Heart of a Champion (11 page)

From Vail, the group rode down to Minturn, up through Leadville, which at 3000 m (9842 ft) is the highest city on the US mainland. They were to cross the Rockies through Independence Pass, and take the twisting, 40-km (25-mile) descent into Aspen. It was an extremely tough climb. Halfway up, Greg's nose started to bleed.

‘At altitude, your nasal passages can dry out. My face was bloody. I got to the top, and Tinley and I stopped. Mark went on and soon was way ahead. We'd dropped everyone else and on the descent, Tinley and I raced each other the whole way down. It was fantastic. We did 175 km (108.7 miles) racing. This was the first time I'd ever ridden two 150-km (93-mile) plus days in a row. We had 400 km (248.5 miles) under our belts in two days, plus the running and swimming.'

Scott Tinley had organised accommodation at a Hollywood director friend's Aspen lodge. Thanks to his nose bleed, Greg arrived looking like a victim in a horror movie. But, after cleaning up and cooling down in the chilly mountain stream that ran through the property, he and the others still had the energy to head off for a jog. The next day, which the group had planned as a free day, Greg and Paul Huddle went for a 20-km (12.4-mile) run and then traversed the mountain on their bikes, riding 80 km (50 miles) along the track to Glenwood Springs, where the others met them for a dip in a huge natural hot spring. They relaxed in it for about two hours and then drove to Winter Park where they did their last two days training.

‘That week was so much fun! Then at the end of the Tour de Trout, there was another World Cup race in Toronto. So after our trip—after I'd ridden 800 km (497.1 miles) or more, run who knows what and swum, Brad came and picked me up and we drove to Denver Airport, flew to Toronto and did a race up there. He won, I got second. But I was on fire, because my body was just turning. I was just getting used to all this stuff. Now I could see how those Tour de France guys could do it.'

Training sessions like the Tour de Trout alerted Greg to the demands to which competitors like Mark Allen were subjecting their bodies. Once he knew that he too was capable of training at those levels of intensity, he raised his sights. ‘I realised that if you didn't know what your body was capable of doing, you wouldn't be able to become a real champion.'

Greg had begun to recognise that he had some rare abilities. He could surge when he was already running in an anaerobic state—where his body was going into oxygen debt. He had the ability to kick into overdrive. He knew most people didn't have that capacity. More importantly, he learnt that he could drop his heart rate back down again. He looked at the studies being conducted at the time. They concluded that, during the course of a 10-km (6.2-mile) run, an athlete in peak fitness could surge for about 7 seconds above his anaerobic zone and then drop back into it again. Greg could do this about six times during the course of the race and then, about a minute later, fully recover and be back in his aerobic zone. That meant that in a 10-km race, if Greg was running at a 30-minute pace—that is, 3 minutes per kilometre—then for surges of 7 seconds he could probably speed up to a pace of 2 minutes 45 seconds per kilometre, and still recover again. It was a potent weapon in a race. It gave Greg the ability to shake off his competitors—or break their spirit.

G
REG DECIDED TO FURTHER BROADEN HIS HORIZONS
by competing in Europe. He was the reigning Short-Course Champion and had received many invitations to race there. More importantly, he was starting to receive worthwhile appearance fees. He accepted invitations to race in France and Germany. He was especially keen to try out the course in Nuremberg, as it was the venue for the following year's World titles.

Once there, Greg was disappointed to find that, because of pollution and the cold, the organisers had to drop the swim leg and turn the race into a duathlon, with the bike and run legs contested mainly over cobblestone roads. He won the race, but the battering his light-weight bike took on the road had almost disastrous consequences the following week.

The problem surfaced in Nice, on a massive course—a 4-km (2.5-mile) swim, 120-km (74.6-mile) bike and 32-km (19.9-mile) run—through the hills above the Côte d'Azur. Greg was already feeling the benefit of his Colorado mountain training. On the bike, coming down an enormous hill, he was on level pegging with Dave Scott. ‘We were on a 90-kph (56-mph) descent and suddenly my front wheel started popping spokes. Bing, bing, bing, bing—four spokes off! I started getting the death wobbles alongside a half-metre retaining wall that overhung a 500-m (1640-ft) drop. I had a disc wheel on the back so I hit the rear brakes. It took me 300 m (328 yd) to stop. I left rubber on the road all that way. It was super scary. I had to pull out of that race, but I was unbelievably lucky I didn't crash.'

