Slowtwitch: Thank you for your time Morgan.

Morgan Uceny: You are welcome.

ST: I believe in early December of 2022 you were hit by a box truck while riding your bike. What exactly happened and where are you now in terms of recovery?

Morgan: Yes. I had just returned from a week-long Caribbean vacation with my Mom, so I was keen to go for a ride since I hadn’t ridden for the week I was away. My husband and I decided to go on a short ride and we were only 3-4 miles from our house, riding roads that we are well-familiar with. I was riding with a Garmin Varia radar and was alerted that a vehicle was approaching, so we moved to the side of the road and the next thing I knew I was lying on the ground with a weird-looking arm at my side. I had a compound fractured humerus and a fractured sacrum. I had surgery on my arm to insert a plate and six screws and was told the sacrum would just heal on its own.

I feel like my recovery has gone as best as could be expected. I have a great PT and am a personal trainer by trade, so I made sure to start a program to recover range of motion and strength as soon as possible. I’ve been able to ride my trainer, starting with 20 minutes the first day, and just taking a really conservative approach to getting my fitness back. The biggest surprise has been my increased heart rate. It’s easily 15 bpms higher than before the accident!

ST: Is that heart rate supposed to return to normal or is that not clear at this time?

Morgan: I’m assuming it will return with time. I’m already starting to notice some improvements.

ST: The UCI Esports World Championships are coming up in mid-February and you are scheduled to race in them. But before we get to that event let us chat about how you got there, as in from running at a world elite level to cycling?

Morgan: I ran professionally for 9 years, retiring from the track in 2016. I was a middle-distance runner, competing in the 800m and 1500m. After I retired, I continued to run for fun but didn’t have any interest in doing anything too intense. It kind of felt like a been there done that situation. My husband joined a cycling team out of Boston called Green Line Velo and then a trainer soon followed in order to train through the winter. I eventually followed suit the following year in 2021, joining the same team and then racing in the Community Racing League with our women’s team that winter.

ST: At what point did you realize that you were good at it?

Morgan: I think the trainer suited me well because it took the bike-handling skills out of the equation! During the community league, I was finding myself near the front of races and gained some confidence that I had the ability, but still had a lot to learn when it came to the gaming and strategy aspect of Zwift. I had learned a lot by the end of the season and was asked to join the Saris NoPinz team for the following 2022 season.

ST: How and when did you get introduced to virtual cycling for both training and racing?

Morgan: During the winter of 2021. My husband had already been training and racing on Zwift so I started doing Zwift workouts on the trainer and easy runs for my recovery days. It was really a perfect combo for me!

ST: I guess there is no crashing your bike on Zwift and it is not the end of the world if the tire pressure is not perfect.

Morgan: Yes! Coming into the cycling world later in life, I still feel like a big noob when it comes to cycling. I had never clipped into pedals before my first road bike in 2020. Running is such a user-friendly sport, so it has been quite an adjustment getting on the bike. At least inside, it is a much more controlled environment and I like that low-stress aspect.

ST: Also, that is certainly a very quick transition from getting introduced to Zwift in 2021 and now racing in the eSports Worlds in 2023.

Morgan: I really love that I get to have this kind of rookie experience all over again. I like being an unknown player and kind of skirting the edges, it takes the pressure off and just allows me to have fun with it.

ST: What is your trainer setup like at home?

Morgan: My husband has grown our bike room into quite the set up. We each have a trainer and apple TV, which makes it really easy and fun to Zwift at the same time. I have come to find that my must-haves are a fan, water, and tissues!

ST: Which trainers do you two use?

Morgan: We both use the Wahoo Kickr

ST: Back to the Esports Worlds. Do you feel ready?

Morgan: If you had asked me this a week ago, I would have said not really. My fitness really turned a corner last week, and while it’s not to the same level as it was before the accident, it’s getting there! I’m feeling much stronger and confident in the stability of my injuries. The last thing I want to do, is set myself back in terms of my recovery, but now that I’ve been training for a few weeks, I feel strong in my body and that makes me mentally more ready to tackle harder efforts.

ST: In your view, how different are the tactics in Zwift racing compared to racing outside?

Morgan: Certainly some overarching similarities such as being in the draft versus not being in the draft, timing and placement when sprinting. It does seem that breakaways don’t stick as easily in Zwift; the blob has a lot of leverage in Zwift. Racing in the Premier League, you have to have the trainer difficulty at 100%, but if you are racing outside of that and able to adjust the trainer difficulty, you can use that to your advantage depending on the type of course.

Lacking patience is at least consistent for me both in real life and on Zwift!

ST: How much running do you do these days and do you sometimes run on Zwift?

Morgan: I haven’t ran since the accident…which might be the longest I’ve gone without running. I’m waiting to get approval from my doctor that my images are clear and ready for the impact. I am surprised that I haven’t really missed it, but that’s because I’ve been able to get on the trainer and keep myself sane!

ST: Have you actually run on Zwift before the accident?

Morgan: I’ve never run on Zwift! I detest running on the treadmill, so if it’s not nice enough to run outside, I will ride inside. It’s a win win for me!

ST: Looking back at your amazing running career, which title or race experience do you cherish the most?

Morgan: While competing at the 2012 Olympic finals may have been my greatest athletic accomplishment, they did not end the best for me, as I tripped up in the final lap and did not finish the race. However, qualifying for the Olympics, by winning the US Olympic Trials was the most memorable because I was able to share the experience with my family. As soon as I crossed the finish line, knowing I had made the team, I looked into the crowd, immediately found my family and we all just screamed and jumped up and down, it was so special.

ST: What is on your bucket list of events or sports still to do?

Morgan: Well I just bought a mountain bike so I’m very excited to give that a go! My husband and I decided we would like to have the option to spend less time on the roads since we have now both been hit by vehicles.

ST: Is there anything else we should know?

Morgan: I would just like this event to be a spark of inspiration for other women to get into Zwift. There are a LOT of men on the platform, and I would love to see more women become a part of the community. The ladies of my Saris NoPinz team have all been a tremendous support and I’ve never even met any of them in real life, but that’s what makes it so unique and fun!

The post Morgan Uceny’s New Passion first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

Slowtwitch: Thank you for your time Skye.

Skye Moench: Thank you for thinking of me!

ST: Are you still in the off season or are you already getting ready for the first race in 2023?

Skye: I guess that depends on the definition of off season. I’m not doing nothing, but I don’t have my first race planned and I’m not back into a super intense training program yet. I really needed a good break after last year, so I’ve just been listening to my mind and body and doing what feels right. I know that being mentally prepared to get back to hardcore training and racing is the most important thing for me, so I’m not rushing things right now. I’ll be ready when it’s time!

ST: What feels right to you at this time, what does that roughly look like?

Skye: I’ve been doing 2-3 sessions day. Swimming about 25k a week, and then doing run and bike sessions as I feel. If I really want to embrace winter, then I’ll go snowshoe or skate ski. Also getting in a little sauna session most days. [laughs]

ST: You finished the 2022 season with a runner-up spot in Arizona. How do feel about your performance on that day.

Skye: My race in Arizona was overall solid swim, bike, and run, and I feel good about it given the context of the entire season. I was really proud of myself for staying so mentally engaged the whole race and especially the entire marathon. Pushing hard to the end, despite having a generous gap on third place, and with Sarah True putting time into me up the road, definitely took some mental fortitude. The last half of the season was not ideal for me mentally, for various reasons, so to be able to stay positive and mentally engaged for my fourth and final Ironman of the 2022 season was the real win for me. As a bonus, I got my Kona slot for 2023 and ran my fastest marathon of the year, which were nice micro wins for me.

ST: Which sports did you do when you were younger?

Skye: Sport wasn’t my life when I was younger, but I loved running and would participate in school running events, track, cross country, etc. when and where I could.

ST: Can you also talk about moving to the USA from Canada and how that came about?

Skye: I moved to the USA with my mom and sisters after my parents got divorced. We really needed to move away from our situation but needed family support, so we moved to be close to some of my mom’s extended family.

ST: Take us back to when you got started in triathlon, and who or what got you inspired?

Skye: I first learned about triathlon when I was in high school. I honestly don’t know who introduced me to the sport, but somewhere along the way I learned swim bike run was a thing. I already loved distance running, generally knew how to swim, and always enjoyed riding a bike, so I was naturally intrigued by triathlon. I wrote my senior paper in high school about preparing for a triathlon and I interviewed a few local triathletes, so I guess the fire was burning pretty early on. That was in 2006, and I would do my first ever mini sprint triathlon in 2009 on my friend’s borrowed TT bike. I saved and bought my own road bike, wetsuit, everything I needed for triathlon in 2010. The rest is kind of history. I did local races and eventually went part-time at my accounting job to do professional triathlon full-time – though I wasn’t even pro yet!.

ST: I think it was in 2015 when you quit your accounting job to race triathlon full time. Was there a specific moment, person or was that a storm that was brewing already?

Skye: I went part-time at Ernst & Young in 2015, and then quit about a year later. I continued to do contract accounting jobs on and off through 2020.

The storm of dissatisfaction and the craving for a bigger challenge and more passion for what I was doing was brewing in me as I sat at my desk. I would read triathlon articles, watch Kona on NBC, and I started becoming more familiar with the pros, and I just felt like I could do it too. I’ve always had a lot of self-confidence, and this was another instance where I simply believed I could do something, despite having zero idea what it would actually take to be a pro, let alone a competitive pro who could make a living at being a triathlete.

I guess to properly answer your question ha, I think the moment was when I realized that no one was going to make a change for me. I could stay at my desk forever and keep moving up the corporate ladder, and that would be a perfectly acceptable route to take in life, and arguably the easier route! But I knew that I could also go ask my boss to go part-time, hire a coach, and give this triathlon thing a real go, and I would never regret trying it. I had nothing to lose, and worst case, I would go back to accounting. It was a really exciting time for me because putting my time and resources into triathlon was something that I really wanted to do for myself, even if it seemed crazy to everyone else.

ST: In those first few years were you patient with your development or did at times doubts creep in about that decision?

Skye: I think I was patient for a couple years. Again, I had no idea what I was getting into and I knew there was a lot to learn. I raced 2015 as an age-grouper and won pretty much everything overall. My claim to fame that year was coming 2nd overall to Taylor Knibb in the Age Group Nationals Sprint race. [laughs] My one year of age group results really affirmed my decision to do triathlon, and then I did Oceanside in 2016 as a pro. I got crushed from a results standpoint, but it was extremely motivating for me as a new pro. I knew there was a lot of work to do to be competitive, and I was up for it. I trained away and felt like I was doing everything I could for a couple years, but I didn’t feel like I was improving or performing where I should be, so at that point I did briefly question if I was good enough, but I just knew I had more in me and knew I wasn’t reaching my potential yet. At that time, I started to look at what further changes I needed to make in order to get the best out of myself.

ST: In 2019 you crashed very hard at the end of a training ride. What do you recall from that day?

Skye: I remember swimming in the morning and seeing my friend Jacob at the pool. I remember the weather was nice and sunny, and pretty warm for end of September. My training partner at the time was Els Visser, she was staying at my house, and we planned a double canyon training ride. We rode Little Cottonwood Canyon first, then stopped and had some lunch at a cafe, then we went on to ride Millcreek Canyon. I just remember being so happy and really enjoying the beautiful scenery and the ride altogether. We got to the top of Millcreek Canyon, I put my arm warmers on while Els got a head start on the descent, and then the next thing I remember is being in and out of consciousness of sorts in a random (but very kind!!) man’s truck.

