Meet Phillips the man of iron
Given Mike Phillips burns-up to 6000 calories a day, he can afford to gobble a few Christmas treats in the coming weeks.
Phillips, the structural engineer who has ditched his job to concentrate on training around 35 hours a week for ironman events, is proving to be handy operator at these gruelling races.
Last weekend he won the Ironman 70.3 at Taupo, a 3km run,
90km bike ride and 21km run event stripped of the 1.8km swim due to a potentially toxic algae found in Lake Taupo.
Will he celebrate by ransacking the beer fridge over the silly season? No, he will not. ‘‘I try to be pretty balanced,’’ the 26 year old said. ‘‘I will have a few beers and stuff, but obviously in moderation.’’
Given how much he trains, there is little likelihood of Phillips tugging on any excess baggage around the midriff because all food he consumes is quickly burned off around the hills and streets of Christchurch.
This is not a case of forcing himself into action while many others are off to the beach or having a long snooze.
‘‘A lot of time I am training with mates and up riding in the hills. A lot of people are sitting at their desks for
40 hours a week; I love riding my bike for three or four hours so it doesn’t seem like that much of a chore,’’ Phillips insists. ‘‘That is my job now so it fits in place - it feels easier.’’
Phillips has good reason to stay calm under fire from anyone who urges him to peel the cap off another bottle. Success agrees with Phillips. The victory in Taupo followed him recording the world’s fastest ironman time on debut, winning silver at Ironman Barcelona.
Flashing home in front of Braden Currie, who had to ride 90km in one gear due a mechanical issue, in a time of 7hr 52 min 50 sec proved a fine way to build-up for Ironman New Zealand in Taupo in March.
He seemed pleasantly surprised to do so well.
‘‘After coming back from overseas (Spain) I had about a month of training but didn’t really expect to perform at my best.
‘‘It was a bit of a shame there was no swim but all the contenders were good swimmers, so I don’t think it would really have made too much difference at the end.’’
Knowing he was around 2min 30sec ahead of Currie leading into the run, he realised he had a good chance of preventing himself from being hunted down.
A good result in Ironman NZ in March could result in a trip to Hawaii for the iconic Ironman world championship race in Kona, Hawaii in October.
‘‘I have probably got over half the points I need to go to Kona. Obviously if I won Ironman (in Taupo) I wouldn’t have to do more racing but every if I was in top three I would be in a good position to secure that spot.
‘‘If you want to see how you perform against the world’s best, that (Kona) is the place to do it.’’