What does it take to become an Ironman World Champion and still balance a family life? This is the story of Jessica Jones Lasley, an age group world champion from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who shares her extraordinary journey from a military academy to becoming the Ironman World Champion. Jessica's resilience and determination were shaped by her experiences in the academy and later the Army World Class Athlete Program. She opens up about her transition from military life to becoming a professional triathlete, and the immense challenges she faced along the way.
Jessica's story goes beyond racing and endurance sports. She is also a parent, and she talks candidly about the struggles she faced raising a family and her return to racing. Jessica’s grit and tenacity are evident in her recounting of her Ironman Tulsa and Kona races, where she overcame challenging course conditions and personal injuries to secure her championship.
In the final leg of our chat, Jessica gives us a glimpse into her personal life, revealing a family rich in athleticism. Her stepson Seth is a cat-one racer, and her twins Roan and Gwen run for Bishop Kelly. Aside from her family, Jessica has also found success in coaching, and she provides valuable insights into her coaching philosophy, emphasizing the importance of finding the right fit for each athlete. This episode is more than just an athlete's story; it's a testament to resilience, tenacity, and the unyielding spirit.
Instagram @jessjonestri and @teamjjl
Vantagepointendurance.com
Coaching inquires jessjonestri@gmail.com
What does it take to become an Ironman World Champion and still balance a family life? This is the story of Jessica Jones Lasley, an age group world champion from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who shares her extraordinary journey from a military academy to becoming the Ironman World Champion. Jessica's resilience and determination were shaped by her experiences in the academy and later the Army World Class Athlete Program. She opens up about her transition from military life to becoming a professional triathlete, and the immense challenges she faced along the way.
Jessica's story goes beyond racing and endurance sports. She is also a parent, and she talks candidly about the struggles she faced raising a family and her return to racing. Jessica’s grit and tenacity are evident in her recounting of her Ironman Tulsa and Kona races, where she overcame challenging course conditions and personal injuries to secure her championship.
In the final leg of our chat, Jessica gives us a glimpse into her personal life, revealing a family rich in athleticism. Her stepson Seth is a cat-one racer, and her twins Roan and Gwen run for Bishop Kelly. Aside from her family, Jessica has also found success in coaching, and she provides valuable insights into her coaching philosophy, emphasizing the importance of finding the right fit for each athlete. This episode is more than just an athlete's story; it's a testament to resilience, tenacity, and the unyielding spirit.
Instagram @jessjonestri and @teamjjl
Vantagepointendurance.com
Coaching inquires jessjonestri@gmail.com
What is up? Cycling Oklahoma. Thank you so much for tuning in for another episode. I am so, so sorry that we only had one episode last month, mainly my fault, it's all my fault, I'll take all the blame on that one. I had some scheduling issues, had a couple of interviews that just didn't work out with timing and scheduling, and so that kind of put us a little bit that I tried to scramble to get some. But I had an amazing trip to Kona to watch Lindsay race at the Ironman World Championships in Kona. So being there that kind of limited my access to sit down and record with some people, and then I had the pleasure for the first time getting COVID. So it has been an adventure the last couple of weeks. So I'm so sorry I have not been able to get an episode put together and get that out, but I think this one will be worth the wait. I am so excited about this episode.
Speaker 1:Jessica Jones, lastly, is someone who I've tried to get on here several times. We tried to schedule it earlier this summer because she won overall Ironman Tulsa and I wanted to get on and talk about that. How amazing that was. But then, since she was going to Kona, we decided to wait until she got done with that race to hear her story. And I'm gonna go ahead and ruin it. She's a world champion, y'all. We have a world champion, an age group world champion, in Tulsa, america, and I could not be more honored and feel so privileged. And just that she took time out of her busy life to sit down and tell her story. And it's an awesome story. I mean, I knew she was a one tough woman. I knew she, like, came from a military background and went to West Point, but I did not know the details of it. So this episode I understand. If you're a cyclist, you're like I don't wanna listen to a triathlete. Well, you know what Triathletes don't wanna listen to all the cycling stories either. So suck it up, deal with it, listen to it, you will not be disappointed. She is very involved in the cycling world outside of Ironman and Multisport, so she has a great story. She's raising some just kick-ass kids who are dominating in their own right. Her husband is a national champion in Cyclocross, so you know what? The cycling routes go deep. So listen to it, you're gonna love it. You're gonna take something away from it. So I really hope you enjoy this episode and I cannot thank Jessica enough for sitting down. And again, jessica, a thousand congratulations on being a world champion at Kona. That is the coolest. So I greatly appreciate the time to sit down and do that.
Speaker 1:Cycling in Oklahoma right now is full dirt mode for the most part, so I hope you guys are getting out and enjoying the Cyclocross races, the gravel races, mountain bike races there's a lot going on throughout the winter in Oklahoma, so I hope everyone's getting out supporting our local events and enjoying getting dirty and getting in the trees and doing something a little bit different than the traditional on the road crit racing and those kinds of things. So get out, explore some local races, enjoy the trails, enjoy the gravel roads and, more importantly, just be kind to each other. Love each other, say hi. When you see other cyclists out there, wave and say hi. If they're commuters, it doesn't matter. If they're onto wheels, they're a cyclist. Give them a little respect, say hi, make everybody's day better.
Speaker 1:So, with that being said, I wanna say thank you so much to More Overhead Door. They have stepped up and sponsored this podcast. We are still looking for more sponsors. Have some ideas of turning those dollars into some really cool footage and opportunities for cycling in Oklahoma and supporting some events and supporting some racers. So if you would like to sponsor the podcast, the money goes right back into our community. More Overhead Door has stepped up. They were our first sponsor, so I cannot thank them enough. They're a great group of guys who race I've said it a thousand times on here but they support us less. Support them. You know what, if you're training in your garage this winter and your door is not insulated and it's cold as heck in your garage, give More Overhead Door a call and let them get you a new insulated garage door to make yours wifting or whatever you do, much more tolerable. But if you have any needs whatsoever with your Overhead Door, if it's repairs you're building a house, you want a new garage door, whatever it is give them a call. They support us. They're down in more Oklahoma, more Overhead Door. More is spelt, just like the city of Moore. Their phone number is 405-799-9214, 405-799-9214. But look them up. They're on all the interwebs and all the things. More Overhead Doors. Again, thank you guys so much for stepping up and helping support this podcast and making this dream a reality for us and keeping the content flowing.
Speaker 1:I have a lot of people that when I'm on rides and things, I don't know who they are, but they hear the voice and they're like, oh my gosh, I listened to Cycling Oklahoma. It's so cool. I appreciate it. And I had an awesome message the other day from someone who was doing an Epic event, which I hope to get him on here to tell about his Epic event. And he listened to a podcast episode into this ultra-distance bike race and one of the episodes of Michael Ray inspired him and kind of pulled him out of a dark spot in the middle of his ride and made him realize why he was riding his bike and the enjoyment of riding his bike and kind of just sparked him. And, man, that gave me goosebumps, it warmed my soul and I just cannot thank you for those kinds of comments. So if you wanna be on here you know somebody that wants to be on here let me know. Let's get their stories out there. But we do need sponsors to keep this thing rolling and to do a bunch of the cool ideas and events that we wanna do. So thank you, guys, and More Overhead Doors for stepping up and helping with that.
Speaker 1:I won't ramble anymore. Please enjoy this episode with Jessica. It's incredible. She's an amazing human and she's doing it all. So I hope you enjoy it and thanks again for listening. ["the Star-Spangled Banner"]. All right, we're recording, jessica. Thank you so much for joining, I wanna. We actually talked about this one for a couple of months and then delayed it because you kind of had a big race coming up and I thought it might be cool to have something to talk about and come to find out. You have a whole lot to talk about. So we'll get into Kona in a little bit, because after Ironman Tulsa, I was like, oh my gosh, this would be so cool to have Jessica on and talk about her win there, and then you went up to that. So we'll get into the fun success that you've recently had here at a minute. But first introduce yourself and tell people a little bit about you, and then we'll get into your story.
Speaker 2:Oh man, you're putting me on the spot.
Speaker 1:I'm Jessica.
Speaker 2:Jones-Wasley. I live in Tulsa, oklahoma. I'm a triathlete, a mother, a veteran, a coach brain dead.
Speaker 1:Your resume of things What'd you say? I said your resume of things, of items that you are, is very like wide ranging and already like where do we even go with this conversation? So let's just jump into. Well, let's start with the endurance stuff first and then I want to get into the raising super fast kids and your military and all that kind of stuff. But how did you get going in endurance sports?
