Athlete of the Month, March 2014 – George Epley
Athlete of the Month
We are excited to introduce you to George Epley, our March ’14 Athlete of the Month. In his nomination, his coach shared how truly impressed she is with his commitment to training. He does not let challenges stop him from getting the work done: busy work schedule, crazy east coast weather, no problem! George truly listens to her advice, and finds himself getting stronger week-after-week!
Please tell us about the race season you have planned?
Who is your coach at D3 and how has your coach helped you with your goals?
For me triathlon has not only opened some amazing physical opportunities, 
but some cognitive and social opportunities as well. I spend as much time
training as I do learning about the effects of training on the body. As
 coach Mike says ” we never stop learning”. As a result I have recently
 earned my USA Cycling level 2 coaching certification and I plan on 
taking my ACSM-CPT certification test in a few weeks. For me it’s so 
important to give back to a sport that has given me so much.
Enjoy the Q&A with George.
Please tell us about the race season you have planned?South Beach Sprint, NYC and Chicago Olympic, Engleman, Timberman and
 Austin 70.3, a few USAC events and hopefully a full cyclocross season. I
 also built a track bike this winter, so I’m hoping to get a few races in
 on the velodrome. Oh yeah, and I’m in the NYC Marathon lottery (fingers 
crossed).
Which race are you most excited about?
Two, really. Timberman 2013 was my first 70.3 and I was full of doubt,
 so I’m looking forward to racing it this year with more confidence. The 
other one is the NYC Olympic. The transition area is one block from my
 apartment, so I get to sleep in a bit longer on race day!
Why triathlon?
I really enjoy the muscular balance triathlons provide and the ability to
 train at a high volume, but minimizing overuse injuries. Plus, every day 
is different with a lot of variations, and that helps on the motivational 
front.
What motivates you to keep training?
I was very deconditioned for a number of years; obesity, hypertension,
 high LDL, low HDL, pre-diabetes and sleep apnea combined with taking a
 hand full of George E swimmedications to make it all better. After a big wake up call 
in 2011, I lost 80 lbs. Motivation during the weight loss was easy for
 me. However, getting motivated in the first place was the hard part, but I
 thank Rich Roll and his book “Finding Ultra” for that. I so related to
 Rich’s story. An other big motivator for me is the fact that we, as a
 country, are closing in on a 35% obesity rate and its mind boggling how
 poorly this country eats. I mean, if you want motivation, go hang out at
 a food court in any mall in this country. It’s a very scary sight.
Please tell us about your work and/or family.
I started my 25th year at MTV this year and it’s been an amazing
 experience. I work with some great people and really love my job, and yes,
 I have some great stories. I have 3 daughters one of them is massage 
therapist and the other is a nurse (almost) – so I’m putting together a
 good race support crew.
How are you balancing your training with the rest of your life?
I don’t stress over balancing my training schedule with the rest of life. 
I think being flexible is really important. Some nights I have to train 
late at night – it’s just part of the deal. I discovered this winter
 that only viewing two weeks of training at a time on my TP account is
 the right amount of information. If I see more than that, I feel
 overwhelmed; if I see less than that, I feel out of control. Also, I try
 to get business trips on the calendar as early as possible so my coach
 can see busy weeks and plan accordingly. I have so much respect for all
 AG triathletes and their time management skills, but like any skill, it
 needs to be worked on.
Who is your coach at D3 and how has your coach helped you with your goals?Martina is my coach and the very first thing she said to me is “do what I 
say and you will get faster”, so I started listening, and guess what? I
 got faster! Also, she had me work on my posterior chain over the winter
 and it’s really improved a weak area in my game. Coach Martina knows what
 training my body needs for development and applies that training on a
 daily basis. It’s been great working with her and I’m looking forward
 to our first racing season together.
If you could write a workout for your coach, what would you include in that workout and why?
Martina and I both enjoy cold, rainy, muddy training sessions so maybe a 
few cyclocross intervals in a mud pit would be fun. Based on the
 transition area at Austin this past October, it actually may be of 
benefit to our triathlon program.
Share a favorite race moment.
The moment that stands out the most was my fist triathlon, the South
Beach sprint, last year. It’s an Ocean swim and the surf was very rough. I was in cue
 for the swim start just full of fear and rattled nerves, and a few AG waves in front of me the paratriathletes started the swim. I
 don’t think I have ever been more in awe of the human spirit than at 
that moment. It made all of my fears seam really unimportant. All the
 paratriathletes are so amazing!
If you had to pick spending a training day with Dave Scott or Scott Molina, who would it be and why?
No disrespect to those guys, but any age grouper with a 70+ on his left 
calf during a race is a guy I want to train with. I’m really interested
 in the post 70 athlete. I think that’s an AG category that’s just going to
 keep growing in numbers.
Is there anything else you would like to share or we should know about you?
For me triathlon has not only opened some amazing physical opportunities, 
but some cognitive and social opportunities as well. I spend as much time
training as I do learning about the effects of training on the body. As
 coach Mike says ” we never stop learning”. As a result I have recently
 earned my USA Cycling level 2 coaching certification and I plan on 
taking my ACSM-CPT certification test in a few weeks. For me it’s so 
important to give back to a sport that has given me so much.George also finds time to enjoy a little fishing!