mentally and I learned so much about myself during training. It
was phenomenal! Although I didn’t hit my goal (I wanted to finish in less than five hours), I did complete it in 5:13:15, which is
pretty darn good in my book.
What has been the most challenging race you’ve done so far in
your triathlon career?
Jay: Since doing my first race, I’ve done several sprints and a few
70.3’s and WILL do an Ironman; however, I must say that my most
challenging race was Wildflower 70.3 in 2013. After coming off a
very disappointing race for me at Oceanside in 2013 where I didn’t have my nutrition dialed in, I had high expectations for
Wildflower. I was well-trained, had identified what went wrong at
Oceanside and worked with my coach and nutritionist to correct
the mistakes… I was ready. Or so I thought.
What I didn’t account for though was the heat and how important it is to know the course. After transitioning to the bike and
rapidly moving on the bike course while drinking my nutrition
with my right hand, I noticed there was a 90 degree turn ahead.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to put my bottle back and I didn’t want to clamp down on my front brakes and crash end over end
so I decided to ride up the side embankment and back onto the
course. Well, it worked out much better in my mind than it did in
reality because I rode up the embankment only to roll sideways
down it. That was the start of my bike course!
When I began to run, the temperature had reached 95+ degrees
and not letting that stop me I pushed myself hard through it.
After only a few miles, the temperature sucked the energy out of
me and I ran/walked the remaining miles. Those who know me
know I don’t walk during a race. That day, I walked. I walked A
LOT and it was a humbling experience for me, which I greatly
appreciate now because I learned more about myself than had I
finished as planned.
Do you have any triathlon advice that falls into the category of
“what not to do”?
Jay: I’ve been very fortunate that I haven’t made too many big
mistakes. What I’d say is:
■ Train hard but don’t take yourself too seriously. One time I had
a “great idea” and convinced several of my fellow TCSD Cares
group to run our second Solana Beach triathlon in speedos that I