JIM MOORE, TRIATHLETE This triathlete goes the distance at 60, so what's your excuse?? Age: 60 Height: 6'0" Weight:180 Training Grounds: Kona, Hawaii Hi DAD, oh wait, I mean Jim (hee hee). I want to say that your story is very inspiring and can most definitely be used as a tool to motivate and educate other people. It is an awesome journey that you have been on and you are getting closer and closer to your dream of competing in IRONMAN! Have you always been athletic throughout your life? Yes.  I started competitive sports in Junior High and continued into college track and field.  Living in Southern California led to year round sports like surfing, scuba diving and mountain biking.  At what point in your life did you recognize that triathlons were what you wanted to pursue and why?  I was asked to join some friends to race on Catalina Island in 2003, at the age of 51.  It was a fun event filled with positive energy.  Guess that is what got the ball rolling.  I do triathlon because it's a tremendous challenge, both physically and mentally. In what way would you say becoming a triathlete has affected your life the most and in what aspect?  To be a competitive triathlete, it requires patience to not only get in shape but to learn techniques in the three aspects of the event; that being the open water swim, the bike and the run.  There is a forth component to the sport which is nutrition to learn how to keep the body properly fueled both during training and racing and recovery.  So it's led me to do a lot of reading and researching, asking questions of friends who do the sport, talking with retail professionals at the bike shops and investing in a personal coach to guide me along the way.  I have significantly changed what I eat and how I train and surround myself with positive people with good energy and it's become a "lifestyle" which I am very happy with. How would you encourage someone who is interested in triathlons to even get started?  Triathlon is like auto racing.  You can start with a go cart (Sprint level racing) and progress to driving an Indy Car (Full Ironman).  So start out slowly knowing that it can be a lifelong journey. This sport can definitely test your body's cardiovascular system so make sure you don't have any medical issues which would suffer from an elevated heart rate and physical exertion.  Do you homework.  Buy a triathlon magazine and read some of the articles on the sport.  Consider your budget on buying equipment.  The swim only requires a pair of good fitting goggles but the add-ons like wetsuits and other training aids are limitless.  The bike probably can be the most costly item.  I started with a used one from the newspaper for $200.  From there I bought two more used bikes along the way from friends and finally last year purchased my dream bike; a Cervelo P3 carbon fiber with Dura-ace components and Zipp 404 Carbon Fiber wheels.  If you wanna go fast ya gotta go light and it's not cheap.  But I LOVE my bike and it really made a difference in my racing.  The run is the run.  Get a pair of shoes which are designed for your type of foot strike and only use them for training and running.  They will probably cost you around $100 but will keep you from an unbalanced foot and subsequent medical issues. Having said that, find some people locally who do triathlon at the level you are interested in, like at the YMCA or a local Tri Club, and check it out.  Triathletes are the best people I have ever met in any sport and I've done them all.  They will help you with equipment, tips on staying healthy and encourage you to join the fastest growing sport in the world.  Ask a lot of questions because three sports wrapped-up in one is huge, not to mention the nutritional part of this as well.  Then challenge yourself to train by paying some money and signing-up for a race.  Having that goal out there with just so many weeks to train will hopefully motivate you to put in the time to get your body ready for the day. And lastly, have someone in your life who you are accountable for and who will give you feedback on your progress.  Doing it alone can work for you, but having training partners is, without a doubt, the best way to go. What is a typical training split like for you throughout the course of a week?  I typically train 6 days a week with the current workload, for my upcoming Half Ironman race, of about 8-10 hours a week.  I have hired a personal coach and he sends me my workouts online, thus the accountability I talked about.  I usually ride two days a week for roughly 5-6 hours total, swim two days at 1.2 miles per swim in the ocean (I live in Hawaii so it's a dream to swim with dolphins and other beautiful critters) and run two days at about 4-6 miles each.  The next race I will be doing is a 1.2 mile open water swim, a 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run; also known as an Ironman 70.3 How has your body responded at your age to the endurance training?   I just turned 60 and with that brings some interesting training challenges.  Your body parts are not as flexible as in your youth and recovery is a big component in doing multi-day training sessions.  It does take years, literally, to become a good triathlete, just as with bodybuilding.  So, for me, I had to lose some weight (about 40 pounds to date in the last 3 years) to lighten the load.  And I had to seriously take a look at what I was putting into my mouth.  The short question is .. "what is the nutritional advantages to eating this meal".  Food becomes fuel.  