(uplifting music)
- On my way to speak to Heather Jackson.
I think that, we've never met, but I gather
has a fascinating story.
She actually started off racing as an age grouper,
and then ended up on the podium at Kona as a pro.
Now I'm going to find out a little bit more
of just how she got there.
Hello!
- [Heather] Hi! - Hi!
- [Heather] Hi I'm Heather! - Nice to meet you, Heather!
Thank you for your time today. - Welcome, yeah, of course.
Come on in.
- Right Heather, I'm sure you've kind of
talked about it plenty of times before
but I'm fascinated to know, you know,
coming from one sport into three sports,
so to speak, how did you go from
ice hockey to a podium at Kona?
Where do we start?
- Oh man, yeah good question.
(laughs)
So I played ice hockey while growing up,
I'm from New Hampshire originally so,
yeah played four years at university.
I was trying for the '06 Winter Games
and I didn't make '06 games so
there really wasn't much after that.
And I went home in the summer after graduating
and my parents, actually, were doing like a local
sprint triathlon, so I went with them.
It wasn't, it was actually,
I think it was like a 12 mile mountain bike
across at the base of a ski mountain,
swim across this lake, it was probably like
1000 meters swim or something,
and then the run was up the main like ski line
- [Interviewer] Wow.
- [Heather] on the ski mountains.
- [Interviewer] That sounds brilliant.
- Yeah, it was so fun, like it was just
this, like, adventure for me.
So that was actually my first triathlon ever.
But yeah, I guess that was my first, just yeah.
- And then that was, did something follow that
quite quickly or were you just like
you did it and put it aside and didn't think anything of it?
- I had actually already accepted a teaching position
over in Thailand for the year after graduation
so that was, I was leaving pretty quickly for that.
And so, it wasn't like put on a back burner
but, flew over, I was in Chiang Mai
and I got over there, and obviously my daily routine
of ice hockey was, like, not there
so it was like "what am I going to do?"
So I started running a bit,
I would go to a local gym there
and some of the local guys at the gym
signed up for Ironman Malaysia
which was, this was the summer so I think
it was like June or July,
which was the following February down in Malaysia.
And so I was like "oh cool, I'll do that!"
And so I signed up and I don't think I knew
at the time what I was getting into.
Made my way down to Malaysia and then just,
my sister actually flew over with like a borrowed bike
from my dad at the time that I could use for, yeah.
- [Interviewer] What did you train on?
- Yeah, I was like training at the gym,
just like on the spin bikes. - Oh my God!
I was going to say like, cycling in Malaysia
or in Thailand, it doesn't really sort of appeal
and, like, it sounds pretty crazy.
- Exactly!
I would do like numerous spin classes at the gym,
be like "oh cool, I rode a couple of hours" like,
it was, yeah.
- [Interviewer] So how was that, your first Ironman?
- It was brutal.
I think I was the last one out of the water,
I'm not kidding.
I actually have always meant to go look up
the results if they're out there somewhere
because I literally, there was like one bike left.
It was yeah, and then I just like rode
and I remember thinking the riding was fine
so coming from hockey, my legs were, yeah.
- [Interviewer] Strong? - Strong, yeah.
I was probably 20-30 pounds heavier than I am now,
it was all like leg muscle, lower body weight.
So the bike, yeah, I loved the bike.
- You were just passing people.
- Yeah, passing and like, literally checking out
this island, just taking it in.
And then the run, I pretty much walked it
so I was like "oh."
But I remember being out there thinking like
"oh wow," like I would see the pros go by,
like the fast people and like
"okay, I definitely want to, like, race one of these."
I was like, hooked.
There was a half-distance triathlon,
I forget which one it was.
It was the New Hampshire area, I remember.
And it was just a local one but they had slots
to get in Ironman Lake Placid.
And so I went to it and won my age group
and then I got the race Ironman Lake Placid.
I ended up winning my age group
so then I got a slot to Kona.
So then I had gotten another teaching job
at this point out in San Jose, California
and I had to drive cross-country
with my sister that summer after Placid,
and got out there and like
Googled "local tri groups"
and like "tri clubs", "tri coaches".
So I met up with one of the local tri clubs
and just started, yeah, training with them.
And so that was when I think I got, yeah,
the most serious.
- [Interviewer] And that was how long
before the World Champs?
- I think that would have been like two months out.