Speaker 2:Well, I'm originally from Houston, Texas, and I grew up running and playing soccer and this is so. I also swam a bit, because in Houston it seems like everyone does like a summer league swim team or whatever. And my sophomore year in high school I knew I wanted to go to a military academy and the thing is your freshman year doesn't count as far as what they call early action, which means you apply earlier to kind of get a jump on the application process. So I was going to start early application but my freshman year didn't count, even though I had gone to the state meet in Texas and had a really successful freshman year. Well, 99% of academy cadets, midshipmen, are varsity lettermen. Well, my track and cross country didn't count because it was my freshman year. So we're kind of scrambling because we just needed to check the block for this early action and so I swam a little bit. So that's when I went ahead and joined the swim team and that's when I started swimming year round. So I do have a little bit of a swim background. If you're a true swimmer, starting your sophomore year in high school is way too late, but anyway. So I got my varsity letter in swimming and I just never stopped swimming.
Speaker 2:I did actually stop playing soccer because it got to the point where it's like running college and at the rate I was going to go I was going to be injured in college playing soccer and running. So I resumed running, got healthy and before my senior year in high school this is 1995, they had announced that triathlon would be an Olympic sport. And my dad, who was my coach running growing up, was like you'd be perfect for this and I was kind of one of those kids that just kind of went along with whatever. So I said okay. So I got a little Canada OR 300 and started doing triathlon that summer and ironically my very first Olympic distance race was in Edmond, oklahoma. Really it was some national championship and I did it and loved triathlon and in my head I thought I want to do this professionally one day. And then I basically didn't touch a bike for several years because I ran in college and that's when I resumed triathlon. That was in the year 2000 that I resumed.
Speaker 1:OK, so let's talk about your college. You decided you wanted to go to a military academy so early on. What made you want to pursue that over a traditional university?
Speaker 2:Well, I come from a large family and were very like military is just kind of ingrained in us. My dad was ROTC at Houston, that's all right. Sorry about that. You're good and my mom's an Air Force brat and early on my parents were like we're not paying for college, so OK. So of my five siblings, all five of us went to military academies.
Speaker 1:Gosh.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it was a combination of service and that my parents are cheap and I wish that I could say at 18 years old I understood really what service was and I would be fibbing if I told you at 18, I really understood what that meant. So, yeah, so I went to the military academy and I ended up running there and we had a really good program and I don't know.
Speaker 1:We cut out. There we go, oh no, you're back. You're back. It was just for a second. So if we have technical difficulties, it's part of the wonders of doing it remote, it's part of the charm. The fact that you guys got all siblings into a military academy is wild. Like it's not like you just applied it. It's pretty crazy the fact that we were all. It's crazy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the fact that we were just all even medically qualified, because especially back then they were very strict with eyesight, like, my sister was medically disqualified from Air Force Academy because of allergies, so she ended up going to Annapolis and she's the only one that went to. Navy and the rest of us were more than just the only one that went to Navy, and the rest of us were much smarter and we went to Army.
Speaker 1:So yeah, that's. There's probably no talking trash at all in the family about that Crazy. So so the Army Navy game is huge, yeah, yeah. Do you guys talk about it?
Speaker 2:It's a big deal. My sister is wild yeah, a little bit. You know, my poor sister and her husband are so wildly outnumbered that it's. You know. It is what it is and, interestingly enough, like I was really torn between Army and Navy and this is 1995. And I said whoever wins the Army Navy football game, that's where I'm going to go. And it was, it was just this crazy game. And so I actually was like, well, I'm going to go take a nap because I can't watch this. And I went late and so my dad woke me up and I said who won? And he said Army. I guess they did like a 90. I get football terminology all wrong, but they did some amazing whatever drive to win the game and you know in milliseconds, and my dad says Army won. I said I guess I'm going to Army.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh. So what so you get to? Because I have so many questions about the military Academy alone, but let's talk about your, your running there first. What, what distances you run in college.
Speaker 2:So I specialize in 5000, 10000 qualified for NCAAs and the 10 K. But you know, being that it was kind of a smaller school, we had less than 400 women at the whole school so I often end up running the four or the mile indoors or the DMR distance, distance medley relay. Back then to women didn't steeple chase yet so I often ran the 3000., oh wow.
Speaker 1:So you ran anything and everything. And now my dog. We took away a speaker but he found his bone to decide my noise, so that'll be great. So you were. You always kind of had that longer distance In your body.
Speaker 2:I mean, that's kind of a second, Do you?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Can you hear me?
Speaker 1:Uh huh, you, you cut out there for a second, you just cut out just for a second yeah. Okay, well, we can clean this up if we need to. Okay, you got into. Clearly, the longer distance stuff has always been what you were successful at and what you like thrived in, thrived in. Did you? Did you have a preference of the five or 10 K?
Speaker 2:No, the thing is the 10,000 is just not available that much for collegiate athletes, because where I was in New York indoors was really a big deal, which was so different than Texas. We don't have indoors, or we didn't in Houston, and the furthest we ran was two miles. So I didn't run the 10K very often, but when I did run it I did recognize that as the distance got longer that was better for me. So you know, in that way I probably liked the 10K.
Speaker 1:Gotcha. Yeah Well, we'll get back to the, to your post military running and endurance sports. Your video cut out, but can you still hear me? Oh there you are. Well, I can hear you again. You want to try to turn off your. There you are.
Speaker 2:I went ahead and just hopped off the internet and just decided to try to use cellular, cellular data to see if that helps.
Speaker 1:Perfect and well, we'll just do a little edit. So it's not a big deal. I marked it down. Well, I wanted to get into the military academy and just talk about that for a second. What was like going into the, going from just like a normal growing up civilian life and going right into the military academy? What was that first year like? In those first couple of months, that first semester of just like the kick in the teeth of like holy cow? This is a completely different world.
Speaker 2:So I'm the fourth kid in my family, so I had these three older siblings that had already gone. And you know, my dad is a veteran army Vietnam veteran officer and my mom is her father was career Air Force pilot. So you would think that I really understood what I was getting into. And I don't know what I was thinking because, like when you report and these people are all yelling at me, I'm just baffled like wow, like I think I had it in my mind, but they're not really going to yell at me, like I don't know why. I thought they wouldn't yell. That's so silly. And so, as I'm like getting ripped into, I just was.
Speaker 2:It was a shock, it was a shocker. It was a shocker to you know, culturally, to go from Texas to New York and so then, like cross country and track, we travel quite a bit and we'd be going to Boston, new York City, and you know, at that point I still had this very thick Southern accent and it was just culturally a huge shock. I was incredibly homesick my freshman year. It was overwhelming and flustering, which is the whole point of your plea beer at West Point. They're trying to do that. They're trying to create chaos, which you know, coincidentally, I just had this conversation with my husband. Everything about the military is planning for the worst case scenario, which actually works out really well for Iron man. So anyway, yeah, so that was difficult, but at no point did I think about quitting or that that it wasn't for me, you know I, you know, I think it. One thing the Academy is really good at is drawing people in that are are going to rise to the occasion. So, and it really teased, sorry, go ahead.
Speaker 1:No, I was going to say was like was it the the culture piece of it what was so shocking? Or was it like the schoolwork and the like physical demands of what you have to do every single day? Were those a big shock as well?
Speaker 2:Fortunately, given my background, physically I did very well there and that was a huge positive because I didn't have to worry so much about that. I think more was, and and I think growing up in athletics and the high school I went to was pretty academically rigorous, so I also had pretty, already pretty good time management. I, you know, I was always able to manage myself pretty well, even growing up, without even being told, and I don't know why. I think part of it too is like when you have a 530 am run, you know you're going to lay out your in high school. You know you're going to lay out your, your clothes, you're going to be prepared because you want the most sleep as possible.
Speaker 2:I think the biggest thing was the plebier was being yelled at, being hazed. That was difficult and it's not until you get older that you realize that's not personal. And then you know, I think, culturally, when you're at West Point you're you're kind of shielded from that because it's not like we're going out all the time. You know you don't go out, you don't party. It's just not a normal college experience. I will say the academic load at the end of the day, by the time you're there for four years. What is the most stressful is that it is academically a very difficult school. You know it's an engineering school. I majored in math. I'm fairly proficient in math or I was and it's just the volume, the difficulty, it's just, it's a lot.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I can't imagine.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I. Sometimes I'm like I don't know how I did that, because I'm so lazy.
Speaker 1:Now, You're making up for it.
Speaker 2:You're exactly.
Speaker 1:I put in my work, just on the front end, when my kids are like help me with my homework.
Speaker 2:Oh, mom's burnt out.
Speaker 1:Sorry, I've already done my time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1:Whenever you got out, how long did you serve?
