 or 14 Celsius. It's mandatory, yeah. Okay.
56:09
It was 61 degrees. Okay. One degree above the mandatory. Oh, no.
56:18
And I'm thin, and us thin people have a disadvantage.
56:24
We have an advantage biking and running, but not. Not in the swim. No buoyants at all.
56:32
Well, there's that plus the cold. Yeah. Well, I swam, and it was just towards the end, it's 1.8.
56:42
I think it's almost 4. I think it's 3.8 kilometers swim. Yeah.
56:48
I was really ready to get out of that water. And it started,
56:51
it was so cold, it was messing up my head.
56:56
I've been there. Yeah? Okay. South Africa, I think it was 13 degrees Celsius.
57:02
Yeah, as soon as I got in, boom, immediate headache I did okay there,
57:10
You kicked fast Yeah The world championship, it's separate The women go Saturday
57:16
and the men go Sunday So I was able to cheer for you on Sunday It was very nice Yeah,
57:22
that's the only time I've had a cheerleader out there for me,
57:28
Ringing a bell, even Yeah But I was so cold, we went up a ramp,
57:34
and then the health team there, I mean, I felt bad.
57:41
I didn't feel quite right. But they must have seen something else in my,
57:47
so they plopped me in a wheelchair.
57:49
Wow. Wrapped me with blankets and ran me into the heat up tent. Okay.
57:57
That was the end of the race. No! Oh, oh.
58:01
I guess I could have. Well, but it's, if you need it to be stopped,
58:05
that, you know, health comes first.
58:08
Yeah. And I don't know what they saw. I didn't ask them later because they,
58:12
maybe they took my temperature. I don't even remember.
58:15
So anyway, that was the end of that one. So I said, okay, let's try it again.
58:20
So the second one was in a place in Florida. Warmer.
58:26
Yeah. Same time of the year. I think it was also November, in Panama City,
58:34
which is out in the Panhandle, Alberta.
58:39
Went well. But in the bike, the bike started messing up. It's kind of hard to describe.
58:47
It wouldn't stay straight. I had to lean into it to keep it going straight.
58:54
How odd. Did you pack it and maybe when you were putting it together or a mechanic
58:59
putting it together, something went wrong?
59:01
Well, I'll tell you in the end what we figured out.
59:05
But I got to about mile 90 of, what is it, miles?
59:10
That's about 120 kilometers.
59:15
It's 180 kilometers. The total, yeah.
59:19
It's a little over 110 or something like miles.
59:24
So I was about mile 90, and I just couldn't do it anymore. It was just too much
59:28
of a struggle on the bike.
59:31
I get back in St. Pete to the bike shop I go to, and I said, well, look at this.
59:37
And I had one of those seats that had their split. Yeah.
59:42
Okay. Out at the beginning, where it's center, where they're split.
59:48
One of those splits was maybe a centimeter lower than the other side.
59:54
Oh, your saddle. So that's why you're probably, when you're pushing.
59:59
Yeah something yeah the the balance was off but
1:00:03
but such a tiny thing well this is another thing about about this here's another
1:00:08
tip not not just the bike but you're gonna be i was out there at that time maybe
1:00:15
maybe five hours now pushing eight hours anyway a long time.
1:00:25
And if you have anything like a little
1:00:28
tiny pebble in your shoe it doesn't bother you for a couple of miles but for
1:00:33
a couple hours yes you're going to be in trouble so you have to make sure everything
1:00:38
is just right absolutely yeah yeah so that was that was number two that was
1:00:46
the second attempt A tempo mucho, yeah.
1:00:48
And so then I thought, okay, let's try one more. Like there's a saying both
1:00:53
in English and Spanish about the third time in English. It's a charm. It's a charm.
1:01:00
And you are, you have so determined. Right? I got to do it.
1:01:07
And this one had a big advantage. It was in Maryland. Okay.
1:01:12
And you're swimming at a little farm of the Chesapeake Bay.
1:01:17
And my son lives in D.C..