- [Interviewer] Okay. - So I had like a pretty good,
yeah, two months training.
There was one other girl in my age group
who was also going, and yeah,
I remember it was super fun.
I just loved that build up,
and then yeah, we were all, all went to Kona, so.
And I ended up winning the age group,
and she got second. (laughs)
- Oh my God!
Ended up winning the age group on just like
two months of straight like, that's mad!
- So it was pretty, yeah, pretty cool that.
- And do you have any, like, aspirations like that
going into it?
Did you have any idea of how good you were?
- No, no, definitely not at all.
I had no idea in terms of like, global,
even let alone like a local,
in the little bubble I was in
in San Jose, like it wasn't.
It was more just, I mean I was 22 or 23
and I just remeber it was like this super fun time
because I was teaching so like,
I had to fit in training around that.
So I'd get up super early, swim, go teach,
like rush out of work at like two or three
and go get my training in and we'd have like
these fun group ride, or like a track session
for instance at like five to seven.
And then we'd all go to like, the local after
and like eat and drink and it was like, yeah.
I just remember being out a lot and like
having fun with this like, yeah,
it was just super fun I remember.
And that was what just kept me, yeah, so into it.
(slow indie music)
- And what was that turning point
of getting from this, you know, fun,
doing triathlon because you loved it,
and I'm sure, and I hope you still love it,
but like that change from in an age group to being a pro?
Where did that, like, step happen?
- Totally, well I mention all that now
because I always like, this time of year,
like when the seasons start to get serious
I try to just think back to that time
'cause for me, that's what it was about
and why I got into it and why I loved it so much.
And so when things start to feel
like serious now, I'm now like
"okay just pretend you're back to like that,"
like "you're doing a super hard workout,
"and then going out after" like.
- [Interviewer] Just without going out!
- [Heather] Yeah, exactly!
I'm not doing that. - [Interviewer] I'm just sat
on the sofa with compression boots on,
but I could be going out! - Yeah, pretending I'm.
(laughs)
Yeah, so, around that same time
was when I met had met Wattie.
He had, he was working for a triathlete magazine
at the time, so he was just in the San Jose area
and he was meeting with a bunch of the different companies.
He was the VP of ad sales, he was trying
to obviously get ad sales for the magazine
and he was, came out on the local Wednesday ride,
which was this big thing in the area,
it's like this 30 mile just,
all in every Wednesday nights, yeah.
But there's this one point on the group ride
where you have to get over this hill,
it's short, short and steep but if you don't make it over
with those front guys it's a headwind back.
And so, like, there was like a gap opening
and it was like Wattie and then me,
and the front guys and I was like
"you have to stay with them!"
I was like screaming at him 'cause if we get dropped
right now, like, it's going to hurt for like 20 seconds,
but like if you stay with them over it
it's like a, yeah. - You're almost not cruising
but you're going to get home much quicker.
- So I started screaming at him,
remember he looked back over his shoulder
like "who is this chick?" Like. (laughs)
We kind of stayed in touch, like nothing happened
but it was like, you could tell there was,
yeah, a mutual attraction.
But it was the next year at Wildflower
which is in May, so that would have been 2009
that he was there and I saw him again
and he was, yeah, I just remember like
on this picnic table, it's like at the campsite
that we get every year at Wildflower
and he's just like "you know, you're super young,
"like you can always go back to teaching.
"You should just give this a try."
Like, "move to San Diego, I'll help you out!"
Like, "you can just focus on your training
"and get like a coach, an actual coach,
"just not worry about all the other stuff,
"like teaching and grading papers
"and all this, everything else."
So, yeah that was 2009, May I went back to school
after the Wildflower weekend and put in my notice.
- Obviously you had the, you know,
people must have started to think
you've got the potential;
you must have believed it as well,
but did you ever dream you were going to be
on the podium at Kona as a pro?
- No, no definitely not.
I mean I raced halves
for probably six or seven years
and I wasn't even thinking of Kona,
we would go every year 'cause Wattie had to work,
and I would watch it and just be in awe
and just, I loved it.
But I didn't even have the, yeah,
the desire for a while.
I remember being there and being like
"no, I do not want to, like, run against,
"a marathon against Rinny, or like the top."
You know, it was when Chrissie was dominating
these, you know.
I didn't even put myself there with them.
And then it was watching it in '14
that I was like "okay,"
like maybe.
