Sitting at roughly 240 pounds, Chad Trumbley was in search of a healthier lifestyle when he completed his first sprint triathlon.
Three years later, the Creighton resident remains committed to the grueling sport as he recently finished his first Ironman competition in Whistler, BC.
“I constantly hear people say ‘I can’t do that’ and I’ll be honest, I might have said that to a point before as well,” Trumbley said. “I think anyone can do anything they want to, but it’s whether they are willing to commit to it.”
Commitment wasn’t a problem for Trumbley. On July 27 he put nine months of training to the test against the Whistler Ironman’s 3.8-kilometre swim, 180-kilometre bike ride, and 42-kilometre run.
All athletes are given 17 hours to complete the three events. Trumbley hoped to finish in less than 15 hours, but was more concerned with completing the race.
“I couldn’t imagine training that long and putting that much effort into it and not finishing,” he said.
Trumbley surpassed his goal and finished his first Ironman competition in 14:36.13.
“I would have had to train [a lot] harder,” he said, to finish in one of the top spots.
Let the training begin
In his nine months of training Trumbley spent roughly 400 hours either running, swimming or biking .
He started training in October 2013 as he set out to complete a weight room regimen and improve his cardio. After Christmas, he kicked up his cardio a notch.
He spent countless hours in what he calls his “pain cave,” a room in his home with a treadmill and a bicycle stationed on a stand.
“I did tons of biking and running,” said Trumbley, who spent most of his free time and weekends preparing for the triathlon.
Trumbley admits he was a “horrible swimmer” when his training began, but with hard work he was able to improve.
“Not perfect by any means, but anyone can do it if they want to,” he said.
Through his training, Trumbley came to better appreciate something that was already clear to him.
“Not that I didn’t know it before, but I realized even more how much of an incredible wife and kids I have,” he said. “There were many weekends where my wife, Jody, was a single mother running around with [two kids] with hockey and swimming and everything else.”
With the support of family and friends, Trumbley was able to maintain focus. He looked to friend and fellow Ironman competitor Jason Straile for guidance and coaching.
A life sport
Trumbley is among a growing number of Canadians accepting the challenge of a triathlon. It is fast becoming a more popular sport, according to Triathlon Canada.
“It’s a lifelong sport,” said Trumbley. “It’s not something that you have to stop doing as you get older.”
Trumbley, along with Straile in a separate interview about triathlons, said athletes well into retirement age continue to compete and be successful.
“You have lots of support behind you,” said Trumbley. “Everyone is out there, but your only competition is against yourself.”
In the Whistler Ironman, 2,200 participants started the event and double that number stood on the sidelines cheering them on.
“You go as little or as hard as you want,” Trumbley said. “All along the way you have a lot of fantastic people helping you out.”
When Trumbley completed his first triathlon, at his heaviest weight, he couldn’t believe the support of strangers congratulating him on his finish.
That encouragement carried through to last month’s event as Trumbley
was able to chat with a number of
competitors during the run portion.
“You get a chance to visit with lots of different people from all corners of the world,” he said, adding that a few competitors were from Brazil, London and Germany.
But Trumbley says the real motivation came as he saw his family on the sidelines.
“I got to see them four or five times and it kind of gave me the extra boost of energy I needed,” he said. “It’s pretty hard to describe what type of feeling it was after that.”
Finding motivation
Trumbley found additional motivation from other competitors.
“At the end of the day, when you look at some of the other people doing it you think, ‘If he can do it, so can I,’” he said.
Trumbley draws a lot of inspiration from Firefighter Rob, a firefighter who competes at the Ironman level while raising money for burn units and children’s hospitals.
“He competes in the swim and bike portion, but then runs the full marathon in full turnout gear with running shoes,” Trumbley said.
A volunteer firefighter himself, Trumbley says he can appreciate how heavy that gear is.
More inspiration comes from a female competitor who finishes her events on a prosthetic leg.
“There’s no reason you can’t do that,” Trumbley said. “That lady is a pretty big inspiration.”
Keep going
The triathlon is an individual sport. Though there are other competitors taking part, Trumbley reiterates it is all up to the individual.
“You can quit and no one is going to care,” he said. “But you’ll know. And that’s a slogan I live by. You don’t quit. You just have to put one foot in front of another. It’s pretty simple in that aspect.”
Looking ahead, Trumbley hopes to continue his success in the triathlon, but says he likely won’t train for another Ironman until his two children are older.
Josh, 7, and Kenzie, 9, are busy kids and Trumbley doesn’t want to miss out on their lives.
“The amount of time away from my family is tough,” he said, noting that Ironman competitions often see athletes in their 40s entering for the first time. “The kids will be older and I’ll have time to commit.”
