While he was attending Louisiana State University, Chris Boudreaux thought it would be “interesting” to try a triathlon.
He had experience running at a competitive level, but not swimming or biking. “It really kind of started with, ‘It would be fun to try,’” recalled Boudreaux. “So one summer, I literally just signed up for the first race I could find, which was about 10 days later, and showed up with a road bike and did it.” Since then, he has signed up for every triathlon he could find.
A few years ago, Boudreaux received a sponsorship from Leisure Sports. He trained at their ClubSport location in Portland, Oregon for 22 to 25 hours a week. And, that didn’t include the prep and strength training he did on the side.
Without ClubSport Oregon, Boudreaux said he would not have been able to maintain his training schedule. “[ClubSport] actually has a really good set up for training,” he said. “In Oregon, obviously, the weather can be nasty at times. Training indoors is just better.”
ClubSport Oregon has a variety of amenities that assisted Boudreaux in his triathlon training, including a 25-meter pool and plenty of cardio and strength equipment. But, one of the most helpful amenities was Racermate’s CompuTrainer, which helped him get his fitness level to where it needed to be to better compete.
Boudreaux explained a CompuTrainer is necessary for training for a triathlon if you can’t bike outdoors every day. The machine allows users to specify their workouts with watts and intensity.
In addition, ClubSport Oregon has an elevation room with treadmills, which allowed him to run in various elevations — similar to what he would experience when traveling around the world in various climates.
Most importantly, the community at ClubSport Oregon helped Boudreaux find not just one training partner, but many. “When you’re consistently having to ride or having to run, being able to just meet up with people and have that, it makes it a little easier sometimes,” he said. “Instead of having a 3-hour ride on the CompuTrainer, [which] isn’t a ton of fun, you can get another member to meet you.”
Overall, Boudreaux admitted he would have been “hard-pressed” to compete professionally for 15 years without some sort of gym membership. ClubSport not only provided that, but also equipped him with the tools necessary to be successful when racing.
“I just appreciate them,” said Boudreaux. “They helped me and they made me part of that family. The management and the staff, were pretty cool and I got a lot of support. And when I would have races they would provide support through emails and phone calls. It was a really positive experience for me, being a part of [ClubSport].”
