Category: Our Stories

Editor’s Note: You may think that any issue with a person’s heart health will end their hopes for triathlon, especially for older athletes. David Conover’s story proves otherwise.

I have been blessed to be able to compete in triathlon for over 30 years. More important, for almost 20 of those years I have been able to train and compete in spite of some medical challenges. Much of the credit goes to my cardio, pulmonary, and hematology focused doctors, my triathlon coach, and my family, including Louise, my wife of almost 50 years.

That said, I also had to ‘read my dashboard’, that is, keep track of relevant health and performance data. When a yellow light appeared, I had to seek help and follow their excellent guidance. A coach, medical professionals, and the athlete and their family comprise a formidable and necessary trio to support successful training and competing. They comprise the ‘tri’. The ‘athlete’, which can be created with the words ‘heart health’, fills it out.

Active Early Years

After swimming in college in the late 60s, I continued into my 20s with masters swimming and some recreational biking. These gave way to work and family responsibilities while I was in my 30’s. I had little extra time.

Around 1990, a son’s little league coach mentioned triathlon. Even though I did not run, I was interested in the sport. So, at 40, I decided to learn to run, do a triathlon, get fit, and lose some weight.

After doing one race I was hooked. I self-trained with advice from relevant print media, signed up for local races and, over time, made great friends in the tri community. Each year, I learned some new racing techniques, updated some of my equipment, and improved a little.

Heart Health Issues Appeared While Competing In Triathlon

A little more than 20 years ago, some medical issues arose. These challenged my triathlon journey and a number of other things. Through these, I have learned to listen to my body, record and assess relevant health data, eat right, and plan and execute under the guidance of medical professionals and a triathlon coach.

Thirty minutes after completing the 2005 Timberman half iron distance in New Hampshire, in which I had really pushed the run during the last mile, I experienced some sweats, thirst, nausea, and very minor pain at my sternum. I went to the medical tent. Even though I had OK vitals, I opted to go to the ER, where I was tested over six hours. The doctor found me to be OK and released me.

I felt fine but the sternum symptom re-occurred over the next few days when I got my heart rate up a little.

Home in Virginia, I consulted a cardiologist. After looking at data from a number of past EKGs and a ‘fresh’ one, he informed me that I had had a mild heart attack. The sprint at the end of the triathlon dislodged some plaque. A clot formed in one artery adjacent to the plaque ‘rupture’. The clot restricted blood flow to part of the heart muscle.

I was sent to the hospital and underwent a cardiac cauterization. One stent was placed in the artery. While recuperating at home, I experienced a pulmonary embolism caused by an allergic reaction to one of the blood thinning drugs given during the stent placement.

Learning To Adapt

After recovering from the stent placement and the embolism, I went to cardiac rehab. Through rehab, I got the confidence needed to return to exercise, and raced again eight months later.

My takeaway from that first medical challenge was to listen to your body and learn what is and is not normal for you, including values for pace, pedal power, swolf, and the data athletes now collect via heart rate monitors. Also, establish relationships with medical professionals you respect and trust. And, don’t be afraid to ‘get back on the horse’.

My next medical hurdle occurred in 2009 and 2010. This consisted of a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) that lead to another pulmonary embolism. During this period, I was also treated for prostate cancer (seed implants) and a case of shingles.

With the help of my growing medical team, I was able to successfully meet these medical challenges and continue to train and compete. From these experiences, I added resources to my medical team to include hematology, pulmonary and urology. I gathered more medical information about these conditions, their treatment, and their impact on performance data related to my training and racing.

I essentially followed the same game plan, but it was now more complicated. Being on a blood thinner meant having to train and race more carefully. I didn’t want to get kicked in the swim, crash on the bike, or trip and fall on the run.

Adding A Triathlon Coach

Fast forward to 2019. For almost 10 years, I was able to successfully train and compete every year. This was thanks to the help of great medical professionals with whom I was actively engaged on a regular basis. Of course, I had to heed their guidance.

After qualifying for Team USA in Cleveland, I added another member to my team. I had been self-coaching since my first triathlon. In late 2019, my training was enhanced with the help of a triathlon coach.