Speaker 2:So everyone that gets from West Point or the academies they serve five years active duty, three years IRR in active ready reserve. I ended up doing my five years. My last year I was actually in Iraq. It was actually a little bit over a year. I actually got out of the military but then I came back in because I was accepted to the Army World Class Athlete Program for triathlon so I came back in, yeah, so I ended up doing a little more time in that. So it ended up being seven years active duty and West Point actually is active duty as well. So versus ROTC is considered reservist. So I ended up with 11 years total Gotcha.
Speaker 1:So let's transition with that back into you're on the triathlon team in the military. What was that like? How does that work? What did you get to do?
Speaker 2:So yeah, that's a great question. So the Army World Class Athlete Program is a very small company and they're based out of Fort Carson, colorado, in Colorado Springs, and to be accepted into the Army World Class, they call it WCAP. To be accepted into WCAP you have to be deemed Olympic potential in your respective sport. So I actually was the only triathlete and so to be accepted into that program I also had to be accepted onto the resident team at the Olympic Training Center. So I came back from Iraq, got myself in pretty good shape, I competed in the all army nationals and the world championships for the military world championships, which actually is an ITU race, and it draws yeah, so it draws like.
Speaker 2:Interestingly enough, like other countries, a lot of their best sponsors are military. So when I race, sism is what it's called the military world champs. This would have been 2005. Like half the field had been the Olympics in Athens in 2004. Right, like Jan Frodeno won it Like, and I want to say 1999 or 2000. Like a lot of people in Europe or even China, it's their stepping stone right To pro right. So Daniel Unger won it like you could go through. Who's won SISM? You know and that's how I know Tim O'Donnell because he was a Navy so anyway. So I did really well in that race and show. I showed some promise and ITU. So I got accepted to WCAP and I got accepted to the training center, which I had to be accepted to both for this to work, and that's where I went. So I got back in the military and it was awesome in that everything is taken care of. You know, they cook for you.
Speaker 2:You're just a professional athlete at that point yeah, you're a professional athlete I will say that I had just gotten back from Iraq. So I got back from Iraq in February of 2005 and I reported October of 2005. And that was a difficult transition for me, just going from essentially like when you're in Army, wcap, it's like you're in the military, but you're very rarely in a uniform. It's not traditional Army job, right. So so that was difficult because I wasn't around the same people that I'd been around the last nine years of my life, 10 years of my life, and on top of it, I had just come back from war and I'm quite young, and so I don't think I understood how difficult that was going to be, or even as it was, as I was going through it, because I'm not surrounded by people who have also just returned from war. I mean, I'm surrounded by, like I'm surrounded by civilians and Olympians and you know. So I think I was dealing with much heavier things than they were.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're dealing with like crazy real life, like trauma, things that you've seen and heard, and they're like, oh, my workouts suck today and you're like, okay yes, like we just didn't.
Speaker 2:And I loved the team and I love the women that I train with, but we, you know, we were just looking back. I have the understanding why that was so difficult, and at the time it's like you have everything that you could have ever dreamed of. Why was that transition so difficult? And I think that's exactly it. It's like I'm bringing a completely different perspective and at that point we weren't talking a lot about mental health. I am diagnosed PTSD and it took me a long time to understand what that is or even acknowledge it Right, and so you know, my thing is well, of course I am, why anyone in my situation would be Right and typically are. So yeah, it's you know, one year before I'm thinking I'm going to get blown up, I'm not, I'm not racing in Athens, so yeah. So that's one reason for me it's so important for veterans who are coming back from war or are leaving the military to have that infrastructure and that camaraderie, because that's a very difficult transition.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's. I can't imagine the culture shock coming that direction like you had when you were going into the academy. Right it's. It's just such a mind cluster whenever you're?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would say. For me, getting out was more traumatizing than going in.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure. I could totally see that Like I can't relate to that. The only way I can relate to it is my cousin. He was army and he was in the striker units and he went overseas a couple of times and did all his things and he's got the awards and the purple heart and bronze stars and all the things of all the battles that he was in and I just like I can't. I remember him getting out. He's a little bit younger than me. I remember him getting out just thinking like I can't imagine going to work and sitting at an office compared to what he was doing all these years before and how you can just like turn that off.
Speaker 1:and somebody's bitching about, like whatever their day is, You're like dude shut up the strength of the coffee.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I can't imagine that.
Speaker 2:We're finding holes to poop in. You know, like you're fine, get over it.
Speaker 1:Exactly, exactly. How long were you in that program and how long did you get to do?
Speaker 2:that, Well, here's then. We could go on and on about this.
Speaker 2:So, I ended up being in that program about 15 months In 2006. So I met my husband. He was also the army W Cap and this is now we're no longer married, but we have a really great relationship. He was there for he was a swimmer and was there for modern pentathlon. I found out I was pregnant with twins and when I told the training center and I told W Cap, I got kicked out of both. So, you know, I just kind of it's it's not that I laugh, but it is ironic that now in the year, and in the best way that in the year 2023, you know, we had an Ironman world champion, that was a mother last year and we have all these organizations now that are really promoting and supporting women and motherhood and professional athletes. In 2006, my butt was getting kicked out, you know crazy.
Speaker 2:I mean, I kept the letter. I kept the letter from the coach basically saying I was going to be too old and it would be too difficult with with with having these children, and I was 28.
Speaker 1:And they were like you're pregnant, your career is done, Move on. Thank you for playing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yes, yeah, you will not be successful. The, the, the letter was it's very unlikely you are successful.
Speaker 1:You need to find that person that wrote that letter. Oh, I know who it is.
Speaker 2:I know who it is, then I bite my tongue.
Speaker 1:No I feel like he needs a picture of Kona. I feel, like you're right, never gonna be successful.
Speaker 2:Well, so that was so. I ended up having a very. You know the thing is, I knew it was wrong, I knew in my heart this was wrong and I knew as a woman this was wrong. But at that point it was very and this is what sad. It was very difficult to find people who had the same mindset as me. You know, it seemed to be that that was totally acceptable, which also shows how far we've come. And so, being pregnant with twins on that altitude and when I, you know, wanna fire back with this, screw you da, da, da da da. You know I also recognize that I am in a high risk pregnancy cause it's twins, and I knew that for my body that was not the best avenue.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And I ended up having a very difficult pregnancy and I ended up being on bed rest six weeks and, yeah, and had an emergency C-section and you know. So coming back from that was difficult. Now, of course, now I'm out of the military, and I'm and Lucas their father ended up deciding to get out of the military, so then we that's how we ended up moving to Tulsa. This is just where he found a job. But I got back into triathlon and at this point the 70.3 distance is becoming a bigger thing and so after your kids were born, did you get back into racing.
Speaker 2:So my kids were born March 2007. And I raced my first half Ironman in 2000,. October of 2008, it was Austin 70.3.
Speaker 1:You just jumped right back in.
Speaker 2:Well, kind of I like Memphis. In May I raced, and that was in May in 2008. That was 15 months later, 18 months later, and you know for you look at the mothers now and they're like racing. Two months, three months later.
Speaker 1:Why.
Speaker 2:It's crazy and I don't know how they did that, but I had, I had these twins. We moved to Tulsa. We had zero family here. I wasn't like coming from, I had a baby, and now I'm jumping back into training. I'm like I gained significant weight. I was on bed rest. I, you know, I had pretty severe postpartum depression, which I realized now, and so that was that was a tough road. That was probably one of my proudest races, just cause I had the courage to even start. You know, I still had my pro card. I'd only raced a couple pro races at the Olympic Training Center, so anyway, so I raced this in 2008, and I ended up winning my first 70.3 in 2010. So yeah, that was a. That was a tough road.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what, what, what race did you win in 2010?
Speaker 2:Augusta.
Speaker 1:Oh nice.
Speaker 2:Yeah, augusta 70.3. And then in 2011, I won Branson and I won and I went back and I won Austin.
Speaker 1:Oh wow. So did you find that the 70.3 is what suits you the best, or is that just where you were at that time?
Speaker 2:That's where I was at that time. You know I didn't with my twins. I knew that the full Ironman distance wasn't realistic and you know I come from the short course background. So you know, as a pro, if you weren't racing ITU, which it became very clear that was not going to be good for me. I'm not. While I'm a decent swimmer, I'm not that caliber of swimmer.
Speaker 1:Right. So I you know in short course, if you don't come out with the top 10 on the swim, you're taking them.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and there were a few at that point non-draft Olympic distance races, just a few, and I don't really think there's any now. Yeah, I don't think so. I knew the full was just, it was not. You know, with twins, that was just not going to happen. And you know, at that time their dad is working a full-time job, you know, and then on top of it he's a reservist. So that took some real maneuvering.
