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Hernando Today

The Long Run

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By MARTY MILLER

Hernando Today correspondent

Published: May 7, 2008

At 58-years-old, Spring Hill dentist David Jensen is not your typical runner. Recently, Jensen competed in his first Ironman event when he ran in the Ford Ironman Triathlon in Tempe, Ariz.

For those not familiar with the Ironman race, it consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike race and a 26.2-mile run, all on the same day.

And while this was Jensen's first Ironman, he finished in a time of 13 hours, 18 minutes and 37 seconds, good for 15th place in the 55-59-year-old age group.

Jensen, who has his wife Terrie, his children Eric (27), Kelly (23), Michael (21), Steven (18) and Kevin (14) and his practice, says he loved doing the race.

"When I first told my wife, she said I was crazy," recalled Dr. Jensen.

And while Jensen is not your normal runner who has run his entire life, he did have some reasons to begin running and eventually entering an Ironman race.

"I did run cross country my senior year of high school when I lived in Iowa," said Jensen. "I moved to Spring Hill in 1986 and I did run sometimes in the local road races like the Flatlanders Challenge and the Hernando County Sheriff's Run."

But it wasn't until a friend of his saw something about the triathlon on the Internet that Jensen decided he wanted to do that.

"My friend saw something about the race six months before the event and I decided I would get in shape and go out there with him," said Jensen.

Jensen added that he had other reasons for deciding to run in the race.

"I had allergies and I wanted to set a good example to my patients," Jensen said. "I know that once you get in better shape, your problem with allergies will go down. You won't sneeze so much or have as much trouble breathing."

He also said that some of his patients have Type 2 diabetes and that by setting an example with his running, he could convince them how good running was for their problems.

"We have patients who have gotten into better shape, who lost weight and stopped having to take medication for their diabetes," he said.

Jensen understands the considerable amount of time and effort it takes to compete in a triathlon.

"You work out a lot; you have to do 20 workouts a week for about 20 hours a week," he said.

Pearls of wisdom

When asked if he had any words of wisdom for someone considering running in an Ironman race, Jensen said that the best thing he could recommend is get in excellent shape beforehand.

"You need to get yourself in good shape so you aren't killing yourself during the race," insists Jensen.

Jensen said that at times during the race, he had to stop.

"There were times when it hurt, but when I would stop running and walk awhile, eventually it would get better and I could start running again," he said.

One of the other benefits he found out about in a race like this is that there other people who have the same goals and interests.

"When I was walking, I would talk to some of the other competitors and find out about their stories," recalled Jensen. "And during the race, the crowd was fantastic; there were thousands of people lining up along the race, yelling and cheering for you. It was fantastic."

But before you think that Jensen now plans to compete in a lot of these types of races, you would be wrong.

"No, not for awhile yet," he replied on when his next race would be. "I had to not do a lot of things because I had to train and I have two kids at home. I think when they are older and I have fewer responsibilities at home, yes, I would like to do it again."

Jensen also said that unlike what a lot of people think, he never hit 'The Wall', when he ran in the race.

"When you run track, you have to put out so much effort," Jensen said. "You're putting out so much effort you exhaust yourself.

"But in an Ironman race, it's a distance race, it's endurance, it's not so much speed, you just keep going."

He also says that in the future, he may start to do other kinds of races.

"I've considered doing things like half-marathons," admitted Jensen. "But for now I've decided to put it on the back-burner. I need to take the time for my family, but later on, I would love to do it again."

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