To do that Indy Car race, you gotta use good gasoline and the same goes for racing triathlon.  My wife Jill is my main support team member and keeps me properly fueled throughout the day.  All athletes have their fair share of aches and pains and triathlon is no different.  I have a new level of interest in the human body and how to keep myself healthy.  It's a work in progress. Describe your proudest moment of training or competing.  I still remember finishing my first Half Ironman race in 2010 here in Hawaii.  I personally dedicated the race to a dear friend of mine who suffered with cancer.  When I approached the finish line, I cried like a baby. How does your diet affect your training/recovery?  Diet is equally as important as the training itself.  You need to first get good night's sleep.  It's a 24 hour cycle with me.  You trained and caused damage to your muscles.  Sleep is a time of repair and recovery.  You get up and need to hydrate before heading out for the day.  Drinking lots of water is so very important and if the workout is more than an hour, you need to get some carbs in the tank.  Once out on the road, I need to keep calories going in.  The body can only absorb about 300 per hour but you can easily burn up 600-800.  And finding what sits well with your stomach is important.  30-60 minutes after the workout, it's important to get protein into your system for muscle recovery.  Then get off your feet if possible and let the body recover.  Eating balanced meals is really important.  I am lucky in that my wife is great at keeping me fed with good, high quality food.  Do you have any pre or post training rituals you perform, meaning meditation or stretching etc….  I usually wake up about 6am and like to take an hour to get my head together.  I usually brew a cup of green tea, grab a tumbler with 32 oz of water with some trace minerals added, unload my vitamin container and get the fish oil down first then relax out on the lanai, listen to the ocean, plug in my Bose headphones and listen to some Zen type music while I meditate for 15-30 minutes.  Getting quiet and in the right frame of mind is a wonderful way to re-calibrate my brain to prepare for the day ahead.  Then it's clean the cat box and get myself out on the road or in the water for the workout by 8am.  My post training ritual is get that protein drink in me within 30 minutes then get out of the workout clothes and into the shower.  And lastly, being retired I am fortunate to be able to take an afternoon nap.  The body really needs the recovery benefits from a nap and most of the pro athletes do this very same thing and it works.  Who are some of your fitness idols? Living in Kona is a dream for any triathlete.  Many of the world's best either visit or live here and I see them on a regular basis.  Google Chris Lieto if you are new to triathlon.  I see Chris several times a week.  He is a really great human being, not to mention the Best triathlon biker in the world.  I have known him for about a year and I so appreciate his willingness to share with a mere mortal like me his wealth of knowledge.  Lance Armstrong is another one of my fitness idols.  Not a lot of people know that Lance originally was an excellent triathlete before doing the Tour de France stuff.  He is back in the triathlon world and I have had the occasion to see him here in Kona and share a shaka from time to time out on Queen K Highway.  And lastly, Bill Bell has to be my ultimate idol.  I met Bill at my first triathlon 10  years ago.  At that time he was 79 years young and doing full Ironman races.  Bill is just about to turn 90 and is still racing triathlon.  We shared a wonderful email recently and he is as sharp as a tack.  I hope to be somewhere in his shadows when I am 90.  What an Ironman legend. What will you reward yourself with upon completion of IRONMAN?  Love this question.  Upon completion of Ironman Kona, I will be going to the tattoo parlor and get some ink on the back of my right calf.  It's a right of passage in the triathlon world.  When you come up behind someone who has an iM tattoo there, you know you are running or biking with someone who has paid their dues and part of a elite group of athletes in the world.  It will give me something to talk about at the retirement home. Name your accomplishments/ races you have completed.  I have probably forgotten a few but I did a Sprint Triathlon in 2003, then another one in Idaho a few years later, along with an Olympic distance event and an off-road duathlon.  But I didn't get serious about the sport until 2009.  Since then I have done a hand full of the shorter races, about 4 of the Olympics and three Half Ironman with the 4th. on June 2 of this year.  FUN FACTS: Biggest training pet peeve: People who wear their Aero Helmets for a casual ride.  Save it for race day buddy! Most embarrassing training moment: About a month ago I was out for a training ride.  It never rains in Kona in the morning.  I ran into a squall with the sun on either side.  Guess who got a flat tire in the middle of the rain.  It was pouring so hard the drops were like bullets.  My tire inflator malfunctioned and I burned through two of my CO2 cartridges then was relegated to walking my bike until a nice couple stopped and gave me a ride.  I called my wife to pick me up ... and to bring a towel as I was soaked to the bone. Do you have a nickname?  KonaJim Where will we see you in 5 years?  Living in Kona, swimming in Kona, riding in Kona and running in Kona.  I can be reached at jmoore22@hawaii.rr.com if you have any questions.  Happy training.