The scheduling of the 1991 World Olympic-distance Triathlon Championships for 13 October meant that Greg had to choose between contesting them or continuing his quest for the Hawaiian Ironman title on 19 October. Greg chose Hawaii.

However, he began to doubt his choice as soon as he looked out the plane window on the final approach to Kona. The white caps on Kailua Bay and the mirage caused by the heat rising from the lava fields told him that the Big Island was preparing to use her most potent weapons against those who dared to challenge her. The dreaded
ho'o mumuku
winds would play havoc with the riders, and the searing heat would test every competitor's inner resolve.

From the gun off Kalakeakua Beach, the pace in the leading pack pushed Greg out of his comfort zone. He knew immediately he would have to swim faster than he had ever swum before, just to stay on the pace. Sure enough, he came out of the water in 51 minutes 2 seconds, his fastest swim at Kona and just 45 seconds behind Mark Allen and 3 minutes behind American Rob Mackle and German Wolfgang Dittrich. For once, Greg had a poor changeover to the bike and he surrendered more time to Allen and the leaders. He was passed by Pauli Kiuru of Finland, who came out of the water a few seconds behind him. Once on the bike, Greg felt strong and set about making up the lost time. He caught Kiuru and Allen about 40 km (24.9 miles) into the ride. Mackle had to pull out after two flat tyres and a disastrous wheel change. Dittrich powered through the lava fields on his own and tried to set a lead that would give him a chance to hold off the others on the run. But he began to fade, and around the 140 km (87 miles) mark, his lead had been cut back to a little over 2 minutes. Renowned cyclist Jurgen Zack rode into second place shortly afterwards, with Greg and Mark Allen in third and fourth, respectively, followed by Ken Glah and Jeff Devlin.

There was a bit of Aussie larrikinism at the last aid station on that year's bike ride. Mick Maroney, John and Tony Southwell and a bunch of Greg's mates had volunteered to help out at the aid station. It was between the airport and town, where it's pretty desolate and the riders are lonely. When Greg reached it on the bike, he was leading the race with Mark Allen on his wheel. Greg was hunched down, riding his new prototype Zipp bike—never before seen at Ironman—and looking good. When he looked up he thought he was hallucinating. His mates were there, ready to hand out drinks, but their pants were around their ankles!

‘You've got the two guys leading the race, TV cameras capturing all the action, and then all of a sudden we hit this aid station, and I hear, “Plucky, Gatorade!”, and their arses are hanging out. There was Mark, sitting on his handlebars, smiling and laughing and I thought, “I've cracked him.”'

Greg and Allen chuckled and came in off the bike together. Greg had the better transition and led up the hill and along Ali'i Drive, but Allen dug deep and stayed with him.

When Greg took the lead, he became the first Australian ever to lead the famous race. But around 21 km (13 miles) he fell into a hole. He was hit badly by cramps and was forced to walk them off. He recovered a few kilometres later once he was able to pick up his ‘special needs' bag, the personal bag each athlete is allowed to leave at the designated aid station. Greg had packed his bag full of his favourite lollies and glucose. ‘I started to feel a bit better after that. Jeff Devlin passed me while I was standing still and I thought, “You'd better pull yourself together, son.” After the turnaround, I regained my rhythm and ran a lot better. I passed Devlin and chased after Mark Allen but I'd given him too much of a lead.'

Greg cut Allen's lead to 3 minutes, but over the closing stages, Allen kicked again and beat Greg home by about 6 minutes. Greg's second place was the best ever result by a non-American. He came away knowing he had the ability to win the Ironman, but realising there was something missing—that tiny edge that separates a champion from the rest. He was beginning to understand that the edge came from self-belief but he also knew that understanding that fact, and doing something about it, were two different things.

M
EANWHILE, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
G
REG AND
S
IAN
had developed. Greg next saw Sian in 1992 at the Orange County Triathlon, where they both competed. Sian's parents came down to watch her. They were delighted when Greg won the race and they warmly congratulated him afterwards. On the way home to LA, Sian's parents told her how concerned they were at her apparent unhappiness. By the time they arrived home, Vince had convinced his daughter she should take some time out and have some fun to break the cycle. He suggested she ring Mickey and Greg, and go down to San Diego for a few days.

