Thought this might make a few people’s blood boil. You might want to strap on your HRM before you read this. Check my postscript below.
By KIMBERLY DURNAN / Dallas Morning News Web Staff
Roberto Ruiz has conquered mountain and sky. Now the investment banker plans to triumph over land and sea.
For seven years, the Dallas man failed to win a lottery slot in the prestigious Hawaii Ironman Triathlon. So when the World Triathlon Corp. announced it would auction off a handful of slots for the 2003 event, the part-time athlete knew his time had come.
“I said, ‘If I’m going to do this, this is my chance,’” he said. “Money wasn’t a factor.”
Drawn to uber-challenges, Mr. Ruiz has racked up many accomplishments on hi s checklist for life: earning a second-degree black belt in tae kwon do; bungee-jumping over a 200-foot fall in Australia; skydiving in Arizona; scaling Mount Ranier.
Although he regularly runs in the Boston Marathon, he’s never competed in triathlons, cycling or open-water swimming. And the Hawaii Ironman is the pinnacle of triathlons: a 2.4-mile ocean swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a marathon.
“I just didn’t want to learn how to bike and swim. I needed a big goal,” Mr. Ruiz said. “I’m always looking to push my life to them next level. I truly believe in keeping myself on the edge.”
The Hawaii Ironman is one of the most sought-after races for competitive triathletes. The race allows 1,500 entrants each year, most of whom qualify based on performances in other races. But a select few enter through a lottery, provided that they complete a half-distance ironman before arriving in Hawaii. This year, 4,346 athletes vied for 200 lottery openings.
“Because it’s an invitational event, it has always been difficult to get into,” said Priscilla Fraiegari, a spokeswoman for World Triathlon Corp. “With more people joining the sport and with age groupers getting more competitive, it’s getting harder to get a spot.”
The 20 slots auctioned on eBay raised $307,400 to build a YMCA in Kona, Hawaii, and highlight Hawaii Ironman’s 25th anniversary.
Mr. Ruiz said he decided to go for the auction with no maximum bid in mind. But since he had never used eBay, he and his sister worked together. She watched the auction page on one computer while he was engaged on e-mail telling eBay to raise or hold the bid.
“I kept watching it. The same people were holding their slots,” he said. “I went to bed and set my alarm for 6 a.m. I started to win at $17,200. The other guy must have woke up around 6:40 because that’s when his bid went up.”
The two jockeyed until Mr. Ruiz’s sister yelled, “You have 15 seconds.” Bidding closed at 7 a.m.
Mr. Ruiz topped out at $31,300, second to the high bid of $32,700, both of which were for spots in the 40- to 49-year-old men’s group. Mr. Ruiz will turn 40 in August.
He since has trained about a month for the October event. As someone who runs 26.2 miles in just over three hours, Mr. Ruiz thought he could master swimming and cycling easily, until he got a taste of the open water during a clinic at Lake Ray Roberts.
“I had my first cold slap of reality when I swam 25 yards and was winded,” he said. “The open-water swim was a disaster and taught me I was in no way prepared and that 2.4 miles in the swim was darn serious.”
He hired Ahmed Zaher, a triathlon trainer who also will be competing in Hawaii.
Mr. Zaher said he usually says it takes four years to train for an ironman-distance triathlon. When Mr. Ruiz told him he had five months, Mr. Zaher said, “He’s crazy.”
With some reservations, Mr. Zaher accepted Mr. Ruiz as a client and told him even if he does everything as instructed he still may not be physically and mentally ready to finish the race.
“I’m almost confident he will make it,” Mr. Zaher said. “Every time I see him I get more confident. It won’t be pretty, but he will make it.”
Both coach and student say the swim is their biggest worry, so Mr. Ruiz trains in Grapevine Lake almost every day.
“He’s never been in the water with 1,500 other people and things happen,” Mr. Zaher said. “To get him ready, I swam on top of him, made waves, grabbed his legs and pushed on his head. He reacted really good.”
As for Mr. Zaher, competing against a client whom he wants to succeed will make the event more interesting.
“I’m going to be thinking about him the whole time,” he said. “It might be good because it will take my mind off the brutal race wondering how’s he doing.”
Triathlon training requires a lot of gear, and Mr. Ruiz came off the eBay auction with only a pair of running shoes. A bicycle has been specially built, and he’s bought cycling shorts, wetsuits, swimsuits, goggles, swim caps, cycling shoes and countless protein bars and energy gels.
He said he has cut out his favorite leisure activities, such as movies, dining out and cruising the lake in his boat so he can train 16 hours a week.
“All I do is train, eat, work and sleep,” he said. “I’ve dedicated my life for the next four months to being an ironman triathlete.”
He also eats less junk food.
“I love McDonald’s. I love Krispy Kreme,” he said. “I’m eating lots of protein bars and peanut butter sandwiches. I’m losing weight. My clothes are all fitting baggy and I have to take them to a tailor.”
Mr. Ruiz grew up in Tucson, Ariz. He excelled academically and eventually earned advanced degrees in finance, business and law.
During vacation breaks from his job as a managing director at Bear Stearns, Mr. Ruiz works as a trainer for motivational speaker Anthony Robbins. After starting out as a participant, Mr. Ruiz was chosen to help others with financial or relationship problems. “It keeps me in the emotional gym,” he said.
His girlfriend of 10 years, Randee Travis, said she has full confidence that Mr. Ruiz will conquer the Ironman. “So much of it is mental and he has so much mental willpower,” Ms. Travis said. “There’s never a shred of doubt. It’s just a given that he’s going to do it, that he’ll succeed. He’s not going to settle for the average goal – he’s going to the highest of that particular area. He attacks his whole life that way.”
Mr. Ruiz must complete a half-distance ironman – 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile ride, 13.1-mile run – before going to Hawaii. He plans to enter the Blackwater EagleMan Triathlon in Cambridge, Md., on Sunday. If he doesn’t finish, he has opportunities to enter at least two other races.
But of course, after three weeks of training, he says he believes he’s ready to meet the requirements in Maryland and finish the Hawaii Ironman.
It’s all about validating his spirit for life and proving his mettle.
“I really believe in living with passion. I put it out there every day,” he said. “I have an incantation: ‘What are your standards when nobody is looking?’ When I do that, I get the full passion of life.”
PS Blackwater Eagleman results: Roberto Ruiz 39 Dallas TX 182nd out of 195 in age group Swim 55:42 -T1 7:25- Bike 3:22:45- T2 13:18- Run 1:51:19- Total 6:30:27
