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Qualität des Beitrags: Beteiligte Poster: Danksta Forum: are-you-experienced.de Forenbeschreibung: FASZINATION AUSDAUER aus dem Unterforum: Interviews Antworten: 1 Forum gestartet am: Sonntag 09.07.2006 Sprache: deutsch Link zum Originaltopic: Peter Reid Interview zum Karriereende Letzte Antwort: vor 17 Jahren, 8 Monaten, 12 Tagen, 20 Stunden, 31 Minuten
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Re: Peter Reid Interview zum Karriereende
Danksta - 11.08.2006, 09:42Peter Reid Interview zum Karriereende
Hier ist ein gutes Iview mit Peter Reid. Ich mag einfach seinen Zugang zum Sport und seine Sichtweise der Dinge
http://www.insidetri.com/portal/news/news.asp?item=103088
Peter Reid's Exit Interview
This report filed - August 10, 2006
By Timothy Carlson
The intoxication of athletic fame almost always leaves even the brightest supernovas staying too long at the fair. Topping the long parade are Muhammad Ali, Willie Mays and Michael Jordan. The list of great athletes who quit at their peak is extremely brief. Football star Jim Brown retired as the greatest running back ever at 29. Heavyweight champ Rocky Marciano retired undefeated after 49 fights. Mark Allen quit at 37 not long after his sixth straight Ironman Hawaii victory.
And on May 20, three-time Ironman world champion Peter Reid, a week short of his 37th birthday and two years shy of his own career projections, joined the rare, happy few. Reid, the 1998, 2000 and 2003 champion, a 10-time Ironman winner, the man who holds the third fastest Ironman time ever, a 7:51:56 at Ironman Austria in 1999, talked about his retirement in a telephone call last month.
The decision
Inside Triathlon: Why now did you decide to retire on May 20?
Peter Reid: You know, the goal last year was to race Hawaii in 2006 and finish my career with Ironman Canada in 2007. But as I started to train this year, I definitely noticed the drive was just not there any more. I was just going through the motions.
IT: Where did you get the first premonition of the end?
Peter Reid: At Hawaii last year, I was in second place most of the marathon. When it was time to attack, I just didn't do it. When I was passed by Cam (Brown) with less than a mile to go, it did not bug me a whole lot. When I crossed the finish line, I thought "This is not the way I race Ironman Hawaii - attack, attack attack!" Right then, I started to realize the end was pretty close. For me, it was not just doing the Hawaiian Ironman. It was about having the ultimate performance. And I took it very seriously.
IT: Seeing this, did you try to adapt your all-or-nothing approach?
Peter Reid: I took it very easy over the winter. I hoped to win Hawaii one more time. But I had trouble getting out the door. I had trouble doing workouts. You see, I never thought of myself as extremely talented. I worked very very hard and never had any issue with doing the hard work. I thought they all have more talent, but I can work harder than the others with talent. I worked harder in training and on race day. But all of a sudden, I lost that work ethic and drive. Without it, I felt I could not truly compete. I decided not to go to Hawaii and just go through the motions. It was time to call a career.
Q: What was the final moment of your decision?
Peter Reid: How it all came to me was funny. One of the most interesting things was that all winter long, I would have four good days of training. Then I did not want to train the next two or three days. This was very much not me. To not do the things I had set out to do. The weekend before my birthday, yet again, I had had three or four good days. Then I did not want to train. I sent Mark Allen a long email laying out all we just talked about - the drive to train was missing. I was not into Hawaii any more. Mark wrote back one sentence. He did not say "Dear Peter.... Sincerely, Mark." It was just one sentence. "If you quit now, are you happy with everything you've accomplished in this sport?" I read it and immediately I knew it would be fine to have been a player who won Hawaii three times. Yeah, I've done more than I ever dreamed about in triathlon. I'm fine. Yeah, that is why I'm so comfortable with my decision.
Q: Did you have any second thoughts?
