Profile – David Wigs

Twenty five years ago in 1983 I was introduced to triathlon being arncrew person for my older brother at an Ironman Qualifier race near ParkrnCity, Utah. At the time all competitors were required to have a crewrnthat would take their bike as the race did not provide a securerntransition area for any of the equipment. Because I had been playingrncompetitive tennis on one of the local teams, after I secured his bikernin the car and arranged for someone to watch my daughter I startedrnrunning the half marathon to see if I could run with my brother. Beforernthe turn around we were running together. Because I didn’t take any aidrnon the course I faded at about 11 miles but finished the run.rn

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As a result I decided to learn to swim and to do a sprint race the following year that had a 400 meter swim which had to be completed in 12 minutes. The junior high pool was open from 8 to 9pm during the week so I began my swimming adventure by not being able to put my face in the water and barely able to get to the other end of the pool before needing to stop and catch my breath. Continuous swimming began by alternately swimming crawl, breast, and then side stroke each one length of the pool. Eventually I was able to maintain crawl and credit a book "Swimming Faster" by Ernest Maglishco, a Stanford swim coach, with helping me understand the entry, catch, pull through, and recovery portions of the swim stroke.

My bike was a hand me down Fuji Special Road Racer 10 spd with steel levers that ran from the brakes along the bottom of the handle bars so the brakes could be used without being on the hoods or in the drops. Other than being able to get the seat height right, every aspect of fitting the bike to me was at best an approximation. For my shoes I used an old pair of tennis shoes that were worn smooth and fashioned a cleat of sorts out of Shoe Goo, a liquid rubber product that comes in a tube and is used to build up worn spots on sport shoes. One of the realities of competitive tennis is that the soles of the shoes are worn through long before the uppers even look dirty. From the house there were somewhat rural roads with which I established a three lobed route. They took me away from the house but very nearby after each lobe so I could vary the distance depending on time and weather. I came to the conclusion as the weekend rides grew longer over the years that my butt didn’t feel any worse after twenty miles than it did at twenty miles. Since my tennis shorts were my bike shorts along with a tennis shirt I looked like a tennis player riding a bike.

Because I was still playing tennis adding a 5K training run on alternate days became a problem. If I ran the day before a tennis match my legs would be dead so I had to structure the run around the tennis. At that time the schedule included swim, bike, run, tennis, stretching, work, and family, not in that order.

When the event arrived the entire family went to watch dad do his first triathlon. Having absolutely no knowledge of transitions other than change your clothes and go, I was surprised to find I was the last person to leave the transition because I had gone into the men’s locker room to towel off and change. At the end of the event I had biked and run myself to a 5th place finish in my group but well away from the overall group winner. What I took from that was that not only was I a strong biker but actually an exceptional rider because I was barely off the overall fastest bike ride of the day, well ahead of the other guys in my group while riding my Fuji. While not fast on the run I wasn’t slow either and with more specific training could get faster. That was my only tri for 1984 as I continued playing tennis. I kept up the swim/bike/run because it augmented my fitness on the courts.

The following seven years I returned to that event and won my age group each year from 1987 through 1990 finishing 6th overall as a 43 year old. Later that year I was the overall winner of the inaugural Utah Summer Games triathlon. I stopped playing tennis in 1987 because it was interrupting triathlon although I really enjoyed tennis and continue to be a fan of it today.

During the summer of 1986 because of my success at triathlon I wanted to get a real bike. I was forbidden to spend any household money or charge the purchase. The American Lung Association has an annual fund raising ride in numerous locations around the nation. As reward and motivation for raising   pledges, various prizes were given to those reaching predetermined pledge levels. I was able to raise over $5000 for which the Lung Association in conjunction with REI recognized me with a Pinerello LA ’84 14 speed road bike. This was basically as good a bike as I could have found in any shop for any price. The Lung Association acknowledged that no one before and perhaps since has raised that amount of money for their annual ride. The Director of the Association had me return the following year and give seminars to the riders on how to go about fund raising.

With the new bike in hand my ambitions grew over the winter. My brother and I decided to see if we could both qualify for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii that upcoming October. We pointed at the Idaho Triathlon in the Boise area early in June of 1987. On the first ride in March south of Salt Lake City and the first on the new bike I was hit from behind by a car. Surprisingly it did minimal damage to the bike but left me with an extremely bruised hip and elbow. After 6 weeks of physical therapy I was back on the road again.

The race was my first half Ironman. Neither of us qualified although our bike splits were competitive. My problem was nutritional. We each did other races separately until we ended up at the Texas Hill Country Triathlon held north of San Antonio. When it was all over we had both qualified for the Ironman. Over the years I qualified for Ironman 4 times at that race and qualified for the Ironman 8 consecutive years.

The first Ironman World Championships is an event I will always remember. My brother and I finished hand in hand. He had over taken me on the run because I had bonked but was able to put myself together to actually pace him for awhile while he dealt with the problems an event like the Ironman presents you with while it happens. Some of the others events lose their clarity as I have been able to complete 19 Ironman events, that first one when I was forty years old. They include one Ironman New Zealand, two at Ironman Europe, five at Ironman Canada, and ten Ironman World Championships. All of these I qualified to be in at half Ironman events. I also did the Worlds Toughest at Lake Tahoe where I won my age group and the Clydesdale group.
 
Over the years I have completed dozens of half Ironman races and dozens and dozens of International distance events. Being 6′ 5" and 200 lbs I always knew I was outside the normal physical demographic but always raced as diligently as I could for the entire distance and let the finishing place take care of itself. One year I was recognized as the first Honorable Mention All American being ranked 18th in the nation. I’ve been fortunate to be 30th, 15th, 12th, and 6th in the nation at the annual Age Group Nationals.

I’ve had the distinct achievement at the Nationals to have my bike be the only one in the transition area of my age group when I left for the run portion. That was the year I held onto a 6th place finish in 1997. The following weekend resulted in a 3rd place finish at Ironman Canada. I’ve actually been blessed with having completed 3 Ironman races (Europe, Canada, Hawaii) in 12 weeks setting PR’s in 2 of them. The second time I did Ironman Europe the bike split was a 4hr 59 min ride time. The things that really get my juices going however is having biked and run through the streets of Wellington, New Zealand with USA on the back of my tri shorts as a member of Team USA and having carried the Olympic Torch in Monument Valley on its way to the 2002 SLC Olympics.

In 1990 I moved to Las Vegas while getting divorced. Although having been categorized as addicted to exercise, I was and continue to be motivated by the success, accomplishment, lifestyle, and rewards of my interest in exercise physiology and nutrition. Additionally I believe in longevity through cardiovascular fitness.

Although I can no longer run train, I continue to work towards making the National Team one last time this year. They have a liberal qualification requirement of being in the top 16 in the age group. While I was 30th last year 10 minutes behind the 16th place finisher, I had the 2nd quickest bike split. People that go to the Nationals are very serious about what they do. It’s a privilege to tread water with them and actually compare yourself to the best in the nation when it’s all over. I said to Dave Scott when he and I were the only people at his booth at Interbike one year, "We’ve treaded water at Dig Me Beach in Kona several times but I know you never knew I was there." We were smiling, he was gracious, and he gave me his photograph on which he wrote "Never Give Up." That means so much more about life than it does triathlon and especially now that I’m 61.

One of the best comments I ever received was from a young man who overtook me on the run in a sprint tri in SLC. Afterwards he said, “I would know I was good if I could keep up with Mr. Wignall.” Another was after passing a guy in my age group at Wildflower on the run he came up and said, “You are one tough son of a bitch.”

David (Wigs)