Scoring Trys Vs doing Tri’s

 

 

In 1823 During a game of football at Rugby School in England, legend has it that a 16-year-old student caught the ball and ran with it towards the oppositions goal line and Rugby was born. 150 years later across the Atlantic in 1970 the sport of Triathlon began in San Diego, USA when a running club added swimming and cycling to their run race. Triathlon started in Great Britain in 1982, quickly establishing itself throughout the country. 

 

Two very different sports so why are rugby players transitioning to triathlon and what is it about the individual sport that's attracting team players? 

 

We caught up with rugby players Andy Moore and Paul Arnold on why they have taken on triathlon as their second sport.  

 

 

What made you get into triathlon over other Sports?

 

Andy: I first saw Ironman on the Television in the 80’s while playing rugby and thought I want to do that one day! After I stopped playing Rugby I saw that Ironman was coming to Tenby in Wales and thought I have to enter that race! So I signed up to the unknown and started training with my brother.

 

Paul: I started Triathlon about 15 years ago. My wife Jayne did her first Triathlon at Fishguard, I went to watch as I had an injury. Watching Jayne compete was an amazing experience, one which I knew immediately I wanted to experience. My first triathlon was Rhayader Sprint, it was a 400m pool swim, a 20k bike on a bike that was too small for me and a 5k run to finish. It was a hard race but I had the bug.

 

 

 

Had you had experience in swimming, biking or running whilst rugby training?

 

Andy: I didn’t do any biking or swimming while I was playing rugby, but in hindsight I wish I had got on the bike, it’s such a good workout, even on an indoor bike in the gym would have been a great session to do alongside other gym work, like lifting weights etc. especially doing indoor training sessions on the Watt bike or intervals on the turbo. 

 

Paul: No experience I always kept myself fit through running but no swimming and cycling experience.

 

 

What is your Favourite discipline? 

 

Andy: It would have to be cycling, I don’t think I could do triathlon if I hated swimming or running, but biking is definitely my favourite out of the three. My twitter status says : 

‘Love all things swim, bike & Run well perhaps not run….or swim’

 

Paul: The cycling is my strongest discipline I can give the smaller triathletes a run for their money but when it comes to the run then I loose positions. Being 6ft 5 and weighing 17 stone it's a lot to carry.

 

 

Do you find it lonely racing for yourself and not having other team members to rely on?  

 

Andy: I do a lot of training with my brother so I’m not always on my own, but I find with triathlon that when it comes to race day your all racing alongside each other not against each other. You have your own personal goals to achieve. Especially with long distance racing I sometimes get given high 5’s from other participants which makes me feel part of something – that your never on your own. 

Im also a member of CR@P tri club, we are spread out throughout Wales and we even have members as far as the USA, even though we don’t have weekly training sessions, some members will go out together and train, so I’m getting the team comradery that way. We also have lots of our club members entering the same races so you get the team feeling leading up to these events and of course on race day. 

 

Paul: Triathlon is an individual sport but the other athletes give you support and encouragement throughout the race so you never really feel like you are on your own.

 

What races have you done or got lined up?

 

Andy: Im quite busy with races this year, I’ve got Mumbles tri, Cardiff half marathon, Mallorca 70.3, The Velothon Wales,The Long course weekend, Cardiff triathlon and Ironman Wales

 

Paul: I have completed over 100 races including sprint, Olympic and half Ironman’s. I've also completed 14 Ironman races including the 5 Ironman Wales - there is only a small group of us approximately 20 athletes that have done all 5. This year is another busy year with Lanzarote in May and Wales Ironman in September.

 

Do you follow a training plan?

 

Andy: I have for the first time this year, I kept a diary of previous years where we would just train as much as we could on all three disciplines but looking back, my brother and I did so many hours of training it was crazy, now I have a plan from a coach and it’s a lot less training but better quality sessions. 

 

Paul: Yes my wife sorts that out :-) I am lucky as my wife and I train and race together. We have been on some fantastic holidays and visited some brilliant places - we've just thrown an Ironman in for fun! 

 

 

Are you strict with your diet before a long distance race?

 

Andy: I really feel it, if I haven’t eaten well before a training session, so I am aware of what I eat before I train or race, it was similar in rugby. I don’t stop everything, I do enjoy a beer but the majority of the beers come afterwards to celebrate finishing a match or race (well not after an Ironman, a beer seems to be the last thing I want at the end of that race – I’m yet to have one, maybe that should be my next aim) 

 

Paul: I eat a healthy diet all year round and I have the occasional treat. I'm not really a lover of junk food I prefer healthy food but lots of it.

 

 

Are you more nervous at the start of a triathlon or the start of a rugby match?

 

Andy: I’m more nervous at the start of a triathlon for a few reasons, Rugby was my sport I had been playing it a long time so was confident in everything I did, but with triathlon you can train and train get to the start line the very fittest you can be but when it comes to the actual race anything can happen. For example, in Tenby I had previously swam the course in 53 minutes, then race day the sea was so choppy that I did the swim in 1hour 20 minutes! You just never know what will happen on race day.

 

Paul: When I was playing I never got nervous I was always the one in the changing room sitting reading the programme to see who I was competed against chilling out. Before the start of Ironman, I can't wait for the race to start I give Jayne my wife a kiss and I head off towards the front of the swim pack.

 

 

There seems to be a lot of ex international rugby players doing triathlon – can you think why?

 

Andy: I think it’s because of the three disciplines, I found that when I stopped playing rugby I took 6 months off and just got bored, I went to the gym but it didn’t fulfil my training needs. I missed the comradery. So perhaps other rugby players feel the same and move to triathlon as you have the best of everything, its competitive if you want it to be, I sometimes feel as if I’m talking to myself during a race, it’s like I have a little Andy on one shoulder saying yes your doing fine you can ease off if you like, then I get the competitive Andy sat on the other shoulder saying – go on then catch the person 600m in front of you!  Its enjoyable, there is a great attitude around the sport – everyone from athletes, supporters to the organisers are so positive and friendly. You’re never made to feel you’re not good enough, you don’t have to have the latest gear, you just fit in. 

 

Paul: I think a lot of ex-players having retired need a new challenge and triathlon is most definitely challenging, after all why do 1 sport when you can do 3!

 

Andy, Cr@p tri has a very distinctive colour - Why did they choose pink? 

Andy: Pink stands out from the crowd! When one of our members are racing they can spot us in the distance and know that we will be there to give them the support they need, and vice versa we can spot our members in the middle of race so can give them the encouragement they need to keep going!