By Matt Clancy
Let’s have a conversation. You are a reader of Endurance Magazine. You are someone who enjoys endurance sports. You aren’t the typical person walking the streets. You are different, maybe even special. Well let’s say, that you do triathlon. That’s pretty unique. What if I asked you if you have ever done an Ironman triathlon? That’s pretty special, too. Those same people on the streets would probably call you crazy, insane or worse. So we talk some more about Ironman triathlon. We talk about what it takes to train for such an event. We talk for hours. But I bet I can tell you what we won’t talk about.
Ironman triathlon is a raced defined by its distance. The swim leg is 2.4 miles. The cycling leg is 112 miles. The marathon run is 26.2 miles. 140.6 miles is a lot to talk about. An interesting question would be why someone would attempt to do such a thing. What if, during this conversation, I asked you if you would ever consider doing more than 140.6 miles? I’m not talking about going 141 miles, or even 150 miles. How about 421.8 miles? You know…a Triple Ironman. Yeah, I knew you wouldn’t want to talk about that.
I have had multiple conversations with Joe Sauerbrey over the last few months about competing at the Triple Ironman distance triathlon. We’ve rarely ever talked about the “short-course” Ironman triathlons of a mere 140.6 miles. You see, Joe’s never entered an Ironman triathlon. Not a half-ironman, nor an Olympic distance triathlon. He has completed a sprint triathlon, however, maybe even two. But that’s not really Joe. Joe’s an endurance athlete by all accounts of the definition, though it’s hard to define an athlete like Joe Sauerbrey. I thought another conversation might help.
Describe the process that took you to your first Triple Ironman. I had planned on running my first marathon in ’06, but it didn’t work out. So I ran the Triple Lakes Trail 40 miler instead and placed 5th overall. I was hooked after that, and started to look for more ultras. When looking for my first 100 miler, I came across the Triple Iron Tri. It really tripped my trigger, and I thought “Why not! Let’s do it and see if I can finish within the 60 hour time limit.” I did it in 56:02:19.
What separates you from regular endurance athletes? Learning to embrace the pain that always comes with the race: and knowing the longer, the tougher the race… the greater the reward.
What is your greatest motivator for doing ultra distance events? To not let the talent that God has blessed me with, go to waste, and to try to better myself as an athlete.
What do you think about when you lie awake at night? Am I training enough? Will I finish? Did I leave the stove on?
Why do you feel you excel at ultra distance events? I have the willingness to endure, the love of competing for hours, and I love the challenge.
What do you hear the most when you tell people you are doing a Triple? They just have this “What?-You’re serious?-You’ve-gotta-be-joking!” look. I find it funny. It lets me know I’m out there pushing it.
Can you describe what it’s like to endure for over 48 hours? It’s peaceful. At times it’s tough. Most of the time, I’m alone with my many thoughts and prayers. I looking forward to night fall and seeing the sun rise on a new day.
What is the thing you crave the most when you are deep in a race? Iced coffee, water, a milk shake and fresh legs!
What’s the most outlandish thought you’ve had racing where you said to yourself, ’this might be crazy!’?
I was at mile 400 of the Triple in ’08. I had 20 miles left to run, and it hit me in an odd way. Knowing I just had covered 400 miles on my own power. It was a pretty awesome thought.
Completing a 7.2 mile swim, a 336 mile bike ride, and a 78.6 mile run probably requires a lot of thought, a lot of powerful, awesome thought. Next time you are having a conversation about an ultra distance event or an Ironman triathlon, think of this, Joe is currently training for the 2010 Virginia Triple Iron Triathlon at Lake Anna State Park starting Friday, October 9th and finishing on Sunday, the 11th. See if anyone wants to have that conversation.
# # #
Matthew Clancy is a certified endurance sports coach with a master’s in sport psychology. He is the founder of Compass Elite, LLC, a performance coaching company. For more information on Compass Elite, LLC or to contact Coach Matt, please visit www.compasselite.com.