I was thinking I was in a dream, I was asking him over and over if this was real life, and he kept telling me this was real I life and that I was going to be okay. I really came to once I was lying in the ER and my mom, and my husband were there and doctors were taking care of me. I was planning how I was going to get through Kona, etc. and my husband was trying to explain to me why I would not be going to Kona (I eventually understood. Then I spent the night in the ICU. I also remember begging my nurse to let me eat that night. [laughs] They didn’t want to feed me because they were planning to get me into surgery for my injuries. I was eventually given some juice.

Skye: Has that crash impacted where and how you train?

Skye: Not really. I still ride and descend all the canyons around here in Salt Lake City, Utah, and I found it very healing to ride up and down Millcreek Canyon after my crash. I wanted to make peace with it and gain confidence that I wasn’t going to crash every time I rode it. I definitely did ride my brakes hard when I got back to riding outside after my crash, but that has since passed. I guess the only thing is that if I ever feel any anxiety about riding outside, then I ride on the trainer and don’t question my feelings. Some days it’s just better knowing you’ll get through your ride safely. [laughs] Whether it’s a freak accident or getting hit by a car, etc. there are always risks to riding outside.

ST: What is your trainer setup like at home?

Skye: I like to have everything I need right at home! My stuff is all set up in the basement. I bought a commercial grade treadmill in 2020, and then of course I have a Tacx Neo2T smart trainer for riding my bike on. I also have a fair bit of strength and conditioning equipment at home for when that is part of my program.

ST: In mid-season, what does your weekly training volume look like?

Skye: I would say around 25 hours a week.

ST: Talk about your swim training, and maybe share one of your harder swim sets.

Skye: Swim training is something I really enjoy, maybe because swimming is the never ending puzzle for a lot of triathletes, myself included. [laughs] I typically swim around 25k a week, most swims are 5k+, so I’m in the pool 5-6 days a week. I don’t think I can pick just one hard swim set, but a favorite main set is 3×800 best effort on 20 minutes. You obviously get a lot of rest on this, and you choose how to spend that rest time (on the wall, kicking, swimming, whatever). It’s fun to challenge yourself and see if you can get even slightly faster over the three 800’s, even though they’re all your best effort! I guess in true long-distance triathlete fashion, I tend to get going faster by the third one.

ST: On Instagram you describe yourself as purple lover, is that mostly about your bike and race kit, or is that also what your car and home decor looks like?

Skye: Haha, purple power! I have to admit, I have a lot of purple things. My training gear and racing gear is the most purple, but I also have a purple phone, purple water bottles, purple chair, purple scissors, purple backpack, purple nail polish, purple toothbrush, etc. A lot of random stuff. Basically, if purple is an option, I will probably choose it or someone will choose it for me. It really is my favorite color. With that said, my normal wardrobe is mostly black, grey, white, etc. and my car is white, but my car’s avatar is purple. The furniture in my home is mostly white, grey, navy blue, and natural wood tones.

ST: Let us talk about food, and your diet.

Skye: I love food and I love baking and trying new recipes! I also really enjoy learning about food. My diet I would say is pretty normal, as in, I wouldn’t have any special limitations or requests if I were going to a dinner party or something – not that I’m going to dinner parties all the time. [laughs] I definitely had to learn a lot about fueling and nutrition as I’ve progressed as an athlete. I have a master’s degree in tax accounting, not sports nutrition! There’s no food that is off limits or that I’m not allowed to have, but I do mostly try to eat healthy, nutritious, real food. I love making my own training snacks and preparing food, but I also appreciate balance and enjoy eating out and trying new restaurants.

ST: Is there anything else we should know?

Skye: I’m about to go bake something, and I’m wearing a purple sweatshirt and purple slippers right now. Thank you for having me!

You can follow Skye Moench on Instagram via @skyemoench

The post The Inspired Skye Moench first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

Stepping outside the comfort zone is something that Ben Hoffman has embraced, and he recently grabbed the win at the Patagonman Xtreme Triathlon in Chile, and shared with us some thoughts on training, racing, family and what is next.

Slowtwitch: Thank you for your time Ben.

Ben Hoffman: Thank you for the opportunity to be back on here. With your history in Swimrun and various multisport events, it’s cool to be able to share an experience from a slightly different format with you.

ST: Talking about the different format, you just came back from Patagonia and likely are still busy unpacking bags and processing memories.

Ben: Yes, we arrived home a little bit ago and are settled back into life in Tucson, enjoying some “Hoffseason” after the big travel and race in Chile. Because we left the kiddos at home with Grandma, we were able to explore the area afterwards with a little more vigor, but it’s good to be back with them now.

ST: It appears that your website has not been updated in a while.

Ben: Probably not! But do people even visit websites anymore in the age of social media? I feel like I have let that lapse some, so thanks for the reminder. Even though there wasn’t a lot of racing from me in 2020, things got rolling again in ’21 and ’22, and there are a host of results and photos that should be updated.

ST: Your Kona race did not end up as you had wanted. I think you had stomach issues at various points of the race.

Ben: Yes, Kona was a big disappointment from a results standpoint. I felt like my preparation was much better than the placing I earned, but I made some mistakes on race day that took me out of any real contention. After a solid swim, I was comfortable in the main group on the bike. Maybe too comfortable, as I put in a lot of calories in the first 40 miles when the effort level wasn’t particularly high. In hindsight, it was just too much for my stomach to handle, so I had to let it clear over the next 40 or so miles before I started to feel like myself again. I pushed the last part of the bike, and the opening 15 miles of the run, and then the wheels came off again with some more GI distress. I never underestimate Kona even with several successful races there, and it got the better of me this time. Still, it was great to be back after such a long wait.

ST: How hard is it to process when the race is disappearing up the road?

Ben: It’s certainly not easy, but I try not to overreact or get too emotional in IRONMAN racing. There are a lot of highs and lows, no matter how well the race is going or how bad it seems to be going. There is always opportunity to improve the situation, but with the level of racing these days, to win you usually need to stay near the front all day. When I started to throw up and had to slow down on the bike, it was a sinking feeling.

ST: How do you motivate yourself in a race to actually continue when things go wrong?

Ben: I made a commitment to myself and everyone around me to do my best and execute on the day, and I use that as motivation. One of the things that really draws me to endurance sport is the honesty in most of the efforts, and as I get older, I’m less concerned with just the result, and more so with the experience. Sometimes there is more value in the events where things go wrong, so I just try to stay engaged and focus on doing my best. Growth mindset.

ST: What do you think about the plan to split up the World Championships to different venues?

Ben: To be honest, I still haven’t formulated a clear answer to this question, and I’m trying not to get to reactionary about it. I’m sure there are a lot of reasons for the changes, and I probably won’t ever have all the information. That said, I am a little sad to see a split and I’m not as motivated for a new venue. I have dedicated almost 15 years to the Island, and it has shaped so much of my career, so it will always have a special place in my heart. I’m sure there are a lot of positive elements to it as well, and change is the only constant, especially if you want to evolve and grow.

ST: When did that idea come up to race the Patagonman Xtreme event?

Ben: We actually got in touch with the team before the first edition in 2018, but weren’t able to make it work. Unfortunately, the pandemic took away two years of the race in 2020 and 2021, but we stayed in touch and made sure that this would be the year. It’s always a little more challenging to hang on until December for a northern hemisphere athlete, but it was well worth it.

ST: You are no stranger to do stuff outside the box, but maybe you can share with us where this one ranks among your more adventurous outings?

Ben: I’ve always enjoyed big endurance efforts, whether in training or organized events. I started triathlon with the university club team in Missoula, Montana, and we always did adventurous training and targeted races that were uniquely strenuous or that felt “grassroots” in some way. Wildflower was my first pro race, for example, and I think growing up in Colorado where I was always skiing, climbing, camping, and mountain biking set the stage for my future triathlon forays. In terms of how this ranks, I would put it near the top for a triathlon event. I’ve done plenty of hard races where strength athletes tend to prevail, but this was another and different level of suffering. When it comes to being absolutely crushed by a race, the 8 days of Cape Epic while suffering from a stomach virus were probably more uncomfortable, but this race also smashed me up.

ST: How early did you arrive, and did you feel ready?

Ben: We arrived in Puerto Chacabuco on Wednesday before the Sunday race. Travel was comparatively easy without the two young kids, but I wouldn’t say I felt particularly race ready. To be honest, the training in the lead-up was a bit rough, and the unknown elements of the race actually left me a little nervous. I got a 3-week virus in November that hampered training, so it all felt a bit pieced together and quite imperfect compared to a normal Ironman build. Despite everyone telling me I would surprise myself and be just fine, I felt some apprehension. In hindsight, it was nice to have those sensations again… it’s part of what I love about big challenges.

ST: Talk about the race and how it unfolded.

Ben: I woke up around 2:45 to have a light breakfast and head down to transition. I was fortunate to have Mario De Elias as my support (along with Kelsey, my wife), so we all went down to T1 together to set up and get ready. The wind was absolutely howling with big white cap waves in the fjord, and rain was intermittent, with temperatures in the high 40’s. It was not an inviting scene, but it isn’t called an Xtri for no reason. After boarding the ferry and heading out to the swim start, we learned that because it wasn’t safe for the water safety personnel, they were considering canceling the swim. A little while later, they made a compromise with the Chilean Navy to have a shortened version, and we jumped into the icy water. I just tried to swim as hard as I could to stay warm, sighting on the flashing lights of a police car on shore. I reached the shore in 2nd position, scrambled up the cargo net onto the dock, and went into transition, where Mario helped me get ready for the ride. We made a game time call on the clothing, and I took off chasing Kevin Jervis who was riding much harder than I had planned or trained for. After halfway, I finally decided to settle down and ride my own race, which meant letting him go up the road a little way. After 90 miles, a few gravel sections, and plenty of wind, I clawed my way back into the lead. Flying down the harrowing descent into Cerro Castillo, I felt fortunate to still be alive, and I swapped into my running shoes. I felt moderately confident that I could win the race at that point, but after struggling up the first few steep and loose climbs, I began to wonder if I could seal the deal. Kevin wasn’t that far back and was having a great day, so I was forced to push the second half harder than I had planned, running the downhills like I would never need to use my legs again. One of the cool things about this race is that you are allowed to have your support run with you for the last 8 miles, so I met Mario at mile 19, and he helped get me to the line. We didn’t talk much, as I was in a world of pain, but he kept me focused and happier than I would have been alone.

ST: By how much was the swim shortened?

Ben: It ended up being about half the distance, so around 1900 meters. With the intense winds and whitecaps, the Chilean Navy wouldn’t allow the swim to start because water safety couldn’t enter the fjord. We were lucky to get any swim as the wind finally died a little and a window opened. Nature is the boss in Patagonia, and in any race for that matter.

ST: Was that your coldest swim to date?

Ben: I can’t remember what the temperature was at the Granite Bay Xterra race I did in 2011 in California, but I think it was low 50’s. Otherwise, I feel pretty confident that this was the coldest, at around 53F. On the Friday before the race, Mario and I went to a nearby lake and swam in 46 degree water, which was basically unbearable. We made it about 650 meters before stopping and getting out.

ST: Which bike did you opt for and how was it set up?

Ben: I chose to ride the Cervelo PX, as I normally do for an Ironman race. Although this one would have been fine on the P5 disc as well, especially with all the climbing. I prefer the PX for its comfort over the long distance, as well as the storage options for nutrition, hydration, and flat kit. The bike was setup with full Shimano Dura Ace Di2 drivetrain, ICE Friction treated chain, SLF oversize pulley system, ENVE SES 7.8 wheels with Schwalbe Pro One TT tires, tubeless. I have custom Speedbar aerobars and I run an internal bladder using one of Custom Bike Xcessories bento/hydration boxes.

ST: What was that finish line experience like?