For the next three years, I continued to have checkups with my medical team. With the help of my coach, I was able to improve both my times and my health metrics. My heart rate decreased while resting and while training and competing compared to my pre-2019 seasons. In short, I became more efficient, which had a positive impact on my times as well the level of effort I had to put out while training or racing.

All was good, except COVID came along and in late 2022, after some running speed work, I had another health scare.

Afib Enters The Picture

On September 23, 2022, I was awoken from a deep sleep by what turned out to be atrial fibrillation (Afib). Over the years I had had some missed heart beats. My cardiologist felt the missed beats were not an issue since I would return to normal (sinus) rhythm with a deep cough.

A trip to the ER confirmed Afib. I visited my cardiologist right after leaving the ER and left his office feeling much better. The Afib had stopped but I had atrial flutter so he ordered a 24/7 cardio monitor, stress test, and cardiac echo test.

A week later I was back to normal and even did a 5K on October 1st. After a review of my test results in early October, I was considered healthy and the Afib event history. Then I came down with COVID and within 12 hours of an antibody infusion the Afib came back. This time, the Afib would not go away.

While the COVID went away, the Afib did not and I went to the ER again. This was followed by appointments with my cardiologist and a new medical professional.

Afib and Athletic Performance

Aside from not feeling ‘right’, my training was significantly impacted. However, I could still stay active in spite of Afib. I could still swim and bike at a much slower rate. It was a blessing this was in my off season. What had been a nice 10-minute pace for an easy long run at an aerobic heart rate became a 13-minute pace at or above maximum heart rate. I was now out of breath and having to walk in less than 10 minutes.

With the help of my cardiologist, I added an electrophysiologist to my medical team. I was not aware of the term ‘electrophysiology’. Neither did I know there were electrophysiologists, doctors who were expert in the heart’s electrical circuitry and impulses.

An Effective Treatment for Triathlon-Ready Heart Health

I did considerable reading about the heart and electrical impulses, an interesting addition to my understanding of its mechanical pumping operation. After this, I consulted with my new doctor and decided to undergo an atrial ablation. I had the procedure on February 1, 2023 at the INOVA Heart and Vascular Institute in Fairfax, Virginia.

You can think of your heart’s normal sinus rhythm like skipping one stone over a smooth pond once every second and watching the waves on the pond. Then imagine many others showing up at the pond to randomly skip stones and upset the waves you were making. During the procedure, those throwing the extra stones are identified and blocked. You are left alone throwing one stone per second.

From an exercise point of view, or any effort that increases your heart rate, having Afib felt like I was carrying ‘extra baggage’ in my swim jammers, on my bike, and on the soles of my shoes. Being back in sinus rhythm, I was cleared to go home. After a two-week period to heal the incisions associated with the ablation procedure, I started exercise again. The exercise was light at first, then ramped up over time.

Back In The Saddle

During this period, my medical team and coach were invaluable. Two months after the procedure I completed a sprint triathlon. During the remainder of 2023, I continued to train and compete successfully with no issues related to my heart.

I continued to see my doctors. With their and my coach’s help, and my family’s invaluable support, I was able to compete at the World Championship in Spain in September 2023.

Heart Health and Triathlon

As 2024 gets underway, I continue to train using the weekly schedule provided by my coach, visit with and follow the guidance of my medical team, and gather and evaluate medical and workout data.

Everyone is different and has different likes and dislikes and capabilities and talents. That said, no matter your age or abilities, a healthy diet, exercise and a good night’s sleep are all important factors in establishing the basis for good outcomes.

Read as much as you can about health and medically-related topics. My experience also underscores the importance of listening to your body. It has also taught me the value of taking relevant data such as pulse rate and blood pressure. Rounding this out with data on run and swim pace and bike power output and you have a basis for making informed decisions. Those data are the way your body speaks to you as well as medical professionals and coaches.

Regardless of your abilities or athletic interests, consider setting some measurable athletic goals no matter what you choose to do to stay active. Work with a coach or health club staff, establish a relationship with medical professionals, gather and assess relevant information and most importantly be willing to adjust your expectations, training, and race schedule as warranted.

Better than feeling good, you ideally can successfully meet the challenges that come with age and be one of a few lining up for a race in a 70’s or even 80’s age group.

