Both professionals and amateurs know firsthand the IRONSTAR triathlon competitions. Someone is still only looking at the “iron race”, and someone has been actively participating in it for more than a year.
Recently, the legendary competitions were held in Sochi and included the following distances – swimming 3.86 km, cycling 180 km and running 42 km.
Our ambassador Alexey Shemyakin, after the first 2 stages, ran a marathon in 2 hours and 38 minutes and this amazing result brought him to 3rd place in the category, 10th place in the absolute and 1st place in the absolute on the run! It is worth noting that according to his result on the running stage, Alexey was extremely close to the world record (2 hours 36 minutes) set by Gustav Eden at the IRONMAN in Hawaii in 2022!
Especially for SPINE, Alexey gave an interview “hot on the heels” of a large-scale race, shared his impressions about the race and the SPINE sneakers in which he overcame it, and also talked about how he recovers after such competitions.
SPINE: Alexey, hello! Congratulations on your phenomenal results, we are all delighted! It should be noted that triathlon is an atypical sport for a skier. How and when did the idea come up to do it, to participate in competitions?
Alexey Shemyakin: Thank you! Yes, I agree with you. Since childhood, I wanted to take part in triathlon competitions, I told my family and friends about it, but plans often changed and until recently it was not possible to participate in the race. And 3 years ago, when I was at the training camp in Sochi, I found out that such competitions would be held here and finally decided to participate.
Of course, for lack of experience, I should have started with a shorter distance, but I decided to immediately participate in the largest possible distance. The main goal was to overcome, not to win. Emotions after the finish were so strong that I promised myself to come for the next seasons – to test myself once again.
I have been swimming since childhood, I use a bicycle in training, and running is an integral part of my daily routine. Therefore, there are no special difficulties.
Alexey: No, everyone reacted quite calmly! They know how much I have been training for many years – I think this is a big madness in their eyes. I prove to people around me that the human body is capable of great achievements, and most importantly – discipline. And I want to say a special thank you to everyone who supports me on this path in life – my family, friends, colleagues, and on social networks!
SPINE: Did your training time increase before the triathlon and how did the preparation combine with the routine?
Alexey: Last year, when I overcame this distance, I told my wife that I needed to train more on a bicycle. But as a result of high employment in ski training this season, I practically did not increase my practice on a bicycle. I was at training camps for 3 months, but I couldn't take my bike with me.
As for swimming, the main training sessions were in May, partly in the summer. But I also can't say that I have increased the load particularly.
Now I understand that I need to prepare more carefully for the next season and include regular cycling workouts in my diet so that it will be easier to walk the distance. Next year I want to be in the top three.
SPINE: Did you want to quit everything?
Alexey: Already before the start, I told my wife that the cycling distance would be the most difficult. As for swimming, it was much easier, since I have been training since childhood. At some moments, it was just necessary to overpower yourself.
As for running, over the past 2 years I have shown the best results and I wanted to repeat them. This motivated me not to stop.
SPINE: What were your thoughts before the start?
Alexey: One of the thoughts: “Why do I need all this?” (Laughs). And after the whistle, there were no thoughts, I was completely focused on the process.
Alexey: Test yourself, get pleasure from every meter of overcoming the distance. This sport is as close to me as skiing.
SPINE: Please tell us about your impressions of the SPINE sneakers you ran in?
Alexey: I received the SPINE Carbon sneakers on September 1, before the training camp in Malinovka, and it was there that I started testing them. I immediately did some speed and interval work, made sure that the sneakers met my requirements and was satisfied even then. There was a little excitement before the marathon – after all, a long distance. But I liked everything – both the grip with asphalt, and the work of the carbon plate, and depreciation. Of course, there are small nuances that I have already voiced to the technologists, but in general – it was comfortable! There are also excellent training models – I train in the SPINE Corsa, and the SPINE Rift is also suitable for amateurs. Now the level of production is very decent, and SPINE continues to improve and improve existing models – this can not but please.
SPINE: And as for the cycling distance – are you preparing to buy a powerful new bike for next season? If so, how much do you hope to improve the bike stage due to it? How much does a professional bike cost for an “iron” distance?
Alexey: A professional bike currently costs about 1 million rubles, I'm unlikely to be able to buy it. We need to save money. In general, next year I want to go beyond 5 hours on the bike stage to compete for the top three.
SPINE: Alexey, you have overcome the entire race in record time. By the way, this year at the running stage you showed a result of 2:38, and last year – 2022 – 2:46. This year's result is 8 minutes better, it's just amazing! And how do you rest after this personal record?
Alexey: Rested during the flight home! I spent time at home with my family and resumed training 2 days later. The muscle pains are already gone, now I can continue to prepare for the ski season!
SPINE: Thank you, Alexey! And once again congratulations on the amazing results!
Alexey: Thank you, too!
Alexey Shemyakin's brilliant performance on IRONSTAR was commented on especially for SPINE by a sports entrepreneur, co-founder of Moyfitness.rf, Fitness league.rf, LIMETIME.io , IRONSTAR and ROSA RUN, member of the Supervisory Board of the Games of the Future 2024, winner of the Swissultra 2260 km Ultrathathlon World Cup – Vladimir Voloshin:
“The result that Alexey showed on the running stage is simply fantastic. It is comparable to the results of world record holders. Especially when you have almost 4 km of swimming and 180 km of cycling behind you. It's incredibly difficult, I know it firsthand. The figures are not wrong and show how high Alexey's potential is. I am sure that if in the future someone takes Alexey as a runner to their relay team, then this team will win in every distance.”
We would like to emphasize that in Sochi, the SPINE team gave out sneakers for a test drive. And you can take such a test drive at any time. You can take your favorite pair to training or competitions for free and, thus, draw your own conclusions about the model. A test drive is possible at any SPINE equipment center.