Nathan Jones Kicks Off Life After AFL At Ironman 70.3 Melbourne

The former Melbourne Demons Captain has returned to triathlon for the first time since he was in school and is now preparing to take on his first IRONMAN 70.3.

Jones will join more than 2,000 others for the first ever GWM IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne, with the event consisting of a 1.9km swim, 90km ride and 21.1km run.

“I’d say I’m a little bit nervous, I recently got a programme and ever since then I’ve been able to tick off every session and see incremental improvement every week so that gives me piece of mind,” said Jones. “Of course, if you’ve done a really good job of the programming then you have a pretty good idea of how to race it and what pace and those kind of things. It’s been a real learning curve for me but one that I’ve loved and embraced and I’m actually really excited.

“Even my family and my wife and kids have come to a couple of lead up races and they’ve all enjoyed it,” he said. “It’s going to be a bit of fun and I’m just really looking forward to the challenge to see what it’s like. The idea of this you against you kind of thing, I’m pumped for that.”

Jones took to the field for Melbourne 302 times, retiring at the end of last season, with his triathlon preparation providing training structure similar to his 16 years in the game.

“I think that was one thing when I retired at the end of the season last year, even leading up to as I got older, I’d always been considering what am I going to do next and one thing for me was that I needed to find some sort of routine,” said Jones. “The fitness side of things has always been something that I’ve done ever since I was like 10, 12 years old, always involved in a lot of sport, loved training, love racing, love competing and all those kinds of things, and you can’t really flick that switch off now I’ve been living like that for 20, 25 years almost. So for me it was like I need to find what that trigger is again.”

The 34-year-old is looking forward to the challenge of his first IRONMAN 70.3.

“I used to race triathlon’s when I was a kid, and so just out of interest I wanted to go and do it again because I was going reasonably well when I was sort of 15, 16, raced a couple of schools nationals competitions and stuff,” he said. “But obviously when footy became my number one priority I stepped away from that so I just wanted to take on that challenge again and obviously everything that came with that was some routine in terms of my day to day and being able to find that competitive challenge again.

“Ultimately, now that it’s all worked out that way with my family and four young kids and new jobs and a whole lot of change, having a goal in mind and the focus on that which was to race and complete Melbourne, has given me some real structure and I’ve really enjoyed that aspect of it,” said Jones. “The time in the early mornings to just get out there and crunch out the training, for me, it really sets up my day and makes you feel good about yourself.”

GWM IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne will see athletes hit the water of Port Phillip Bay for the swim, with the ride taking in two laps of Melbourne’s famous Beach Road, before running a half-marathon along the St Kilda and Elwood waterfront, with the event culminating at the famous IRONMAN 70.3 finish line in Catani Gardens.

The event will bring IRONMAN 70.3 racing to an urban environment, an element that appeals to Jones.

“I live like 1km from Beach Road and pretty much in the last month all of my training has been along the path, particularly the bike path that we’ll race on so I think that makes it a little bit easier that you know the roads and those kinds of things,” said Jones. “Even more so it’s easy for the family to come and watch and plenty of my mates and ex-teammates, they all thought I’d lost my mind when I said I was doing it, they were like what are you doing you’re supposed to be retired but I’m probably fitter than I was when I was playing footy. But it’s cool that a lot of them will probably come and watch and I’ll see them at some point along the path and it’s going to be pretty fun and the fact that I don’t have to travel too far.”

Jones has enjoyed immersing himself in the triathlon community, and can’t wait to hit the start line on Sunday morning.

“The one thing I’ve enjoyed in a few of the lead up races has been just enjoying the buzz of being around all the people that just love racing which has been really refreshing for me and it’s something I’ve enjoyed,” he said. “Never having been at an IRONMAN event, I’m looking forward to seeing what that feels like. One thing that has been really eye opening for me has been how many people are involved in triathlon and IRONMAN and these kinds of things, it’s a really cool community and space to sink my teeth into after the career I’ve had in a footy sense. I’m excited.”