Ben: The finish line at Patagonman is very special, set in the small town of General Ibanez on the shore of a massive freshwater lake and the base of some incredible mountains. Although it is really a very small village in the middle of nowhere Patagonia, there are quite a lot of people who come out and build the energy at the line. To be the first across meant that I got to have the wooden gates opened before I rang the iconic bell, and I can tell you that it will be burned into my mind for a long time. I’m not sure if it was more of the sense of relief or elation, but I rang the bell with every last bit of energy I had, and then I spent 10 minutes laying on some grass in the median. I was completely empty!

ST: What did you do after the race?

Ben: We took part in the final celebrations with the relatively small group of finishers and people associated with the event in Coyhaique, then Kelsey and I hit the road to explore the area. We had seen a lot just in the race recon and race day, but we tested the limits of the rental car on the carretera austral, visiting Parque Nacional Quelat, the marble caves, and the glacier in Laguna San Rafael. We wanted to do more, but time ran out and we had to get back to being parents after almost 2 weeks away. It’s truly vast, unspoiled wilderness, and gave me a sense of peace to see how intact it was.

ST: What is next?

Ben: Right now is some downtime, resetting and spending time with family and friends. I am still moving a little bit, but no structure or pressure on anything. I will play some golf, work on some house projects, and just relax until it’s time to really get after it again. We also have a small trip to California planned to see a few sponsors, including Zoot and Athletic Brewing. Once I’m back to work, the plan is to mix things up a little next year with some gravel racing, some triathlons, and guiding for a visually impaired para triathlete on the world triathlon circuit. I’m not done pushing myself to see how good I can be, but I will direct the energy a little differently than in the past.

ST: How did you get connected to the para triathlete, or maybe better said how did it come about?

Ben: The connection was facilitated by my coach, Ryan Bolton, who has a role in the high-performance team at USA Triathlon. I still have a long way to go to learn and develop into a competent guide, but I am looking forward to the challenge and putting some energy into racing without the focus being entirely on myself. I also believe that the athlete I am working with has potential to race very well at the Paralympics in Paris, so that would be a cool experience if it materialized.

ST: What is a big bucket race or adventure that is still out there on the horizon?

Ben: There are so many that I can’t just say one. I’m not sure if I will ever pursue ultra-running, but it has crossed my mind, so maybe Leadville or Western States, or even Comrades in South Africa. For triathlon, possibly Roth or some other European events this coming summer. I do think I could do well at Ultraman Hawaii if I put the focus on it one day. I don’t know if I will make it happen this year, but I have been curious about Unbound on the gravel side.

ST: Is there anything else we should know?

Ben: Looking back at a career that has spanned almost 20 years now, I can’t believe how fortunate I am to have had this experience. I’m incredibly grateful to all the people in the sport, from fellow athletes, sponsors, friends, race organizers, media, and anyone who loves the endurance sport lifestyle. It’s really been a dream come true, and I’m looking forward to the years I have left and what comes after. Hope everyone has a great 2023!

You can follow Ben Hoffman's adventures on Instagram via @bhoffmanracing

Images 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8 are © Wagner Araujo @wags.photo for Patagonman XTri

Images 2 and 7 are courtesy of Ben and Kelsey Hoffman

The post Patagonman Winner Ben Hoffman first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

Slowtwitch: Thank you for your time Dede.

Dede Griesbauer: My pleasure. We’re currently on a 2100+ mile drive back to Boulder from the East Coast, so I’ve got some time.

ST: With 2023 now upon us, what is next for you in terms of a big event on your calendar.

Dede: I’ve given it a bit of thought certainly, but haven’t spoken to my coach Julie Dibens yet, so I have no firm plans, but I’m excited to get home and get stuck back into training after a great Holiday break with family.

ST: How much of your calendar is typically fully scheduled and how much of it is winged or late added? And is that something that has changed over the years?

Dede: I think we start most years with a plan, but we’re flexible if things change. I think earlier in my career, I was a bit better at sticking to the plan, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve been forced to respond to what my body is giving me at any given time. I’m less likely to force myself thru a niggle for the sake of making a start line. I’ve learned to be (a little bit) more patient.

Another big difference is that there are also a lot more racing options now, so that changes things a little bit too. In other words, I’ll keep my dance card open if the PTO reaches out and wants to invite me to Collins Cup. More seriously though, because there are so many race options, if one doesn’t fit, there’s another opportunity right around the bend.

ST: In late 2022 you tackled the Ultraman World Championships and grabbed the win in course record time. Would you consider this race your season highlight or was there something else you look fondly back to?

Dede: Winning the Ultraman World Championship and going faster than anyone has ever gone on that course was definitely the season highlight. So much of my year was geared toward that performance in Hawaii, so it was super satisfying to have it come together across those epic 3 days of racing. My year had gotten off to such a shaky start with a puncture at Challenge Miami and then a collapse in T2 at IRONMAN Texas. It wasn’t exactly confidence building those first few months. To have finished the year with an 8th at Lake Placid, a 4th at Augusta 70.3 and a win at the Ultraman World Championship, I can say we built momentum and finished on a high.

ST: What about the collapse in T2 in Texas? Did you ever learn what went wrong and how to avoid it in the future?

Dede: We spent a lot of time doing all the appropriate tests to rule out the super scary stuff. Lots of heart and brain tests. Thankfully all clear on those things.

So ultimately we will never know for certain. But I got a clean bill of health as a result.

The whole event was a reminder to listen to the cues your body is giving you. I knew late into the bike that something was wrong. I was sort of spacey. Not focused. Feeling dreadful. But instead of taking a minute and asking, How do I fix this? What does my body need? I simply carried on pushing a pace and looking for a gear I thought I should have had, but for some reason didn’t. It was a lesson that there’s only so much pure determination and will power will give you.

ST: In 2019 you raced Ultraman Florida and maybe you can talk about what got you started on that ultra-distance journey.

Dede: I’ve had it said to me more than a couple of times by more than a couple of coaches in more than a couple of sports that I get better as the distance gets longer. It’s sort of been a running joke. My Stanford swim coach told me that if the mile backstroke had been an Olympic event, I might have turned out to be a good swimmer; the curse of being a backstroke specialist, but with the physiology of a distance swimmer. In my early triathlon years, my first coach, Karen Smyers always used to tell me on group rides to just hang in there for the first 2 hours and let the boys wear themselves out. I’d always seem to come into my own in hour 3, 4, and 5. So when I was spending time in Tucson back in early 2014 or 2015 and tagged along with best buddy, Hillary Biscay to hear her give a talk about her Ultraman experience, I tore myself away from the free snacks in the back long enough to be totally sucked into her whole story and experience. I was gobsmacked. It took several years for me to finally muster the courage to sign up, but in 2019, I finally did and raced Ultraman Florida in 2020. Since I signed up, there have been several times where I’ve wondered if I should thank Hillary for the inspiration or smack her for not talking some sense into me!

ST: Very funny. Could you talk about how you prepped for the Ultraman Championships?

Dede: I’m not sure we have the time or the space to share exactly how much went into my preparations for Ultraman, even with 30 hours and 2100 miles of driving to go. It was a monstrous undertaking. In retrospect, the pandemic was a bit of a blessing. It gave me a much longer runway to play with, than if I’d raced Ultraman Florida in February of 2020 and then attempted the World Championship in November. I had so, so much still to learn. While I set the World Record in Florida, I made so, so many mistakes. The longer runway gave me time to sort my nutrition and trust me, there was a lot to sort. I was introduced to my nutritionist Andrew Dole and it’s been a work in progress ever since. The longer build also allowed me time to go out to Hawaii for a course reconnaissance trip. It was a huge investment, but it paid off monstrously. I’ve been to Hawaii gobs of times; for racing, for training camps, for commentary responsibilities, but in all that time, I’d spent very little time OFF of the Ironman course. And Ultraman, for all of Day 1 and Day 2 is pretty much everything on the island BUT the Ironman course. In September, I went to Kona, before the buzz of the Ironman World Championship began and I got stuck into a solo training camp to spend as much time as possible on the course. Doing long 2-hour open water swims in my wetsuit. How would that make me feel? To ride a bulk of both days of the bike course and what I didn’t ride? I drove. And then to spend time running out on the Queen K highway past the Energy Lab. It was completely demoralizing. I was terrified that the course was too hard and that I could never do it. But at least I knew what was in store. That trip allowed me to go back to Boulder and with Julie, concoct a program for that final push that was very specific for the course itself.

The 2-year postponement also gave me time to get stronger. Stronger to be able to endure the demands of training for it, and stronger to be able to stand of to 3 really hard days of racing and not wear the effects of the prior day as much. My strength coach, Kate Ligler was so specific with our preparations in the gym. I went into that race the strongest I’ve been in my life.

We thought through all the logistics of the race; booking accommodations, assembling a crew and sorting each and every detail of the race. We tried to anticipate as much as we could as to what might happen across those 3 days and how to manage it. I had spreadsheet after spreadsheet of logistics and organization.

So, yeah, there was a lot involved.

ST: How much time these days do you spend in the pool, cycling and running, and do you do other strength or cardio work?

Dede: My training is going really well. I’m on a bit of break now, obviously, but slowly building back toward 2023. A lot of people assume that, given my age, that I’ve backed off my volumes, or my intensities in training. Quite the contrary, actually. By placing an increased focus on all the little details; sleep, nutrition, physical therapy and not just the kind you do when you are injured, the kind you do so you don’t get injured…or at least hopefully get injured less. Mobility and strength? I think I’m training at some of the highest levels of my career and with greater consistency. My focus on Ultraman did take some of my aerobic volumes up; lots of 7 and 8-hour L2 rides, for example, but in the midst of all that, I had one of the best 70.3 race performances I’ve had in years. So maybe some lessons learned there as well. I am training as much and as hard, and in some case more than I have at other points in my career because of the attention to detail and a heightened focus on the little things. Turns out? They really do matter.

ST: In terms of cycling and running, how much of it is indoor, and if indoor what do you use?

Dede: This will depend largely on the time of the year. Somewhat obviously, winters in Boulder keep us indoors more than in the summer months. Still, even in the winter, we are outdoors running quite a bit, so long as roads are safe. We may swap in some treadmill sessions over track in the winter months. And thru most winters, we’re still able to sneak out on the roads for rides 1-2x most weeks depending on weather patterns. Sometimes we’ll get slammed and be indoors for 2 weeks, but then we catch a good week and we’re outside for the entire week. In the summer, we’re almost entirely outdoors, but I still do 1x indoor trainer session. We have JD Crew group Zwift rides fortnightly, because it’s fun to connect with some of the athletes who aren’t local and let’s face it, trainer riding makes you strong! So even in summer, I’ll hit up the trainer once a week. Same with the treadmill. In summer, I’ll rotate in about one treadmill session per week. Sometimes because it’s just easy to lock in a pace and go on the treadmill. Other times, because I’ll hop on the Lever for some over-pace work, or to lighten the pounding on a recovery run. I’m #notsponsored by a smart trainer or treadmill company, so no shouts out there.

ST: The Ultraman World Championships take place over 3 days. How hard is it to get up each of these days to get fully motivated, and how important is the crew?

