While Ian Cocker competed at a very high level, he juggled elite level duathlon with a busy working and family life. A full time engineer with a wife and young kids, most of his training was fit around these commitments, often well before dawn.
"I woke just before 4am every week day and did intervals, bricks and technique work on a windtrainer before riding to work," he says. "I ran during at lunchtime and then rode home, so a big volume of work was done commuting without impinging on family time."
With cycling initially being his weaker of the two disciplines, Ian was ever the observer and innovator, always asking questions and picking up advice from experienced wheelmen.
"Kim Johnson supplied me with that wind trainer as well as a spare bike," he remembers. "There many hours logged while the rest of the house was sound asleep. Old school friend (former Rapport Toer champion) Gary Beneke helped me a lot as did Greg Von Holdt. Greg's bike set up was second to none and we rode a lot of Saturday afternoons whilst the kids were sleeping. I competed in the odd bike race and rode with groups when time allowed, always looking for ways to improve as a cyclist without compromising my running speed."
Apart from his lunch hour running sessions, Ian would also get a long run done early on a Sunday. How early, one might ask?
"I was back in bed after that Sunday run before the kids came in to jump on us," he quips.
A very full and tough schedule indeed, but one which Ian thinks gave him the edge on his competitors come race day.
"You had to just suck it up and try to maintain a balanced lifestyle," he explains. "Not easy for sure and lots of compromises. I wasn't as talented as many of my peers, but on race day a huge motivation was the fact that I had to get up so early and kill myself on that damn windtrainer while they were all still asleep!"
Note: Header image courtesy of Ian Cocker.
