Alex Rivet, Jr. III
September 11, 2007Felger named LCPA chapter head
September 13, 2007
Mullooly posted the second fastest time in the 360-meter open water swim and the fastest overall time in the two-mile run to become the first Louisiana athlete under 20 to finish in the top five in an open.
The Sports Net sat down with Mullooly last week to discuss his recent success as a triathlete.
Sports Net: Are you pretty satisfied with your recent triathlon finish?
Ross Mullooly: I finished fifth overall (at the Rip Van Winkle Triathlon) and was actually first for 32-and-under, so I thought that was pretty good. I’m planning on doing the Meet Pie-Tri in Natchitoches.
Sports Net: UhŠ..the what?
RM: The Meet Pie-Tri – they serve meat pies at the event. That will be a really big one and I hope to finish in the top 10.
SN: So this will be your second or third triathlon?
RM: My third. This past one (Rip Van Winkle) was my second. The one I actually started with was called the Holy Toledo Triathlon, which probably wasn’t the best one to start with because it’s the biggest one in Louisiana. That was a mile swim, 40-mile bike and 10K run.
SN: Wow. And you completed this?
RM: Yes. I finished second in my 18-and-under age group, so I was pretty happy with that since it was my first time.
SN: How were you able to get through that race? It had to be tremendously tough.
RM: I’m in high school swimming and run cross country and track, so I train year-round for those sports, so all I really need to work on is the bike.
SN: And that’s the most difficult event for you?
RM: The bike is actually the toughest, because you have to stay hydrated and you kind of forget about that when you get on the bike. But the swimming and running were easiest (at the Rip Van Winkle) because I was second at the water (the only person who beat me was two seconds ahead of me) and I finished first in the run by half a minute.
SN: Most people would think the bike would be the easiest.
RM: That’s what most people think, but when you’re trying to go as fast as most people ride in the triathlon, that’s when things get really tough.
SN: How’d you feel at the end of the Rip Van Winkle?
RM: At the end, I actually felt really good. It wasn’t until the next day that it hit me that I was really sore. I could barely walk. I had soreness all over my claves and my shoulders were just killing me because of all the hunching over you have to do on the bike.
SN: It had to be hard putting clothes on to get ready for school.
RM: Pretty much.
SN: So why do you even compete in triathlons? What’s the thrill?
RM: I don’t know – I guess it’s another thing to compete at, to try and do your best. I just like to compete. That’s the main thing.
SN: Any unusual training methods?
RM: Not really. I just do high mileage for running with two-a-days.
SN: How many miles is that per day?
RM: About 13 to 16, for about six days.
SN: And what about the swimming?
RM: I swim seven days a week.
SN: You must have a ridiculously high metabolism.
RM: Yeah. The more I eat, I still don’t gain weight. I eat a lot of pizza and pasta.
SN: Will you admit to eating any junk food?
RM: I drink a lot of Coke and do all that. Maybe a week before a big race I’ll stop drinking soft drinks.
SN: When you compete, what types of things do you think about?
RM: I think about how I’m going to feel at the finish – how much I think I’m going to accomplish. And I want to make sure that I feel good about what I’ve done, because I don’t want to be dissatisfied after having done all of this. It can test you, but you just have to have will power.
SN: Do you think triathlons will ever gain a large television audience?
RM: You see it all over, actually, on ESPN. There are a select few who actually do it (triathlons), and that’s the thing. They’re starting to make the smaller triathlons and more people are doing them to get fit. I think that it will eventually get larger.
SN: So when you’re not running, swimming or hitting the books, what do you do in your free time?
RM: On the weekends I just hang out with friends. In the morning, I’ll normally get in a run at about 5 a.m. and 7 on the weekend. But sometimes I do an earlier run in the afternoons so I can go hang out with my friends afterwards. I play video games, and we go bowling and see movies. I know how to schedule things to where I can always fit in what I want to do.
SN: Have a set of wheels to get around?
RM: Yeah – that makes things a lot easier to get things done, to get to practice or go hang out with friends.
SN: What does your athletic future have in store?
RM: I’d like to be a professional athlete. I believe it’s possible to do that.
SN: Could you see yourself doing triathlons for life?
RM: Yeah. I would like to do an Iron Man by the end of high school, start in college. It’s something I think I can do, and I just want to do. I want to push my body to the limit. This isn’t something that you just do and roll with it. It’s a lifestyle.
Ross Mullooly gets ready to complete the bicycle portion of the Rip Van Winkle Triathlon. (Photo courtesy of Ross Mullooly)