Dede: I was hugely motivated for this event, so I was really excited each day. And my crew? My crew! I had other athletes in the race ask if they could hire my crew in future years. My crew brought it 100% across each day of racing. The executed with military precision and a level of professionalism that made me both proud and inspired. At the same time? Every time my crew vehicle went by me, leap-frogging to the next stop, the laughter coming out the windows made me jealous. I’d said at the start that I was super serious about my intentions for the race. I wanted to win it, and I had some pretty unbelievable competition; Tara Norton? A 2x Ultraman World Champion. Leanda Cave? A 4 x World Champion across every distance in triathlon. I’ve been an athlete for most of my 52 years of life and I was a world champion at exactly NOTHING. I took everything about this event seriously. Including my crew selection, but I also told my crew, that for this event to be remotely tolerable? We had to make it FUN. And boy did they deliver. A perfect balance between professionalism, respect for the seriousness of the race, the severity of the challenge and humor and laughter all the way. I love the challenge of Ultraman and it takes you to some deep, dark places in your soul. But what I love most is that it takes our individual, and often times selfish sport and makes it a team event. And my team was World Championship caliber. I don’t say that I am a World Champion, I say that we are WORLD CHAMPIONS because my crew was 100% a part of the whole effort and experience; not just those 3 days, but in the build up to the race as well.

ST: Talk about the bike you rode and if you made any adjustments for the lang haul distance.

Dede: I rode a Trek Speed Concept. I’m not sponsored by Trek, but I love the bike, I ride it pretty OK, and while not properly sponsored, I’ve gotten a lot of help from the brand, as well as from the local Trek Shop in Boulder. They are very good to me.

I dressed my Speed Concept in a Hunt Aerodynamicist Carbon Tubeless wheel set.

I made exactly zero adjustments, other than I swapped out my aero helmet for an aero road helmet for cooling. That was at Matt Bottrill’s recommendation. He’d advised fellow Ultraman athlete Rob Gray, and Rob is a crazy successful Ultraman guy, so I appreciated the #protip.

ST: You also announce for IRONMAN and seem to enjoy that gig. How much time do you spend each year doing that?

Dede: As much time as they’ll allow me to! I really enjoy the commentary. I actually just listened to a podcast during our road trip, that went into detail about how much our commentary sucks. Thanks, guys. Appreciate it.

I take my commentary role very seriously. Live coverage of so many IRONMAN races is a real opportunity to showcase the talent and stories of the great athletes in our sport. I study for hours for each race, doing research on as many pros as I can to see what they’ve been up to and what might be relevant or fun to bring up during the coverage. I check their socials for what they’ve been up to and will reach out to them for anything they want to share about their preparations. I listen to podcasts they’ve done recently, if there are any. I chat with JD Crew squad-mates about their picks for a race to try to get a different point of view. During the race, I try to educate the viewers about things the pros are doing and hypothesize as to why that might be.

Ultimately, I am a huge fan of our sport, and being given the opportunity to celebrate the best in our sport executing their craft? It’s a joy and a privilege and I take that seriously. And yeah, sometimes I need to grow a thicker skin. Honestly, I love constructive feedback on things people would rather hear me talk about, when I mis-pronounce names, or mis-state stats. And I’ll be happy to debate tactics and opinions. That’s what it’s all about. But when someone just mouths off and says my voice sounds like nails on a chalkboard (true story), unfortunately, there’s not much I can do about the sound of my voice, and so that’s when I feel like it just gets nasty. But I love doing it and I’ll continue to be a part of that great team for as long as IRONMAN will have me. It’s a great opportunity and a great team.

I typically let the IRONMAN team know my own race schedule, and they do a wonderful job of slotting me in where it fits and doesn’t impact my racing or big training blocks, and then Julie does a wonderful job at making it fit with my training as well.

ST: Sometimes race announcers get mocked for certain things they say on air, but it is not easy to talk continuously for 5-12 hours depending on the race. Does it come naturally to you?

Dede: In some ways? Yes. And that was surprising to me. I’m actually quite introverted. I don’t like talking that much at all. But it all comes back to the fact that I am a diehard fan of our sport, so I get really fired up watching races unfold. I get really excited watching someone run thru the field or seeing someone smash a course record in a breakthrough performance. And I live and die with every puncture and bottle launch. I feel what the athletes are feeling because I’ve lived it so many times myself. Well, not running thru the field….I’ve never done that in my life, but I dare to dream. In very many ways, I do find talking for 5, 6, 9, 10 or 11 hours straight about triathlon and some of our sports greats easy. I get quite wrapped up in it.

I was asked to do a TED talk earlier this year and that was torture for me. I asked a lot of friends for a lot of help to prepare. They all seemed baffled by how I could be quite so flummoxed by talking for 15 minutes when I routinely talk for 10+ hours. But it’s the triathlon aspect that I love, so it comes easily when I’m talking about triathlon. Not so much so when it’s for social reasons, or to talk about myself. I’d sooner die.

ST: I think you were a vegan for a long time but now have returned to eating meat. When did you first start with the vegan lifestyle and what prompted you to return to meat? Or was this more so a floating not so strict situation?

Dede: I was a vegetarian, not a vegan. And that started back in high school and was as much born out of the fact that I went to boarding school and found most of the items in the hot food line to be rather unappetizing. Tuesday Mystery Meat? I never warmed to it. So I stuck to the safety of the salad bar and the cereal bins. It was a taste thing as much as anything. That became even more ingrained in college as well. I was picky about the quality of the food.

When I started racing triathlon, I got away with a shockingly poor diet. Not poor in that I was eating chips and Ben & Jerry’s every night, but poor in that I was not fueling properly with a variety of good nutritious foods. I ate for simplicity, speed and minimal fuss. And then I started getting injured. A lot. With the help of my fabulous doctor, we sorted that I was under fueling; not getting a good variety of nutrients and not getting enough protein. As such, my body was sort of eating itself and I was breaking down.

I started adding foods back into my diet that I’d originally scorned because they looked sad and sort of gray in the school cafeteria food line. Lo and behold? I stopped getting as injured as much. My energy was better and my performances started to improve.

I now look at nutrition like I look at my training. For example? I don’t love the track. But I know that track sessions are good for me and ultimately make me a better athlete. As far as performance goes? It’s a necessary evil so to speak. It is the same for me with fueling. I may not love everything I’m eating? But if it’s part of the process of making me a successful athlete? Then it’s what I will do.

I’ve taken a lot more control over the quality of foods I’m eating and how they are prepared. Partnering with Certified Piedmontese is an example of that. Beef was my #1 enemy thru my teens, twenties and really up until recently. It was chewy, fatty and it never set well in my stomach. But when I tried Certified Piedmontese beef. It really is better beef. It’s not just a slogan. It’s the truth. It makes a lot easier to fuel properly when your food sources are high quality, clean, good foods. They taste better and they fuel you better. This may seem Captain Obvious to most people, but it’s been a revelation to me. I just never bothered to give it much thought. It’s a journey for me and I’m still learning.

ST: In your house who cooks, and do you both enjoy the same type of meals?

Dede: I don’t cook toast. Truly. I’m disgraceful. My husband is the foodie. He gets it from his dad. His dad retired from his real job and in retirement, started working in the kitchen of his favorite restaurant in Washington DC. He’d eaten there for years for business lunches and dinners and had gotten to know the owners and the chef. He asked, somewhat sheepishly when he retired, if he could just sort of go hang out and chop a thing or two, stay out of the way and observe and learn. My husband is the same way. He really enjoys meal planning, preparation, presentation and all of that. I love that he loves it and I’m happy to have him take responsibility for most of it.

For several years, now, we’ve used meal kits for a few nights of the week: Sun Basket, Hello Fresh, Home Chef, etc. We rotate around so we get a variety. I pick the meals so we get things I won’t turn my nose at. Dave will eat anything. Except mushrooms. Don’t feed the kid a mushroom. The meal kits are so simple. Dave has a big and stressful day job, so using the kits takes some of the planning and shopping out of the mix, eliminating some stress and time from the equation. We’ll spend 20-30 minutes in the kitchen together making dinner. I’ll chop a thing or two to try to be helpful. Sometimes I’ll intentionally stuff something up so he’ll just kick me out and take over. It’s actually a great way to unwind our day and spend some time together and I’m getting better nutrition all at the same time. You won’t find me working in a restaurant kitchen any time soon, though.

ST: Well, is there anything else we should know?

Dede: 425 miles to go!

The post Up Close with Dede Griesbauer first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

We had a few words with him about work, racing, training and fun.

ST: Thank you for your time Anthony.

Anthony Chan: It’s an absolute pleasure, Herbert. I have been reading your articles since discovering triathlon and Slowtwitch.com in the early 2010’s, so you can imagine my excitement when you reached out!

ST: You are too kind. What are you currently getting ready for? But I don’t just mean races, however that is of course acceptable too.

Anthony: This is an excellent question, but since this is ST, I feel like the most appropriate answer would be my 2023 lineup of triathlon races. Since we are nearly through December, the remainder of the year will be unstructured and focused on spending more time with family and friends. My first triathlon race of 2023 will be Ironman 70.3 Oceanside, followed by 70.3 Hawaii, Ironman Lake Placid, and then the 70.3 World Championship in Lahti. After that, all racing will take a backseat, as my fiancé and I will be celebrating our wedding December.

ST: Congrats to both of you, but honeymoon where?

Anthony: This is a work in progress, and we are narrowing down our top choices. If I had to put money on it, the honeymoon will take us to multiple parts of Asia/Southeast Asia.

ST: Tell us about your athletic background.

Anthony: I spent the majority of my youth trying all different sports, but the one that stuck for a while was tennis. I played in high school and college, and competed in a few local tournaments, but mainly, it was just a lot of rallying with friends. In the early 2010’s, I felt that I needed more endurance for tennis, so I took up running. That move snowballed into joining a local competitive running team in New York City, called the Dashing Whippets. Fun fact…It was on this team in 2011, where I briefly met Sarah Piampiano before she ran a blistering fast time at Brooklyn Half Marathon, and for me, breaking 1:30 for the first time.

Fast forward to 2012, I joined Team REFUEL, which was later rebranded as Team Chocolate Milk, and raced my first 140.6 at Ironman Lake Placid. The mass swim start was still in effect, and it was exhilarating racing with thousands of athletes. Simply put, I was hooked on triathlon, and permanently hung up my tennis racquets. Since then, I have spent the majority of the last 10 years racing triathlon, including 3 Ironman World Championships (2014 & 2016 Kona, 2022 St. George). Some of my favorite memories are from training sessions with friends, which is the primary reason why I keep training and racing.

ST: Recently you ran the California International Marathon, and it looked like you had fun.

Anthony: Ah yes, CIM! This was my third time running the event and my three fastest marathon PR’s were all executed at CIM, from 2:38 last year, 2:42 in 2019, and the most recent 2:48. This race is a no-brainer because the trip to Sacramento is a good excuse to visit my future in-laws, and spend quality time with family and friends. CIM had over 8 thousand finishers this year, which was a record for the event, as it continues to grow annually.

ST: Born and raised in New York City you now live in Southern California. When and why the move?

Anthony: That’s right – I am New York City born and raised and spent the first 27 years of life navigating the concrete jungle and living the daily grind. After spending hundreds of hours NYC Subway surfing, I traded it in for actual surfing, and moved to San Diego in December 2017. The reality was that I was starting to feel the burnout from “Live to Work” and wanted to flip the narrative to “Work to Live”. It has been a half a decade since moving to San Diego, and I have not once considered moving back to the City that Never Sleeps, primarily attributed to the multitude of amazing people, close-knit friends, and meeting my future wife! Although you can take the boy out of the city, you can’t take the city out of the boy. Inherently, I still grind and try to make the most of each day, like I did in NYC, but with a few tweaks to ensure long-term sustainability.

ST: Tell us about your day job.

Anthony: I am a career auditor, and my title is Senior Global Internal Auditor at Topgolf Callaway Brands (TC Brands), formerly known as Callaway Golf Company. TB Brands includes companies such as Callaway Golf, Topgolf, TravisMathew, OGIO, and Jack Wolfskin, which provides a suite of synergies between brands. The Global Internal Audit department is involved in all aspects of the company, as we provide a risk-based approach to provide assurance over the operating effectiveness of our company’s key processes, internal controls, and corporate governance. Our internal audit team is lean, but we are trained to add value through providing an independent and objective evaluations of financial and operational business activities. Ultimately, I spend the majority of my time in front of my computer or in collaborative meetings.