Speaker 1:Well, that's what I was going to ask is how are you able to have young twins at home plus you know, like, be able to deal and getting to the level of fitness to not only just to compete and race and enjoy your past fitness and your past success, but like, get to the level of like I'm competing and winning, like, how in the world I know this is something we wanted to talk about, but how in the world did you balance baby's life and like and really truly an elite level of racing? Because a 70.3, yeah, it is half of a full and your training is not quite as much, but your training, especially at that level, is still really intense and-.
Speaker 2:So yeah, it's still, in fact, I would say, my best Ironman's as a pro came from. I wasn't training for Ironman, I was actually training for 70.3s and this Ironman presented itself and I thought, okay, I'll go for it, and that was actually. Those were the best races for me. So I actually did very well at this 70.3 distance just making this jump, but I had a treadmill. I did a lot of work on the trainer. Swimming was using the childcare at the YMCA, although that was difficult because with twins, if ones crying they come and get you and so I couldn't really rely on that. So that took a lot of like help from Lucas.
Speaker 1:How many hours a week were you training at that time?
Speaker 2:I think I was probably averaging, probably 18 to 20. Oh my gosh, yeah, and it was getting up early. Every time they're taking a nap I'm training. I was pushing them in the baby my very first 70.3,. Every run I'd done was pushing them in a double stroller.
Speaker 2:From back down. Yeah, and I'm on a road bike with clip-on arrow bars Back then, equipment-wise, not everyone's on it, even on a TT bike. That's another thing. The times that I had winning in 2010, 11 wouldn't podium now Like equipment and advancements have come so far. So anyway, yeah, I feel like I think too, I had a real bone to pick, like you kicked me out, I wanna show you, and that sort of motivation worked short term, but I don't think it's probably gonna work long term. It's probably not even necessarily very healthy, but it worked then.
Speaker 1:So Exactly, but it worked and it got you where you? Needed to be.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 1:So when did you start rolling in to do in the full distance races? At what?
Speaker 2:point. When my kids went to elementary school and I had some time, you know, open up because they're at school full day, five days a week, that's when it was like, okay, I'll start trying this Ironman distance. And so they were in kindergarten when I did my first, and it was actually Rev3, it was Cedar Point.
Speaker 1:Yep.
Speaker 2:I had been on the Rev3 team and then, yeah, it just went from there.
Speaker 1:Did you so whenever you were doing the 70.3s and winning and competing? Were you doing that as a pro or as an age group?
Speaker 2:I did I from 2005, when I got my pro license. I had that until I raced my last pro race in 2017.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, so at that time, was there a way to make any sustainable money at that point in the 70.3?
Speaker 2:It went great. The Rev3 team was good because they gave a salary.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:And so some of my best years I don't think I'm not a name that people are like oh yeah, you know, remember her. Remember that pro. Part of it is because I didn't race a lot and then also my best years. I was on this Rev3 team, so I'm racing the Rev3 series and they had great money and they paid for all our travel and I got salary on top of it, and so those were good years for me.
Speaker 1:Those are years that's so important for that in the multi-sport world.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and the thing is, it was wonderful, and at that time also during that time, lucas and I got divorced. So I'm a single parent as well, and if I hadn't have had that, it would have been game over, wow. So yeah, and it was around this time too that I first started coaching.
Speaker 1:Okay, so, so, and you just got into the coaching as just a supplement to like I mean, a lot of pros do that, plus they like want to pass on their knowledge and they realize, like I really enjoy this sport, I want to see people do it and plus I can make extra money to support my work.
Speaker 2:Right. Well, the thing is, in triathlon for pros and it's probably this is probably still true but the top tier making good money. The rest of us are not. So unless you have someone really helping you out financially, you're yeah, you're going to have to figure it out. So I think part of it was financial. For me, part of it, too, was that I knew that, you know, at this point not everyone had coaches. Like now it's very normal for everyone to have a coach. Back then it was, it wasn't that way. It was almost kind of like oh, she thinks she's fancy with a coach.
Speaker 1:Did you have a coach or did?
Speaker 2:you self-doubt.
Speaker 1:Yes, I did.
Speaker 2:I self-coached until 2010. Cause I'd had such a bad experience with the training center. I think it created a certain amount of self-doubts. But then I ended up with a coach that a gal here recommended and he was my coach for a decade and then he passed away in 2020 unexpectedly. So I've been self-coached since then, but I mean he's always in my, everything that I do is with him in my ear still to this day, like don't do that.
Speaker 1:So so when you got into your fulls and you started with rep three, did you have immediate success in the full, or was it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I did my first full distance. I went nine, 18, which at the time was the fastest American debut for Iron man.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and so you know I that was 2012 and I got divorced in 2012. And you can kind of see like it makes like my performance. I had a hard time juggling it all and you can see, I can look back and see that really did that was detrimental to my performance.
Speaker 1:Well, it's a great way to, especially as a coach, to explain to people how physical stress and emotional stress are exactly the same.
Speaker 2:Yes, that's also a big part of why I coached. It's been a huge part of my healing journey Understanding how coaching to me is just another component of leadership. Here I am, and what I loved about being in the Army was I loved being a platoon leader. I loved being an exo. I loved being with troops. What drove me was relationships and understanding what makes someone tick and trying to bring out the best in them, because in the Army, this is the person that you need to rely on when something potentially really wrong happens. I think to me that's what the appeal of coaching was is fostering and maintaining meaningful relationships. For me, that's how I approach my athletes. Sometimes that turns around and bites me in the butt, but for me, the fulfilling relationships and the team that we've created makes that all worth it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what's the name of your coaching business?
Speaker 2:Team JJL.
Speaker 1:Team JJL, but is it still the same group? I remember a handful of years ago you guys had a variety of coaches that did different disciplines. Is it still the same?
Speaker 2:Okay, I'm also part of Vantage Point and they also have some coaches. Yes, I am a coach, yes, but really Team JJL and that's just the athletes I coach, but they're all under this Vantage Point umbrella. With the introduction of Ironman Tulsa, what that's been so great for our community is we have just taken on so many triathletes. What's happened here is now there's the ability to have groups to train with, and triathlon can be a super lonely sport. Having that ability to connect people to train together has been so valuable, not just for me, but for my athletes.
Speaker 1:Are you coaching triathletes only, or is it some runners and some cyclists? How does it work?
Speaker 2:I have triathletes, I have runners, I have cyclists. One thing that I absolutely love is that both cyclists and runners are seeing the value for cyclists to run and for runners to cycle.
Speaker 1:A lot of my athletes that come to me You're going to be careful with those words, right? I know You're going to get a bad name.
Speaker 2:Right, you show up with some short socks, you're out. Yeah, I think they start to really see how they benefit one another. They're on board. My husband is a national champion in Cycle Cross and he runs. That's a new component to training that I've always believed in, for my whole life. It's fun to see people jump on board.
Speaker 1:It's nice to see people become a more functioning human. It's not just about shaving off a second in a 40K time trial or throwing out three more watts in your FTP. How about you're a little bit more robust, you have a little bit better bone density. Maybe you carry a couple extra pounds, but you can lift your couch when you need to remodel your living room Right, the benefits, we could go on and on about.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that you have that approach to it. One thing I definitely want us to get into so we don't run too long is you started seeing some success in Ironman and having results there once you got into it? Clearly it sounds like it was just right off the bat. How many races have Ironman races have you won? Because I know you recently won Ironman Tulsa Was that the first?
Speaker 2:Zero. That was the first.
Speaker 1:And that was not only your age group when you won overall.
Speaker 2:Yes, but there were no pros there, to be fair.
Speaker 1:Well, let's not. You won an Ironman event. Let's call it a win, I won. It's amazing.
Speaker 2:It was 11 years after my debut Ironman and I did it within 30 minutes at 45 years old, so I'll take it. Ironman Tulsa is not an easy course. That's a tough day and I think one reason you don't have as much participation is because it's not an Ironman Texas, it's not a hey, I'm going to go do my fastest Ironman. You're not going there, for it's not a PR course.
Speaker 1:And the fact that the time of year that they put it in the weather could be. It could be anything. Yeah, it could be anything.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you can, and it's Tulsa, you're going to have win.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's just a matter of how much.
Speaker 1:When did you so? During that race, at what point did you realize like holy crap, I'm going to pull this off Like this is going to happen? Um About all day, or did you kind of like?
