Community Corner

Ironman in Training

Former Dublin resident prepares for the 2011 Ironman World Championship.

When Joe Dulay stepped off his bike and started his 10-kilometer run during a recent Olympic-distance triathlon, he felt like walking the whole way down to the finish line.

"It was blazing hot. Each step felt like I was in hell. Muscles contracting, gasping for air," he said.

The rolling hills and climbs of the course presented challenges for the former Dublin resident, who now lives in Newark, during the 29th Annual AVIA Wildflower Triathlon 2011 in Bradley.

The May 1 event is the hardest triathlon he has done to date, but the 30-year-old has a bigger challenge on his plate: the 2011 Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. 

Dulay is one of 200 individuals worldwide who has won a slot in the competition through its Ironman Lottery Program.

The competition will pit him against approximately 1,800 others in a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run on Oct. 8.

He's been in full training mode since learning he earned the slot. It's far from 10 years ago, when Dulay was living in Dublin, and woke up paralyzed.

His mother, Emma Dulay, remembers that day clearly.

"He was screaming, and I got alarmed," said Emma Dulay, who explained how Joe went to nap after coming home complaining of a headache.

"When I pulled him up, his right hand fell straight down," she said.

His family rushed him to the hospital, where they learned he had been born with occult cerebrovascular malformations, an abnormality similar to a cerebral arteriovenous malformation.

These malformations can cause blood to leak into a person's brain, reducing blood flow to the brain, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information

"I was completely numb on one side of my body," Joe Dulay recalled.

He spent months in rehabilitation, relearning basic skills like talking and walking.

"He couldn't even sit down straight," his father, Eddie Dulay, said.

"I felt like a baby," Joe Dulay said. "I know what it's like to be handicapped, what it feels like to be helpless. I never want to feel that again."

That is the reason he continues to participate in triathlons, Dulay said.

"Putting myself through all this, makes me feel alive," he said.

That is also the reason why Dulay found it in himself to suppress the pain he felt during the AVIA Wildflower Triathlon.

Despite cramps in his legs, he continued running after he overheard a fellow triathlete whispering to himself.

"He said, 'I'm not going to quit, I'm going to finish this. I'm not a quitter. I will not surrender.' That just recharged my batteries. …his will power carried me through the whole race. It's totally a mind game," Dulay said.

Dulay sprinted and passed up three others on his way to the finish line.

Injuries have limited the number of competitions Dulay has participated in. He has competed in about 10 triathlons since his first in 2008 and trains every chance he gets.

His most memorable triathlon, though, was this year's Stanford Treethalon in Redwood City with his 3-year-old son, Dominic.

"It was our first event together," he said. "I told him about the race and I promised to buy him a new bike if he joined the race so he would win. He came in last, but if you ask him, he'll tell you he won," Dulay said with a chuckle.

"I'm proud that he finished on his own and that he tried his best," he added.

The father of one divides his time among training, taking care of his son and working graveyard shifts providing technical support at Innovative Interfaces, Inc. in Emeryville.

Training doesn't happen as often as he'd like, but he does it all without regrets.

"I choose to work graveyard. I choose to take care of my son. If I have spare time, I use it to train," he said. "If you want to do something, you will find a way."

The 2011 Ford Ironman World Championship will be held on Oct. 8. Dulay is in the process of fundraising for the competition. To learn more about Ironman, visit the website here.

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