By the time Sian made it to San Diego, Greg and Mickey had adjourned to the Red Onion nightspot, where a big dance party was raging. It was around 9, and after a few drinks Greg and Mickey were setting the dance floor alight. Mickey was dancing with his girlfriend Trish, and Greg with Amy, an old friend.

‘I noticed Sian out of the corner of my eye and she was just staring at me. And soon I was just staring at her, though I was still dancing with Amy. I went over and chatted to her for most of the night. She stayed with friends and then returned home.'

Some months later, Sian and Chip's relationship broke up and she moved to San Diego, where she joined two girlfriends in a cramped one-bedroom apartment. Shortly after arriving, Sian ran into Mickey Morera and told him her story over coffee.

‘I told Mickey all my sorrows and he said, “Sian, I know the perfect person for you.” I told him that the last thing I needed was another relationship. He said, “It's Greg.” I knew Mickey was right because I'd always had Greg in my heart, but I didn't say anything.'

Mickey called Greg immediately. By then he was in Japan where he'd just won the 1992 Ironman Japan in 8 hours 7 minutes 39 seconds—at the time the fastest Ironman time by an Australian. He told Mickey that he was flying to Australia that night. He'd been invited home by the Nine Network's
Wide World of Sports
team: hosts Ken Sutcliffe and Max Walker wanted to devote a large chunk of their program to Greg's win, chatting to him in the studio and featuring his race. Then he was due back in the States for a special duathlon series in Ontario, California—a high-powered competition featuring some of the world's best, including Kenny Souza, the world duathlon champion. After that race he was scheduled to go to Boulder in Colorado for some major altitude training prior to Hawaii 1992. But Mickey was insistent: ‘Greg, I've got to tell you, Sian and Chip have broken up, you need to get back here really quick. There are plenty of people lining up for Sian.'

Greg barely had time to break off the fledgling relationship he'd been having in Australia with Kristin before he jumped on the next flight back to LA. He immediately invited Sian to dinner with Mickey and Trish. Both Sian and Greg tried to play it cool over dinner. ‘We were like two kids: I couldn't even look at him; he couldn't look at me. It was great. We were like 10-year-olds. We didn't do anything that night. It was just a 5-hour stopover.'

Greg was totally smitten. ‘We had a great time, and I was so in love with Sian, but still nothing happened. I was staying at Mickey's place because the next day I had to drive to Ontario, a town just outside LA, for a big race against Kenny Glah and a few other guys. That next morning, Mickey and a group of other triathletes, including Sian, had arranged to meet at his place at 6 o'clock for a long bike ride. Sian got there early. She came upstairs and I was so afraid. I basically stayed under the covers because I knew something would happen between us. I think I was almost afraid that we would start dating and that would be it—marriage and everything—and I wasn't sure whether I was ready for that right then.'

After a chat, Sian and the others headed off on their bike ride, and Greg drove to his race. His commitment fears dissipated as soon as he left Sian. She occupied his mind both during his race and the long drive to Boulder. ‘I called her every day from Boulder and said, “I know you're training for an Ironman, why don't you come out here and train for a couple of weeks? See if you like it. Just so I can see you again.”'

Unfortunately for Greg, Sian had agreed to go to England for a month for two family weddings. She flew out and Greg, in the days before email, wrote her postcards. ‘I got his cards. I returned home, and three months went by. I called him and said, “I'd love to come to train for a month before Hawaii.” I remember getting ready to get on the plane. I knew he would be on the other side to pick me up and I changed clothes ten times. I was so nervous. We never even talked about going out at all. We just both knew. He was there to pick me up and we were both, you could tell…it was seething, seething.'

A very attentive Greg helped Sian settle in at a friend's place and then offered to pick her up at 6.30 the next morning to take her to the pool. After breakfast he would show her the local bike and running trails. He recalls, ‘That morning at swimming training, two guys asked her out: “Hey, Sian, want to go out on a date?” I stood back and thought, “Go for your life, mate, don't let me get in your way!” The next morning, another guy asked her out. I'm thinking, “Hang on!” That's when I jumped in: “Sian do you want to go out tomorrow night?”'