Passion and Purpose

Hello all. The Boy Wunderkind Nikola has asked me to do a short story on well…….. my story so far. Its quite interesting as today is actually my birthday and its always a good day to look forward with the knowledge you have gained through a great mix of luck, hard work and the little thing we love to live called “life”.

So here are the vitals for those of you who dont know me, and those of you who`ve always wondered:

Name : Raoul de Jongh

Age : 28

Occupation : Urban Ninja - its the best description I have come up with so far. I am a mix of the things that make me a happy chap - triathlon, solving problems for clients, DJ`ing, student (currently enrolled on Trainingpeaks Power Coaching Level 3 so soon I can share the story), friend, advisor, coffeeholic, salesman, part-time chef, footwear tester & full time living life with complete passion for what I believe in.

Current favorite quotes : “peace out, facebook me!” & “save the cheerleader, save the world”

Current major passion : the hunt for knowledge on how to help other triathletes with busy schedules.

Favorite workout : Ironman Brick 120km tempo ride with a 12-18km run after or 8 x (8 x 50m on 45sec) in the pool. 1 set push-off, 1 set diving.

Favorite equipment : i love it ALL. this boy is a gearhead. full stop.

So why triathlon for me? Why triathlon for any of us? why choose 3 sports when life is busy enough already? Why the pursuit to be the best athlete across 3 disciplines that I can be? Triathlon was part of the evolution cycle for me. I was a swimmer for 12 years, a biathlete for about 8 of those, with reasonable success. I was lucky enough to have a high school PE teacher who was a multiple Ironman Hawaii finisher. I was blessed with a big engine & a willingness to suffer, a drive to win & most of all, a passion for being as good as I could be.

My girlfriend always says I dont need anyone to push me because I am so hard on myself. Im lucky to have her in my life and she keeps me grounded at times when I get a little obsessive. Bless you angel. But its true, I am my own biggest critic, and I believe this is the scenario for many triathletes, much to the detriment of their racing careers, because they often miss out on the fun aspect of training.

So what have I achieved so far in triathlon? Multiple SA triathlon champ over olympic distance, a PB of 4:20 on the Half IM distance and yes, I have finished Ironman. Like many others before me, IM day was one of the worst, and best, days of my life. Worst because 14min into the swim I swallowed 5 gulps of seawater on a callorie packed stomach and fed the fish. Worst because I spent the whole day at 70% effort of what I could have been doing after 6 months of laying it all out on the line. Worst because when I eventually started feeling ok, my ITB flared and I walked alot of the last 7km crying and laughing. Best because I learnt how to really suffer that day. Best because I got a totally different perspective of racing with new faces that day. Best because it changed my life.

Im fortunate that my work relates to racing. I work as an advertising exec for Runners World, I help out with the distribution of Whasp, Zipp, Ergomo & developed my first nutrition product a few months ago called Mojo which is still the best recovery tool I have ever been lucky enough to use. Passion is a big thing for me (damned Scorpios) and I am blessed to be really passionate about my work as well.

So why am I writing this? Is it because I know triathletes are always looking for more info on training, more secrets to make them faster, more advice? I love you guys. The hunger for good info is one of the best aspects of a triathlete. Keep on being hungry my little SBR`ers you are beautiful! I will share some of the wisdom I have gained through training a little later, for today I have a simple exercise for any of you reading this doing IM next year.

Make a basic training week and just repeat it, as is, for 4-6 weeks. If you cant consistently train the same thing and find the time to be consistent, you should put other goals back a little. The biggest secret I have learnt in the last few years is that doing the same thing consistently is far better for long course racing than cramming in training. Get a routine which is as stress free as possible, and enjoy being out there, being consistent, and loving the fact that you are committed to something which most people call insane. Being a triathlete is a magic thing, and should be a benefit to your life, not a burden.

If you have any questions or want to buy me a coffee sometime, let me know. rdejongh@touchline.co.za

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 13th, 2007 at 3:39 am and is filed under Ergomo, Ironman, Raoul de Jongh, Runners World, Whasp gels, Zipp, half ironman, triathlon. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.