ST: You have been pacer in the NYC Marathon for quite some time now. How did that start?

Anthony: Before pacing the NYC Marathon, I had paced a few other local tri-state area (NY, NJ, CT) races, such as the New Jersey Marathon and Brooklyn Half. In 2015, with a good track record of pacing other events, I was invited to pace the NYC Marathon, 3:25 finish group. Shoutout to Steven Mura, Manager of Runner Training and Education at NYRR, for the opportunity to do it every year since! That year, I finished in 3:24:43, which was within our finish range of 3:24:30 to 3:25:00. The following year, I graduated to the 3:10 group. Then in 2017, I moved up to 3:05. From 2018 onward, I have been the 3-hour finish pacer, which is one of the key highlights of each year, mainly because I get to give back to the international running community by guiding runners from start to finish. The best feeling is when days and weeks after the marathon, and you get an email, direct message, or Strava comment, from a fellow runner who reaches out to say that they hit their goal time because of the pace team.

ST: As a pacer what has been the biggest group you have led?

Anthony: Since 2018, I have earned my spot at the 3-hour mark, but I started at the 3:30’s and worked my way up. The largest groups are definitely largest at major marathons, where I would say that our group balloons up to the hundreds. Law of diminishing returns always comes into play at the latter stages of the marathon, and our large group normally dwindles to a handful of athletes by the time we reach the finishing line. becomes much smaller.

ST: What is the closest you have arrived in terms of finish time closest to that 3-hour mark?

Anthony: As far as pacing goes, and specifically to the TCS New York City Marathon, the 3-hour group aims for 30 seconds under, so the goal is to cross the finishing line with a net time of 2:59:30. We are also instructed to run an even effort, which allows for a small variance of goal pace versus actual pace. In the 2022 edition of the NYC Marathon, I had a net time of 2:59:31, so I missed the goal time by 1-second. To help me rationalize an almost perfect execution, I like to point out that my co-pacer, Justin Wood, ran a net time of 2:59:29, so if you average out our times, you’ll arrive at 2:59:30! Our goal is consistency, so if you do a historical lookback, you will find that Justin and I have been pacing together since 2018, with finish times within 10 seconds of our goal.

2022 2:59:31
2021 2:59:26
2019 2:59:31
2018 2:59:21

ST: But you aren’t just a runner. Tell us about your triathlon exploits.

Anthony: That is true indeed. Like I mentioned earlier, I was hooked on triathlon quickly after I started running. Triathlon has been an important part of my life (and lifestyle) for the past decade. I have been fortunate to have raced in cool places like Zell Am See, Austria, and Lake Placid, New York.

ST: How many times to Kona?

Anthony: Two and shooting for a third! I first raced Kona in 2014, and then came back in 2016, both of which were long days. In 2021, I qualified for Kona, but since that race was canceled, I ended up deferring to 2022 St. George World Championship. I have some unfinished business and would like to race Kona for a third time – let’s hope 2024 is the year with the recent announcement of the 2023 Men’s race taking place in another location.

ST: How do you feel about that split?

Anthony: This may come off as blunt, but it doesn’t really matter how I feel about the split in location. I do think it will provide the female athletes an immense platform as they get first dibs at Kona 2023. If 2022 IMWC – Day 1 was an appetizer, 2023 IMWC with women only will be exponentially more exciting. Ultimately, IRONMAN is a business and they (the board, senior leadership, and WC team) are the ones that have the ability to drive the ship as they see fit. I am not one to complain and knowing that change is the only constant, I’m actually very excited to see it unfold and be part of the new format.

ST: Talk about your race bike and how it is set up?

Anthony: The race bike is a Quintana Roo V-PR, which is set up with a SRAM AXS Red 12-speed drivetrain, HED Vanquish wheels, ISM saddle, and Look Keo pedals. I have been fortunate to be one of QR’s ambassadors, which has given me a direct line of feedback with the folks at American Bicycle Group. I have been riding the V-PR since the latter half of 2021 and it is an absolute joy to ride – it’s lightweight, aero, responsive, and simple to travel with. The setup of the bike doesn’t change often, since I prefer to set and forget, and focus on riding. On race day, the frame bottle cages are removed for the aero gains, a between the arms bottle is installed, along with a rear disc wheel if allowed.

ST: How much of your training is done outdoors versus indoors, and has that changed much since moving to California?

Anthony: I think I may receive some envious responses when I say that 100% of my training is done outdoors. But that reality is, that was one of the major reasons for my move from NYC to San Diego. I enjoy riding my bike in any condition, and although I am aware than indoor training is more effective for time crunched and specific interval workouts, there is nothing that parallels the feeling of riding outdoors. In NYC, my riding was split approximately 50% indoors and 50% outdoors, but given the temperate climate in southern California, I opt for outside. So whether I am commuting to the office, running errands, executing interval workouts, or a chatty coffee spin, you’ll find me outside!

ST: Is there anything else we should know?

Anthony: Yes! Shameless plug, but this is for the Triathlon Club of San Diego (TCSD). I am currently on the board of directors for TCSD, and we support our community by providing support for athletes of all abilities, frequent social events, races and training groups. So if you are ever in the San Diego area, be sure to reach out to me or find a TCSD member. And if you stay long enough, you won’t want to leave.

The post Marathon Man Anthony Chan first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

Slowtwitch: Thank you so much for your time Kat.

Kat Matthews: Not at all, it is a privilege you think the Slowtwitch audience is interested in my thoughts.

ST: A car crashed into you late in September while you were out on a training ride and we would love to hear where you are now in terms of recovery.

Kat: I am currently writing this 8-weeks after the incident and I am back moving. I am completely functional in an active lifestyle however I am not back to training yet. However, my perspective of what training looks like is perhaps quite specific as a professional athlete.

ST: What is your specific perspective of training?

Kat: A very fair follow up to my vagueness in the previous question! Upon reflection perhaps training should not be so specified, and more of a spectrum. My hesitance to accept I am currently training is more of a psychological protection perhaps? To allow myself more time, where recovery is the focus not progressive swim, bike, run overload. I think training would be where I felt I was fulfilling a weekly schedule of sessions and held back by training fatigue not anxiety over pain or overload currently from the incident.

ST: How big of a group were you and what do you still remember from that day?

Kat: I was not cycling in a group at the time of the incident, however there were two friends/parts of the training group also on the same road at the same time. My memory of the morning is intact up until the incident. I had not the best morning, the pressure of Hawaii was rising, I was not feeling my best and I knew the day held some high training expectations. I briefly stopped for a quick gas station iced coffee and it was within 10 minutes after this I must have been hit. I have no recollection of the incident other than perhaps fabricated memories from the witness statements. I was just cycling along the side of the road as usual and without concern for the cars coming on the opposite side of the road (why would I). A driver turned across my direction/lane of the road (to a church car park) and collided with me. I was thrown over the windscreen/side of the car, landing on the road, I believe, clipped into my bike.

ST: Rumor has it that you were quite feisty and somewhat unaware after the crash.

Kat: The rumor is as you and I am told.

ST: What did Patrick Lange say to you after, and it appears that he took it very hard.

Kat: You will have to ask him what he said. I would not comment on how he “took it”.

ST: You were a favorite for the title in Kona, but sadly that all was gone. What emotions were going through your head when it was clear that racing in Kona would have to wait at least another year?

Kat: Sadness, grief. Nothing else, just loss. Loss of the opportunity, loss of the time I had invested, loss for my team, husband, coach, and friends. Oh, and rather a lot of pain, although that was well controlled for most of my memories.

ST: You ended up traveling to Kona anyhow with a big neck brace and support from friends and your husband. How much effort and pain medication did it take to get you to Kona from Texas?

Kat: Honestly, it was no effort on my part and no increase in pain medication. Mark, my husband, arranged everything. He packed, arranged, drove, coordinated prescription collection, new accommodation plan etc. I kept my original flight plans, car hire. It was easier to go to Hawaii than it would have been to arrange new travel plans home for us and for my training partner Ruth Astle. I was comfortable and well supported. It was much more fun than dealing with the situation, sulking, going home. I slept a lot on the travel and the energy of the Island saved my morale, I think.

ST: A positive morale while not easy to have, likely helped here.

Kat: Of course, a positive morale helps in any life situation. To activate a positive moral, you need a strong support network as well as the mental agility. I was in the best possible situation to enable this, surrounded by friends and understanding, supportive peers in the sport. I mean, a holiday in Hawaii is not exactly a hardship many would struggle with!

ST: Your friend and team-mate Chelsea Sodaro ended up with a fantastic win in the women’s race. Where were you during that race and what did you say to her after?

Kat: So, so happy for her. I was moving around, I spent time in the race center, in the commentary booth, in the AC of the hotel and chatted with Chelsea’s parents. I did not see her on the day after the race and would not have wanted to encroach on her family time celebrating but Mark and I did spend the evening with her and her family later in the week basking in her success.

ST: Did you spend as much time out during the men’s race where Maxxy Neumann had a superb day too.

Kat: Honestly, I spent more time out during the Men’s race. At that stage in my recovery 2 days made a big difference to my fatigue levels. I also found the later stages of the Women’s race emotionally challenging because I found myself putting myself in the race scenario. However, I could just fully enjoy the Men’s race with my friends and just cheer! We positioned ourselves well, right outside Lava Java, enabling excellent breaks for their iced coffees when required!

ST: How much time did you spend there in total and what is occupying you now?

Kat: I spent the full planned 10 days there. The last few days after the Men’s race did drag a little but they were planned as I would have hoped to be recovering myself. I couldn’t really enjoy the fun adventurous parts of the island as I was still very restricted in my activity levels and energy.

“Occupying” sounds rather sad. I am a professional athlete and what occupied me a few months ago and what occupies me now is really identical, 14 waking hours of the day to optimize performance. My level of performance is obviously reduced and so training structure, duration etc is changed. The other elements are all there; focus on appropriate fueling, appropriate training/progression, appropriate recovery/rest, admin, studying, planning… etc .

ST: What is a typical training week for you like and how much of it is generally indoors versus outside?

Kat: I am assuming you mean prior to the incident. I do not have a typical training week. I feel us pros are constantly trying to dispel this myth of typical because that is the nature of elite sport, adaptation and flexibility. I swim 5x, bike 5x and run maybe 3x. Perhaps. These sessions vary from 45mins- 3.5hrs. Under my coach, Bjorn Geesman, I often do a 3-4 day training block and then a day off.

I have barely trained indoor in 2022, although I will be doing so over the next 2 months more due to the weather and the reduced requirement to go away on a training camp as it is easier to optimize the load at home at the moment.

ST: And what is your indoor setup like?

Kat: I have a treadmill from Zwift, and also a team turbo trainer set up ready to go. A small fan, headphones and easy reach to my phone for moments of boredom. Scattered around the house I have a lacrosse ball (for some trigger point massage), a foam roller and currently different colors of Theraband to entice me into some quick rehab post incident, not normal. If I feel the need to do strength work, I will go to the gym. I can’t motivate myself at home to do home based sessions or any core etc.

ST: Looking back at the sub-8 challenge, that was quite something in terms of speed and execution and it seems that day was super memorable for you also.

Kat: Yep, It was. I considered the opportunity to do it very seriously and looking back I can’t believe I even had to think about it. I did not expect it to be such an incredible experience. The team element to achieve something never achieved before really motivated me.

ST: Do you think more is possible?

