He was thinking about it last week, while riding his bicycle around North Attleboro, stopping at Mason Field for a bit of a respite on a 90-degree day.

Thinking about all those days attending the North Attleboro Parks and Recreation Dept. summer camp sessions as an adolescent, a pre-teen, when riding his bicycle back and forth from home, thinking that the few miles were a marathon.

Now, what's a 112-mile bike ride?

Just another few hours of exercise for North Attleboro native Glen Jusczyk, with seven Ironman competitions, seven marathons and a number of half-marathons, triathlons and half-Ironmans to his credit.

"People say that I'm crazy doing it, and I really am an amateur at this," chuckled the former North Attleboro High (class of 1993) soccer star, who later went on to play at Northeastern University (class of 1998) and create an extensive resume in minor pro soccer. "I remember my first triathlon, it was in Panama City, Florida and I had raised something like $10,000 for Soccer for Kids' Sake," recalled Jusczyk.

In truth, it was because of a soccer injury - a broken shin while playing for the Western Mass. Pioneers - that put Jusczyk in the water, on a bike and on the road for Ironman competitions.

"I was getting older, I was getting fatter, I was starting to stretch myself out at work," said Jusczyk, who finished his first Ironman in 12 hours, 20 minutes. "I was hobbling, I could barely walk and they (fans) were chanting "old school" at me because of my bike and what I was wearing."

True to his Rocketeer nature, "Old School" rang a bell for Jusczyk, who adopted the moniker and is not bashful about wearing it well.

He swims the first leg of the Ironman, 2.4 miles in the water, in jam style cargo shorts - not a swimmer's speed suit or wetsuit.

Wearing the same baggy shorts and a skateboard helmet, instead of placing himself atop some sleek $1,000-plus riding machine, Jusczyk props himself on a BMX bicycle for a 112-mile ride along the roadways.

And when that leg of the Ironman is complete, Jusczyk has the same smelly, sweaty shorts on, the same tank top and some retro-looking sneakers for 26.2 miles of pounding the pavement.

"I want everyone to know that Ironmans, triathlons are not just for elite athletes with tens of thousands of dollars of equipment and sponsors," said Jusczyk. "There more about personal challenges, about challenging yourself to find out what you're made of, what's inside you."

Jusczyk completed a half-Ironman earlier this summer in Providence, will be back for one in Narragansett in September, while engaging in another in his new residence in Claremont, Fla. (20 minutes west of Orlando) and one in Tempe, Ariz. in November.

"I've always enjoyed swimming and biking, and running was kind of easy for me because of my soccer background," said Jusczyk, who is determined to qualify for the Hawaii Ironman competition, the ultimate experience. "My first year doing this, I was just under a four-hour marathon because I hadn't done any running - you get older and life catches up with you," said Jusczyk. "Since then, I've been training at least two days a week running, two days a week swimming and on weekends, I'll do my biking and maybe go out for a longer run or swim."

Upon graduating from Northeastern, Jusczyk had a tryout with the Dallas Burn of MLS. Then it was tours of duty with the semi-pro Pioneers, the Cape Cod Crusaders, the Boston Bulldogs, the New Hampshire Phantoms, even in some New England Revolution reserve matches.

In the meantime, Jusczyk began a screen-printing and embroidery company in Ludlow, providing shirts and shorts for soccer camps. The business grew to such an extent that "Lil' Dogs" employed 20 persons and had just over two million dollars in sales last year.

And in the meantime, Jusczyk began acquiring some supporters for his Ironman and triathlon exploits - Redline, South Lake Bicycles, E-Performance, Rudy Sports Mask. He even has a coach, an ex-Olympian from Canada in Luke Morin, whom he met in Florida.

"For me, the biking is the hardest part because you're out there six or seven hours and pedaling - your mind starts going wacky," said Jusczyk. "You have to eat on your bike - Snickers has a marathon bar and Jelly Belly has these sport beans."

Jusczyk started with his dad Lance's (who can still whack a tennis ball and a softball) BMX bicycle.

"When I first started doing these, people said that nobody would be crazy enough to do it on a BMX bike, they called me a hack," said Jusczyk of the one-speed contraption. "I did the Great Floridian, averaging 14 miles an hour on the bike. I didn't believe it, that I could actually finish.

"The more that I got into this, there are some intense people doing this stuff, they train all the time - I'm a lot more laid back.

"I'm a little out-of-the-box in training methods, but an average person can do it and I'm proving it."

PETER GOBIS may be contacted at 508-236-0375 or via e-mail at pgobis@thesunchronicle.com