Dave Conover’s Story on NBC Washington

Related Senior Triathletes post: Can I Do Triathlon With Afib?

Leave Your Questions and Comments Below

Comments: Please note that I review all comments before they are posted. You will be notified by email when your comment is approved. Even if you do not submit a comment, you may subscribe to be notified when a comment is published.

Triathlon is a competition involving three activities, usually swimming, biking, and running. The three activities, or legs, are most often performed by an individual. However, reaching the finish line of a triathlon requires training and the support of others, including family and friends. This is Gene Peters’ triathlon story.

Gene Peters’ Path to Triathlon

Gene’s introduction to triathlon occurred in the early 1990s, in his late 40s, when his younger brother and his brother-in-law, both in their 30s, were doing triathlon.

“What’s wrong with these guys?” He thought, “This is crazy. These guys have missed their opportunity to be serious competitors in triathlon. Why bother?”

If the window to compete in triathlon had closed for these guys in their 30s, it definitely had closed for Gene, who was nine years older than his brother. That’s what he thought, at least.

While Gene was somewhat active while growing up in central California, he was not athletic. “As a kid, I was shy and not athletic. I was never among the first to be picked when teams were formed.”

However, he had stayed active during college until his late 30s, racing motorcycles off-road and riding ‘centuries’ (100 mile bike rides).

Volunteering at Wildflower Triathlon

A few years later, Gene’s brother asked him and his wife Kitty to help out as volunteers at the Wildflower Triathlon at Lake San Antonio in central California. Gene’s brother was responsible for feeding the race volunteers who came from a local college. He needed help with barbecuing at the end of the race. Since most of this work was done after the race, Gene and his wife were able to get up close to what happened during the race by volunteering at the sole transition area for this triathlon.

While sitting around the campfire later that day, Gene’s brother threw out a challenge. If Gene would compete in next year’s triathlon, his entry would be free.

“Anything my brother offered to participate in with me was perfect. The guy was an absolute joy to be with, He was fun.”

There were two challenges right from the start. The sprint triathlon involved mountain biking and Gene did not have a mountain bike. Second, the only swimming he had done was in group lessons he had taken when six or seven years old and when he water skiied later on. With water skiing, he wore a wetsuit. In other words, he was starting from the point of a near beginner swimmer.

Before the race, Gene developed his swimming first by swimming back and forth in the small round pool managed by the HOA (homeowners association) and later in a local community pool.

First Triathlon – Wildflower Off-Road Sprint

When Gene arrived for his first triathlon, he learned he needed a wetsuit for this race. The only one he had was for jet skiing, which was not appropriate for the triathlon swim. He ended up borrowing a Farmer John wetsuit from his brother-in-law. However, because the suit did not fit well, he said “I would have been better off not wearing a wetsuit”.

“Then on the mountain bike leg, I was chugging along when who should pull up beside me but Paula Newby-Fraser. She said ‘You’re not even breathing hard’.”

After finishing his first triathlon, he and his wife were talking about the race. Gene told Kitty, “You know, I think this could be fun.”

He told her that he would need a wetsuit and a bike. They walked over to the expo where vendors were selling triathlon related items.

After looking at the price tags on the triathlon wetsuits, Gene remembers thinking out loud, “How much use am I really going to get out of a wetsuit? I mean, how many triathlons will I do?”

Knowing something Gene had not yet realized, Kitty said, “Go ahead and get it.” Since then, he has worn out that wetsuit and two or three more wetsuits as he trained and raced in other triathlons, including eight or nine times in the Wildflower half Ironman.

Competing in Olympic and Half Ironman Triathlon

The next year, he went back to the Wildflower event, this time to complete the half Ironman distance. His goal for this race was to finish with a Kona-qualifying time. However, Gene learned how difficult it is to qualify for Kona.

For the next several years, during his late 40s and early 50s, Gene continued to compete in Olympic and half Ironman distance triathlons. He was not giving up on his goal to race in Hawaii.

Gene also realized he was a triathlete, something which had taken him a while to recognize. “For a long time, I thought I was playing, not a real triathlete.”

Related post: My First Triathlon – Is This How George Plimpton Felt? Plimpton was a journalist who competed as an amateur in different professional sporting events. He then wrote about the experience.