Speaker 2:well. So one thing that I don't do is I don't versus when I was professional, I'd look at the start list because at the front of the race you want to take cues. Racing professionally is so different, right, because it's like you're racing, right, and so it's like you want to come out of the water with this girl and this girl and this girl and, hey, I'm going to ride around this person and I know this person can run about this. So you're getting a lot of like cues from other people. Well, it's still your race, you still have the. These women race enough and you race them often enough that you can kind of really gauge what's going on. Right, because at the end of the day, you want to get paid, right, and so. So, as as an age group or I am not in that business anymore. I'm not in the business of. I might know a few of the people racing because I follow them on Instagram, but I don't really know their. I don't know their data. So I'm not studying the start list anymore.
Speaker 2:So my point is I felt pretty confident going into it that I would run well and that I would run. I felt confident I would have a solid day, but I don't know what the other women can do. I don't know, you know I. So I thought if I went under 10 hours I'd have a pretty good shot at winning. So when I got on the bike and at some point I took the lead and what was so great was I had so many friends and family around the course. So I'm getting updates. So I knew the second loop I was. I was putting time into the to the women. I think I got off the bike 12 minutes in the lead. I think it was about that, or maybe it was not nine to 12 minutes, I don't remember. But again, I don't know if the lady behind me is going to run three hours.
Speaker 2:You know I'm not going to run three hours anymore. That's. I'd love you know one time I could. I can't do that anymore. And so you know, I was kind of like, well, I'm not taking anything for granted, because you know how these things can go. And I got through to about a mile 12, 13. And at that point I was putting time into the rest of the field and then I just was like, okay, don't run any harder.
Speaker 1:Don't screw up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Like at this point, like just don't have a problem and you and you'll have this, and so that's when I was like it's not more stressful than trying to get the lead.
Speaker 2:Yes, 100%, because then I got to 18 or 20. And you know those. I don't run a lot these days anymore because I am injury prone. I've always been injury prone and I thought, okay, if I do have a problem and I have to walk and by a problem I mean like notoriously I have angry calves and I'm like, okay, if I get this calf cramp, I call it a calf heart attack and I have to walk, how fast do I have to walk and how much lead do I have that I can still, because the finish is brutal, it's like all uphill, and so, anyway, it ended up being just fine. I didn't have a calf heart attack. I was able to run the whole way and I was able to win, and I think it was yeah, it was, it was pretty, it was pretty great, it was pretty.
Speaker 2:Epic day. That was Kona, was was wonderful, but I also was more special because it was here. Yeah in my home.
Speaker 1:Man, I bet. So that leads us into Kona. How many times did you have you qualified for Kona?
Speaker 2:So this is that's. That's a great question. So back when I was professional, we had the KPR system, which was all by point, so it wasn't like you can go do an Iron man and come in third place and get a get a spot. You had to race Iron man often and, as I mentioned, I didn't race that often. So, long story short, it was like I did pretty well, but I never qualified for Kona. The one year I would have qualified was 2016. And that particular year I committed to being a guide in the Paralympics. So so I could. I couldn't do it. I couldn't do Kona, and so and then 2017, which is probably would have been my best year I I was crashed out at Iron man, texas, on the Hardy toll road and I ended up having a I forget how they it's the fracture. Were it Contusion fracture? It's so anyway, and that was. I didn't realize it, but that was. That was to be my last pro race.
Speaker 1:So the only other time I'm in it.
Speaker 2:That's how it ended. Oh yeah, and then it shortly after that I became pregnant with a Frankie, my youngest, so anyway, so, and then I was like I'm too old for this, so, so, anyway, so I've only, I've only raised Kona last year.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, wow, okay. Well, I guess you did have a little bit different circumstances where qualifying was significantly harder and different when you're in the peak of yeah, and back then, like it was only 35 women to Kona you know it was it was it's.
Speaker 2:It's difficult to qualify for Kona as a pro, you know I will say it was probably more difficult than I agree. Yeah, especially for how I approached racing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, you had to race a lot.
Speaker 2:Had to race winning a race.
Speaker 1:You had to win. You had to race a lot, which is brutal because you raised like three iron man's and then you have to go race an iron man at World Championship.
Speaker 2:Yes, exactly it. Just, it just was not. It was not a good infrastructure for me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, or anyone. So this year you well, okay. So last year you, you raised Kona Mm-hmm and what was your experience your very first time? What was your takeaways? That very first year of, like, I'm here, I'm seeing it Because I was there that day and I didn't realize you were there, but because we raced with a team, with a challenge team. So, okay, smoke and Bryce raced and me and another guy were the pit crew. Okay, I spoke through all of that and leading up to that. So we had a five-year adventure to get to Kona. We got in here, covid, they let us defer it, and so we went last year. So I know my very first time is seeing it, what I felt, but as a h-group athlete and all the years of racing, what was your first experience when you got there?
Speaker 2:Well, you know, that's a great question. So I had this last race in 2017. My next Ironman was 2022, when they announced Tulsa in 2019, of course, didn't happen. In 2020, 2021 I broke my scapular Seven weeks before Tulsa, so I didn't get to race that year. So now we're here. We are in 2022. You know it's returned to the big island.
Speaker 2:I had raced Tulsa as an age group or, but there were no pros there, so it still kind of felt like a pro race in that there weren't a lot of people in front of me. So I'm kind of new to Ironman in this format, right, so I came into this with a calf injury. Like I said, I have this. Notoriously that's a whole other issue, wise, but anyway. So I Honestly didn't think I was gonna be able to finish like I started running About five weeks before and, yeah, actually it might have even been more, like four weeks. I'll have to go back and look on Strava. But so I you know I was very, very run light going into this.
Speaker 2:Fortunately, running is my background. I had I had a great base of swimming, a great base of of cycling, but you know, I was so anxious about it all because I didn't think I would be able to finish because of my calf. So, like literally before the race you know I'm talking to my husband I'm like, at what point? If it's not, if, when my calf becomes a problem, do I commit to just walking it in or do I just call it a day? You know, and it's very difficult for me to not finish races, and so we made a decision about, about we're on the queen K, if I had a problem, I could just walk back or, you know, continue on.
Speaker 2:Well, so the way the day played out, you know, I'm running, and I'm actually running pretty well, and I get to the queen K and I, you know, I get to mile 13 and I don't have a problem. 15, I don't have a problem, 18. I don't have a problem and I'm like, oh my goodness, I'm, I'm gonna finish this, and I am just so thrilled to finish I Didn't realize I was in second.
Speaker 2:Oh my god, so I get to my, I get to mile. You know. Back, coming back on the queen K, it's quite hilly and I get to mile 24 and I'm at this hill. You know, I'm just so thrilled I'm gonna be finishing. I have no idea what place I'm in. So I walk up the hill and I'm not usually a walker but I'm like I'll come this far, you know whatever.
Speaker 2:So I start walking up the hill and keep in mind, my longest run going into this was 10 miles on the alter G. So we're going like well into, you know, I have no business running 26 miles. So I get to 24 and I and I walk up the hill. I start running again. Well, uh, my best friend, kelly Benton, is coming on the queen K the other way and she sees me and I guess on the other side of the hill and I guess on the tracker it showed that this person had passed me and she's like you are in third place, but you need, you need to run, you can't walk anymore. I'm like, oh my god, I'm in third place. I didn't even realize I'd just been passed.
Speaker 2:And so then I'll. So I start running and then, right then, this girl blows by me and so we have one mile to go and it's that she's going down on palini. And I see my husband, he's like that third place. I'm like, okay, I guess I'm fourth now and honestly, I was just so elated to finish, uh, and then to podium like it didn't bother me that I got passed by two women in the closing miles. So, you know, I came away. Because, all before the race, I'm like I am never doing this again, because the stress of just this injury was so it just really it wasn't good for my mental health, right? So I'm like I am not doing this again. So then I, you know, get through it. And then about a month later I'm like, hmm, if I actually went into this healthy, maybe I have a shot.
Speaker 1:To win that endurance. Amnesia and you're like it wasn't so bad.
Speaker 2:Exactly. Well, I knew it was bad, but I thought it'll be a lot better if I actually have some run training behind me Well and that run course can is not enjoyable. No no it's it's. I call it a kick in the box, like it is. Yeah, it's, you know, but I think, coming from Oklahoma it's, it's well suited for us.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, especially coming from Tulsa it's it definitely is livable compared to most Right? So this year you showed up with Bright-eyed and like this is a possibility, like I can make this happen.
Speaker 2:I think I can do this, yeah, so how?
Speaker 1:did your day unfold from this year's race.
Speaker 2:Uh, you know, I came into this feeling like I was even fitter than Tulsa and like, medically, that was showing that my training was showing that I get there. I feel the little trickle in my throat and I'm like oh no, and so I kind of shut down any real training. I didn't. I, I'm not one of these people that goes to Kona two, three weeks early, like that's just not in the cards right for me, with my family, and and so, uh, plus, tulsa stayed quite warm here.
