by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer
Get fit, get fitter or get fittest.
That’s 61-year-old Jay Moore’s motto.
Moore teaches six spinning classes a week – an hour of pure, heart-pumping stationary cycling at a time at The Station at Central Park in Moore.
When he’s not on the bike he’s teaching a master’s swim class at six in the morning.
When he’s not doing that he’s competing in Oklahoma, around the country or even around the world as a member of Team USA.
Moore starting doing triathlons back in 1989 and continued through 1994 when a knee injury sidelined him.
Seventeen years went by and his waistline surpassed his belt.
At the end of 2010 he weighed 250 and had had enough.
“I bought an elliptical because I was too fat to run,” he laughed. “I got down to about 210 and stayed there. I changed my eating and got down to 195. I got the bike down out of the attic and started riding and running a bit.”
He trained for a year and won his first race.
He’s been on Team USA for five years in a row.
“They’ll ask me ‘what’s your secret,’” Moore said.
His secret is getting wet.
Weekly, he swims three or four miles spread out four or five days. He’s found that his arthritic shoulders respond well.
“The less I swim the worse I feel,” he smiles.
Moore’s spin class is one of the more popular offerings at The Station at Central Park in Moore. Entry tickets to his class at the front desk are often scooped up before a single pedal is even turned.
“I get them fired up. We crank that music up,” Moore grins. “When people see a song they really like they’re over there pedaling their butt off and singing along.”
People come to sweat, but they also come to get some of Moore’s energy.
“I feel like this is Godsend. I’m here to help other people,” he said. “This is my way of giving. And I enjoy it.”
At 61, ego and competition still fuel him.
“I’ve been weight training for five months because when we get older you need to lift weights,” Moore said. “I’m a swim, bike, run guy. I’m a cardio freak. I feel stronger and better.”
He went to the world championships last year against his doctor’s advice.
“When I hurt my knee I went to aqua bike riding,” Moore said. “I ran 10 minute miles because people were lined up and down the street. I wasn’t going to walk.”
A couple months later he went to nationals and finished sixth on a bad knee.
He usually runs seven-minute, thirty-second miles on a 5K trail but his knee slowed him to a 9:15 pace.
It was his swim times that put him so far out in front.
When Moore competes he’s typically facing 500-meter swims combined with a 12.5-mile bike ride and then a 5K run.
Olympic distance races carry one-mile swims, a 25-mile bike ride and a 10k run.
“It’s weird. It’s not the guys in my age group but it’s the ones 35 to 50 they want to beat me so bad,” Moore said. “If someone beats me I just kind of smile. The salesman in me makes me look like it doesn’t bother me.”
When he’s not training he’s running a business.
Moore started in the flooring business at 16. He traveled for 15 years as a suit-and-tie rep.
“My dad bought me a truck at 16 and said you need to go learn how to lay carpet,” he said. “In college I could work on Friday afternoons and Saturdays after the other guys had already gotten their check and were at the bar and wouldn’t show up.
“I could make $100 or $200 a week in the late 1970s.”
In 1982 he hit the road with a $40,000 salary and all expenses paid.
Along the way he picked up a certification to be a moisture tester.
Since 2009 he’s owned Floors by Moore. He operates on a wholesale mentality.
“I’ve got a warehouse full of samples and carpet and I do just as much,” Moore said. “People say ‘call this guy’ because I’m usually cheaper and my guys do real good work. That’s a good combination.”
He thrives on the hunt. On land or in the water, he wants to be first.
“I put it all out there. I’ve puked at the finish line quite a few times. I’m just so competitive,” Moore said.