1996 – A Milestone Year

In 1996, Gene’s brother invited him and his wife to volunteer with him and his then girlfriend and later wife at the Ironman World Championships in October.

One month before traveling to Hawaii, Gene and his wife moved to Park City, Utah. While going for his first bike ride in his new home state, Gene was hit by a car. In the accident, his back was broken in two places.

Despite being in a back brace, he made the trip to Hawaii. While being stationed at T2 (bike to run transition area), he spent most of his time lying on the grass. However, at one point during the race, still under the influence of pain medication, he got up and walked over to where the bikers were coming in and runners going out, and proclaimed, “I gotta do this!”

He went back the next year, now fully recovered and without the influence of pain medication, to get a better picture of the race.

Related post: In this post Restarting to Bike After a Crash, you will read how Gene and other senior triathletes have recovered from a bike crash to start riding again.

First Ironman Triathlon for Gene Peters

In 2000, Gene completed two full (140.6) Ironman triathlons, including his first in Oceanside, California, near Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego.

Soon after registering for the Oceanside triathlon, Gene’s friend contacted him to let him know the race director had opened 500 more race spots for Ironman Canada in Penticton, British Columbia. Gene and his friend stayed on the registration website overnight in order to secure spots in this race.

Gene qualified for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii for the first time in 2004. Sadly, his younger brother, the one who had gotten him into triathlon, passed away in 2003.

All totaled, Gene has completed 35 Ironman triathlons. Included in these are three World Championships in Hawaii. He has already qualified for the 2024 World Championships in Hawaii.

A Love for Triathlon Training

Gene ‘loves’ triathlon training and his association with the sport. He told me that it has taught him discipline, self-determination, and confidence.

“While I have always been relatively healthy, I have been in better shape in my 60s and 70s than I was in my 30s.”

Training/Preparing for Ironman Triathlons

Gene’s characterization of his Ironman triathlon training is straightforward: “I follow directions”.

Several years ago, Gene began using the TriDot® system, initially without a coach.

Since February 2017, he has been coached by Kurt Madden, a TriDot coach who is also one of the senior triathletes coaches. Of Kurt, Gene says that he “is excellent at adjusting to what my needs are and what my condition is.”

Kurt is Gene’s second TriDot coach. The first one, selected because Gene and he had graduated from the same college, was about half Gene’s age and focused on Olympic distance triathlon. The relationship lasted one year because of their differences in age and focus.

Before starting the relationship with Kurt, Gene spoke to a lady at TriDot about “needing a coach who could relate to the needs of the older triathlete and what we are going through. You need to have a program that recognizes that older triathletes don’t recover as fast, sometimes, as a person in their 30s.”

Gene attributes the TriDot system for impressive race results. “In the last ten years, I have podiumed in 100% of my races.”

Earlier in his racing career, Gene did triathlons and ran marathons. Today, however, he focuses on triathlon.

“I learned unless I warmed up with a nice long swim and bike, I pushed too hard on the run. I would hurt myself.

“Now, I do only half marathons. I stopped doing full marathons except as part of a full Ironman.”

Stay Consistent

Gene echoed what many have told me to be a key to success with triathlon – consistent training. Gene has thought about the time he has spent training for an Ironman triathlon, acknowledging it is not for everyone.

Operating his own accounting business enabled him to train consistently. On top of this, Gene had not only the support, but encouragement, of his wife to continue training and racing.

Tribute to Mary C. “Kitty” Peters

In October 2022, with 55 years of marriage to Gene, Kitty passed away. Gene was by her side.

Before she passed away, Kitty would help keep Gene stay on track, knowing how important and valuable the training was to him. She was known for telling her friends how proud she was of her husband.

Kitty also willingly volunteered at many triathlons, being known for the smile with which she greeted finishers. According to Gene, she volunteered at more Ironman races than he had done. As a registered nurse, she often provided medical help at triathlons.

In reflecting on our conversation, it is doubtful that Gene would have accomplished what he has throughout his triathlon career had he not had her never-ending support. She is and always will be missed.

Who’s Behind Your Triathlon Accomplishments?

Who do you credit for your triathlon achievements? In what way(s) have they supported you?

Give them the recognition they deserve in the Comments below.

