Tom de Bruyn recently competed in the 2022 Kona Ironman World Championships finishing FIRST in the 35-39 age group. Originally from Belgium, Tom resides in San Francisco where he gets to train in the beautiful weather year round. Tom shares with Mike & Michelle his path to triathlon, the importance of community and having FUN, and what a DREAM race in Kona looks like! He's truly an exceptional athlete - but this didn't happen right away. In fact, some of Tom's best advice includes making sure your first time in Kona is not about have the fastest race possible, but rather enjoying the experience for what it is. You did the work to GET to Kona, make the race a celebration of all that effort and dedication to a sport you LOVE. If you like the data and technical side of triathlon, Tom goes deep into lactate, effort, and pace. He also shares the importance of making your easy days EASY. Listen in to hear about Tom's unbelievable race in Kona! In fact, you may want to listen to it over and over! 4:55 - "I needed some kind of social network, I needed to find friends, and that's why I decided to give triathlon a try."  11:49 - "I think I was pretty naïve in my whole journey and I ramped it up pretty quickly. I ended up going to Ironman Los Cabos [for my first Ironman], but through circumstances emotionally, not much physically, I ended up only doing the swim and then DNF."  13:15 - "I think [Kona] wasn't necessarily a goal, but it was maybe a dream from the beginning onwards, because the way I got into it, my friend, inspired me by going to Kona and qualifying for that race."  24:59 - "In one of the practice swims, I saw dolphins, and you can see a million fish, so it's very beautiful. Of course, during the race, you're not really focused on that." 48:40 - "I looked back, and everyone else was gone. And then I was ready to start counting bikes at the Hawi turnaround, and there was no one coming back. So at that point, I was like, oh, my God, we're leading this thing."   55:03 - "I got really excited coming in first. It was just kind of wild. I wasn't expecting that." 1:00:35 - "So I think it was not until the finish line where I really started to enjoy it. I started to kind of soak it in and really slow down in the finishing shoot. But before that, I think it was all this worried feelings and anxiety around cramping or blowing up or just passing out that was mentally and physically pretty destroyed at that point." 1:05:55 - "...just have fun when you finally get to Kona and forget about all your ambitions or times and just soak it all in." Follow Tom: @tomdebruyn1985 Team Every Man Jack Support the show Follow Mission Kona Podcast hosted by Mike & Michelle Payne: · Instagram missionkonapodcast · Do you know an age group athlete who has a great story to share? Send us a message via our website at www.missionkonapodcast.com or email to [email protected]