Kat: With regards to the time, of course, more is always possible. I had raced St George IMWC just 4 weeks before, I was the limiter on the swim, bike and the run. We could do it every section faster in theory. My interest from the Sub8 project lies not with a repeat similar situation but fulfilling the boundaries broken in a real race, where I go Sub8 solo. I had considered racing IM Cozumel this year after Kona to do exactly this [makes sad face]. I fear I will be beaten to it perhaps.

ST: Well, folks had the opportunity to do that in Cozumel before.

Kat: True, but I believe it is not just a barrier broken for one person. When barriers are broken it opens the opportunity to all to now see what is possible. However, I think my run really solidifies my ability to be a fast IRONMAN distance triathlete, being able to run a 2:40-something off the bike I think is a key part of the ongoing Sub8 challenge, only a couple of Ladies have shown that yet. I’d like to add that this idea of a record attempt is only a small motivator for me. It is main competition – the IM World Champs that really drives me, not chasing a TT.

ST: Let us also talk about St. George. You ended up behind Ryf on this challenging course, but you gave notice with a very fine result against tough competition.

Kat: I was unwell a month before St George. I arrived in the USA hoping I was totally physically recovered and I was able to put in some training sessions in the 2 weeks prior to the race. I had a lot of confidence from my race in 70.3 Lanzarote – 6 weeks before St George and knew that if I could perform to my potential on race day I would win. Daniela had an outstanding race and I was more pleased for her that she was healthy and fit than I was at all negative about being beaten. I think it showed me and perhaps others, that even on a bad day where I under-performed on the bike (personal data) and run, I can be competitive and that I can win.

ST: Is there anything else we should know?

Kat: Coming from a Physiotherapist background I can’t imagine anyone else in a better position to deal with this multi-faceted high trauma injury. My mental health fluctuates day to day, but over the week my steadfastness in optimism is overarching.

ST: Did you not just receive a big honor?

Kat : I was shortlisted, along with 3 other highly successful Army athletes, to be considered for The British Army; SportsWoman of the Year. I believe the results were decided a few weeks ago (so regardless of the bike incident) but I was announced live on stage this week as the winner for 2022. The 2nd at the IMWC and the Sub8 success were large parts of the award win. I have been involved in Army Sport for the last 8 years, since joining the Army, starting triathlon and climbing through the sport. The award recognizes success at any sport, of which the Army participates in basically every sport. So it truly is a real honor! I am mainly rewarded by the amount of my military peers reassuring me that it was a deserved win and how important my role was for all in Army Sport as a role model.

ST: That is fantastic.

You can follow Kat Matthews on Instagram via @katr_matthews

The post Onwards and Upwards for Kat Matthews first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

Slowtwitch: Thank you for your time Tom.

Tom De Bruyn: Thank you for giving the opportunity to share my story.

ST: You had a great race in Kona, but where are you now and what are you up to?

Tom: Thank you. I’m back in San Francisco and taking some time to switch my focus to other things. Re-balancing a bit after a big focus on training and triathlon. Enjoying good food, pastries and hiking with my fiancé.

ST: How much of a rest do you usually give yourself after a full IRONMAN and is it different when it is late in the year like with Kona?

Tom: I take at least 4 weeks off with just very light training, usually followed by another 2 weeks of very moderate intensity before going back to full training. My IRONMAN races are typically late in the year. This year was an exception with IM St George, after which I took almost 2 weeks off from structured training.

ST: When did you arrive in Kona this year and how ready did you feel?

Tom: My friend Justin and I arrived 2 weeks out. I worked remotely for one week and we had a very relaxing time. We aligned our sessions and enjoyed the island. Race week was definitely more hectic with all the social commitments and the events. After racing in Santa Cruz (4 weeks prior to Kona) I felt confident my fitness was there, but I was still a bit anxious to deliver on the high expectations I set for myself.

ST: What were those expectations?

Tom: My big dream was to podium in Kona and to see where I would stack up against the top amateurs in the world.

ST: Did you scout the competition prior to race day or is that something you generally ignore?

Tom: Not really. After not racing in Kona for 3 years, it’s pretty hard to know who would show up on the big stage. I knew a few guys who are usually up there but didn’t scout the competition. Race yourself and within yourself.

ST: Let us start with the swim. How did it go for you?

Tom: I’m not really the strongest swimmer. I had a massive focus on my swim in training with much bigger volume than usual. I felt good during the swim and swam relatively conservative (6/10 effort). I was able to hold someone’s feet for probably 3500m after a pretty hectic start. I made my time goal of 1 hour and was stoked.

ST: What about the bike segment?

Tom: I biked pretty aggressive. I knew I had to make up time and didn’t really hold back. I had some company for the first 25 miles but soon I found myself alone keeping a steady tempo. I caught up to a group of 5/6 guys on the climb to Hawi and made some great tactical decisions to stay with the front 2. At the turnaround we were in first place. I took the reins on the downhill from Hawi and only 1 person was able to stay with me. Besides missing an aid station at miles 70, I stayed within my means. The guy who was still with me raced fair and we shared the work for most of the final 35 miles home. In summary, I stuck to my nutrition plan, felt good throughout and raced smart.

ST: Maybe you can share some of your bike details with us. How is it set up?

Tom: I have a FELT FRD with custom Aerocoach front set. My wheels are ENVE SES 7.8 with tubeless continental GP5000 (90psi, width 25 mm). I carry 2 bottles behind my seat and have my aero bottle between my arms. My group set is SRAM RED 12 speed with a single (52) front chain ring. I rode 260 NP with average HR 153.

ST: When did you take the lead in your age group and did you actually know for sure?

Tom: Our AG was the first AG to go behind the pro field so it was pretty easy to know my position. I was in the lead from the turnaround on the bike. I though the guy who rode back with me to T2 was also in my age group and didn’t realize until much later he wasn’t. My lead out of T2 was about 2 minutes on the next AG athlete. I consistently extended that lead to about 7 minutes at the energy lab when I realized things had to go seriously wrong to miss out on the win.

ST: Which running shoes did you use? And did you use any specific cooling strategies?

Tom: I used Nike Next%, and I use a cooling T-shirt to protect me from the heat and keep my core temperature down. It looks pretty ridiculous and people have made fun of me throughout the years, but many came back from that and started copying it.

ST: How did you celebrate your win?

Tom: The next day with had a fun team happy hour with the Every Man Jack triathlon team to celebrate all the achievements of the team and thank our amazing support crew. That party was followed with the award ceremony and a wild party at Huggo’s.

ST: What is your definition of wild?

Tom: [laughs] We partied until the early morning while drinking Mai Tais and dancing and jumping like teenagers on sore legs. It was super fun to hang out with all the teammates and being surrounded by a bunch of pro athletes who were also letting go.

ST: Your background is soccer. Tell us a bit more about that and to what level and age you did that?

Tom: I grew up playing soccer from when I was only a few years old. I played with my friends and many of us made it to the first team when we got older. I stopped playing when I was at the university around age 27.

ST: Not even a bit of soccer now?

Tom: I tried to keep it going when I moved to England from Belgium but soon realized it was not the same anymore. I enjoyed some occasional pickup games in Manchester but that completely disappeared as well after moving to California. I don’t really miss it. It was a big part of my life and it was my social network when I was younger, but I guess that’s what triathlon has become now.

ST: How did you find triathlon?

Tom: My friend who lived in San Diego and who I followed on Strava inspired me. When I moved from Manchester, England to San Francisco, I needed a new support/social network. I followed adult swim lessons back in England and bought a road bike with my signing bonus. I joined a local triathlon team (SF Tri Club) and started exploring the sport.

ST: At what point did you realize you were good at this?

Tom: Am I? [laughs] I guess I realized I was not bad when I qualified for Kona in my first IRONMAN and was accepted to join the Every Man Jack race team soon after. The guys on this team had inspired me to become a stronger athlete for almost 2 years.

ST: What is your day job?

Tom: I’m a scientist for a biotechnology company. We aim to discover and develop new drugs for a variety of indications such as cancer.

ST: Talk about your training and training volume when you are preparing for a big race.

Tom: I train about 20 hours per week with double workouts before and after work almost every day. I try to keep a good balance between social workouts and structured training in more specific key sessions. I train almost exclusively outside and I love to build in specific training camps.

ST: That sounds like quite a load. What about rest?

Tom: I sleep about 8 hours per day. During the weekends I sometimes take a nap as well. I get a weekly massage and do daily mobility routines. I use my Normatec recovery boots and drink a smoothie after key sessions. I don’t really take days off but have a lot of easier days where I just get some easy volume in.

ST: You mentioned swimming as your weakness. What are you doing about it?

Tom: I started swimming more consistently and increased my volume to anywhere between 15 and 20km per week. I also joined a master swim group to get some advice on technique and to be able to swim faster people once in a while.

ST: Please describe one of your harder swim sets.

Tom: If I can do something like this set, I know I’m in decent IM shape
800 WU with drills – 4 x 200 pull on 2:55 (form based)
4 x 400 Descend swim from 5:35 on 5:25 on 6 min
5 x 200 hold 2:40 on 2:55
6 x 100 hold 1:17 on 1:25
200 EZ

ST: Is there anything else we should know?

Tom: I have an amazing fiancé and incredible team mates who have helped to get that Kona bowl. This journey has been amazing and I would like to thank everyone who supported me to chase that crazy dream. At the end of the day, it’s not about the trophy but about the journey and the people.

You can follow Tom De Bruyn via @tomdebruyn1985 on Instagram.

The post From Soccer to Triathlon Champion first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

It is very easy to have tunnel vision when you are in the final stages of such a big event and that does not mean you are not a good person if you did not notice what is going on near you, but when you are aware and can help – be like Devin Volk.

We had a chat with the fast Oregon resident about racing, training and much more.

Slowtwitch: Thank you for your time Devin.

Devin Volk: Happy to be here Herbert. Hope you are doing well after your travels.

ST: You now had a few weeks to decompress and we would like to know how are you feeling right now?

Devin: Doing pretty well. I have been taking some time off and doing normal people things on the weekends with my partner, which is a very nice change of pace.

ST: I believe you grew up in Oregon but are now a California man.

Devin: Yep yep. I am a Corvallis, Oregon native and then went to California for University at Cal Poly, SLO. But I am now back in Oregon and living the dream in Bend.

ST: Talk about your athletic background.

Devin: I did a variety of team sports growing up, but settled on soccer, cross country, alpine ski racing, and track as a senior in high school. Swam a little bit until two-a-day practices became a thing in 6th grade and I convinced my parents to let me quit in favor of playing basketball. Started triathlon when I went to Cal Poly after I found out that I was too slow to run for the track and cross-country teams and I saw a video of Kona on YouTube. I knew absolutely nothing about the sport but wanted to push myself and try something new. I saw that Cal Poly had a collegiate team, so I did my first sprint triathlon the week before driving down to school to make sure it was something I would be interested in. It went absolutely terribly, but I was hooked. They tried to pull me out of the swim, and I had to do breaststroke and back stroke to finish. Rode on a road bike that my friend's dad gave me a few days before the race. It was two sizes too big with downtube shifters and toe cages, which was perfect because I raced in my high school track singlet and shorts with sneakers. I did end up setting the run course record and climbed my way up through the field a bit, which definitely gave me some hope that there was potential for me in the sport.

ST: At what point did you take it serious with triathlon?

Devin: I always had goals and worked purposefully towards them, even from the beginning but I didn’t really know what I was doing or how much work was required until 2017. That’s when I really started to look into coaching methods for triathlon and what the top guys in the sport were doing. I still wasn’t doing high volume per say, around 12-14 hours per week, but I it felt like I was really getting after it and pushing the edge of over training. In 2019, I started working with Hurley and found out that what I thought was serious wasn’t actually that serious, and things have progressed each year since. I am now doing twice as much volume as I was in college but feel just as dedicated. To me, being serious is more of a mental approach to your sessions and season as opposed to any specific hour requirement or plan.

