Dempsey's commitment to triathlon is ironclad

Who would swim, cycle and run a total of 70 miles for more than five hours in a single athletic competition? Patrick Dempsey would — and has.

"This was in no way an easy event," he said.  "But, there are a number of reasons why I wanted to try the Ironman for the first time," Dempsey said a few weeks after completing the Half Ironman 70.3 Hawaii Triathlon held on the Big Island of Hawaii on May 30. 

The well-known race attracts the best triathletes from around the world and consists of a 1.2-mile swim, 56 miles of cycling and a 13.1-mile run, which adds up to 70.3 miles of total racing.

Dempsey, who works in the Director's Office and is a 20-year Lab employee, completed an MBA program through UC Berkeley and the University of Columbia in December 2008.

"Many of my classmates were interested in the race," he explained. "We thought it would a fun thing to do as a group, to mark our graduation from the program."

So, 19 students from the MBA program enrolled in the Ironman and 12 went on to complete it, including Dempsey.

Anyone who knows Dempsey understands his passion for exercise and the outdoors that make him a seasoned athlete and competitor. Another reason why he took on Ironman is because of the challenge.

He started to train for the event in January. "Since the MBA program ended in December, training for the triathlon was a nice way to get back in shape."

To prepare, he endured 22 weeks of training involving 10 to 14 hours of hard physical exercise per week. Training was undertaken with the help of a coach who had previously competed in the Ironman event and knew what was needed to get athletes in shape for a race. He supplied tailored training exercises, drills and simulations as well as tips on healthy foods to eat and liquids to stay hydrated.

The preparation and training for the race was time consuming. "My neighbors were wondering about me when they saw me leave my house in my Lycra shorts more often than in work pants," Dempsey laughed.

His strong suit is bicycling — he even incorporates it into his daily commute to the Lab from his home in Livermore.  But, he knew he would need to bolster his swimming and running abilities — and in only five months' time. To prepare, he entered a smaller triathlon held in Pleasanton to determine his overall ability.

"I had to learn distance swimming," he said.  "At first it was hard to even get back and forth in the pool, but I kept training." For most of the race in Pleasanton, he ended up using the back stroke, he said. "Fortunately, with all the training, the swim in Hawaii was much easier and I was able to make pretty good time.

"I had never done a lot of running before —15 years ago, I ran the Bay to Breakers but that was my only experience base. I had to begin building muscle strength for running to avoid injury during the event."

He estimates that he trained a total of more than 2,300 miles cycling, 400 miles running and 80 miles swimming. During the race, his cycling strength helped out a lot — except for a flat tire that cost him six minutes.

A total of 1,200 athletes, the best from across the United States, Japan, Canada, Germany and Australia, took part in the competition. The weather on race day was a sunny 85 degrees, with 70 percent humidity. 

It took him five and a half hours to complete the course. Dempsey placed 35 out of 135 in his age category (45-50 years old) and first among his classmates.

"The finish of the run was awesome," he said. "You run right up to the beach to some cool wind off the ocean and plenty of shade. After about 30 minutes, I forgot all the pain and started thinking about the next 70.3 race.

"Now that I've successfully completed the Ironman, I can say that the training was the best part, and the most difficult.  And, I had several classmates there to share the pain. I would definitely consider entering a future Ironman event to improve my time — but maybe not this year."

Since its inception in 2006, the Ironman 70.3 series has become the fastest growing triathlon series in the world. Now there are 31 events around the world that qualify athletes for the Ironman World Championship 70.3. For more information about Ironman, go the Ironman Website.