Hey Pat, thanks for joining me. Let’s start with how long you’ve been a member of Bayside Tri Club (BTC)?
I joined in 2015 leading into my first Ironman (IM). I was looking for a tri coach and a few people to train with.
What do you like about BTC?
Probably a pretty common answer; the friendly members. I really enjoy the calibre of the people you can train with, there’s always someone to make you work harder – usually that’s Mike P saying; “do one more hill”…then Clint saying; “why did you train for so long?”!
Ha ha. Tell us about your bromance with Mike P?
Hehe, bromance! I think Mike and I got to know each other at swim squad and on a couple of rides. One year we both signed up for Geelong 70.3 and shared a ride and an apartment. When we went to register, we worked out that we were born on exactly the same day. Since then, we’ve trained together a lot. For years we were both racing IM but never the same race, so whoever wasn’t racing would train with the one who was racing – this made for some long days running or on the bike and a training camp away in Cairns (another one coming up in September this year). As anyone who has ever ridden with Mike will know, he can get very annoying when he gets bored. Make sure you pack ear buds for when the boredom sets in.
Lol, I’m not fast enough to ride with Mike – what happens when he gets bored?
Oh, he makes an acrostic of each of the club values and lectures about them, plus he sings…the list goes on…😊
Well despite the singing and acrostics, I guess all that training with your birthday twin helped you qualify for Kona? Tell us about your journey to World Champs?
I didn’t set out to qualify for Kona and was very lucky to get a spot in roll down – there wasn’t a lot of time between me and the next guy who missed out. My first ever IM was at Taupo, and I was only about 45 minutes quicker this year. The conditions were totally different – perfect the first time, very windy and rough in the water this time. The difference this time (I think) was pacing; a lot of people blew up on the run, so I ended up passing them. As CVB said after the race, it only took me 6 IMs to work out how to pace a race!
Love it, that counts as high praise from Clint 😊 Congrats on your qualification, that’s awesome! What other achievement are you most proud of?
The tri achievement I am most proud of is probably finishing IM WA a couple of years ago with a sprained neck. My time was terrible, and it was a very tough day out, but I learned about how hard I can push myself. The most fun I have ever had at a tri is Roth, definitely a bucket list race.
And what are your race aspirations?
I’m only looking to Kona at the moment. After that, I think Wendy will want me to take a break from the long course races for a while. My daughter’s go-kart racing takes up quite a lot of time on the weekends, so it is hard to juggle long training days and her training. Maybe I’ll do a few 70.3s for a couple of years.
Who’s your main triathlon rival?
Myself – see comment above about pacing. I always start too hard and blow up – ask Louise about how good I am at pacing in swim squad.
Hehe, yes I’ve heard about your swim squad pacing (or lack of it)! And it wasn’t from Lou 😊
Which age group are you in for triathlon?
Ironman says I’m 50-54, but I don’t turn 50 until December this year.
Ha! I hate it when Ironman does that – I’m a December baby too. Oo, maybe we’re birthday triplets?
I hear you do some pretty crazy training for Ironman? What’s the craziest?
Hmmmm…craziest. 4am starts aren’t totally unusual for me; it’s how I fit in work and training – I’ve run before 5:45am swim squad a couple of times. A couple of years ago before Busso I rode 180km repeats between clubrooms and Frankston in rain so heavy the water was flowing across the road. I also ran 22km of repeats of an oval when I was training for a 70.3 with plantar fasciitis and could only run on grass.
Nuts.
What work do you manage to fit in around Ironman training?
I’m a patent attorney – no, I am not a lawyer. I do have a legal qualification that allows me to practice patent law. Like all patent attorneys, I also have a technical degree, a PhD in molecular biology.
A PhD! Have you ever DNF’d Dr Pat?
Yes, a few times. Several years ago, at Melbourne 70.3 a storm hit and I was freezing. I could hardly turn the pedals on my bike (Louise passed me and didn't think I would make it). I made it to the end of the bike and Lynchie took one look at me and pulled me off the course and sent me to medical. I DNF’d at Sydney 70.3 after hitting a hole in the road and getting holes in both tubes and in the rear tyre. I DNF’d at Geelong in the run due to knee pain after been hit by a car a couple of weeks before the race.
Um, you’re not really making triathlon sound fun. I hope potential new members don’t read this!
Ever made a mistake in a race?
I make mistakes in every race. One I made early on was dropping two bottles at aid stations on the bike course of a 70.3 and not replacing them – I was cramping before I got off the bike and the run was terrible. Never again!
Ouch. What else do you do for fun (if there’s any time left after patents and Ironman training)?
Once you take out training, racing, work, spending time with family, there isn’t a lot of time left. I guess one thing is my family go away skiing every year, which is always fun. We are off to Japan in January to ski there again.
Fab! I probably don’t need to ask this, but who’s your greatest supporter?
My wife. She is long suffering with all my training and has dragged kids around ironman course all around the world.
Ah, well done Wendy 😊 Tell us about your family?
Wendy’s a big fan of karaoke who loves singing with Mike or Clint. Declan, my son, inherited his mum’s musical talents and plays piano, trumpet and guitar. Grace inherited her mum’s (maybe) competitiveness with the go-kart racing.
What’s your spirit animal?
NFI.
Lol. Which famous person would you be for the day?
Same answer as about my spirit animal.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Work hard now, rest later.
Um, you seem to have forgotten the ‘rest’ part of that advice. Any other advice? 😊
Best tip for a long course race – when it sucks (and it will suck), look up and smile at the crowd and it will suck a little less.
Well, I hope your Kona experience doesn’t suck. Get your pacing right, don’t drop your bottles and remember to smile! Thanks for your time, Dr Pat and for being part of Bayside Tri Club!
