Part one of our chat with Chris McCormack
Thursday, 07 August 2008 11:39
We caught up with Macca just after he got back from a few days hiking around Boulder, Colarado and before heading into his next build towards defending his Kona title. Macca is the consummate pro and had just got back from what will be his last real break before Kona.
How was the hike? Is that something you do for the hell of it or to bond?
It was a long way (laughs) on the mountains, hiking around for hours. You're 5000m in the air so it's pretty high. We went with young Paul Ambrose and Cam Widoff and a little crew. Just when you're here in Boulder you look at these mountains and you think ... far out. Cam Widoff is a bit of a hiker, fisherman and camper, so we're like "Yeah, let's have a crack before we do the heavy stuff".
It must be good to get away from the sport and do something different.
I really enjoy it, it's nice here. I enjoy doing something like hiking, and that's why we did it, to do something different. It's still tough and physically demanding and still takes from you a lot, you're actually walking for 10 hours at high elevation.
Do you find you get fatigued with the Triathlon?
Defintely. A long season is hard. By the end of the season I'm pretty much done. But I have a lot of breaks. I had a month off after Ironman Germany. I don't think I'm as tense as a lot of people in the sport. But you just get fatigued at the end of a busy season. I think it's more mental fatigue than anything - trying to fulfill your season's dreams is a bit fatiguing. That being said, I do enjoy the swim, bike and run.
But the sport can get intense because of the people in it are relatively intense. There's very much an 'A Type' personality drawn to this sport - I find a lot of the age groupers are. It's just amazing I sit there and go "Wow, you guys need to get a bit more balance in your life, there is more to life than this. This is great and fantastic, but there's a lot more out there". And Boulder is the town of that type of triathlete, there are millions of them here. They don't take time to have a look around and look at how cool this place is. There are some people who've lived here for ten years and haven't even been to some of the places we've been to (referring to the Rocky Mountains that surround Boulder).
What's the most tiring thing about being Chris McCormack?
Gee, I don't know ... I think my own personal expectations. I think I've relaxed a lot more within myself. I've always expected a lot from myself because I decided to leave the workforce and become a professional athlete. Everybody told me I couldn't, i wouldn't and that I was making the biggest mistake of my life, so I just wanted to prove to them and prove to myself that my decision was sound and the right one.
As a kid I was always talking it up and saying I was going to do all these things. I always felt this pressure to prove to people that I could do it and I wasn't just another one of those people who talks big and doesn't deliver. That used to tire me a lot, because I used to think, "what if, what if?" There were all these 'what if ' questions in my life. Now I'm just content with everything I've ever achieved in my sport. I've achieved everything I ever wanted and now the rest is icing. It's a nice place to be.
I guess being judged is a bit tiring. I'm nothing like a Brad Pitt, but with our small community and our small sport, some of the stuff my wife and I read is unbelievable. Some of the innuendo and gossip is just amazing. You might say something that gets misconstrued, and you just have no idea so many people were paying so much attention. So you really have to be very careful sometimes with some of the things you say because people are so easily offended.
I'm always arguing that for me, this is real. I'd always get in trouble here, especially in the States when I'd say, "Hey, I'm going to win this or I want to do this and I want to do that". People would think this guy is really arrogant. It's not arrogance though. If I'm spending time away from my family, of course I want to do these things well. It's personal to me - it doesn't get anymore personal than what I'm doing in my life. Everyone else is just watching. Sometimes I feel like I'm being judged, but for me it's actually real in my life.
If I do lose, you guys (the sporting media) just talk about it, but I'm at home with my wife and kids and I have to wait another 12 months for another shot. We have a finite life in the sport and you have your time to shine. When that light goes off, you either did or you didn't. That's always been my impatience and my desire I guess. That's why I've been so vocal, because it gets me ready to get out and do it. It's the way I used to put pressure on myself to make me stay committed and focused. I think that can be tiring because it's just what I did to get the most out of myself ... if that makes sense.
Just recently you tried to win two IM races in a week. There were some who said you only showed up at Roth to take the pay cheque or did you really think you could do the double?
I can honestly say that as one of the few people to try it, it is definitely possible. I think if these two races (IM Germany and Roth) were set five weeks earlier in the season, and so further out from Hawaii, then I would've had a definite crack. If it was an April/May double, I'm convinced it would be possible to win two IM's in a week, with the right type of training and recovery between the two. The second one would be tough, but I felt great in Roth.
I was in Roth to support that race, because it's not an Ironman, and everyone is so Ironman crazy. For me growing up, Roth was always an Ironman. It was a race I watched when I came across to Europe in 1996 and I read about it in magazines. It meant so much to me as a younger athlete and the reason I was inspired by that event is the reason I support the race.
I used to go Hawaii with five IMA titles and four titles in Roth and people would only recognise the five Ironman races. Those four Roth's are Ironman races! They hurt just as much! (laughs) I just wanted to support the race because I believed in the event and I believe that it shows that Germany needs those two events. If they didn't put on two races, 4000 people are going to miss out on doing a triathlon in their country.
The reason I went to Frankfurt (IM Germany) was because in all of my wins in Roth, I was taking on Faris (Faris Al Sultan), and there was all that talk that I was running scared from Normann (Stadler). So I said, "No worries, I'll come to Germany this year and race them" ... and they didn't race! I told the organisers at Roth that I'd give it my best shot and try and win two and if I can't, I can't.
My main aim for the season was to win in Frankfurt and to take on those boys and win the European Championships and then go to Roth and support that race. I didn't want to disrespect the race and say "Hey, I'm just going there to fluff around". I wanted to go and give it my best shot, knowing that seven days after an Ironman would not be the best for me, but I learnt a lot there and I definitely think it's possible. The 12 week gap between that and Kona is just too close to smash your body like that. We decided the night before that I would step off after the first lap of the bike and that's what I did.
From www.ChrisMccormack.com
Many of you know Dave Baigent and many of you do not. If you are an Australian triathlete you would know Dave from all the races around the country with his smiling face, caring heart and absolute love of this sport and the people in it. He is one of the souls of the earth and a very close friend of mine.
Dave was recently diagnosed with a Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma type T-cell cancer which is very aggressive. The main tumor is behind his heart but the cancer has spread rapidly into other parts of his body including his spine. The treatment required was immediate and heavy and Dave has been hospitalized for most of the past 13 weeks fighting this cancer. Cancer has forced Dave to have to leave his job as a fireman which has put huge financial stress on his family. Dave a served as Fire Fighter for over 20 years he has also been there for the public.
The Talbert Family Foundation is supporting our initiative.
Next week, Macca talks about where it all began and where he rates his breakthrough '07 Kona victory ... so make sure you're tuned in!
