Jenson Button talks triathlon on the eve of Challenge Fuerteventura:
What is triathlon to you?
Triathlon to me is the perfect training, physically, for my sport which is obviously motor racing for F1. Physically, because of the demands on the body in a F1 race is high, a lot higher than most people think because we are sitting down, but we have a lot of lacktic acid, and we have the same lacktic acid build up in cycling sometimes because of bumpy roads. Swimming is good for you physically, running is easy to do anywhere. And then there´s the mental side; especially in longer distance, where it is as much physical as mental and this helps with F1 as you need to be mentally strong, races are hot and tiring.
Why did you decide to race Challenge Fuerteventura?
I decided to race Challenge Fuerteventura because; it fits in well with my schedule, normally this is difficult; It´s a sea swim, which I love, and for a sea swim Playitas is perfect; I can hangout with my friends, I travel a lot so usually this is difficult; it´s a tough course, metally and physically, very hilly, we drove it the other day and it´s tough but beautiful and I´m very much looking forward to it.
Why is it important to you to come with your friends?
It´s really imortant to me to spend time with my friends, most of them I went to school with 18 years ago and now obviously I live in a different country, we all have triathlon in common so it´s nice to meet and go away together for this reason and we are all a little competetive between us!
The race that you organise, what does this project mean to you?
Triathlon, to me, is a sport that is growing around the world, especially in the UK, because of the olympics and the Brownlee brothers aswell as other great British triathletes around the world; so I´ve put on short distance races to raise money for the trust, this year the money raised is for cancer research, we are trying to raise as much money as we can! Our races have a festival feel with a barbeque, a band and family atmosphere and hopefully it will grow.
What values have you learned from triathlon that you can use for your foundation?
Triathlon gives me a release from my job, F1 is a team sport where you rely on others, triathlon is individual, if you work hard and train hard you will get a resonable results, if you dont work you wont see the results, it´s really down to the individual and thats what I like. We have a little team aswell, team Ichiban, we travel around the world doing different distances but this is the distance we really love at the moment.
Do you think triathlon is an individual or a team sport?
There are not many professional teams, I think we are the most well known amature team in triathlon. When you are on the road its completely individual; you are alone, you play mind games with yourself, but in training and relaxing its a team event. Since I´ve been in triathlon, I´ve found there is a good atmosphere between pros and amatures, very different to most sports, everyone who comes to triathlon from cycling or motor racing says there is a very relaxed atmosphere.
What is your weakness in triathlon? And your strength?
My weakness is no time to train, because I travel 3 times a week training is difficult. I can´t gain weight because I have to stay as light as I can weight for motor racing, so I can´t eat many carbs which is needed for strengh training in triathlon.
My strength… I don´t know really, I think Im pretty average in all disciplines, but when things get tough I think I´m better because I´ve trained myself to be strong mentally with the pressure, like in my job in F1 racing.
What is your usual training routine?
I do more cycling than anything else, I get to train with pro cyclists in Monoco where I live, on their easy days!
I´ve been swimming since I was a kid so my tecnique is ok, but I don´t get as much hours to swim as I´d like.
I can run all over the world so that´s easier for me to do. My training week is unusual, sometimes I can train really hard for 4 days then I can´t train at all for 3 days, it depends on what is required from my sponsors, but I enjoy training and cycling where I live is the best cycling in the world; you´ve got the mountains, I can get away from the crazyness of the world I live in… and you need that somethimes.
What do you think about the course?
The course is tough.
The swim not so much, it´s a sea swim with a wet suit which helps buoyancy.
The bike is tough, smooth roads but very hilly, you have to work to get up the hills and the decents are technical, so you can´t gain the time back so easily and the wind makes it more difficult. I´m looking forward to it, it´s a beautiful scenic course, I will push hard on the bike because that is the bit I enjoy the most and on the run I will just hold on!
If you puncture on the bike tomorrow, can you change your tyre in 4 seconds?
(laughs) Actually our mechanics can change a tyre in under 3 seconds now! No, I definately can´t change a flat in 4 seconds, I need more like 4 or 5 minutes! It´s not my highlight! We are good at training but none of us are good at putting things together and taking things apart, we need a mechanic!