Charity Partner
Official Bike Retailer
Gears Multisport Wednesdays. Receive 10% off most items in our store when you shop on Wednesday. Download and print your discount card
Coaching
Running Races
Photographer
Interview With A Champion - Jasper Blake
Jasper Blake has been a long time friend and training partner of Richard Pady. He exemplifies how a true champion should act. This past November Richard interviewed Jasper while he was in Australia preparing for the World Long Course Championships.
RP- Richard Pady
JB- Jasper Blake
RP: Can you tell everyone how you got into triathlon?
JB: I enjoyed hanging out in spandex so much and triathlon offered that opportunity on a daily basis....often on more than one occasion. Seriously, my mentor and ski coach Jeff Thompson was the first to introduce it to me. He competed in Ironman events and went to the world championships a couple of times. He had the biggest calf muscles in the world, he looked like a super hero...I wanted calf muscles like that. We used to train hard for skiing and it often involved alot of running and riding and sessions that would make you puke at the end. For some reason I was better at this stuff than skiing which killed me then but it's lead to good things since. I did my first multi-sport event as an end of the year "test" with our ski team, the winner got a used one piece cycling bib short thing, it was sweet, I think my brother still wears it.
RP: How long have you been a full-time triathlete?
JB: I've been doing this full time for about 6 years now. Oh wow!...that went quickly.
RP: What does a day in the life of a professional triathlete involve?
JB: I usually get up in the 5's or 6's somewhere. Depending on where I am that can either be an easy task or a very ugly one. I like being up early but I sometimes don't like those first few minutes of having to get up. I'm a pretty regular guy so without fail I am quickly on the throne losing some much needed weight before the day really starts.
Before my first session I usually do a very easy warm up with some very very light stretching and some general movement on a yoga mat. I also get a bit of food down and a nice warm green tea to get the joints lubricated. I find this morning ritual really great, I love being up before the world cracks.
From there it is to my first session. I like to get straight into a session in the morning before a proper breakfast. I find it easier getting the work done without a full stomach. Every day is slightly different. Most days start with riding lately as it is the longest session and it has been the priority for the past few years. Swimming is also a regular first session at certain times of the year when it is still dark. However, I would prefer to tell you about my favorite day of the week....Sunday! I love Sundays...love'em, love'em, love'em. Sunday always follows a long hard ride Saturday so the legs are smashed but the heart and mind are still good. We head to the lakes early and hit it out for the long hard paced run with the boys. Southie, Brad, Adam and whoever else is interested. The goal is hitting km's at desired race pace and we run up to 2.5 hours. It's tough but it's steady and it's the last hard session of the week and it's with the best dudes in the world, love'em.
From there we head straight to the ocean to ice our legs, stare out at the mountains and suck in life....sounds spiritual and nutty i know but it's great for the sole and I wouldn't trade those 10 minutes for anything in the week, not even a date with Heather Pady.
What else makes Sunday so great, after icing we head back for a big breakfast at someone's house, some great chatting and some great laughing...also good for sole.
Then I nap and try to soak up the week of training. The only other session on this day is a long aerobic swim, open water in the afternoon at the lakes. I'm usually smashed from the week but it feels good to shake it out.
Most other days involve alot of riding so I could have told you about those but it would have been one sentence....."I go out riding and don't come back until 4pm then lie with my feet above my head for an hour".
RP: How has your training changed over the years?
JB: In a way i have gone full circle with alot of stuff. I have never been afraid to try new approaches so I have bounced around a bit. I think complacency can be a big mistake but I have also learned that often it is more a case of really trusting in and believing what you are doing that makes the big difference. I've certainly found that there are alot of things I did with my original coach Jeff that end up working the best. Probably the biggest difference now is that i can handle more. I am working with Andrew MacNaughton, an old friend and mentor and it is really resonating with me well. The basic premise is strength based training...aerobic strength. We do very little high end stuff which would be a big difference from the past, it's all very specific to Ironman, we're either doing Ironman pace training or recovering from that. Probably the biggest thing from this year is that the training was harder than the race...alot of big hard miles.....if you can recover from it and stay mentally fresh, good things will happen.
RP: What is your favorite workout?
