In many ways, a back injury is responsible for Jay Gump’s commitment to triathlons.
Fast-forward to last weekend’s standout performance at the USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships in Cleveland, and the Conway resident has shown an impressive ability to recover.
Gump finished second overall in the 50-54 year-old age group at nationals in the Olympic distance. One week after taking third overall in the Greenfield Lightlife Triathlon sprint distance on Aug. 5, Gump showcased his stuff against the best in the country en route to the runner-up finish in Cleveland.
“I went in with expectations of having a pretty good result,” Gump said.
He finished with a total time of 2 hours, 15 minutes and 3 seconds after 0.9 miles of swimming, 24.8 miles of cycling and 6.2 miles of running.
“I’m thrilled with the result. But to be honest, it was really the only bad day I’ve had racing this summer. I had a few things go awry, but I was able to put together a great day and a fantastic performance.”
Gump survived a difficult swim to open the competition. He got out of the water in 28 minutes, 54 seconds, putting himself in solid shape entering the first transition area. But the choppy water slowed times across the board, and race officials canceled the swim portion for the sprint distance race because of the conditions.
“I had not really practiced swimming in rough water, we just don’t get a chance to do it,” Gump said. “A lot of people were unhappy with the conditions. So it was hard, but exiting the water, although I was really tired, I was compensating for it.”
Gump was still right where he wanted to be into the transition area. His shoes were clipped to the pedals of his bicycle in preparation for the ride ahead. He attempted to put the shoes on while rolling out of the transition area, something he’s practiced many times. Another rider swerved into him, however, and he was forced to avoid the oncoming traffic at the last second. As a result, he missed his left shoe, which came off the bicycle and rolled back down the hill.
“I lost some time there, tracking back to go get it and having to get starting again,” Gump said. “The good thing is I responded well. I didn’t panic, did the best I could do.”
The setback wouldn’t be the last obstacle Gump had to overcome. Toward the beginning of the ride, he again had to move out of the way late to avoid hitting someone. As he did, he slammed into a pothole, ejecting his water bottle off the bicycle.
“Essentially I had to finish the whole race with no liquids after that,” he said.
Gump finished the cycling course in 1 hour, 1 second, leaving a 10-kilometer run between him and the finish line. It was not the easiest jaunt he’s ever encountered, however.
“When I started the run, my body really started to shut down,” he said. “It was really just an exercise in trying to get to the finish line at that point. Going into the run, I knew I was in the spot I wanted to be in. But once I got going, I knew if I stopped running, I wouldn’t be able to get running again. In retrospect, I finished pretty deliriously and out of it from dehydration. But I kept telling myself, ‘If you make it to the finish line, your season is over.’ That was the motivation.”
Gump’s 10K time of 41:44 finished out his final time of 2:15:03. That would be good enough for 127th place overall out of 1,600 male finishers. He was the runner-up in the 50-54 division behind only Stephen Bosic of Waltham, who was 88th overall in 2:12:11. Justin Lippert of Middletown, N.J. was the overall winner, and he was the lone competitor to break two hours at 1:59:29.
“Those few issues that came up, it was a little disappointing because I think I could’ve had a better race,” he said. “My body was better than it had been in two years. Everything felt perfect on the morning of the race.”
Gump’s transition into a triathlete really began two years ago. A high-level cyclist since the early 1990s, he suffered a back injury, and swimming was the recommended rehabilitation.
“I knew I needed to do it, but swimming wasn’t my favorite sport at the time,” Gump said. “So I decided to just kind of take it further. I wanted something that made me want to swim.”
Gump, who had enjoyed success locally at the Greenfield Triathlon when he won the International race in 2007 and captured the Sprint title in 2017, decided to immerse himself into a full season of competition for the first time this summer. He competed in five triathlons, winning two, building toward Nationals throughout the summer months.
“I had dabbled for a bit in competing, but this was really the first year I took it seriously,” he said. “It’s hard to be really good at anything, but I think triathlon is a sport that is not as hard of a transition as you would think. You can always be on the steep part of the learning curve. I was already a good cyclist. I’ll never be a fantastic swimmer in the swimming world, but I can be a good swimmer at the triathlon level.”
His training this summer consisted mostly of cycling with as much swimming as he could handle mixed in. Back and joint issues continue to hamper his running preparations, but he’s comfortable with his limitations in the third of three triathlon disciplines.
“I know my max for running, and I swam as much as I could because it made my body better,” Gump said. “I hadn’t been able to handle the volume or intensity on the bike but most of my hours starting in June were on a bike, just going for rides.”
One aspect of triathlons that Gump said people often take for granted is the transition areas. Races can be made or broken during the two transition stages, with minutes and seconds often the difference in high-level, elite races.
“If you have a back injury, it’s hard to put on shoes,” he said. “So I spent a ridiculous amount of time practicing putting on shoes. I bought special shoes. It didn’t quite go my way (at Nationals), but, like any project, it just becomes a goal and fun to try and achieve better times every chance I go out there.”
While the season is now over for Gump, it was a resounding success for the Tennessee native who moved to the area from California in 2004. He teaches anatomy and physiology, and he’s starting a new post at UMass for the upcoming school year. Turns out, triathlons are the perfect medicine for a back injury.
“I like doing new things, just like everyone else,” he said. “I didn’t like swimming so I tried to make it fun. What can I say, now I really like swimming and I really like triathlons.”