> report filed August 11, 2004 by Dave White
This is the latest in a series of interviews with the Undercovered, our effort here at Triathlon Informer to shine a light on some of the more interesting triathletes we run across in our travels. This time, the focus is on Eric Davis, a Los Angeles-area triathlete who has a background in running, cycling and rowing. If you'd like to suggest an athlete for our profiles, please contact amy@triathloninformer.com.
ERIC DAVIS: I've been an "endurance athlete" since age 7. Man, hard to believe I've been "competing" that long. Swam in a very competitive age group swimming program until age 11. Also started running in AAU age group track and cross country races at age 9. Did a lot of competitive road racing with my father, and ran a 2:48 marathon and 36:00 10K at age 11. Ran a 55:00 hilly 10-mile at age 15. Was an All-Virginia two-miler by the end of high school, but I knew by that time that I'd never be a national-class runner. Switched to rowing at age 18, and eventually made the U.S. national rowing team a few times as an adult.
TI: How many races do you do a year?
ED: I don't do that many races because I don't like to "compete" unless I'm truly ready. As each year passes, it gets harder and harder to measure up to some of the achievements of my youth, so now, I'm more about exploring new types of endurance sports--road bike racing, ultra marathon, Ironman, etc.
TI: Do you do some of the same races every year? If so, what races do you look forward to every year?
ED: That's a good question. I really have only been "in shape" again since 2002, so I haven't had that much opportunity to repeat the same races. It's possible that I may do the Saint Monica's 5K run for the third consecutive time this fall. And, depending on a lot of things, I may try to do the 54-mile Mountain Masochist Trail Run in Virginia for the second year in a row in late October.
TI: What motivates you to train? Is it getting away from work and/or family? Is it enjoying the great outdoors? Is it trying to improve yourself? What is it?
ED: Having started competitive athletics at age 7, I guess I'd have to say that sports are part of my being. I've drifted away from competitive sports a couple times in my adult life, and each time I come back, I'm even more in love with the whole thing--the satisfaction of getting in shape, being under the big blue sky every day, feeling the air move through my body, having a chance to clear my mind while doing something so positive. I love to compete, but I'd want to be "in training" even if there was no such thing as "racing".
TI: What do you do when you're not training?
ED: Since I started training for the Ironman about a year ago, it feels like I'm always "training." As I've hit the peak phase of training for Ironman Canada, my weekends are 100 percent filled with sports—wake up, eat, work out, sleep, work out, sleep, repeat on Sunday. Whenever I get this Ironman thing out of my system, I'll probably return to my normal life that would be typical of the Southern California weekend warrior—a wide variety of weekend physical endeavors, mixed in with a healthy smattering of TV, movies, the New York Times, and as little work as I can get away with.
TI: Who do you admire among the people you know? Why?
ED: My father! The older I get, the more and more impressed I become with his accomplishments as an endurance athlete. He ran a 2:44 marathon at age 44, and yet all the while, remained an A+ father to me. After I went to college, he got serious about ultra running, and ultimately completed several 100-mile races, including the very challenging Old Dominion 100-miler.
TI: Who do you admire among the people you do not know? In other words, who do you look up to and why?
ED: Lance Armstrong—single-minded preparation, versatile, delivers under pressure, survived cancer. I want to see Lance do Kona at age 35 and re-define Ironman speed.
TI: If you could say one thing to all the triathletes reading this right now, what would it be? It can be inspirational, it can be funny, you name it.
ED: If you want to do well at the Ironman distance, a well-experienced coach is well worth the money.
TI: What is your ultimate goal in triathlon?
ED: Qualify for Kona this year. Be healthy when I'm 80 years old.
TI: What is your favorite workout? Why?
ED: 5 x 1 mile run on the track: I love the consistency, the predictability, feeling like your body is a machine. Wednesday morning La Grange ride up Mandeville Canyon Road: I love the way the intensity builds and builds, and slowly but surely, the group dwindles down to a smaller and smaller number. For me, there's at least 10 minutes of burn on this 18-minute ride.
TI: Please share a funny story or two about racing, training, etc.
ED: For my first Olympic-distance and half-Ironman events, I set up my aerobars in reverse. I kept wondering why my arms kept feeling like they wanted to slide right off the pads. Duh!