1:01:21
So he was going to accompany me. These all become long stories,
1:01:25
so I won't tell all the things.
1:01:27
It's okay. I love a long story. Oh, okay.
1:01:32
His wife was quite pregnant. They now have a five-month-year-old baby boy. Oh, congrats.
1:01:41
Grandchild number two. And so quite pregnant, and so he had to stay with her
1:01:46
because he could be birthing any minute.
1:01:48
So I have a niece who lives nearby. So I was able to convince her to come accompany me.
1:01:57
In Florida, a friend accompanied me. Because you said maybe there's a big tip
1:02:01
that maybe most people wouldn't even, of course they'd think about it.
1:02:06
They wouldn't even think otherwise to have a backup, have a support team.
1:02:11
It's good to have someone, absolutely.
1:02:13
Because you don't know what's going to happen. Yeah.
1:02:16
Especially, as you mentioned earlier, they're always at different places.
1:02:21
You never know what's going to happen. Could be storms, could be just a bike, etc. Yeah.
1:02:29
So the swim was just fabulous. I had never felt better. And I get on the bike.
1:02:34
The bike was okay. I was eight hours on the bike.
1:02:38
Quite slow.
1:02:43
And start running, and you have to run through these almost a block long of water.
1:02:52
It's from the high tide.
1:02:55
Really? So there were four places where you're running through water that it's
1:03:00
deep enough that it's hard to run. It's just kind of awesome. That's insane.
1:03:05
Yeah. they didn't change the course nothing and it's not the first time that's
1:03:12
happened I found out later so I,
1:03:18
it was three times around the circuit running the bike was just once the bike
1:03:28
was nice going through these marshes that helps,
1:03:34
And then you get, I talked earlier about cutoff points.
1:03:37
Well, I'm coming in the third, finish the second circuit, second time around.
1:03:44
And they said, nope, that's it. That's all for you. You're cutoff time. Oh, no.
1:03:50
So I had been out there 15 hours. Oh, my God.
1:03:55
And the max time is 17. And they just said, the pace you're going,
1:04:00
the distance left, you're not going to make it. and they won't let you.
1:04:05
That's a bummer. I've been to some triathlons that they let you finish.
1:04:11
They won't give you a medal, but they let you finish. Wow.
1:04:15
What a bummer. I think they should do that. Yeah, because at least you are already out there.
1:04:22
It's just a few hours more, maybe minutes for you to finish.
1:04:25
Why not? But, well, in the positive side, you...
1:04:33
You know you first time swim you had to you stopped and then second time you
1:04:39
made it through the bike unfortunately you had a mechanical and then third time
1:04:44
you were so so short to finish so is there going to be a fourth time is the
1:04:49
fourth time going to be the charm,
1:04:52
oh i don't know that that's where i am right now juliana i'm just i haven't
1:04:57
decided i haven't I decided, do I want to dedicate that much time and effort to do this again?
1:05:04
And how do I find this magic place that everything's just, you don't know.
1:05:11
You don't, even in Florida, I'm thinking about Florida. If I did it,
1:05:14
I would maybe do Florida.
1:05:17
But this friend I mentioned who has helped me train, who is a yoga instructor, she did it there.
1:05:25
She's a very good contractor.
1:05:28
Oh, wait, I met her, Gabrielle. Oh, yeah, you did.
1:05:33
Yeah, because she was on the World Championship in Nice. Yeah, you sent a present.
1:05:38
Yeah, we met, we met. Okay, now it's clicking.
1:05:42
Okay, I didn't know you ever got together. Yeah, I think very quickly,
1:05:47
you know how it is, you know, all the preparation and race and everything.
1:05:51
But we did meet quickly because you sent a gift, lovely thought from you through her.
1:05:59
So she met to deliver it to me.
1:06:02
Good. Well, then you know her. She's good. Yeah. Very good.
1:06:07
And she did Florida. It's Panama City.
1:06:11
And there was a storm, windy. The water was cold.
1:06:18
But then when with the bike, which you know can be just, it's the worst thing.