Comments: Please note that I review all comments before they are posted. You will be notified by email when your comment is approved. Even if you do not submit a comment, you may subscribe to be notified when a comment is published.

“The National Senior Games triathlon was the first race of any kind in which I competed in all my life,” wrote Joe Simonetta.

How This Post Came About

Earlier this year, I received an email from Joe Simonetta, from Sarasota, Florida. He was responding to the ‘welcome email’ sent to new subscribers of the Senior Triathletes Highlights newsletter. This email invites them to contact me if they would be interested in having their triathlon story published.

I later learned that Joe’s first triathlon was at the 2023 U.S. National Senior Games held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, July 18^th.

How did Joe prepare for his first triathlon? What did he learn in his first race, a sprint triathlon?

No Stranger to Competitive Sports

Joe has led an active life and is an experienced competitor, despite completing his first triathlon a month ago.

“I’ve never stopped working out and playing sports. I have a comprehensive workout routine. And I have learned a lot about nutrition and have practiced a healthy lifestyle for many years.”

From his college days until today, Joe has a long list of accomplishments.

While attending Penn State, Joe lettered in soccer and tennis. He also competed in inter-fraternity football, basketball, wrestling, swimming, volleyball, and racquetball. He won the Penn State racquetball championship twice.

In the early 1970s, Joe was a USPTA (United States Professional Tennis Association) professional. During this time, he also quarterbacked a flag football team in Sarasota. The team won their league championship three consecutive years.

In 1979, Joe won the Colorado racquetball tournament for the 35 and over group while studying for a master’s degree in architecture at the University of Colorado.

After graduation, he continued to play racquet sports, swam, played volleyball, and lifted weights. During 2005 through 2014, Joe worked on a real estate project in the Andes Mountains in southern Ecuador.

During this time, he played Ecuadorian volleyball, aka Ecua-volley. This game is a variant of international volleyball that involves three players on each team, a higher net, and heavier ball.

Back in Sarasota, Joe continued with racquetball and swimming. However, in 2020, he gave up racquetball and returned to running; earlier, he had regularly run six miles a day.

Getting Ready For His First Race at the Senior Games Triathlon

During the fall of 2022, Joe started looking at the swim, bike, and run times for past triathlons on the National Senior Games Association (NSGA) website. He thought he could compete with others in his age group, men 80 to 84. With this in mind, he registered for the triathlon at the 2023 National Senior Games.

For reasons still not known, NSGA officials opened registration for triathlon to everyone. Competitors did not have to qualify for triathlon at one of the state games. In this way, Joe could compete in triathlon at the National Senior Games without ever having completed a triathlon.

By that time, Joe was running a 5k three to four times per week. He was also swimming regularly, though not as frequently as he was running.

In early December, after deciding to compete in the National Senior Games triathlon, Joe began bike training.

He started by dusting off a used Cannondale road bike he had purchased seven years earlier.

He then laid out a 3.1 mile course in the community where he, his wife, and their two children (a son, age 10, and a daughter 7) live. This course, complete with eight cul de sacs, became his training course for the bike and run legs of the triathlon. Training for the triathlon swim took place in the family’s 44 by 18 foot pool.

Joe supplemented the swim-bike-run training with lifting weights, jumping rope, and hitting a speed bag in his garage. In addition, upon awakening each morning, he did core, range of motion, and balancing exercises.

What Joe Learned During the Triathlon

“When I showed up on race day, I knew these guys had been doing triathlon for many years,” Joe told me.

“Most triathletes have expensive bikes and gear, including special clothes, bike shoes, wetsuits, watches, and so forth. I showed up in a pair of running shorts, inexpensive running shoes, and a rented bike I had picked up in downtown Pittsburgh. The other competitors laughed. in a friendly way, that I had a bike with a kickstand.”

Here is what Joe said about his experience in his first triathlon.

“The one mistake I made was in the swim leg. Normally, the quarter of a mile swim—and far more—would be very easy for me. However, today, I tried to keep up with guys in my wave (age 65-84) who were much younger than me. Because I was going faster than my normal pace, I couldn’t breathe. I struggled and had a horrible time for the swim. I was one of the last to finish. It was a terrible rookie error that I could have avoided easily.