Peter Reid: Funny, right when I read what Mark wrote, my shoulders just relaxed and dropped two inches and I went "Aahhhhhh." The other thing is, I wanted to pick when I left the sport. I didn't want the sport to force me out or be in debt from the sport. I wanted to go one day "Yeah I'm ready to leave." I called it and made my decision on May 20, one week before my birthday.
The man in the zone knows no pain
IT: You no longer had the spark to inhabit all this pain?
Peter Reid: When I was on and in a total zone, I felt nothing. I felt no pain whatsoever. When you're in the zone, your adrenaline is pumping, you're numb to the pain. All that matters is Who is up the road? I've got to attack! When you're going through the motions, there is no drive, no attack mode. Last year, all of a sudden, I remember going "This hurts! This really really hurts!" Once I was aware of it, I felt this was not a place I enjoy going to. Believe me, I thoroughly enjoyed being in that total zone. When you are racing that way, you don't see anything but what is inside that tunnel. But all of a sudden, I'm not in there. It's funny, but I don't miss it. Ultimately it was an easy decision
Q: The decision might have been easy. But the process took you quite a while?
Peter Reid: I thought about it a long time. I knew the end was near. I thought I could get to Hawaii one more time. But I was actually quite comfortable with the decision.
Roots
Q What led you into triathlon?
Peter Reid: When I got into it in 1989, I had been cycling in high school in Ottawa, Believe it or not, one of my junior teammates was Gord Fraser (currrent team Health Net-Maxxis pro road cyclist). We were on the same cycling team. I kind of laugh about it. We were on the same junior development team. Fortunately, my grades started to suffer and my parents pressured me to focus on schooling. I am definitely a one-track person. I have to either be in school or out. I graduated from Bishop's University of Montreal. In my third year, a pal of mine wanted to do this little triathlon. I had a racing bike but I didn't know how to swim. I suffered through it and I loved it and I was moved by the atmosphere - how friendly it all was. I like that all my races were versus myself. The cycling team was oriented to work for other people or have others work for you. But in triathlon, you showed up and did three events yourself. I did well at one, was OK at another and struggled with another. But I moved around all day long and I liked it and the cross training that went with it.
Q: After that chance encounter, you left very little to chance?
Peter Reid: Another funny thing - that was Graham Fraser's race. If not for that encounter, I might have entered flying school. I was very focused. At the beginning, like I said, the whole time I raced the only thing I had time for was triathlon. In a little bit of off-season, I might do some other things. But I never took courses or did anything else of significance because it was all about triathlon. I did not want anything else to interfere with triathlon training. Talk to all my friends, they will tell you. Once the season started, I would just disappear. I was never as talented as other athletes. I could not go out and hang with my buddies. I could not go to school. I saved all my energy for triathlon.
Q: Did your three Ironman Hawaii victories mean different things to you?
Peter Reid: Winning Hawaii my first time was all about the number one thing. It was a dream I'd had for a long time - to win the most important race in the sport. It was also about proving a lot of people wrong - girlfriends, my dad. My dad said "When are you going to get a real job?" Oh Jesus, yeah, he really said that. "Why are you chasing this dream?" That day in 1998, number one I proved to myself I could do it. And I proved all these people wrong who kept telling me to quit, right in the beginning.
Q: A lot of your early motivation had an element of anger. But you seem to have reached some truces and mellowed?
Peter Reid: My father and I grew a little closer. He wrote me this letter a few years ago and did say how proud he was and how wrong he had been. Which affected my racing a little bit. I had always been trying to prove him wrong. All of a sudden, I get this note how proud he was. I think I lost a little fire then. My dad - Ted - never came to any of my Ironman races. But when he passed away a few years ago, it was a lot better between us.
Q: What led you to figure out what it took to be a champion?