1:06:24
I mean, it almost stops you sometimes, right? Yeah, yeah.
1:06:29
But she finished. She said, okay, so you just don't know. Yeah, you never know.
1:06:34
That would be if I do it. Then the other part of my brain says,
1:06:39
wait a minute, wait a minute.
1:06:41
There's a lot more to life. Yeah.
1:06:46
Would you do you do would you go back to 70.3 or
1:06:49
you're finally going to join me on an ultra cycling race ultra
1:06:56
cycling sounds more interesting i'm waiting for you you just tell me when you're
1:07:00
ready i'm 78 now here's another thing about iron man but if i were to race this
1:07:07
year which i'm not I'm going to do this short one here where I live.
1:07:11
But at Ironman age, I'm 79 at Ironman age.
1:07:17
So if I were to race this year in 2025, they would call me 79.
1:07:24
Okay, so if I race next year, 2026.
1:07:28
You're the next age group, 80 to 84, 85.
1:07:35
84, yeah. So I would be the youngster.
1:07:38
I remember those days when you change age groups and you're the younger on your
1:07:43
age group. It's awesome.
1:07:46
Because isn't it interesting? This is another very interesting thing about our
1:07:50
bodies, Juliana, that how age makes that big of a difference.
1:07:56
I mean, somebody came up with these age groups.
1:07:59
I don't know how they did it. I would hope that they somehow found data on top
1:08:06
athletes and say, okay, this person did this time at 26.
1:08:14
Right, and combine the groups more closely together on how they perform, maybe.
1:08:18
But I can see it. When I look at times, because you can go back,
1:08:24
they control the times very well and you can have access to this.
1:08:27
And you can see the difference. And like you just said, when you're the younger,
1:08:31
if you come in and so it's 50 to 54, when you're 50,
1:08:38
it gives you an advantage of somebody who's only four years older.
1:08:44
So it's amazing how much difference that makes. That still astounds me.
1:08:48
Yeah, absolutely.
1:08:51
Well, so this year you're racing locally, and I think it would be an amazing
1:08:56
birthday present from you to you to do the full and complete the full distance on your 80th.
1:09:06
Well, thanks for the encouragement. It's still a possibility.
1:09:12
Well, keep me updated. All right.
1:09:15
And what's your next? Oh, my next is Gravel Birds in Portugal.
1:09:22
It's 750 kilometers gravel.
1:09:25
And I'm so excited. So excited. I'm doing it with a friend. We are going to
1:09:30
race as a pair. and you have 120 hours to finish, which is plenty of time.
1:09:36
And we want to take our time. We are doing it really to enjoy ourselves and
1:09:42
have an adventure together.
1:09:44
So we plan to sleep. I mean, it's still a challenge because to finish,
1:09:48
you still have to do 150, 170 a day, kilometers.
1:09:53
But it'll be fun. Yeah, that'll be May. So I'm excited. Great.
1:09:59
Yeah. May, we'll have fun. Yeah, coming up soon. Yeah, thank you.
1:10:05
Tom, I had such a good time catching up with you. Your insights,
1:10:09
your story is so inspiring.
1:10:12
And I really hope you go for the full or join me for ultra cycling and I can
1:10:17
have you back on the podcast.
1:10:19
We'll keep in touch offline anyways. Thank you so much.
1:10:23
Let me add one more line. Please. When I was in Ecuador, I think one of those
1:10:28
70.3s, it was a young guy. I mean, really young, probably in his 20s.
1:10:33
And he comes over and just takes a smile on his face.
1:10:38
He says, how do you do it? What's your secret?
1:10:42
I said, just keep going.
1:10:45
Don't stop. So maybe for all the other people, or maybe the other would be get started.
1:10:51
But once you start it, don't stop. Okay?
1:10:55
Wise words. Wise words. And do yoga. Yes.
1:11:01
Wonderful. Wonderful to see you. Wonderful. Thank you. Likewise. Likewise. Wonderful.
1:11:08
And that's all for today's episode. I want to thank the listeners for tuning in.
1:11:13
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1:11:17
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