Speaker 1:So that was the perfect year to train for Kona, for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly. And if Kona had been a week earlier, like last year, I mean, it would have been seamless, right weather-wise.
Speaker 2:Yeah so so I, I have this little trickle and I have I get there Tuesday. So this is Wednesday. I feel this. You know we're racing Saturday and I had a little bit of training to do and you know, of course, I wanted to check my bike but I basically just shut it down and just concentrated on Saving all of my energy and maybe going in a little bit flat, but like trying to hold off this illness as long as possible. And like looking on race day, um, I feel like I did that, like I didn't feel bad, but I did feel a little bit flat, which makes sense because I kind of missed some of this training going into it.
Speaker 2:And then, um, on the bike, I thought, well, oh man, I, I forgot to recalibrate because look at my power. And then, like, looking back and getting so slammed within 36 hours with this illness, I, I realized, you know, I I think I just was just a little bit, a little bit off, which I think I said this to you beforehand like what's great about the military is we train for the worst day. You know, our training is for everything that's going to go wrong, and that's great for Ironman, because for me it was like all about troubleshooting. Okay, so my power is not where I want to be, but I'm assessing myself and I feel okay, like that was the important thing. While I might not be generating the power that I want, I feel okay, I'm not feverish.
Speaker 1:Power wise. Where are you?
Speaker 2:I'm about 10 to 12 watts.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's a notice.
Speaker 2:I noticed. That's why I thought this was a calibration thing and what's funny is like cutting out the hobby. It didn't really seem to be a problem. Like I'm hitting it, I'm feeling okay. So for me I usually I'm, you know, I've done this a while. I'm, I'm fairly good at pacing, so to come back feeling kind of really labored, you know that that shows that I'm I'm just, you know, and I use this whoop, I don't know if you're familiar, yeah.
Speaker 1:I use it.
Speaker 2:Oh, you've got to get you. Yeah, we've got to track each other. So then you can, you can make sure I'm getting my sleep. But the day after my, my son said to me because he he has a whoop too, and he says something along the lines of like mama, how about your recovery score? The day of the race, and I and I looked at him and I go was it bad? And he goes oh it was bad. I was like, well, thank god, I didn't look at it. I like made the decision, like for some reason.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think subconsciously I knew it was not going to be good, but I didn't want to admit. Yeah, about the hey look, you're fighting something. So the way my day unfolded. So I came off the bike, uh, riding a little bit Slower than I, uh, not slower. Yeah, I hate using that turn.
Speaker 1:It's just a little bit less than than your Uh yeah, it was.
Speaker 2:it was not quite the ride, but I really tried to concentrate because I'm not putting the power out of staying more aro. I really tried to just concentrate on hey, you know what, you can still have a good run. You know, like it's not Realistically, it's not gonna be your best run, but you can still get this done if you manage yourself well. So I got off the bike. I think I was in third or fourth, I don't, I'm not quite sure and I knew that, like I felt confident in my run. I felt like, you know, that is my background, I didn't have an injury and even if I might not have my best run on the day, I still felt confident like it's gonna be good enough.
Speaker 2:And so, uh, I got updates that I was putting 30 seconds per mile on the gal that was leading and she was five minutes ahead of me. So I knew, I calculated, okay, I should see her around mile 13 and I I had a friend out on the course, brad Williams, air Force guy, and he was giving me updates and he had the tracker and he's like you're actually in first now. So the gal you just passed Was was was the girl that was leading and I sure enough I passed her right about mile 13 and at that point it was kind of just like Tulsa, like just minimize damage here, like just one foot in front of the other. Don't get fancy, just be super pragmatic and get this done that last 15 miles is no joke.
Speaker 2:Oh, it's no joke, but like I like to you know, I'm that person that's always doing the bargains.
Speaker 2:And like you know, okay, at this, at this minute, I'm going to take my salt, at this minute I'm going to take my. So I'm like always like trying to have these milestones, that kind of keep me, you know, and this is the games we play. You know, I'm like the last mile goes by so quickly because there's so many people and you know you hit Polini and you know you're almost there. So my mind, like that mile I'm not going to count.
Speaker 2:So actually I only have 11 miles left. You know 10, you know, and so anyway. So and I knew I'd see my family and I had my kids there, and so it was pretty special. I knew I was going to. When I came out of the energy lab, another Gali coach that was racing her husband was there and he had told me how much up I was, so I knew at this point I was even putting more time in. I'm like okay, just just, and I felt confident, unlike the year before, that I could run these last miles well, and running these well I feel like as an age group athlete is just not slowing down to 10, 12 minute miles.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:You know it, just really minimizing that, not deficit, but minimizing the implosion that's happening within your body.
Speaker 1:Right. Well then, coming down Polini to the to the finish shoot is not an easy like it's downhill, but it's so severely downhill. Yeah, if you have any kind of cramp that's like on the edge.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, yeah, your quads are on fire. Yeah, that's a brutal. It's a brutal course.
Speaker 1:That's a brutal.
Speaker 2:Kona is, Kona is no joke.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure. What was it like coming down that finish or shoot?
Speaker 2:It was pretty cool, like the announcers it was the same announcer as Tulsa, and then Tulsa, she kept announcing me as JJ Lazzly and I don't know why, guess, I show up on the tracker like that, like she thinks my name is JJ and so like I'm so like concentrating, like please don't call me JJ, you know. Like I've heard that my whole life, like, hey, jj, you remember the good times? Yeah, don't know why, and I'm like, ah, you know. But so sometimes she had a little bio for me and I'm not quite sure where she got it from. So she did the little bio and she called me by my full name. So I felt very special and and and so one thing I didn't mention was that I was the very last wave of the day which is which I'm not gonna lie to you.
Speaker 2:It kind of sucks.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like an hour after the start.
Speaker 2:I'm out. Yes, I was a solid hour, so you're getting more heat, you're getting more wind. It's so conge, being a women's only day, which I loved, but part of that is on the swim it was so congested Like and that's a skill. You know. Open water swimming is a skill within itself, but open water swimming when you're swimming over people is just a skill that I don't actually have a lot of experience in because typically we go first, right. So that's something like if I do ever do this again, I'm gonna have to address you know, but anyway.
Speaker 2:So it was cool because being last like you're finishing. You know you're passing people all day, but I'm actually finishing later than I did last year.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean and so so, anyway. So when I come across I was sub 10. But so I'm the last person from that wave. That do you see what I'm trying to say? Like no one else on that day was gonna go sub 10. Because I'm the way the math works out.
Speaker 1:Right right.
Speaker 2:So that was kind of cool, you know, and I don't think, yeah, no one in front of me would have either one of the ways in front of me. So I'm like the last person. I would have been the last person to be sub 10. That's cool so. Yeah, so that was kind of cool. And then I had yeah, and then seeing you know my mom was there and seeing my twins, my five year old, who now has been to Hawaii twice, so she has no idea how spoiled she is you know it was just super surreal.
Speaker 2:It was a definitely a full circle moment in my life. You know, just so much gratitude. I had four other athletes racing that day, so you know, to see them. I saw every single one of them on the course, which was amazing. That was the good part about going last was being able to see my people and scare them as I rode by, you know, slapping them on the butt. You know, don't worry, I know her. I know her Anyway, but yeah.
Speaker 1:That's awesome.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it was a great day.
Speaker 1:And that award ceremony getting the world champion trophy like where do you have it displayed in the house?
Speaker 2:I'll show you. Okay, it's right behind. Oh wait, yep, you see that. Oh, I do see it. It's my fourth place.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's got a lot of junk in it, that's how we roll here in the Lazzly Myers home. I love it. Yeah we're not too fancy.
Speaker 2:It's funny, I did a podcast with.
Speaker 1:Drummond, which I know you know, drummond, yeah, he was teammates with Jake, yeah, yeah, and we were at his house and it was actually now that they're in Bentonville, we're sitting at his house and I looked over and I didn't say anything but afterwards and I was like they have this little block of wood that sits by the TV on like a random table and it's just full of USA National Champion, finisher medals, like podium medals from all of them, and just tons of them. They're just hanging there like over in the corner and I'm like this family. I got the super cool world championship trophy but we'll just put it over here.
Speaker 1:Well, typically it gets stolen by.
Speaker 2:Frankie, like she'll just steal whatever and I have no idea what happened to my Tulsa Like probably in a state state play. This one will continue to collect junk, but it will not be in her home At the bottom of her toys. I think that's fair.
Speaker 1:I think that's fair, so of course, everyone's gonna ask her do you really, are you finishing on top or you're just like you know what? Let's just see what happens. You know, I thought about niece for a little bit.