JB: My favorite workout is usually a run of some sort. I cherish the runs in the winter when pacing is not so important and we can explore. I love running because it is so simple. You can disappear into the woods with a few mates and just run. There is no noise, the heart pounds, you can go anywhere and often end up somewhere that offers up some spectacular view. I love the freedom of this workout, the simplicity, the purity if you want to call it that. These days are also good for the soul......running up on the ski hill trails behind Collingwood....in the rainforest in Victoria, wherever is good with me. I also love a good game of any sort...soccer, hand ball, hockey......but don't tell my coach.
RP: A few months ago you won Ironman Canada. Can you tell everyone what that experience was like?
JB: It was really really really great! It was truly a great experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything except world peace and a healthy planet. You never have another first one and heck there may never have been even one so I cherished every second of it and felt grateful to have had the opportunity to do that. I've worked many years to win a big event and it felt as good as I always imagined it. The best part was that family and friends were able to be there as it was in Canada. The people you go through a lifetime with and who support you through all the great stuff and all the crap....to have them there was very special as cliche as it may sound, it was very special.
RP: What is next for Jasper Blake?
JB: The immediate next is the World Long Course Championships here in Australia.
I am down here for 5 weeks getting ready. Then I get to take the month of
December off and am very excited about that. As for racing, my next goal
is to have a really good crack at Hawaii, spend some years learning that
race and doing the best job i can there. My ultimate goal has always been
to win that event. There are some other life things as well that I am very
excited about....babies, marriage (not in that order i hope) and some cool
adventures coming up...can't wait.
RP:What was the biggest challenge in winning an Ironman?
JB: Persistence.....winning anything is not easy, you have to stick with it and believe in yourself. It's also been challenging finding myself if you want to call it that....finding what works and learning that I need to be myself to give myself the best chance at success.
RP: What was the biggest change you made that you think helped make you a champion?
JB: Mentally I am in a very good place right now which allows the physical stuff happen easier. I am working with a great coach who has revamped my cycling and challenged me in ways that make the Ironman race easier. The workload has increased and the overall plan really made sense this time around which helped confidence. We follow certain rules and get the job done, it was simple. I was physically fitter but also mentally very chill. I no longer needed to win, I had no doubts, I was just happy to be there. It was also a matter of following what my instincts, gut, heart was telling me, it meant some tough decisions but it reaffirmed belief in myself that I could win.
RP: What is more important in being a professional triathlete: Talent or hard work?
JB: Hard work and time. Talent will get you so far. We are all talented in some way or another. I don't believe anyone who wins in any sport does it purely on talent, that is a myth and discredits individual genius in the approach. We are all different so talent is a strange idea. We all have to do the best with what we have got which means we all have to do it slightly differently and work our asses off to do it.
RP: What do you love most about what you do?
JB: The sweet bikes, fast cars and many love affairs. I love the challenge, I love improving, I love the feeling of having a great race and breaking down old barriers, I love that I can pretty much eat whatever I want in the cookie department. I love how big races bring friends and family to the same place.....I love that the most, I don't see my brother enough these days.
RP: Who is your hero?
JB: Mom
RP: I know you are not just a triathlete who trains, you are involved with a lot of charities and organizations, can you tell use which ones and why?
JB: I'm involved with as many organizations as I can handle and I love it. MS is the main one. My Mom has had MS for 15 years so I've seen what it can do and to be honest it sucks....totally bizarre disease with no real cure yet but they are working on it. They know bits about MS but not enough to get it under control and it affects everyone so differently.
Love kids so am involved with a program called Adopt an Athlete which gets athletes and classrooms together for a year to learn from each other. There was a real gap in the structure to get into schools to give back to kids and be a role model...it's hard these days, they run criminal record checks and everything which i guess is a good thing.
Triathlon School is a team that a few of us got together and started to help some younger guys out. The basic idea is to get them to see the big picture and give back to the community and help them a bit with sponsors. It's a good project, we could use some funding so we can get more people involved.
Right to Play is a great organization started by Johan Olaf Kass a multiple Olympic medalist from Norway in speedskating. The basic idea is to bring infrastructure and resources to communities and kids in third world countries.....the idea is that every kid has the right to play.....it is a rapidly growing organization and a very good one.
Race4Kids- Of course, this new venture I will help out with in whatever way I can for obvious reasons. It is a fantastic idea and there will be no lack of inspiration, all you have to do is meet Elizabeth and get her to take you around the playground and you will know what i mean.
Thank you Jasper for the insight and best of luck at Worlds we'll all be cheering for you.
Feel free to check out HR
Chat contact a coach at Team
HR