Each Utah triathlete has a different view of Debbie Perry and it mainly depends on your gender. If you are a female triathlete you may think of Debbie as someone you aspire to be like, raising three boys and finding the time to train yourself to running sub-seven minute miles after a punishing swim and a quick bike. You may be one of the few women posing a competitive threat and respect her as an athlete and competitor. Men, on the other hand tend to think differently. If you are a male triathlete you undoubtedly pray she doesn’t catch you. This may be the mindset for most male triathletes in Utah, even at the sharp end of the field. Everyone can agree that she is fast and dedicated to the sport. Her dedicated approach to triathlon is how she lives her life. Debbie’s story shares a theme similar to our Dave Ference report in that triathlon is not her top priority. Her devotion is first given to her family and faith.

When the Tri Hive asked Debbie what a typical workout week looks like she answered, “Swimming through never ending piles of laundry, riding my way around Ogden in my van far too often delivering children to different activities, and running up and down the stairs countless times a day putting away everyone else’s stuff, cleaning and other motherly things. And then to top it off I constantly work on transitioning from wife, to mother, to family historian, to church song leader, to bookkeeper, to sport nutritionist, to strength trainer, to coach, to PTA and, OH YEAH, to triathlete.”

Her strong presence in triathlon may lead you to believe she has been involved in the sport for many years. However, this is not the case. Debbie did come from an athletic background, having run in high school in Virginia. She later ran at Weber State University on the cross country and track teams. The athletic journey continued after college until a car accident in 1998 derailed her. Debbie was 27 years old at the time of the accident and was left with 18 months of chronic back pain, which later developed into six months of severe back pain. A surgeon told her that back surgery would limit any fitness pursuits to walking. She prayed for alternatives.

“For six months all I did was lie on the floor and cry everyday,” said Debbie. “I had three boys under the age of four at this point and knew that I either had to find a way to heal or go through back surgery.”

After countless prayers she was led to individuals and resources permanently healing her back. Debbie then went from walking to swimming. Swimming was one form of therapy leading her back to running. She eventually ran her first marathon, “dedicating it to the few people who believed I could make it back and to my testimony of answered prayers.”Debbie was ready to give triathlon a try.

“It took another two years of consistent training, patience and a whole lot of faith to really get back into the shape I was in college.”

Triathletes following the Utah tri scene have witnessed her rise to the top. Below are a few of her recent victories.

2005

Echo Challenge Triathlon (Sprint Champion)
Cache Valley Classic Triathlon (Champion)
Jordanelle Classic (Sprint Champion)
Ogden Valley Triathlon (Olympic Champion)
St. George Triathlon (Sprint Champion)

2004

Jordanelle Classic (Olympic Champion)
Echo Challenge Triathlon (Sprint Champion)
Utah Summer Games Triathlon (Olympic Champion)
USA Triathlon National Championships/Shreveport, LA (5th in the 30-34 age-group)

Debbie qualified for the 2005 World Championships with her top-five age-group performance at the 2004 USA Triathlon National Championships but later passed on the opportunity. The event was later moved to a Sunday. She has made greater life commitments leading her to choose not to race on Sundays. Debbie is optimistic about getting back to “Worlds” in the future.

Tri Hive (TH): How do you manage working out with the other aspects of your life?

Debbie Perry (DP): Working out while being a parent requires a lot of planning on my end. I have realized that if I don’t set a schedule then forget it! I would always find things “I just have to get done” instead of working out. So I have to plan ahead and stick to it. I do some workouts early before the kids are up and others while they are at school. My three boys are now in school all day so I’m much more flexible than I used to be. I know I am very lucky on this training issue because I am able to be a stay at home mom. The bookkeeping I do for Salt Lake Running Co (Debbie and her husband, Guy own the SL Running Company), I do from my home office so I don’t have any driving. The hardest years were when all the boys were young and the little two were not in school. I did a little of everything (club nursery, early workouts, late workouts, Guy and occasional babysitters) to get by. But through it all, Guy is really the one who has made the difference and been so emotionally supportive and given a lot of his time so I could do what I have needed to in order to get in exercise time. And I gratefully return the favor.

TH: What do you feel has taken you to the “next level” in triathlon?

DP: Several years of injury free and illness free training as well as a belief that I could be a better athlete now than in college. So many athletes don’t realize what consistency can do for a person’s progress. It is huge. Every lifestyle decision I make is one that will help me remain healthy on all levels. I am doing all of this to become the most I can be and be in a position to express myself in an athletic way (since I can’t sing, dance or draw.) I have already learned the hard way that illness and injury are best to be avoided at all costs! Knowledge is power and wisdom is priceless.

TH: What kind of volume have you done as a successful sprint/oly athlete during the season?

DP: Basically, my general year round routine gives me about 9 hours a week. Of course everything is methodically periodized and changes often which is why it is hard to describe a typical week. But for the most part, when it is time to get ready to build up to racing, then I make sure I do each sport 3 times a week with some maintainence lifting and plyometrics. I make sure to do at least a hard interval day in each sport once a week and then a long endurance day.

TH: How has your bike fit improved your cycling?

DP: As far as the bike goes, it has taken a lot of work to bring that along. I did about 3 years of hard/power leg lifting in the weight room to help develop appropriate strength and then did my fair share of threshold intervals. I hated the bike the first 2 years I rode it. But, hard work and persistence pays off. Before the 2004 season, Guy insisted I get a Tri bike so we both went to San Francisco for our 11th Anniversary and got bike fits with Christopher Kautz at PK racing. I ended up with a custom bike. After a ton of dedicated hard work, the Tri bike was icing on the cake. The right fit is what finally enabled me to be able to use the power I had developed in an comfortable aerodynamic position. Most people lose a ton of power when they are on bikes that don’t fit quite right. Now I like to bike and I really LOVE my tri bike. I was really happy with my 2004 bike progress and all I attempted to do in 2005 was maintain what I had earned and then work on my run which I had not done since college. But, alas, all good slacking must come to an end so I will put another big push for the bike this year.

TH: What are your goals for 2006?

DP: Get ready to run a fast Half Ironman. I am registered for the Steelhead Ironman 70.3 with the hopes of qualifying through to the new world Championships for the Half Ironman distance (70.3) So I will obviously have to have some weeks higher than my 9 hour average.

Thank you for your time, Debbie!

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