About (the triathlete)

Why doing this?

Even though I started swimming early on, I am mostly a runner by heart. I spent about ten years between the age of 13 and 23 running (increasingly) competitively, representing France over 1500m in the U23 category in the process. All was set for a long sporting career, but one injury too many stopped my career abruptly in 1999. I then decided to travel the world (well, NYC that is) and eventually landed in London in 2002. Not much exercise during these (happy) times, lots of (late night) dancing though – that’s the Cedric Woo side of me.

It took me another few years to feel the urge to compete to come back and haunt me, and indeed in 2007 I signed up for my first triathlon, taking place on my doorstep, in and around the docks of east London. Despite having no real ambition and riding on a mountain bike (!), I was smiling from start to finish and ended 7th of my age group. I was excited to see I could still compete at a good level and was instantly hooked. I gradually learned the trade for the next couple years, making all the mistakes in the book, be it nutrition, equipment, bad training etc…but I also found out in the process that my skills gravitated towards off road triathlon (xterra), and middle distance / half ironman. Although I have never been really good at hilly runs, on the bike I always loved climbing – this means I tend to favor the hilly courses whenever I can.

I finished 18th overall at the XTERRA World Champs in Maui in 2010 and 2014, 5th on the XTERRA European tour in 2013, represented France as an elite at the ITU World Champs of Cross triathlon in 2011, finished 7th at Embrunman in 2012, considered the toughest ironman in the world and 3rd at Ironman Japan in 2014.

In 2015 I will be concentrating on the ironman circuit, hoping for a spot in Kona in October.

Most importantly triathlon has become part of my life; at 38 I am fitter than ever (if not quite as fast as in my 20s), well balanced in my body and soul – all the better for it. Not that I’m a typical triathlete by any means…early morning sessions are a definite no-no, simple – taboo – pleasures like ‘ti punch and roll-ups are still on the agenda, chocolate is part of my daily diet and so-called rest days are more likely to be recovery from some serious partying. Triathlon has taken over a good chunk of my social life, but it is not my life. Music is my life and will be there long after I throw away the racing shoes.

As I came to the sport quite late I still have a lot to learn and many areas to improve, mostly in swimming and cycling. My guess is that I will continue as long as my performances improve, the aim being to get as close to my limits as possible, without sacrificing too much. But even though walking around airports in compression socks while donning an aero helmet on my head has become somewhat normal, I doubt a day will come where I’ll be seen parading with shaved legs…

The big “question” as to why I am doing this is still pretty much unanswered. Of course I like competing and especially the feeling of being fast and fit when things go well. I love the mental side of it, like exploring some really dark places during an ironman, somewhere between the 25th and 35th km of the run… But I am not especially comfortable with the egotistical side of the sport; I mean what is really the point of spending 20 odd hours a week trying to gain a few minutes or seconds even? Even if I end up winning it is only to please myself and no one else – DJing on the opposite (well musically hosting to be precise) is all about sharing. Why don’t I spend those 20 hours being creative? Though I hope this is exactly what I will do when I am retired, I am still striving to answer that one…