Interview with Pep Sánchez, ultratriathlete
Pep Sánchez is a Catalan ultra-triathlete who combines his work and family life with sporting challenges that are within the reach of a privileged few. A generous person capable of valuing the effort that many people put into their first marathon or their first triathlon, when for him even a Ironman (triatlón que consiste en nadar 3,8 kilómetros, montar en bici 180 kilómetros y correr una maratón de 42,2 kilómetros) le sabe a poco. Está a punto de enfrentarse a mil kilómetros en bike at the Circuit de Catalunya.
How do you feel after the more than 600 kilometers of the past 24h Cyclotour?
10 days have passed and I still feel tired, a test like this completely empties you, although I trust that these 20 days that separate it from #1000kmNonstop will serve to overcompensate and reach the challenge stronger and with more confidence.
How do you recover from one of these beatings?
The following week I don't train at all or almost nothing, my body is knocked out, I usually get a fever after something like this, I'm much more sleepy than normal and it's key to rest as much as possible to assimilate before being able to return.
Also, you had foot problems due to a cove ...
Sí, un fallo de muy novato. Suelo cambiar las calas de las slippers cada dos meses, debido al gran kilometraje que acumulo. Esta vez monté un modelo nuevo que no había probado, media hora antes de empezar, ¡y veo que no entran en los pedales! Muchos nervios buscando un juego de calas nuevo que por suerte encontramos in extremis. The right one was twisted and I had to leave it after 20 hours due to severe pain in my knee. I still secured 2nd position.
Why did you get into the world of the deep end?
Honestly, I don't have the genetics, speed or explosiveness of a “top” of any short distance, but mentally I am a rock in ultra-distance events in which the only thing to do is hold on and hold on. Going through similar situations makes you tougher and you can face greater challenges each time. I have been competing for several years in Multiadventure Raids; by far the toughest tests that exist, in which we chained together several days without sleep.
When you did your first Ironman did you think about everything you were going to do later?
The first was in 2004 and the truth is that I knew little about Triathlon. Over the years I have discovered that there is much more than Ironman. Today I consider it a short test for my characteristics, let's say that I am capable of performing better in a double Ironman than in a single one.
How was that debut?
It was very nice, there were few IMs in Catalonia, it took me 12:24h and one of my best friends poured a bottle of cava over me when I finished.
You train many hours every day. How do you do to combine it
with family and with work?
It's difficult, really; especially because my workouts are long. I am lucky to have a job that gives me free time, at home they support me and respect what I do... If you want, you can. I usually train or help people who tell me… “But I don't have even half an hour to go running?” I tell them to skip the two hours of TV after dinner.
Also, you are one of the stars of the Club Where is the Limit? where there are people like Robert Mayoral (22 Ironmans completed), Josef Ajram (among many other things, winner of the EPIC5) and the actor Santi Millán (who isá preparing his first Half Ironman). Tell us how the ideal club was born and why you think you are having such great growth.
Haha! Well, well ... No star, there are no stars in this team, yes many starving for dreams. I, one of the most zumbaos simply. It is very clear that Josef is a super class at transmitting motivation, thousands of people set challenges thanks to him, that has made so many people come to TEAM (now more than 700), those who run it are entirely to blame for WHEREISTHELIMIT being what is. Santi? The fucking master! Who has seen it and who sees it!
What is it like to train with someone as mediatic as Josef?
Josef is a great guy, super simple. We don't see him as much as we would like, due to his work, because there are still those who believe that with two hours of stock he already has the day ready. He is constantly with commitments, conferences, courses that he teaches, interviews, events, collaborations on radio or TV... When we train he disconnects from everything, he is very strong and the next day, we have to have double breakfast.
Is triathlon fashionable?
Without a doubt, this combination of the 3 sports is driving people crazy. Nowadays, places in a major European Ironman last less than an hour and cost €500. Amazing!
Before we talked about Josef and his participation in EPIC5. This year you will be in it. Tell us a little of this test.
Yes, I have the privilege of having been chosen among the 5 who will go. I know this test through Josef and Juan Antonio Craveri (another Epic5, among many other things). There are only 3 months left and now I am beginning to realize the greatness of this challenge. Anyone who does an Ironman will know how you feel the next day. There we will have 5 in 5 days. It is still a quintuple IM, there are already some more tests like this in the world, but with the difference that they are done on circuits and not on 5 different islands in Hawaii. I am incredibly looking forward to the day, although I am still immersed in the search for sponsors.
How do you prepare, physically and mentally, for a test of that toughness?
In my case, it will not vary much more than the preparation for an Ironman, training more would be absurd, this test can be finished as long as you come from many others that are at least similar. I think I am prepared to face this challenge.
Last year you participated in Ultraman UK (a three-day event consisting of a 10 km swim and a 145 km bike ride (day 1); a 245 km bike ride (day 2) and a double marathon, 84,4 km run (day 3) ). Is EPIC5 going to be more difficult?
Yes, I was in Ultraman UK, a monstrous test, even more so where it was held, with extreme conditions that made almost half of us who participated abandon. Epic5 will be harder, it's two more days and more mileage.
What do you live in an Ultraman?
You live a dream for which you have fought your entire life, you feel privileged among the 30 chosen in such a select competition, you become small in the face of such savagery, you play against the clock, to arrive “on time” each day, you cry the last kilometer of that double marathon.
But well before EPIC5, in just a few weeks you will face another enormous challenge: 1000 NON STOP kilometers by bike. The idea came from Twitter...
Yes, on July 27 I will try to complete 1000 km Nonstop on the Montmeló circuit on a road bike, without a doubt something inhuman that I still don't know if I will be capable of. I have limited it to 40 hours, any stop to rest or sleep would make the challenge impossible. The 1000 thing followers on Twitter was the excuse to announce it, it had already been on my mind since last year. I take this opportunity to invite you all, so that you can collaborate with the cause in www.irontriax.com.
How will the test be?
Well, very easy: 1000 km driving around without stopping in less than 40 hours. I will start on Friday, July 27 at 18:10 p.m. and I should have finished on Sunday at XNUMX:XNUMX a.m., two terrible nights await me… And their days!
In addition, many people will be able to join in cheering and participating.
Of course, this is a solidarity challenge, anyone who wants can sign up for the challenge and collaborate, apart from helping me complete the challenge.
Even if it is a “NON STOP” test, will you be able to stop to go to the bathroom, stretch your legs for a moment, get a massage… or just in case of a breakdown?
Of course, I will stop whatever is necessary, although each stop of five minutes, or whatever, will have to be recovered by increasing speed.
You are going to do the test with a time trial bike. Doesn't that make it harder?
The other day in the 24 hours I verified that the triathlon bike is not ideal for something like this, you take advantage of its aerodynamics and speed for the first 8 or 10 hours, then you go just as fast with a normal bike, apart from being much more comfortable. I will take two bikes.
Source: xaora.es
