Fighting Fatigue - Pete jacobs

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Feature Story | Pete Jacobs

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Pete Jacobs scaled triathlon’s Everest, Kona, in 2012 aged just 30. He appeared destined for a bright future in the sport but it hasn’t exactly gone to script, mainly due to his on going battle with chronic fatigue. Now, having finished on the podium at the Asia-Pacific Championship, Pete is ready to rule the roost in Hawaii once more. Words: Keagan Ryan | Images: Delly Carr & Getty Images

FIGHTINGFATIGUE



In 2012 Julia Gillard was still the Prime Minister of Australia and Pete Jacobs had just won the Ironman World Championship, finishing ahead of Andreas Raelert (Germany) and Frederik

Van Lierde (Belgium) in a time of 8:18:37. Considering he was only 30, it was fair to think that the Sydney-raised athlete would enjoy a bright future in the sport. Pete was on top of the world.

“It was a dream come true; it had been a goal for 10 years. In the back of my mind I believed I could win it, so to finally achieve that proved that, over the previous 10 years, I had made the right decisions. It was a heap of joy and it was very exciting too,” he said of winning Kona.

While he has had success, including victories at Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast (2013) and Huskisson (2014), it’s fair to say Pete hasn’t reached the heights many would’ve expected of an Ironman world champion. Mainly due to a running, and still on going, battle with chronic fatigue – a disorder characterised by severe tiredness that doesn’t improve with rest. There is no exact medical explanation for chronic fatigue syndrome and in some cases it’s not medically recognised.

“It (fatigue) comes in many, many different forms for different people. To me it was my body not working at all, operating at about 20 per cent, not being able to think clearly, lethargic and heavy muscles, no strength and you have no joy in doing anything,” he said.

“You’re too tired to enjoy going out for a mountain bike ride because you don’t have the strength or energy to do it. It saps you in every aspect of your body.”

But fatigue didn’t set in overnight; it had been something Pete had dealt with since he was a teenager. In 2012 Pete thought he understood his body well enough to know when to push and when to take it easy.

“I was okay if I took a few days off – I’d come back better on the other side. After winning it (Kona), the fatigue got worse. It wasn’t just a few days and bouncing back; it was a few weeks. Then last year it was almost a few months,” he said.

“For a month or two at a time, fatigue would hang around, then I’d come back for a month of good training then be fatigued again. It was also injuries as well as being tired and not being able to enjoy everything – it was a snowball effect.

“I think accumulative Ironman races and also just getting older [set it off]. Whenever you get


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BELOW: Pete announced himself as a serious Kona contender with a commanding performance in Cairns for the Asia-Pacific Championship, finishing third.

older, any issue you have is going to get worse. I wasn’t as resilient when I was younger – they were the main couple of things. I was also up against it – when you sign contracts for races, you want to do them, you want to prove you are as good as you believe you are, you want to get out there and prove yourself but you’re also putting yourself in more of a hole.”

Not only has fatigue been hard to deal with physically, but it has also taken a substantial mental toll on Pete, who is also an ambassador for the Indigenous Marathon Project.

“It’s incredibly frustrating. I do the sport because I want to see what I can get out of my body and I want to race against other very talented athletes and I want to try and beat them – that’s the whole excitement of competing. When that’s your career, your hobby and your passion, it’s very frustrating to not be able to enjoy any of it and achieve anything,” he said.

“Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve spent a lot of money on all different tests. Every liquid that comes out of the body, hair, you name it, I’ve tested it. I’ve tried eliminating gluten and this, that and the other, so a lot of diet stuff. Supplements as well and then a few other treatments, which had their benefits for some of the injuries and issues I had but at the end of the day it wasn’t solving the bottom line issue. Once I started training and pushing my body a bit more, I was still falling in a hole of fatigue.”

Most of the frustration stems from the fact he is restricted in his training. While his rivals are out improving their splits and working on constant improvement, Pete is limited in how much time he can spend swimming, cycling and running. Although it’s an undoubted disadvantage compared to his rivals, Pete is prepared to back himself as an athlete come race day.

“Some other athletes may do, for example, a 30-kilometre run in the morning, with intervals in that, and then five hours on the bike in the afternoon. There’s no way I could do anything after my long run. My long run is it for the week; that’s me done,” he said.

