October 2018 – Greg Clark

First of all, I would like to thank the HEAT team for asking me to share my story. I have always been actively involved in some type of racing, from moto cross as a kid to road bike racing for 25 years and then included cyclocross racing during the fall and winter. I have also enjoyed running over the years and participated in 5 and 10k races. My only real relationship with the water has been water skiing. My dad loved participating in boat racing when I was young so I guess I get my love for racing naturally.

I supported my wife in her first triathlon in 2014. I was so proud of her when she crossed the finish line and even won first place. I decided at that time to give up bike racing and join the exciting world of triathlons. I decided to use Coach Barry Baird after hearing such great things about him and embarked on the adventure. I have only been doing Sprint triathlons because I enjoy the fast pace of the race and have never been much of a distance runner. I can see a big difference from when I started to now by sticking with Barry’s plan. My run time changed from an 8:30/mile to the 7:30/mile pace. I have also included strength training in my routine and feel a lot stronger during my races. I want to thank Coach Del Bennet for improving my strength. Finally, I would like to thank my wife Carol who puts up with me. She has been supportive of me and has been my Sherpa especially this last year since she has been injured. Most of you know she works 24 hours as a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner and has an extremely stressful job. Through all this she trains with me at times when she would rather be in bed sleeping. I hope that she is injury free next year and can come back stronger. We have a cocker spaniel named Zoe who also benefits from our training. She always looks forward to the long walks she gets after our runs.

Carol and I like to go to the beach in the winter months during off season for some warmth and down time and then to the Mountains during the fall to enjoy the change of season. We are going to Ireland in May and are looking forward to this getaway. I enjoy the sport and all the people I have met along the way. God has blessed me good health and hope to continue racing as long as I am able. Looking forward to what the future has in store for Carol and myself.

  1. How many years have you been in triathlon?
  2. How many years have you been apart of HEAT? 4
  3. How did you get started in triathlon? I raced road bikes for 25 years and cyclocross for 3 years. My cycling coach talked my wife Carol into trying a sprint triathlon. I attended and supported her. I thought that would be something we could do together. I started racing with her the following year and have enjoyed triathlons since.
  4. What is your favorite discipline? Bike
  5. What distances have you competed in?
    • Sprint 
  6. What has been your favorite race? Cedars of Lebanon
  7. What is your go-to nutritional product for training/racing? Infinite Custom Sprint Blend
  8. What serves as your motivation to keep going when the training or the race seems too hard? I keep in mind if I do not follow my plan I will not race well.
  9. What does your normal training week look like? Bike on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday
    Run on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday
    Swim on Monday and Wednesday
  10. What is your first thought after finishing a triathlon?
    Thankful it is over and thinking about how to improve for the next race.

Swim. Bike. Run. Eat. Sleep. Repeat