ST: How much time do you spend skiing these days?

Devin: Unfortunately, I haven’t logged many days on the slopes the past few years compared to my high school days. That will definitely change this season as I live only 35 minutes from my favorite Oregon mountain, Mt. Bachelor, and will be doing some work for Oregon Adaptive Sports this winter as a guide and ski buddy to people with disabilities.

ST: Let us talk Kona 2022. When did you arrive there?

Devin: My partner and I arrived late Friday night about a week before the race. Both our flights were delayed, so we arrived about seven hours later than anticipated, so we got to our accommodations around midnight Hawaii time. The bike was ok though and that is all that really matters!

ST: Did you feel well prepared and properly rested?

Devin: Definitely. With only one other race all year, which was my first IRONMAN at the St. George IRONMAN World Champs, my coach, Matt Hurley from Wyld Endurance, and I focused the entire season on Kona. We had months of preparation specifically designed around getting me ready to have my best day when it counted. I also had the incredible opportunity to train with Chelsea Sodaro in Kona during her lead up, which prepared me about as good as anyone could have hoped for. Not only for the conditions, but for the distance as well. I hit lifetime power numbers on the bike, got absolutely hammered in the pool, and was pushed to the edge during every hard run. After camp, I had a nice taper into the race, Norwegian style, with a big day, for me, on the Monday before the race. I did a 3-hour ride with intervals from IRONMAN to FTP and a run of the bike with threshold reps.

ST: What is your connection to Chelsea?

Devin: Honestly, prior to a month before Hawaii, none. Chelsea and my coach go back some time to their purple patch fitness days and I obviously knew of her from her results, though I had never spoken with her. One day I got a message in a group chat between my coach, myself, and a number I didn’t know asking if I was interested in doing a pre-Kona camp with the sender claiming to be Chelsea. I actually thought it was another guy on the EMJ team messing with me. It turned out to be a serious offer and the opportunity of a lifetime!

ST: Did you attend any of the pre-race events or gatherings?

Devin: As part of the Every Man Jack team, we all did the underpants run. I also did the Sunday swim as a very easy lap of the course to get accustomed to it. They were both pretty good ways to have some fun and relax.

ST: Talk about your race and how it unfolded.

Devin: Started the day feeling very relaxed and confident in my prep. Once I was in the water, I was surprised by how the first few hundred meters went. I heard that Kona was a bloodbath in the water, even with the wave start, but I don’t think I was really touched by anyone the entire swim. The plan was to swim very easy for me, 58-60 minutes, and I found myself sitting on the back of a 3-4 person train for about the last 2.5km. Getting out, I was feeling fresh and flew through transition. I think I put roughly a minute on all the top guys in the age group, which will be important information later. Starting the bike I was having a blast going through the lines of spectators cheering and saw my partner, parents, and the 30 other EMJ dudes who were racing on Saturday. I rode the first half completely alone and didn’t really see anyone in my AG. Only a couple guys passed me early and they absolutely flew by. When I hit the turn-around I was feeling excellent having nailed my nutrition plan of 1.35L of plain water an hour and 90-120g carbs. I caught a small group and spent the rest of the ride leapfrogging from small group to small group. The plan was to hold back the first two hours and then ride the last 3 aggressively, especially the section from mile 60-100, which notoriously has a headwind and breaks people. I was basically building the entire ride. I finished the bike with Timmo and started the run absolutely over the moon that I was not throwing up like in St. George. I ripped the first 5km even though I was trying to hold back but the crowds got to me and I was feeling great. I was on a mission to put together a solid marathon. I ran up into the top five before 20km and was still feeling good but then Timmo passed me and things got interesting. I caught back up entering the Energy Lab and put around 40” into him by the turn around. He powered back to me climbing out, which was insanely impressive, and put 10” on me. I was ready to throw in the towel but thinking about how much my partner sacrificed to put up with my ridiculous training schedule got me through. It would have been so disrespectful to her if I gave anything less than my best. Timmo and I went shoulder to shoulder for about 7km coming back to Palani. I attacked him three times and he answered every time without any visible effort. Then, shortly after going through an aid station that had nothing ready for us because the volunteers were overwhelmed by the amount of athletes running the other direction who needed support he finally cracked. I made it to the top of Palani and had to stop because my hamstring was fully cramped. I stretched it out and got another cup of ice from the man, the myth, the legend, Jan Frodeno and made it to the finish a mere 45 seconds ahead of TImmo.

ST: As you crossed the finish, other than the race clock time and Mike Reilly, what caught your eye?

Devin: I actually didn’t see my finish time and didn’t even hear Mike Reilly say the words. All I was thinking about was the athlete on the ground and if I was going to be able to help her without cramping again. She was clearly showing signs of a potentially serious medical emergency and needed someone to check on her. I asked her if she needed help and when she didn’t answer or show any signs of having heard me, I grabbed her and somehow managed to get her across the line where medical was waiting. I still don’t know where that strength came from.

As an aside, a teammate in college collapsed before the finish at Collegiate Nationals in Alabama. She stood up and fell backwards, stood up and fell backwards. Then she did not move. We were screaming at medical support to go get her, but they did nothing. So another teammate and I, who were both EMT’s at the time, jumped the fence and carried her straight into the med tent where she had a core temperature of 108F. That is potential brain damage territory and it took her months to recover. You know what other spectators yelled at us while we ran to her, “don’t touch her or she will be disqualified.” Personally, I think that athlete safety is more important than finishing any event.

ST: Did you see her after and was she feeling better?

Devin: She and her coach reached out to me the next day and let me know that she was thankfully alright and planned on going to the awards to stand on the podium for her age group.

ST: What equipment did you use in the race (swim, bike and run and ideally more details are better)?

Devin: As a member of team Every Man Jack, I used a Roka Viper Pro sleeved swim skin with Roka R1 cobalt mirrored goggles. Felt IA rim break with Enve 7.8’s, running Ultegra Di2, 55/39, and Silica Super Secret chain waxed on a SRAM PC-1170 (Rival), with 110mm rise aluminum extensions. I was in a Wyn Republic Velocity+ 2.0 and wore the Louis Garneau P-09 helmet with Roka SR-1X sunglasses. For the run, I used the original Nike Alpha Fly with brand new Nike racing ankle socks because they are faster to put on than the Wyn republic socks I use everyday. The team sponsor for nutrition is GU and I only used gels and water the whole race. 75mg of caffeine total for the day and it was in one gel on the bike around the 3-hour mark.

ST: What tire width, and did you go with tubes or tubeless?

Devin: I rode the 25mm Vittoria Corsa Speed TLR 2.0’s set up tubeless with 60ml of orange seal. I ran them around 82-85psi as suggested by the Silca tire rolling resistant calculator for my system weight and road conditions.

ST: Talk about your day job.

Devin: In addition to coaching, I currently work for Columbia Sportswear here in Bend, OR part time. However, I am looking into doing a coding course the start of next year with the hopes of getting a job being a front end developer for a fitness related company like Garmin and continue to grow as a coach. We’ll see what happens!

ST: And what is next?

Devin: Not sure exactly. Season is done for me and I am looking forward to hitting the slopes and taking a step back from training a bit. Focusing on building out my coaching business, send me an email at projectendurance3@gmail.com if you are interested in having a discussion about coaching. As far as next season, the plan is to hit the pool pretty hard during the winter and see if I can make a big improvement in the water. That will determine which direction I go next year. I might try and step into the pro field over the 70.3 distance or maybe focus on going to Finland and having a good result there as an amateur.

ST: Is there anything else we should know?

Devin: I guess one piece of advice I’d have for someone starting to take triathlon, or any sport more seriously is to relax. Don’t let the stress of expectation derail your focus when things don’t go as planned. You are going to have sessions that don’t go as planned, you may get sick and miss days or weeks, or have a race that goes completely sideways. Trust that you are making forward progress and let the results come to you. You can’t force it.

The post Be Like Devin Volk first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

We sat down with Max to learn more about him, his race and much more.

Slowtwitch: Thank you for your time Max.

Max Neumann: No problem, thanks for having me on

ST: You had a fabulous race in Kona but we would love to hear how you felt about your grand day out.

Max: Yeah, Kona is definitely something special. This race comes with a lot more pressure and expectation, not only from sponsors etc. but mainly from yourself. You invest so much time and energy into this race. To be honest the main driving force to have a good result was so we could enjoy the week on the island after the race. I don’t think it would have been as fun if we had of placed outside of our expectations.

ST: Well did you enjoy the week after?

Max: To be honest it is quite hard to really enjoy yourself post Ironman with the blistering sun burn and swollen feet. But we definitely tried our best. It was my mum’s 60th so we still had a good old time.

ST: When did you arrive in Kona and did you feel healthy and well prepared?

Max: We arrived 11 days out from the race. Coming from Australia was actually quite easy with direct 9-hour flights from Sydney. The time zone here is very similar to back home so we more just came early to experience the course and vibe of the race. We spent the first week down on Alii. Then when the masses arrived, we retreated up to the hills out of town to keep it nice and relaxed. The preparation for this race was near on perfect with zero time off due to sickness or injury.

ST: Your team-mate Chelsea Sodaro won the women’s title 2 days prior to your race. Did she give you any words of advice?

Max: I basically watched the entire women’s race and to see Chelsea execute one of the better races I’ve ever seen on the island was definitely a confidence booster. She really looked after herself out there in the heat and kept herself in the game the entire day only hitting the front when it mattered.

ST: Talk about the swim.

Max: I had a little bit more confidence in my swim after a decent effort in the training swim the week before. So I knew I was swimming just fine. I know too well though that sometimes race day throws you a curve ball and you have to really work to stay in contact with that front bunch. Luckily it felt cruisy and there was no one really prepared to sacrifice some energy to get a little gap. The big number of people in the front group was expected but yeah that definitely won’t happen in 2023 from what I’ve heard.

ST: Why is that?

Max: Most of the field were Kona rookies and I guess they were all holding back a bit. But now that people have seen how you can really use the swim to completely change a race, I believe it will be swum a lot harder

ST: We would love to know what one of your harder swim set looks like in the pool.

Max:
1000 mixed warm up
10x50s explode
Main set
(4×25 max @30- 200 race effort) 100 easy X10
100 easy
800 descend pull paddles
200 wd

ST: After the swim you had a speedy transition, and briefly you were in the overall race lead. Is that what you imagined in terms of your day would unfold?

Max: I really wanted to just get out of town without playing games with the ref’s and other athletes. The big number of penalties on the Thursday in the women’s race was enough motivation to burn a few biccies and get out of town then see where I was. I definitely didn’t expect to be alone but that’s racing and as I said to many people before the start, I don’t reckon anyone would have picked the way the entire race unfolded on Saturday.

ST: When Laidlaw came past you what did he say?

Max: He just said “let’s go”. I don’t think Sam expected to be in this position either and I think we were both sort of second guessing what to do. I just didn’t have the confidence in my bike to pull turns this early in a race with just one other person. I think it would have been different if we had a bigger group though as the time you get to recover from a pull is much longer.

ST: Did you feel good on the bike?

Max: Its quite exciting where this long-distance racing is heading. These blokes have no fear and we are just racing this like any other race. It was of course a very tactical ride and for me it was more just about conserving myself. I did feel exceptional all day and never really had a bad patch. I just wanted to give myself the best chance at running a good marathon. We basically knew the exact numbers we could push to execute this so we stuck to this plan and rode within 3 watts of our planned power.

ST: When you are back home, is most of your bike training done outside?