Peter Reid: In 1997, I had not completely figured out Hawaii. That year I had a really bad bike and went through this dark zone. The dark zone for me happened about 120 km into the (180km) bike. It's this period where you can be winning the race, hit the zone, and then get mentally and psychologically tired like hitting the wall in a marathon. Only it is more emotional. So I got to this point and remembered I wanted to drop out of the race. Luckily, that was exactly where my coach Roch Frey stood and said "No! You gotta keep going!" He figured out this point on the bike would be a turning point. Getting through that moment eventually became part of my understanding of the Hawaii Ironman. (Reid recovered his will, ran strong and finished fourth.The next year he won)
The spiritual side
Q: There seem to be two types of Ironman competitors. Some see it as a simple scientific equation trying to overcome, heat, wind and humidity. Others see the spiritual side of the island as a crucial component. Explain how you came to be in the second category.
Peter Reid: I definitely saw the value in the spiritual side of the island. It definitely became a part of my race.
Q: You were influenced by Mark Allen in that regard?
Peter Reid: I am not as spiritual as Mark Allen (six-time Ironman champion who became Reid's adviser a few years ago and has a core belief in shamanism). I have gone to two shamanism seminars with Mark. I enjoyed going to them, but I am not totally into it. I think I understand it and I enjoy being around fellow shamans and through that I understood that Hawaii is more than just the distance. There is a special thing on the island, and if you can tap into it, it can be good luck.
Q: Is there anyone else who might need that to get in touch with final element?
Peter Reid: I think it is also true for Chris McCormack. When he starts to understand the island as well, he will have bigger and better races there. When he figures out there is more to it than just training, that it is important to understand there is something unique about the place.
Q: Can anyone dominate Hawaii without that feeling?
Peter Reid: For sure, to win that race more than once, you have to understand it. I think you can win Hawaii once without reflecting on its profound nature. But if you just go through the motions there? I do not think you can win it again without really getting it. Natascha (Badmann) figures it out and she is totally in tune. If you look at their careers, Natascha is very similar to Mark. They both spend time with the spiritual aspects of Hawaii. In very different ways, they both embrace nature. It is a special thing - relating to the Big Island - those two people have figured out. It's why they do well every time they have gone there.
Coping
Q: Unlike many other top triathletes, you would have no compunction about performing well below your level - until you reached Hawaii.
Peter Reid: The last few years, definitely. I had to do it. I was getting older. I realized I could only really train hard once a year. I was afraid to train harder for other races, because for me, it was all about winning Hawaii. I expected a great showing for me to win Hawaii. So it became OK with me not to do as well the rest of the year.
Q: Was this always true? You won three Ironman races one year?
Peter Reid: It was a definite shift. Once I crossed 32 or 33, I knew I should not train as hard as I could year round. And that was why I always could do well in Hawaii - I did not try just as hard the rest of the year because it would wear me out. I had actually battled over-training over the years.
Q: Might you change your mind?
Peter Reid: When I make decisions, it is definitely all or nothing, completely in or completely out. I am not wishy-washy about anything.
Q: Did this attitude take a toll on your relations with your friends?
Peter Reid: Fortunately, my friends know I can be harsh with them at times. They know what I'm thinking when I say it. In 2002 I got extremely frustrated. I trained so hard but I was going backwards. That situation was not like now. I basically know I do not have what it takes now. Back then, I was definitely mentally just so tired from training hard all the time, it created a lot of frustrations.
Q: What was your hardest race?
Peter Reid: The hardest race I ever did was the 2000 Ironman Hawaii duel against Tim (which Reid won by two mintes). It was definitely my hardest race ever. Why did it get to be that brutal? All the years of training caught up with me. And I was matched with someone who could push me over the edge. I was fading to the end of the marathon and started to fall apart. Plus I had just done Ironman Canada six weeks before. I was racing a guy who was fresh and he was running me down. So I was really suffering the last few miles to get to the finish line.
Q: You know some other types.
Peter Reid: Simon Whitfield (2000 Olympic short course champion) is so talented; he could go to movies and hang with his buddies. I could not take a second off and train at the level I needed to. I knew I was not as talented so I had to save every ounce of energy to train. I had to be all mentally focused for triathlon and competition. I figured it out early in career that once I became a hermit I could do it.