Speaker 2:And then for me, the reason why I don't wanna do niece is because I actually I'm not a fan of niece is because I actually feel like I actually am, like that would actually be a good course for me and I like descending and I like descending fast. We go to Colorado every year and I, especially since being married to Jake. You know this is a guy. Every corner, every downhill is just like. I don't want him to always have to wait for me. So I have dramatically improved since being with him. But anyway, in niece I don't wanna run the risk of being the last wave again. I feel like that would actually, for me, could potentially be so detrimental and even dangerous. I don't wanna ever say never, say never, because I never in a million years thought I would do Iron man again after 2017. But for now, my focus is gonna be 70.3. I have athletes that are gonna race in New Zealand and I think that that would be kind of fun because I haven't done 70.3 since 2017.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So why not Go jump into that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, a new focus, a new goal, a new challenge.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think that actually that distance is actually better for me.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, it's more level. So but one last thing to wrap up the Kona how many hours a week were you training and how were you balancing family and life and training leading up to that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a great question. So one thing that I try to really also like nothing. I always try to convey this to my athletes when you get to Iron man and your age group athlete, this is not my job anymore. It is my job and that I'm a coach and I'm able to train with some of my athletes, but I don't have the same focus that I used to. So one thing I try to convey is nothing that we do is normal, right, and balance can kind of look at a balance for certain times of the year, right.
Speaker 2:So with that said, a lot of laundry doesn't get done. There was a lot of meals. We love the prepared meals from Whole Foods. My husband does a lot of the cooking. The house is kind of really junky for like three months and really it's just like for me it's like between being a mom and trying to do this training and trying to coach, something's gotta give, and so for me a big week would be 20 to 22 hours. I think an average week is about 17 to 18 and a recovery weeks 12 to 15. And I usually go kind of two weeks build one week recovery, two weeks build one week's recovery, and I've been doing this so long. Nothing about my training looks particularly special, it's just that I'm able to roll through it weekend and week out.
Speaker 1:Are you doing a lot of it on trainer again? Are you still? Are you be able to get outside now if the kids are a little bit older and yeah, I do a fair amount on the trainer.
Speaker 2:It's just so efficient. I do like to do my long rides outside. I think that's important to understand, like how your bike fitter don't you do bike fits? Yeah, I think that how we ride the trainer and how we ride outside, when you get into four or five hours with a helmet, arrow, with wind, is very different and I think it's important to understand how that's gonna affect your muscles in particular how you're gonna run off. So yeah, so I would say I end up being about 60% on the trainer, the rest outside when I'm prepping for an Ironman, gotcha, and then I swim four or five days a week. I've always kind of been swim heavy and then I was only able to run three days a week. I had to be very careful about not getting injured. For me it was like I'd rather have less run volume and go in uninjured, then really push it and have a problem. So that was a calculated risk on my part.
Speaker 1:Right. Well, before we get into the final segment, which is the yard sale, I do wanna brag about your family, because it's not only like you're just raising random kids who sit around and play video games all day and, like you mentioned, your husband is not just some like clock in the office and clock out. So give a quick description about how bad asher entire family is.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah. Well, so Seth is my stepson and he is a Cat One racer and he won Tulsa Tup this year At the age of. He had just turned 20.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah.
Speaker 2:So he is a big time bike racer. He loves it. He's worked really hard so it's really cool to see his success. Roan and Gwen are my twins. They are 16. They run for Bishop Kelly here. Gwen is a 10 time state champion and they just moved up to 6A and that's a big leap. And their school is quite small. So it's not like that in Texas, Like you don't just move around classes. But I guess in Oklahoma that's their jam. Whatever, my only wish is that they had moved up to 6A sooner, because I think you've got to be racing the best. So they just finished their cross country season state meet last weekend and Gwen was sixth and ran 18, 20. And Roan was 10th or 11th, I can't remember. He finally broke 16 minutes. He ran 15, 1554. And then Frankie wants none of this. She does not want to run. She will ride her bike a little bit and she is just about stealing the trophies and that's her thing. So we'll see, We'll see.
Speaker 1:That's fun, wow. So it's an impressive family. Thank you. Do they think are they going to military school, or are they?
Speaker 2:You know they I hate to say this, but I'm going to tell you something because it breaks my heart they had both gotten their first recruiting letter and it was from Navy.
Speaker 1:Oh no.
Speaker 2:So I was like oh my God, army, get with it.
Speaker 1:Come on. You're like that's good. Look at that one.
Speaker 2:I'm proud, but it breaks my mama heart.
Speaker 1:You're like we're not going to commit to anything for a while. You just put that away.
Speaker 2:Yeah, right, yeah, yeah exactly.
Speaker 1:We have others that need to come in before you can make a decision.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 1:That's awesome, all right. So I always like to wrap up with a little section called yard sale. You're not a contractor, but sounds like you've had some yard sales in your time in life.
Speaker 2:Are we talking about yard sailing, like actually, as you're riding, like yard sailing, ok yeah.
Speaker 1:Oh, I've had some yard sales. Yeah, that's where the segment came from.
Speaker 2:I gravel race, I gravel race.
Speaker 1:I was going to ask you about that. That was one of the things I wanted to ask you about. Well, let's just start with that. Do you see yourself? Because I think, well, gravel racing is changing a little bit now, where you get a little bit more of the propellant on tactics involved? Yeah, but I feel like gravel is primed for long course triathletes.
Speaker 2:I completely agree and I have said that I understand how more haven't come across.
Speaker 1:I feel like it's low hanging fruit, especially on the female side of the sport.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:And I know Heather Jackson is starting to get into that world. She's passed, I guess her peak, is what I would say, but I'm shocked that more triathletes have not come over to gravel racing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they compliment each other really well. In 2021, I did a lot more gravel racing. I did the G3 series. Yes, the reason I have not been back into it was because the way Ironman, tulsa and Kona land in the year for me, I needed to be on my TT bike, so that is potentially something to get back into.
Speaker 1:OK, ok, because that was one of my questions, because I just feel like it is primed for some multi-sport athletes to come over.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love it, and that's the thing is it complements each other so well because it is about managing yourself. And also in gravel racing, you got power on the pedals the whole time, and that's how time trialing is. They work out. They compliment each other very well.
Speaker 1:I'm ready to see one of somebody like Yon or one of those big men pros come across and see how they stack up as well.
Speaker 2:Can you imagine Lionel Sanders, lionel?
Speaker 1:I feel like Graveling, it's perfect for his attitude, his personality. I feel like it's perfect for that.
Speaker 2:Well, Reed Foster is killing it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, reed's a beast, yeah.
Speaker 2:He's a triathlete. So when cyclists make fun of triathletes, really I think the problem is they're just incredibly intimidated.
Speaker 1:I think it's just a matter of time that they're going to get run over a little bit, which I'm excited about because it's fun to watch.
Speaker 2:And when we do it, we're going to have no socks on, so yeah, I mean crap about that every single time.
Speaker 1:All right, favorite piece of equipment under $100.
Speaker 2:Oh, Can I think about this one? Yeah, we go to the next one, ok.
Speaker 1:Think about that one. Where's your favorite place to? Well, since you like to run, favorite place to run or ride, like ever that you've gone to.
Speaker 2:Oh, in the world.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like where's your favorite place. It could be a training ride, it could have been a training run.
Speaker 2:It could have been a you know, I am so probably just so boring that I just love to run here. Ok, that's my favorite place.
Speaker 1:Do you have a route that you love to run?
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, I go here and I go to the Midland Valley Trail and I go past the gathering place and then I'm right on Riverside and on the river trails.
Speaker 1:How long of a route is that?
Speaker 2:You know I go out and back, so however long you want it to be OK.
Speaker 1:What's a bucket list? Place to either race or train.
Speaker 2:Australia.
Speaker 1:Oh OK, Is there a specific spot or just going to Australia?
Speaker 2:Maybe, maybe Newside, I've heard that's nice OK.
Speaker 1:I don't know anything about that, I don't know but oh, New.
Speaker 2:Zealand.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that would be awesome. Favorite event you've ever done doesn't have to be triathlon favorite event.
Speaker 2:You know I really loved Ironman Tulsa because of the family and friends I'm kind of think I'm more of a who you're with, not the destination, kind of I like that.
Speaker 1:I like that. Um, let's see what's the hardest event you've ever done.
