By Erin Thompson
The Daily Item
SUNBURY —
When Steve Irwin took part in the bike portion of the Lewisburg Area Recreation Authority Sprint Triathlon with his daughter last year, he felt a little overwhelmed.
“When I started practicing, I didn’t think I could do it,” he said.
Still, the now 68-year-old peddled through and said the experience made him want to try to challenge himself to complete his first full triathlon this year.
When he began training around March, he was 20 pounds heavier with high cholesterol.
But still, he carried on.
“It’s been a big challenge, but I’m getting to do something I’ve always wanted to do,” he said. “You have to be willing to put the time in.”
Every day before work, Irwin, an oral surgeon in Sunbury, got up before 6 a.m. to train for this year’s triathlon, which was held on Saturday.
To train, he began the day by either running or bicycling, then ended the day by swimming at Bucknell or Susquehanna University after work.
He began practicing the bike portion by attending spinning classes at Evangelical Hospital, which were taught by his personal trainer of three years, Michelle Simons of Lewisburg.
Simons worked to get Irwin comfortable on the bike, working on gear shifting and pedal cadence.
Then came the running.
When he started practicing for this event, he felt it was his strongest because he ran regularly in his 40s and 50s, and even tried to run a marathon, but had to back out due to injury.
Now, he and his trainer agree that it’s his weakest event because they placed more focus on swimming, which he had less experience in.
“I started out by running and resting. Running and resting. Running and reading. And eventually, I was able to run without
resting,” he said.
Simons, who is also the assistant director for the triathlon, said to prepare him for the race, they slowly increased the intensity to be sure he wasn’t injured.
“We wanted this to be fun for him,” said Simons. “We wanted to make sure he had no injuries going into this. I had to work him hard, but also know when to back off.”
As for swimming “when I started, I couldn’t swim a whole lap,” said Irwin.
But Simmons worked closely with him, making sure to pay close attention to technique and building endurance.
By logging his workouts, Irwin and Simons were able to track his progress.
Although Irwin is nearly 70, Simons said age did not pose a risk.
“If you train right and train smart, anyone can do this,” she said. “People at his age are usually worried about getting injured, but by monitoring his training, we made sure he wasn’t doing to much to fast.”
The most important part of training for an event such as this is to give your body time to recover, especially after intense exercises.
“People think that they can pick up and start where they left off years ago,” she said. “But you have to build up to that and give your body time to recover.”
When there were signs that Irwin was struggling with the training program, Simons took time to back off of the exercise and did some corrective stretching.
“When you increase intensity too quickly, you can get injuries,” she said. “It’s a process of building and recovering muscles. They need a chance to repair themselves and as they do that, they get stronger and the body becomes more efficient.”
When it comes to training after the triathlon, Simons says she will first allow Irwin’s body some time to recover and work to maintain a base fitness level.
And as a result of progress, Irwin said he feels more refreshed and energetic at work, has less trouble falling asleep at night, and most importantly, his confidence level is up.
As of Friday, he didn’t expect to come out on top, but that he will be happy to just complete the triathlon. He said this week that his experience went very well.
As for his fitness future, he said, “I’m not ready for “Ironman” yet.”