Not that I had, like, done everything in halves
I wanted to do but I had gotten
better and better at the halves.
Feel like I know this distance,
I was ready for something else, so yeah
that next year was when I.
- And how was your first Kona experience?
'Cause everyone still talks about, you know,
like obviously your second one went very well,
but like going to Kona for the first time
and it's, you had the advantage I guess
of having seen it a lot.
But how was your first experience as a pro there, racing?
- I thought it was, I loved it, I mean,
it was, yeah.
I mean, I, to be fair I feel like
I got super lucky in Kona for a few years
in terms of just like, I didn't have any issues,
like I didn't have.
I think, and this is what we're going to this year with,
just like not overthinking it.
I think once you've done it a few years, like,
maybe you start to overthink the tiniest little things,
like maybe if I do this or that.
When it's like those first few years
it was just another race, I'd just go in,
I'd prepared for this distance
and I knew to drink a little bit more, I think,
or just tiny little things.
But otherwise it was just, yeah, another day,
and that first year, I remember the highlight for me was
on the bike, I forget where I got up to on the bike,
maybe 13th or 14th, and then I was, like,
running in, passing a few people.
I think I was up to like 8th or 9th place
and I was "oh wow!"
Like 'cause in my head I was like
"if I could go top 10, like that would be incredible."
And so I'm like running, running and then
you go down into the Energy Lab
and in the Energy Lab there were like
three or four girls together.
I remember it was like Michelle Vesterby,
Camilla, a couple of others,
and within a matter of like, half a mile,
'cause like, you can struggle down there,
and I struggled there this year, like it's so hot,
it's so, if you're having a rough day or.
And anything can happen in that race,
and anything can change in a matter of seconds.
Like you could literally drop in an Energy Lab
and turn and see there are four girls right there.
- And last year, obviously wasn't the result
you were hoping for, what have you learnt from that?
'Cause, you know, you've have the first three years,
I wouldn't say it was easy, but it worked.
You know, your plan, it all worked as you'd hoped,
and it, but it didn't last year.
What, why and more to the point
what are you going to change from that?
What have you learnt from that?
- Yeah totally, I mean.
So while I just stated that the year I got 4th
was maybe the best prepared,
I would have said last year was
literally like flawless prep.
I nailed every session for 10 weeks,
like it was this, like, straight line up
of like, progress and nailing sessions and getting stronger.
I think it just, yeah, I think I just
over-cooked it, basically.
Because then we usually go 10 days out,
so I think it was, we were flying on the Tuesday
before the race and I remember I was just, yeah,
so tired, like so, just thrashed.
And I was like "okay, like, time to shut it down,
"here come's the taper, going to be good to go,"
and it just, I never came around.
Even usually, after about a week or so
of just super light, like I start to feel spunkier,
and even race week I was like napping.
I napped the day before the race,
and when that happened I was like "oh God."
What we learned from that is just,
like if I had done that 10 week block earlier.
So the goal this year is getting back to the halves,
which I love, I love that style of racing.
Just going to race a bunch of those until June,
and then take a little break, mid-season break
and then do a block of that sort, like July-August.
September isn't going to be, like, the full-on,
loaded, you know, 30 hour weeks, just like non-stop,
it'll be, okay let July-August sink in
and then I might do a half in September.
We've heard it before but, you know,
"better to be undercooked than overcooked,"
especially a race like that, so.
Kind of approach it more, I guess, that.
Also learned, while one from Kona this year,
but then this year after the disappointment of Kona
I raced Arizona which was five weeks later.
- [Interviewer] You must be happy with that.
- Yeah, and that is crazy because that's the day
I wanted to have in Kona.
And that was five weeks later, so,
we're basically going to push out those five weeks
from Kona this year, like what happened
in the Arizona this year and try to just
replicate that because that Arizona
was all off my Kona fitness.
I didn't do much in between the two races
and so, I went into Arizona, fresh, sharp,
all the fitness from Kona build
and had the day I had been hoping to have.
- Well that was absolutely fascinating,
just seeing how Heather went from playing ice hockey
to being on the podium in Kona,
and all those steps and decisions she made along the way.
I certainly really enjoyed listening to that;
hopefully you did too.
Give us a thumb up, like, if you did.
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And if you like this format and finding out
a little bit more about a pro,
then Fraser did a great interview with Laura Philipp,
and you can find that video just down here.