“At that point, I figured there was no way I was going to win the triathlon or even place.

“However, I came back strong on the bike and run. I overtook all the guys in my age group who were ahead of me and finished first to win the gold medal. You can see my times on the NSGA website.

“The guys in the triathlon, all very nice, were shocked that I won my first race.”

What Next?

From what he learned in his first race, Joe is confident he can do far better in his next triathlon.

Look for him at the City Island Triathlon in Sarasota on October 8, 2023.

Comments

I also did my first triathlon using a bike with a kickstand. It was also where I first saw a tri-bike.

Tell us about a ‘rookie mistake’ you made in your first triathlon. How about the most important lesson you learned in your first race?

Comments: Please note that I review all comments before they are posted. You will be notified by email when your comment is approved. Even if you do not submit a comment, you may subscribe to be notified when a comment is published.

A few weeks ago, I received an email from Jerry Dunn. In the message, he described his latest project, one benefiting senior triathletes.

What surprised me was seeing the place from which he had sent the message, Rapid City, South Dakota. Why? Because Joy and I had just returned from a short trip to Rapid City and Hot Springs, South Dakota, for a couple of days at the Angostura Reservoir with Joy’s cousin. You will read more about Angostura Reservoir later in this post.

Meet Jerry Dunn, America’s Marathon Man

According to his Wikipedia page, Jerry became hooked on running at age 29, after running along the beach near Sarasota, Florida with a lifeguard friend. He completed his first marathon in 1981. Over the next twelve years, he completed ever increasing goals for running distance and frequency.

In 1993, Los Angeles Times sports writer Jim Murray dubbed Jerry Dunn ‘America’s Marathon Man’. This came after Jerry set a world record by completing 104 marathons that year.

Then, at age 50, Jerry ran the official Boston Marathon course on 26 consecutive mornings.  The 26^th morning was for ‘The Run of the Century’, the 100^th running of The Boston Marathon.  He told one reporter that he ran these marathons to encourage others to “stay healthy and stay fit.”

“Don’t limit your challenges; challenge your limits.”

Jerry Dunn

Not stopping here, in the year 2000, Jerry completed 186 of an attempted 200 marathons, all on certified marathon courses. On his 60^th birthday, he ran 60 miles. This was followed by running 65 miles on his 65^th birthday. 

This year, to celebrate his 77^th birthday, Jerry biked the full length of the Ecuadorian Pacific coast. He also rode across South Dakota during RASDAK.

Jerry as Endurance Event Organizer

Jerry’s love for running and his desire to see others lead healthy, active lives shows in other ways. In 2002, he created, promoted and directed the Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon. This was followed in 2005, by the Lean Horse 100. Both races take place in the Black Hills of western South Dakota.

Through Jerry’s leadership, these races open the competition to a greater number of people seeking to stay active. Changes include a longer than normal cutoff time for walkers and slower runners. He also added age group categories for older competitors.

In addition to benefiting their participants, these races have raised money for causes, including Habitat for Humanity and Special Olympics.

Related post: How A Wisconsin Triathlon Benefits Kids In The Caribbean

Joining the Triathlon Community as a Senior Triathlete

In September 2022, Jerry joined friends Paulette and Bob as a relay team at the 25^th Anniversary Southern Hills Triathlon at Angostura Reservoir outside Hot Springs, South Dakota.

After the race, Jerry said, “Paulette, Bob and I had agreed that we were just going to ‘have fun’. And, we did. However, we’re also all still somewhat competitive, just not against the youngsters whose combined ages were 100 to150”. The combined ages of Jerry’s team, called Team PBJ, was 221.

Jerry contacted Brendan Murphy, race director for the Southern Hills Triathlon. He suggested a never-before-heard-of age category for the Olympic distance team relay, the 200 and over age group.

With Jerry’s success as the creator and race director of the Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon, Brendan agreed. The 2023 Southern Hills Triathlon will be the first to include a 200+ age group for the Olympic Relay competition.

Go here for more infomation about or to register for the 2023 Southern Hills Triathlon.

Comments

Leave your questions or comments for Jerry Dunn below.

Comments: Please note that I review all comments before they are posted. You will be notified by email when your comment is approved. Even if you do not submit a comment, you may subscribe to be notified when a comment is published.