Zwift Tri Academy Success Stories: Philip Trigg

 

As Zwift Tri Academy continues, we come across more inspirational stories from amazing athletes. Following on from Cristine and Angel’s Success Stories, meet Philip Trigg.

Adopted at Birth

Philip grew up with his two younger sisters during the 1970s in the suburbs of Leicester, UK. Adopted at birth he says, “I never felt a need to learn about my biological parents, although I understand my father is of Irish descent.”

Throughout his childhood he enjoyed sports. He describes himself as quiet and not particularly confident. Sport was his outlet, a comfort zone, his “chance to shine”.

Unfortunately, at the age of 10, Philip was diagnosed with “flexible arches” in his feet and told that by the age of 40 he would have severe difficulty walking. Thankfully, years later, as medical technology progressed, he was able to wear corrective insoles.

Parents Divorce

At 12, Philip’s father left the family home and his mother was forced to find a job while caring for the three children. She managed this incredibly well, but fate struck another cruel blow when she was diagnosed with breast cancer when Philip was 14.

Treatment was successful and Philip’s mother remained in remission for several years. However, in 2017 the cancer returned and she died in 2020.

Family Life

Philip left school at 16 and studied computing on a Youth Training Scheme, before the advent of the Internet. He has been married to Tracey for over 20 years and they have 4 children together.

For many years football had been Philip’s go-to sport. If not playing he would be coaching youngsters, watching his son develop as a player. He even played as part of an outreach training program from one of the UK’s top professional clubs.

However, injury and mental health issues have plagued Philip’s sporting endeavors.

“I would say the depression was a build-up and came to a head about a year after my pregnant wife and I were frog marched at gunpoint through Leicester one night, by a man who had been released from prison only the day before.”

Coping with Depression

Tracey suggested moving from Leicestershire to the neighboring county of Warwickshire for a fresh start.  Philip had counseling and took antidepressants for many years. However, he has always used sport as a way to maintain some control in his life.

He sees sport as one activity in which he is in control of the variables to some extent. He also acknowledges the community support from teammates or those he is training with and he says, “even to this day when I feel the early signs coming on I can just go exercise and get away from it all.”

Starting Triathlon

One evening while Philip was playing football he fell and injured his shoulder. To this day Tracey is convinced he did it deliberately to get out of doing the gardening!

Unfortunately, the shoulder was broken and needed surgery to fix. After many years of playing and having some success in football, Philip decided to hang up his boots.

As part of the recovery process, it was recommended that Philip start swimming. It was while at the leisure center for one of his swimming sessions that he noticed an advert for beginners running classes, and so began his running journey.

First Sprint Triathlon

In 2018 Philip won an entry to his town’s local half marathon event. Having only done a few 5km parkrun events, he was somewhat thrown in at the deep end. Nevertheless, he completed the half and a friend encouraged him to look into triathlons.

In 2019 he completed his first sprint distance triathlon and has gone on to do the same event again post lockdown.

Discovering Zwift

During the pandemic lockdown of 2020 Philip noticed on social media that a number of his friends were cycling together on a platform called Zwift.

He joined using the free trial and then noticed people running on Zwift. Soon he was all signed up to the Zwift Tri Academy 2020 and went on to graduate. Following this, he joined the Zwift Long Distance Runners group and was inspired to run almost every day to complete various missions and challenges.

Sport Helps

Whether he is in a group or on his own, Zwift “changes the environment I am in,” he says, which allows him to remove himself from situations where he can feel the early signs of depression or anxiety coming on.

Whether it is running, cycling, or swimming, whether it is on Zwift or outdoors, Philip is well aware of the boost exercise gives him. From a mental health perspective, it is his escape, his sanctuary. From a physical perspective, it keeps his body going as he grows older.