Long-time competitor jumps back in triathlete arena
When the Lake Tahoe triathlon deemed itself the
”
World’s Toughest Triathlon,
”
no one probably argued with the claim, especially Rebecca Jones.
Jones, 43, of Hollister, competed in the 2-mile swim, the 100-mile
bike ride and the 18-mile run in 1992. The bike ride, though,
scaled three different mountain passes, but when temperatures were
in the 90s for much of the trek, the cool breeze on the way down
the mountain was a reward in itself.
Long-time competitor jumps back in triathlete arena
When the Lake Tahoe triathlon deemed itself the “World’s Toughest Triathlon,” no one probably argued with the claim, especially Rebecca Jones. Jones, 43, of Hollister, competed in the 2-mile swim, the 100-mile bike ride and the 18-mile run in 1992. The bike ride, though, scaled three different mountain passes, but when temperatures were in the 90s for much of the trek, the cool breeze on the way down the mountain was a reward in itself.
That is, until Jones began to notice snow compiling on the side of the road.
“On the last mountain pass, a storm rolled in and it started snowing. The athletes were in shorts and tank tops …” Jones said. “It wasn’t bad going up because you’re working hard, but coming down … my hands pretty much froze to the break pedals. I do not like being cold.”
Jones said she was so cold, in fact, that if her parents were at the bottom of the mountain pass, she would have hopped in the car and gone home. Luckily, her parents, although supportive, she says, were nowhere to be found. During the ensuing 18-mile run, Jones ended up taking the lead with two miles to go.
“When you’re swimming, don’t think about the bike or the run. When you’re biking, don’t think about the run or the swim, just focus on what you’re doing at the time,” Jones said. “And I had to remember the wind is not just blowing on me, it’s blowing on everybody.”
Having competed in close to 60 to 65 triathlons in her lifetime, and double that amount when you add in the slew of road races, Jones, amazingly, has finished every race she’s started.
Coupled with her job as a registered nurse in the emergency room at Hazel Hawkins, Jones’ life – in the ER and in the Ironman – is described as “controlled chaos.”
But after taking 13 years off to achieve her chaotic state – time off to get a real job as an RN, she says – Jones is back, training, competing. After completing six full Ironman’s, including three Hawaii Ironman’s, Jones wants to get back to Hawaii, and back to the world championships. When she’s not at work at the hospital, she’s working out at Rovella’s Athletic Club in Hollister.
“It’s pretty much a lifestyle,” she said. “I work and I workout and things are pretty much balanced around that.”
Born in Knoxville, Tenn., and raised in Cumberland, Md., Jones ended up in Hollister in 2003, but her life as a triathlete started in 1984 at the age of 20. It was a simple start for Jones. There were no idols to look up to or initial dreams of running the Hawaii Ironman – just a local Maryland triathlon caught her eye. It was a 3-mile run, a 12-mile bike ride and a 1/4-mile swim. It was, in fact, so local, that a disclaimer accompanied the application, noting that there was a 15-person minimum for the race. Otherwise, the race would not be held.
After 85 people showed up that day, including her father, Jones took second.
“I was hooked. I loved it,” she said. “I love the outdoors. I love the training. Even if I’m not competing, I’d still train. I’d still train because I have a wicked sweet tooth.”
Noting her affinity forchocolate, Jones began training for triathlons in 1985, and began competing in the Bud Light Triathlon Series one year later. After earning a sixth-place finish in 1988, Jones then qualified for the Hawaii Ironman the following year.
Going back to school to become an RN put a stop to her training, however. She still managed to compete in local road races during her time off – including the 100th running of the Boston Marathon – but it wasn’t until April of 2005 that she tried her hand in the Ironman once again at a race in Tempe, Ariz.
“My first goal was just to finish,” she said. “Then I had higher goals, like finishing before dark, breaking 12 hours and finishing in the top three in my age group to qualify for the race in [Hawaii]. It was an exciting day and I felt like I did 20 years ago at my first race.”
Jones finished in 12:26:12 to grab 15th place in the 40-44 age group.
“It was good to compete again,” she added.
Last year, she competed in Tempe once again, this time earning a seventh-place finish in 12:16:17, and just last month, she finished eighth at a half-Ironman in Hawaii, shedding some 42 minutes off her previous time in 5:34.16.
“These last couple of years, it’s different,” Jones said. “That’s what I’m working for – cumulative training – just getting better and better and better.”
In between 12-hour shifts at the hospital, Jones said an ideal week of training for her is 11,000 yards of swimming, 150 miles of biking, 30 to 40 miles of running and two weight sessions. Although she admits that she rarely meets those standards, as she says, “Naps are underrated.”
Never wanting to be a DNF (Did Not Finish), Jones continually pushes herself through training, through competing. She once tripped in a hole during the running portion of a triathlon, severely twisting her ankle, and was forced to “hobble” the remaining five miles. She once vomited 1,000 yards offshore during a practice session in Hawaii, and had to take half a Dramamine before racing to offset the sea-sickness.
But any letup in her training will simply delay the fulfillment of reaching her goals. Make no doubt about it, Jones wants to get back to Hawaii for the world championships.
“I like to win,” she said. “Over the last four to five years, I haven’t been doing that, but I feel like I can get back to that level. “You just have to be disciplined. You just have to do the work.”