Q: Was that a choice just for sport? Or is that your nature?
Peter Reid: By nature I am a hermit. But I think I burned that out and became a lot more social after retiring. I'm a lot more laid back, because all those years of racing Hawaii worked out the hard edges. Since then, I have not been as aggressive. If you stay aggressive, you can grind yourself way down.
Q: Did you ever fear that letting up and allowing yourself to have throwaway races early in the season was a dangerous habit?
Peter Reid: I could definitely suck at a lot of races. But in Hawaii, I would always show up and do well. I could have a horrible year, show up in Hawaii and shock everybody. I am really proud that I could always get up for the biggest race in the sport.
Q: Was there a reason you did well at Hawaii and not at an important race like Germany?
Peter Reid: Hawaii just suited me perfectly. I loved the headwinds, loved the heat, and loved the salt-water swim. I'm almost too big to race fast. I never really raced that fast, but I raced strong. That is the one biggest reason why I did well in Hawaii - there the strongest man - mentally and physically - wins. That is also why I never did well in Germany. Germany was too fast for me. I just could not keep up. But in Hawaii, the speeds were a little slower. A little slower on the bike, a harder swim - it had chop, currents, swells. It demands a stronger competitor and my body is better suited for all that stuff. I should have done Lanzarote.
The future
Q: Do you have any desire to take on any physical challenges?
Peter Reid: Part of me wants to do a marathon and see what I can actually do. Right now, I wanted to race this 25 km trail race with my girlfriend. I got to the start line and I just thought: "I don't think I want to race." She said "That is fine. Do you want to pick me up at the finish line?" I picked her up. I was happy not to run it. I am not yet really into a run like that.
Q: Will that change?
Peter Reid: The drive to race and compete will take a while to return - if it comes back. Look at Mark. He could totally show up and easily crack the top five now. But he does not want to. I'm comfortable not racing at all. But Dave? (six time Ironman Hawaii champion Dave Scott) Dave still loves to race and train hard. Everybody is different.
Q: What other changes have you made in your life?
Peter Reid: I sold my house in Victoria (British Columbia) and moved to Squamish, which is close to Whistler. There's a lot of rock climbing an other adventure sports. It's the Boulder of Canada. It's the windsurfing, mountain bike capital, close to cross-country skiing. There are a lot of sports to do, like a Boulder and Queenstown, New Zealand.
Q: You had a painful split from your wife two years ago. Have you talked with her about your retirement?
Peter Reid: Lori is psyched. We are actually pretty close once again. That weekend when I was wrestling with my decision, I called her up. She said, "I don't know, Peter. Why not do one of smaller Ironmans? Go out there and have fun." I came back "The little ones are never fun for me." For me, it was always about going as hard as I can and being focused. Within a second, she said, "Yeah, you're right. It never was fun for you. It was always about being in the zone and attacking. Yeah, I think you're right. You are ready to retire." At the same time we both realized we both raced for exactly different reasons. It took a while, but we were both definitely cool with it.
Q: Are you through with triathlon altogether?
Peter Reid: I want to be a volunteer at the Energy Lab. I had never volunteered at Ironman. I have a feeling it will be a really hard and a long day. I wanted to do something I had never experienced before. I am really curious to be out there that long. I feel that is the only way now for me to truly be part of the race. If you are a volunteer, you're in that race. For me, it is the only way I can get back into the race without having to do it.
Q: Are you doing it out of a desire to give back to the sport?
Peter Reid: I don't know if I really want to give back. I simply want to experience that part of the race. Luckily, I am able to pull some strings to make it happen. I want to be out there at 11 at night watching glow sticks and chasing them down with energy drinks. People asked me, wouldn't you rather be working IronmanLive.com? Hell no!
Was freu ich mich auf den Becher von Peter :)
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