Daily Interlake Article

distances in km.

Triathlete learns training disciplines online

By Dave Reese The Daily Inter Lake

Greg Kolodziejcyk sits on the recumbent tricycle that he’ll use to pedal from Big Mountain to Provo, Utah, for an Ironman triathlon. Using a handbrake for steering, Kolodziejcyk can run behind the bike when he’s not pedaling it. He started Saturday. Dave Reese/ Daily Inter Lake

It’s a long way from Big Mountain to Utah. But not too far for Greg Kolodziejcyk to run, bike and swim it. The 41-year old Big Mountain resident left Saturday for Provo, Utah, where he’ll compete in the Ironman Utah competition June 8, and in preparation for that feat — which involves biking 112 miles, running 26.2 and swimming 2.4 miles — Kolodziejcyk is biking, running and swimming his way to Utah.

He left Big Mountain Saturday on his three-wheeled recumbent bicycle, which he’ll push for the running portion of his training. He’ll also stop at local swimming pools for the swimming portion, which he’ll perform in the same ratios as the Ironman competition.

After riding to Kalispell Saturday, he stopped at the Summit to complete his swimming portion, then was back on the road to complete the running portion of his day.

Kolodziejcyk (pronounced Ko-lo-JESS-uk), who lives at Big Mountain part-time, wanted to take the long way to Utah as a way of training for the Ironman Utah competition. He competed in his first Ironman last year in Florida, and said he hopes to qualify for the world finals of the Ironman competitions, the Ironman Hawaii.

Kolodziejcyk’s trip should take him about two weeks, with a total of 840 miles traveled under his own power.

This long distance is a test not only for himself. It’s a way for Kolodziejcyk to prove that goals are attainable once you set your mind to them.

Six months prior to the Florida Ironman he didn’t even know how to swim.

“I’d like to be able to show my kids that if you want to do something, you can do it,” said Kolodziejcyk, a retired graphic artist and software developer. “What better way than by showing them that Dad did it?”

If he takes two weeks getting to Utah, that leaves him only a week to recover before the Ironman, “Which I don’t think is ideal for a good taper.” The taper is the amount of time it takes for a body to recover from physical exertion.

The proportions of an Ironman competition, which he will use on his trip as well, are 80 percent cycling, 18 percent running, and 2 percent swimming. He’ll be cycling six hours a day, running for two hours and swimming at local pools when he can. The idea is that it will be a self-supported triathlon, a feat that not only combines the three disciplines of running, biking and swimming, but a feat that actually takes you across country. “I’d like to see this turn into more of a sport, like a cross-country adventure race,” Kolodziejcyk said.

Kolodziejcyk is a former body builder who used to lift weights four days a week. But few of those skills lend themselves to being a triathlete — except the training ethic.

He hired triathlete coach Steve Pyle through an online training Web site, and was sent weekly regimens to perform. He started with short runs and worked up to a full marathon.

A light rain mixed with snow was falling the night before Kolodziejcyk left the comfort of his home on Big Mountain, armed only with high-energy snackbars, gels and water. He’ll pick up food along the way.

“I’ll stop and eat anything,” he said. “Doughnuts, whatever. It’s all good.”

He’ll sleep at hotels along the way. He decided the night before he left to alter his route from taking U.S. 93 through the Bitterroot Valley in favor of Interstate 15 through Dillon.

“I’m a little apprehensive,” he said, looking up at the drizzle. “I’d like to get down into some spring weather.”

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On the Net: www.tri-ecoach.com

05/21/2002 Tuesday

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