At 40 years old, you might think Dan Friedrichs would be starting to slow things down a little bit. In Dan’s case, slow is a very relative term.

Less than two weeks ago, he spent a day in Tempe, Ariz., participating in his third Ford Ironman competition. The event consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a full marathon (26.2-mile run).

Of 2,189 competitors, Friedrichs finished 74th overall. Of the 369 people in his age group, he was ninth. The placing earned him a spot in the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, in October.

Friedrichs admits he was sweating the final results after he crossed the finish line in Arizona.

“Yeah, I knew it was going to be tight,” he said. “You do three loops on the run so it’s hard to tell where everybody is. I was pretty happy when I qualified.”

Friedrichs, who has always tried to stay in good shape, said he started doing triathlons about 10 years ago. In 2002, he started training for his first full Ironman.

He qualified for Hawaii in his first attempt and went on to compete in the world championships the following year. Now, five years later, he’s about to repeat the cycle.

Dave Lyon and Greg Taylor have been his training partners most of the way, although Taylor now serves as more of a coach. Taylor qualified for the world championships this past October but was unable to finish the competition when his bike cracked and he broke his collarbone. That also prevented him from competing in Arizona last month.

“Trying to juggle a full-time job and then training 15-20 hours a week is challenging,” Friedrichs said. “I’m single, but I’ve talked to a lot of the other competitors who have families and they endure a lot of stress in their relationships.”

As a result of the time commitment, Friedrichs says the world championships in October will probably be his final Ironman.

“I’ll still continue to race in smaller events but, as far as full Ironman’s go, I’m treating Hawaii as if it will be my last,” he said. “You basically have to put everything else in life on hold if you want to seriously prepare.”

No more Ironman’s for Friedrichs means the 40-year-old is definitely slowing down. But again, slowing down is a very relative term.

Jim Rueda is the Free Press sports editor. To contact him, call 344-6381 or e-mail him at jrueda@mankatofreepress.com