David Spathaky; that’s not a name I would expect you to know.
In 1996, Spathaky — from Northern Ireland — secured the world record for spinning 108 plates horizontally on sticks simultaneously on live television in Thailand.
You may wonder what Spathaky’s efforts in Bangkok nearly three decades ago have to do with a third-year sports journalism cadet from Shepparton’s upcoming half-Ironman event.
It’s a fair point.
The two seem worlds apart, and yet, during my first two months of training for the 70.3 event (three sports over 70 miles/a half-Ironman), the art of plate spinning has been front of mind.
The idea of putting all your time and energy into one plate — let’s name this plate swimming — is great for making sure that the plate is spinning at the right speed and level.
However, as you focus on your first plate, two other plates — running and cycling — start to slow and wobble, so you find yourself metaphorically running back and forth between plates.
Of course, you don’t know if you have measured your efforts on each plate correctly until the day of the event, when, with your hands in the air, your plates spin in perfect synchronicity or come crashing to the floor to the chagrin of you and your audience.
A tad dramatic, perhaps.
Turning to the just-gone Olympics for inspiration, my early morning training swims may be tough, but I can take solace in the fact that, unlike the Paris triathlon, I won’t have to swim in faeces on the Sunshine Coast.
The frosty mornings have made the effort of getting out of bed to go and train a lot harder.
But during my monotonous swims, I have found ways to keep myself entertained, such as with short poems encapsulating my mid-swim thoughts.
The swims are long, but the pool is clean.
Unlike in Paris, with the river Seine.
Early morning starts have made my sleep take a hit.
At least I won’t be swimming in a river of ... you get the idea.
At this point in my training, I have completed two out of the three sections of the 70.3 event (1.9km ocean swim, 21.1km run and 90km ride).
A 2km swim: tick — not in the ocean yet, too scared of sharks; will be more of a one-and-done type thing spending an extended period of time looking like a slow, delicious seal in the open ocean.
A 21.1km run: tick — Aside from a sore hip from a lack of stretching, it wasn’t too bad.
And a 60km ride — how much harder could the final 30km be?
With just more than three weeks remaining, a strange feeling is starting to appear ... I think it’s confidence.
It may be a mix of ignorance and youthful optimism, but perhaps, maybe, possibly, hopefully, I could do this.
Actually, I don’t sound too confident in retrospect; oh well.
Time for an expert’s advice ...
When seeking advice on completing a half-Ironman event, who better to ask than an Ironman-woman herself?
Nathalia resident, physiotherapist and Ironman athlete Regan Hollioake was arguably my inspiration to sign up for the 70.3 event on the Sunshine Coast.
I first interviewed her in May after she won her first Ironman race as a professional competitor.
It was Hollioake’s third race as a professional and was an incredible achievement as she finished the Ironman event — 3.8km open ocean swim, 180km ride and 42.2km run — with a time of 09.02:03.
The race victory meant Hollioake qualified for the Ironman World Championships in the south of France in late September.
Taking Hollioake back to when she first began competing at Ironman run events, the elite athlete said she had one bit of key advice for people interested in getting involved with the sport.
“Your best bet is to talk to people that have done it, like myself or other triathletes and get some first-hand advice and information and pick through that and take what is applicable to you,” Hollioake said.
“It depends how serious you are about it, but I think it would be worth touching base with a local tri club, coach, or group that could guide you through some basic training and advice for leading up to it and for race day.
“I certainly know the Shepp Tri Club; they have training three nights a week now; Tuesday nights are a run group, Wednesday is a swim group, and Thursday is a bike ride.
“That would be really good from your work schedule to jump in on, and it goes from beginner to reasonably advanced, so it would cater for every level.”
Since beginning my journey to becoming half an Ironman, there has been a rumour that the start of the race and most of the swim can get a bit hairy.
Climbing over one another, ankle pulling, pushing, grabbing all to get ahead — has Hollioake experienced this, or is it a hazing joke used to scare newcomers?
“There is a bit of argy-bargy,” she said with a laugh.
“The faster swimmers go off first and there can definitely be some argy-bargy at the front of the race, with a few elbows, pulling of feet and climbing over people.
“It can get a bit rough.”
In a previous interview with dietician Bec Monk, I learned that what you eat on race day can have a major effect on your performance.
So what is Hollioake’s routine on the morning of a race?
“If it is a 7am race start, I am getting up at 4am to eat,” she said.
“I normally eat toast with avocado and a banana and then I will have some electrolyte drink about half an hour before the race.
“I like to make sure that I get down to transition nice and early.
“You put your bike in the day before, so (in the past) I have gone down to transition before the race and found that I have had a flat tyre or that something is not functioning with my bike.”
The star Ironman athlete had a world of knowledge on how best to prepare for your first triathlon event, but unfortunately, I do have a limit on how much The News will let me ramble on about my new-found obsession.
Some snippets of the key bits of advice from Hollioake were: don’t splash out on expensive new gear, a rough guide of 25 per cent swimming, 25 per cent running and 50 per cent cycling should be your aim for training, and a standstill bike is a great alternative to road cycling in winter months.
Only 16 more sleeps until race day.