Speaker 2:Hardest event I've ever done. Oh, I'd say Kono would be up there.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Kono would be up there for sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Maybe because it's fresh on my mind, but really looking back, like Ironman wise Red three quasi was a half Ironman and that was a very, and remember they used to put out the huge prize purse for pros. Yeah, that was an incredibly difficult course, so that one was pretty tough, but it was a 70.3. So it's a pass.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you got to suffer longer at Kono.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 1:Yeah, kono definitely sets up for a specific type of athlete because it's hot, it's humid, it's windy. Yeah, it's really it's. There is nothing. There is no, no, forgiveness, the entire day, and I'm not a little person. Yeah, you know, it's a hard yeah. Exactly For sure. All right, just think of your equipment piece.
Speaker 2:I've got to say this is it might be the emotional support water bottle.
Speaker 1:OK.
Speaker 2:I don't know. I mean, this goes with me everywhere, Like I don't know. Like you know, we went and surprised my dad for his 80th birthday in Houston right before Kona. I mean, I went to mass with this.
Speaker 1:Wow, that is stuck to your side.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it goes everywhere with me.
Speaker 1:That's good, all right, this is one that I think you're going to level in on this one. Taking it back to your coaching business, yes, what's your number one piece of advice for a new multi-sport athlete? So somebody just wanted to get into the sport. What would you? What would say like this is this is priority.
Speaker 2:I was asked this question recently and this is what I said. I think, well, if you can afford a coach, get a coach, because people spend all this time on equipment or bike fit or whatever, and it's like if you don't know how to utilize and implement that, it means nothing. Right and and, and I think so. I guided right. I mentioned that a blind athlete and I would ask her you know what's the most important thing as for a guide? And she said it's it's actually that your temperaments get along right, and so when you're looking for a coach, there's all different coaching methodologies and it seems like everyone's a coach now, right for sure.
Speaker 2:Right, like you can do a course and you know, then you're, then you're a coach certified you're a coach, yeah, and then it's like, oh, what's your experience? I'm like I'm not USAT level gold, you know platinum, but I've been doing this a while.
Speaker 1:But I got this truth.
Speaker 2:Yes, but I spent a lot of money with Ironman. So now I'm all world gold, I'm a world champion, and I am not all world gold, and you know those type, right? I?
Speaker 1:love it, I love it.
Speaker 2:It's in their bio.
Speaker 1:I love everything. You know what you're talking about.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly so. One thing, though I think it's with a coach, the most important thing is do you jive with them? Is your temperaments, you know similar. Personally, I'm not a real cheerleader coach. Like I'm not. Like it's not that I'm not positive, but I know my wheelhouse is not the well.
Speaker 2:That was so great, woohoo, go get it girl. You know like I'm more of like that was a solid day. You know like I'm more, if you hear compliment from me, it's because I really mean it. It's not that I'm negative, but that's my, that's my temperament and I tend to attract super type A people because I know, for me, as my coach, the most important thing for me was to get me from doing stupid things. So I think, for for me, the most important thing I do for my athletes is keep them from doing stupid things, right, or like letting them understand like it's not real realistic if you were up all night with a baby to expect to go and do this training. Don't do this training, it's fine, right. So you know a coach gives you the confidence in your plan, in your training, and I think what really drives that is trust and understanding personalities right and, like I said, that is simply another component of leadership and understanding who your athletes are. So for me, that is the most important thing as a coach.
Speaker 1:If you can get a coach.
Speaker 2:That's the best piece of advice I could give an athlete and, if not, find a good training program that you believe in, but don't be married to it and don't be married to data. Yes, because you know what You've got. To understand perceived exertion first and foremost, go caveman, turn that stuff off in the winter. Like, seriously, like what's going to happen when your little heart rate monitor doesn't work. You know, you've got to understand, oh my God.
Speaker 2:Or if your heart rate was 10 beats too high, oh no, you're out of zone two, right? So, like at the end of the day, it's about getting it done and managing yourself. How do you manage yourself? You know yourself. How do you know yourself with perceived exertion Like turn that stuff off?
Speaker 1:I love it.
Speaker 2:I know what I do.
Speaker 1:I love that. What I love so much about your take on that is it's exactly how I coached athletes for about 10 years now, but I have a set like athlete that I work best with. I'm not going to yet. Maybe we can get you to Kona, ish, maybe. But atop someone like you, that's not my athlete Right. I'm not going to be someone who needs to be babysit every single day and needs that. Yeah, it's just not my personality, and so I've had athletes that I just you know I'm like you know I just don't think we're a good fit or they fire me because I'm not a good or or or.
Speaker 2:Like you know what's great is like in Tulsa. You know there are other coaches that I know there's a different athlete than me and I can meet someone and understand this would be a better fit for her and it's funny because I coached her 10 years ago. Like you know, it's about respecting. You know, respecting what works for you, what you know, and, at the end of the day, if it's making a better athlete, a better person, then then you know we should all be on board, we should be supporting each other in that.
Speaker 1:I totally agree because because there's not every coach is for every athlete and I think sometimes people just need to take time and find the coach that fits them best, and it's right, and that's not necessarily the program.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's the relationship, yes, the relationship you have, like, because that's the thing is, I'm not going to be that person that like, why didn't you do your run? Like, that's not me, that's. If you didn't do your run, you're an adult and I understand that probably something has happened that has limited you, because if I don't do my run or what you've written for me, yeah, something big is going on, right, you know, like, and so that's that is the projection I'm giving to my athletes. So if an athlete needs a micro manager, then I'm not the person for that.
Speaker 1:Same for me 100% Plus. I'm like you're a grown-up adult. I'm not going to want it more than you do. So I'm here to support, I'm here to answer questions, do all the things, but you know it's not your paycheck, so let's keep that right, right, you know, I will say on the flip side, if you're not getting the training done, you know. I don't want to waste my time.
Speaker 2:Well, why are you paying me? I don't, I don't tend to, I, but fortunately I don't tend to attract those athletes. Yeah, and if they can't do it, you know I think that they feel bad and you know they, they tend to move on, and and you know that the other thing is having having open communication about that hey, when you're ready and time frees up, you know I'm here. I'm here.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I like it and I like that you're honest and own it, own your side and and are up front with the athlete. And so, yeah, everyone needs to find the best fit for them personality, wise, goal, wise training plan, wise, like, and it's a coaching and the accountability is huge and a lot of people just need the accountability of knowing somebody else's right, so right and I'm a fairly straight shooter, so you know because I appreciate that with me.
Speaker 2:Like you know, in college when I was going to do the 10 K for the first time, my coach wrote out what he thought I should be running and my goal splits. And then I looked at the time. I said to him this is the first time I ran the 10,000, it was at the Mount Sac relays, which is a huge Running event track track me and I said Do you really think I can run that? And he said yes, and that's all I needed to hear.
Speaker 2:Like if, if coach Q Jerry quiller, who was the 2000 Olympic coach, just amazing coach. If he's saying to you you're going to run this and by God you're going to run this. And that's the attitude I approach my athletes. If you know, if, like one of the gals that was in that race, kona I started coaching her just after she had her, her youngest child, five years ago. And you know, two years ago I said to her you can do Kona, you can make Kona. And there she is racing Kona. You know, and I want to be that I'm not a blow smoke up your butt kind of gal.
Speaker 1:So I love it. Well, I know you're a busy woman and I don't want to take away for any more your time. I am so thankful that you took time to sit down and talk and share your story for one. I think it's pretty awesome that, especially with some of the stuff that article that came out in the traffic magazine about the women racing and the I don't know if you read it about the changing in the women qualifying for worlds there was a whole write up article about how they're.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah for me right yeah and there was a really that's quote from I believe it's from the CEO Ironman that's on his way out, about how women don't. Basically it's it's hard for women to race more than one Ironman in a year because of their responsibilities at home.
Speaker 2:Is that messic, mess?
Speaker 1:except that, yeah, I'll send it to you. It's yeah, yes, so I'll send it to you. But I love this conversation because it's not about just mom we could have.
Speaker 2:We could have another podcast about that.
Speaker 1:I would love that.
Speaker 2:I've been around. I've been around. You know what I mean. I remember, I remember.
Speaker 1:Because I have all kinds of fun things to say.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So I love the example that you're setting, not only for your kids but for, and it's telling your story and saying you can live this life and it doesn't matter male or female. It's if you want to make it happen, you can make it happen and there's just ways around that and I love that.
Speaker 2:Right, right and so it's reality.
Speaker 1:You just got to sacrifice something.
Speaker 2:You just got to sacrifice that laundry. You know it's all going to be okay. And the lawn get along. Lawn man or woman.
Speaker 1:Man, you're speaking the language now yeah, yeah. So, thank you so much. Congrats on being a world champion.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:Super, super cool, so hopefully I'll see you at some gravel events or something soon.
Speaker 2:Yeah, hopefully.
Speaker 1:Cool. Thanks, jessica. Okay, talk to you later.
Speaker 2:Bye.