We talked to James Timmis about competing at a high level in Marathons, Triathlons and Ironmans. To put them in perspective, Ironmans consist of swimming 2.4 miles, cycling 112 miles and the running a full 26-mile marathon – so why would you want to take part?
Not only does James need to train extremely hard to compete in these tough events, he’s also had to cope with having Coeliac Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. These conditions make training and competing far more difficult, and we found out how he’s been able to deal with them and continue to perform well.
Show Notes:
* What motivates James to take part in Ironmans? [2:07]
* What training is needed to take part in an Ironman? [3:24]
* What are Coeliac Disease and Ulcerative Colitis – and how has James coped with them? [7:19]
* The hardest events that James has taken part in [9:53]
* What future events is he taking part in? [13:17]
Significant quotes:
“The training experience is lonely. I try and do as much as I can with clubs, especially on the bike where it’s nice to be out with people when you’re doing 60-70 mile rides” [6:24]
“I’ve got to be a lot more prepared generally… I need to know what I’ll be eating during the ride. Gluten free stuff is on trend – a few years ago you didn’t stand a chance. Often when doing an event I’ll need to give them my own bars” [8:12]
“I’m always thinking why am I doing this… and trying to scratch around for reasons. I really enjoy the training aspect and having the races there as a goal is motivating. I enjoy being fit and healthy especially with my conditions, and overcoming those.” [11:18]
Best Out of Context quote:
5:10 “There’s lots of kicking each other in the face… it’s all about survival. There’s a risk of someone’s foot in my mouth”.
Links Mentioned:
* Ironmans – www.ironman.com