“I definitely take a lot longer to recover, but there are ways around that. You can only get so fit, and what you do in training doesn’t reflect on race day. I probably do several hours less than others on the bike, I probably run 30 kilometres less than some others and I only swim 10 kilometres a week; others are doing 20-plus kilometres a week. There are others running less, biking more and others swimming more and running less – everyone’s different, but overall I definitely do less than other (professionals).

“I’m still trying to find out what I can get out of my body. At the moment I believe I can get there, mentally and physically combined, to the top step. Everybody’s got their strengths and weaknesses. I can’t train as much but I’m more efficient, so I might have a better technique swimming and running and maybe overall more efficient with my fitness levels. They might train a lot more but perhaps (they’re) not as efficient. At the end of the day, what’s done in training doesn’t mean a lot on race day.”

But, ahead of the Ironman World Championship, Pete is confident he understands his body and the loads it can handle. Recently he completed a Hawaii reconnaissance to ensure he will be ready for Kona, reporting back positive results, especially from the bike course, which he conquered numerous times during his recon trip. The fact he is prepared to undergo such preparation is a testament to how committed Pete is to overcoming fatigue and making the most out of his professional career despite the constant battle he faces. Before that Hawaii trip, Pete made the podium at the Ironman Asia-Pacific Championship, finishing third behind Tim Van Berkel and David Dellow.

“I felt a little taller and there was a lot of weight off my shoulders,” he said.

“It was just joy and happiness to be racing again, to be in the fight for a podium spot and to have a bit of fight at the end of the marathon…I was really happy. I got a lot of confidence from Cairns, which is what you need when training for Hawaii. I haven’t had that (confidence) for a while.”



Pete can also take confidence from his previous success at the grand prix of triathlon – Kona. Pete’s 2011 victory was preceded by two top-10 finishes (2009 and 2010) and the third-fastest run in the course’s history. It’s fair to say there are good memories in Hawaii for Pete, which is relevant in a place where the battle is won inside the head as much as it is on the race course. He feels those positive experiences will hold him in good stead this time around.

“It’s something you think about quite a bit when you’re on your own and out training and it’s even more interesting when you start chatting with other athletes,” he said of knowing what it takes to tackle Kona.

“Chatting to Dave Dellow – who hasn’t been back since 2012, when he got ninth – about his approach and his ideas makes me think more about my ideas and mine can also help him a bit too. A lot of it is about self-reflection and talking to others and getting their ideas, taking what works

ABOVE: Crossing the line for third at Cairns this year.

BELOW: Pete celebrates victory at Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast last year.

I’M ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT MY ARM CARRY – YOUR ARMS SET THE CADENCE FOR YOUR LEGS, SO KEEP YOUR ARMS LIGHT AND MOVING QUICKLY, SETTING A QUICK RHYTHM. AS A RESULT, YOU’LL BE LIGHTER ON YOUR FEET AND THEY’LL HAVE A QUICKER CADENCE.KEEP YOUR ARMS CLOSE AND IN FRONT OF YOUR BODY TOO.

PETE’S RUNNING TIP

“I’VE GOT CONFIDENCE NOW. I’VE GOT TO THIS STEP NOW AND NOW I’M GOING TO GET BACK TO WHAT I WAS DOING IN 2012.”



from them but also trying to get an edge as well.”Whatever happens in Kona and in his

immediate professional future, Pete at least feels he understands fatigue and the battle he will continue fighting. He isn’t prepared to throw in the towel merely because the going’s tough; he’s going to get the absolute all from his body.

“I think I’m on top of it now and I’ve changed my diet a lot. I was still being cautious this year leading up to Cairns about how much I could push my body, but that (Cairns) gave me a lot of confidence. I was in the best shape I’ve been in for years because I was able to push my body and build up to doing five hours and feeling like

I did four years ago, for the first time. Now that’s over and not only did the training go well, the race went relatively well too,” he said.

“I’ve got confidence now. I’ve got to this step now and now I’m going to get back to what I was doing in 2012, in terms of training. I’ve always trained less than others but if I can get back to doing 80 to 90 per cent of what I was doing in 2012, that will still be much more than the last few years, but it will still be enough to get me competitive on the podium.”

Things are looking up for Pete. Don’t be surprised if we’re looking up at him on the podium at Kona this month.

“I’M STILL TRYING TO FIND OUT WHAT I CAN GET OUT OF MY BODY.”

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Fighting Fatigue - Pete jacobs