18 Jesse Thomas - Part 1- Winning Wildflower: How a Borrowed Bike and Cheap Sunglasses Catapulted a Career
Purple Patch Podcast
Matt Dixon
4.8 • 647 Ratings
🗓️ 24 April 2018
⏱️ 65 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Click Here to Register for the Jesse Thomas Wildflower Giveaway!
In 2011, Jesse Thomas was a new pro triathlete. He was so new, in fact, that when he decided to race the Wildflower Triathlon at the last minute that year, there were no real pro spots left, so he ended up with bib number 87, the first number behind the female pro bibs.
Picture this: He was on a borrowed bike and, fellow pro triathlete, Matt Lieto, let him borrow an aero helmet. Jesse slept in a closet the night before the race and he even stopped at the drug store at the last minute to pick up a pair of cheap aviator sunglasses because he didn’t even have sunglasses to wear.
Literally, no one knew who he was; not even the race announcers who had to ask him his name as he crossed the finish line, much to everyone’s surprise, at the front of the stacked pro field.
In part one of this special two-part interview with long-time Coach Matt Dixon, Jesse walks us through that magical day, which was, indeed, his catalyst into triathlon stardom.
He was a true “newbie triathlete” competitor who won this legendary race which seemed downright unfathomable. It is, as they say in the interview, one of the most authentic moments in sport, a true Cinderella story, and there are many lessons of process, expectations, and performance to be absorbed throughout this conversation.
Some may call it a fluke, but what makes this story and coach/athlete relationship so special is that Jesse defended his title successfully for the next SIX consecutive years and now he’s back in 2018 (along with the return of the race) with a different lens on the sport, but, still, with big expectations and a true desire to win.
He can’t wait to bring it all back to where it started and we can’t wait for you to listen to this amusing, funny and inspirational account of the non-glamorous start to a pro triathlon career that has turned into one of the most successful.
In celebration of the return of the Wildflower Triathlon and Jesse’s return to the start line, we’ve teamed up with Roka and Picky Bars to givevaway prize packs valued at over $2000! Visit purplepatchfitness.com/wildflowergiveaway to register.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm Matt Dixon and welcome to the Purple Patch podcast. The mission of Purple Patch is to empower and |
| 0:05.8 | educate every human being to reach their athletic potential. Through the lens of athletic potential, |
| 0:11.5 | you reach your human potential. The purpose of this podcast is to help time-starved people everywhere |
| 0:17.3 | integrate sport into life. Hello once again, folks. |
| 0:23.5 | This is Matt Dixon and the Purple Patch podcast. |
| 0:30.5 | I am your host and today we have part one of a special two-part series with Purple Patch professional athlete Jesse Thomas. |
| 0:32.5 | Now to get into part one, I want you to close your eyes. |
| 0:35.9 | I want you to pause. |
| 0:37.2 | I want you to think about the |
| 0:38.5 | image of a professional athlete breaking the tape as they win a massive race. Now my guess is that |
| 0:45.5 | conjured up image doesn't really align with the 2011 version of Jesse Thomas who did just that |
| 0:52.1 | at the Wildflower Triathlon. This is his story and includes a man van, sleeping in a closet, |
| 0:59.0 | drugstore sunglasses, borrowed bicycles and missing race numbers leading to confusion |
| 1:04.1 | over the mystery man who was winning the race. |
| 1:06.9 | Stay tuned. |
| 1:08.0 | This is Jesse Thomas and it's the story of his first wildflower win. |
| 1:12.0 | We like the way he thinks. Serious with a wink. Let's open the book. It's time to take a peek. |
| 1:21.4 | It's the Dixonary Word of the Week. The word of the week this week, guys, patience, but I want to say this |
| 1:29.8 | word specific to a session or race. And in fact, I want to give you a couple of case studies |
| 1:35.0 | of how patience led to great performance over the course of a single session. These are two |
| 1:41.0 | examples in the last week of not giving in on a session even when it starts off by feeling awful. |
| 1:47.7 | The first back at Alcona camp, the Queen Ride, the most challenging ride of the whole camp. |
... |
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