Max: Yes, I’d say 95% of my riding is done on the road. I only use the Kickr if I really need to

ST: Talk about your race bike and all components be as detailed as possible. Including tire width and if tubes or tubeless. Would also love to know what kind of gear you rode.

Max:
-BMC Timemachine 01
– DTswiss ARC 1100 80mm front and rear
– Hutchinson 25mm Prototype tubeless
– Selle Italia Watt saddle
– Mucoff Optimized Chain
-Wahoo Element Bolt
-Uvex Aero Helmet
-Cuore/2XU Trisuit
-Shimano r8000 running gear
-55/11 ( 58 got bent in travel)
– Ceramic Speed pulley wheels
-Vision ski bends
-Speedfil front hydration
-Birzman rear dual bottle

ST: Later during the bike leg there was a little back and forth with Ditlev and he ended up with a penalty. What exactly happened from your point of view?

Max: Yeah that was as confusing for me as it was for you. From what I heard Ditlev decided to unclip to get his special needs as it seemed the volunteers were unsure of how this all worked out there in Hawi. I can imagine it would be very confusing for the volunteers if you’ve never done it before. So I think he lost about a minute there then had to put a big effort to bridge back up. When he finally did with about 45km to go he must have got too close to me for not even a couple of seconds and they pinged him. He had just rode solo for an hour bridged up and they ping him straight away! Rough call from the referees but yeah that is what all the confusion there was about.

ST: Now on to the run. What did you think of your company and how did you think this may play out?

Max: If you go by the history books a sub 2:40 marathon on the island is such a rarity that we didn’t predict much faster than 2:38 from the Norwegians. But I think the fact that the boys eased up a lot coming in T2 we were all feeling as fresh as you could be at 6ish hours into the race. You could tell straight away who was feeling good and I sort of made the decision when we were running 3:28 pace to back it off a bit and aim for that 2:38 marathon pace and hopefully come through in the final 10km. For Gustav to punch out a 2:36 to win was something special and I believe that will not be touched for many years to come.

ST: Tell us about your run gear.

Max: I did a quick change from my tri suit to a more comfortable kit for the run. 2XU got a 2-piece made up for me for the race and I would definitely do it again next year.

ST: In Australia you are a well-known athlete, but I think you are now a bit more in the limelight worldwide.

Max: I don’t believe Oceania racing gets anywhere near the recognition it deserves. The performances in Cairns are very similar to what I put down in Kona and no one really bats an eyelid. Hopefully after Currie’s 3rd in St George and my 4th here in Kona things will change

ST: You won IRONMAN Cairns the last 3 years and grabbed various other titles too. What result to date means the most to you?

Max: I think in 2020 at Cairns would have to be the result I am most proud of. It was a rough year for me and I’m sure a lot of others around the world so to be able to get my first IM win was a big turn in my career.

ST: What is next?

Max: I’ve really struggled to come around post Kona. I basically have had a forced 2-week break/light training but have gotten back into it the last week.

ST: Talk about your athletic background.

Max: I don’t really have too much of a background. I was never pushed into anything as a kid. Played basically every sport there was when I was young but definitely just loved to run.

ST: How did you find triathlon?

Max: I sort of just fell into it. I’ve always been a big sport fan. Ended up in a really cool little tri squad when I was 17 and just progressed on my own through many coaches and programs over the years

ST: Is there anything else you should know?

Max: I’m a big fan of weather. Would love to do a year of storm chasing when I’m finished up in triathlon

You van follow Max Neumann on Instagram via @maxxyneumann

Images 1,3 and 4 © Aaron Palaian
Images 2 and 5 via Max Neumann

The post The New Man in the Limelight first appeared on Slowtwitch News.

We had a few words with the fast French athlete who lives in the UK.

Slowtwitch: Thank you for your time Leon.

Leon Chevalier: Thank you for having me! It’s a pleasure to be here.

ST: How have you adjusted to returning back to the UK after this Kona high?

Leon: It’s been brilliant being back home! Kona is far away, and I was out there for a long time. On top of that, it’s been a very long and tiring season, with two World Champs and balancing it with the final year of my master’s degree. The last few months of training were particularly tough, and I was ready for the season to be over. But I’m super happy that I pushed through with the support of my little team here at home, and it paid off with a solid result that I can be proud of. Since being back, I’ve mostly been lying on the sofa and taking care of our new little puppy! Planning and training for 2023 can wait a little bit longer.

ST: How much longer?

Leon: I’m giving myself a good 4-6 weeks post-Kona to recharge the batteries and rekindle that love of training!

ST: Just to clarify, you are French but have been in the UK for quite some time now. Can you maybe talk about that move?

Leon: Oui, I’m French indeed! I did however live on Long Island (USA) from age 2 to 7, and after moving back to France, I studied in international schools. I always intended on living abroad.

In 2017, my partner Florrie started studying at the University of Bath and at the time, I was studying in Lyon, France and not particularly pleased with my setup. I visited Florrie a few times that year and was immediately charmed by Bath and its lovely countryside. I was also very impressed by the sporting infrastructure at the University, where a group of elite triathletes (including Susie Cheetham and Vicky Holland) were training. In 2018, I had my first international racing experience on the ITU circuit, and some decent results motivated me to commit more to triathlon. I felt like moving to Bath and joining the set-up there would enable me to make the necessary progress to race at the highest elite level. The University of Bath’s Chemical Engineering department is also one of the best in the country and allowed me to pursue my academic goals alongside triathlon. Four years later, I’ve got two top 10s at world championships (albeit not ITU!) and am a Master of Chemical Engineering; I couldn’t have wished for more!

ST: This was your first Kona race and nor just as a professional I believe. And what you showed in Hawaii was impressive.

Leon: Thanks! Yes, it was my first race here on the island. It’s the one triathlon race that everyone has heard of, and I think a small part of me had always dreamt of coming here. However, it’s only in the last two years that we actually made a conscious decision to move up to long course racing with the goal of being a competitive pro here. I’m happy with my result but not satisfied, which I think bodes well for the next races in Kona!

ST: Much of your bike training prepping for Kona was done indoors. Can you describe your setup at home and how much time you spend there?

Leon: The roads around Bath are narrow country lanes. They go up, down, twist and turn, and the road surface can be rather treacherous. It usually rains most days too. And it’s my favorite place in the world to ride a bike! It’s absolutely stunning and challenges every aspect of a cyclist’s ability. However, it’s just not really that well suited to riding a TT bike unless you stick to a few main roads. Therefore I do a lot of riding on the turbo. It’s just a great tool for consistent pedaling and hitting the target watts without interruption. It’s also a perfect way of getting accustomed to heat and humidity. It requires a lot of will power though, as it can get very challenging. Knowing that it makes me a better rider is what keeps me going back to it. That, and the readily available sweets and cookies!

The set-up is very simple, just my Cervelo P5 on a direct drive turbo trainer and a little 10 £ fan I found on Marketplace, placed in some spare space we have at the bottom of the stairs. I can spend upwards of 15 hours a week on the turbo depending on the phase in the training block.
In the last 4 years I’ve stayed in Bath throughout the academic year as I had to go to lectures and labs – and the training set-up here is very good. Being at home in a solid routine is also a great way of getting consistent training in.

During the summers Florrie and I usually drive around France, staying in the Alps – my other favorite place to ride a bike, and on the Atlantic coast. Training can get a bit more unstructured then, but I get a lot of fitness from riding and running up mountains!

ST: When you say turbo, which specific turbo do you have, and do you use any virtual cycling apps, or do you simply ride?

Leon: I have a Wahoo Kickr Core from 2020 and it works well for me! I have used Zwift a handful of times for meet up rides and races for sponsors and clubs, but otherwise I just ride without it. I have my Garmin to look at the numbers I need to do, and I’ll usually listen to music or a podcast, or watch something on YouTube, GCN+ or BBC iPlayer. Sometimes I just stare at the wall for 5 hours. [laughs]

ST: How early did you arrive in Kona, and did you stay away from the hot spots downtown?

Leon: I arrived on the Thursday evening just over two weeks out from the race. It’s one heck of a long trip from the UK so it was necessary to have plenty of time to recover from that long trip, get used to the air conditioning and the new routine. We stayed in Mauna Lani, which was quite far out, due to the lack of available accommodation in town. It meant that I didn’t quite get to soak in as much of the ‘Kona vibe’ and was a bit trickier to get media commitments organized, but it was great for just focusing on what I had to do and conserving energy.

ST: Talk about your race day.

Leon: I woke up just before 4 am – I usually like to wake up 2 hours before race start but we had a 45 min drive to the pier, so the day started a bit earlier. I had my routine pre-race banana bread and mug of tea and once in Kona, went through the motions until race start (body marking, special needs drop off, pump up tires, set up Garmin, clip in shoes etc.

I thought I had a good swim start, swimming alongside Dave McNamee for a bit, but then my poor swim form this season caught up with me and I had to settle into the bike-runner group with Cam, Joe, Lionel and Sebi. I was looking over my shoulder and it looked like I was the last guy in the water! At least I was in good company for riding through the field.

In the end the gap wasn’t as big as I thought it might be, and after a strong first 25 min on the bike where I was struggling a bit, I settled into a groove on the Queen K and we were already catching stragglers. Unfortunately, I had to serve a 1-minute penalty in Mauna Lani but the exact reason why wasn’t communicated to me. I felt fast on the bike and managed to bridge back up to my group before the end of the drag up to Hawi. At the turnaround, I was 9th on the road and feeling strong. The sight of 10 motorbikes surrounding the first 5 guys was disappointing, however I knew that I was riding faster than them up to that point, so my motivation stayed intact.

We cruised down Hawi, and as we took the little climb back up to the Queen K, I put in a dig to split our group which was still a bit too big to my liking. The ride back into town was very fast, and I focused on riding easy to save some for the marathon rather than push on.

Onto the run I was in 5th position, and as was the plan for the day, set off conservatively with the goal of securing a top 10. If things went my way, I could still have hoped for top 5 or even a podium, but on my way towards the Energy Lab I was slowing down and realizing that I’d have to fight for that top 10. I had a very strong last 6 km and almost caught Sebi on the line…

7th place, fastest IM for me, and the feeling that there’s a lot I can improve on. It’s left me both relieved and happy after that 6th place in St George, yet hungry for the next one!

ST: Tell us more about your bike and how it is set up? (

Leon: I ride a 2022 Cervélo P5, size 54 (I’m 181 cm). It’s set up with Shimano Dura-Ace 12 speed; I was running a 1x chainring from Pyramid Cycling (58 teeth) on Rotor 2in Power cranks and Shimano Ultegra 11-34 cassette. I had the Aero OSPW and 12 speed KMC UFO chain from Ceramic Speed. I had a chain drop coming down Palani but was able to guide the chain back on with my hands whilst on the go, so didn’t lose much time. I rode the Hed Vanquish V6 at the front, and Hed Jet 180 at the back. Both were setup with GP5000 S TR in 28mm. The saddle is from ISM, the arm pads from Radsport Ibert, and my coach (Rob Cheetham) customized the Cervelo stock extensions by adding a bit of length to them at the shifter end.

ST: What were you using during the run in terms of shoes?

Leon: On the run I used a prototype from Hoka.

ST: What did you do after the race? Was there time for a little vacation?

Leon: I flew straight back home on the Monday – I had a lovely 5-hour nap on a carpeted floor in brand new Terminal 3 in LAX before a KFC in Terminal B. On the flight back to London I managed to get through a 10 oz share pack of M&Ms. Before I knew it, it was Wednesday and I was back home. On the Thursday we picked up our new Labrador puppy and it’s been full on dog training since! It’s been a very difficult year trying to pull everything off concomitantly, and I really needed a break from triathlon, especially mentally. So t’s been great to take a step back, relax, and enjoy ‘normal’ life!

ST: This summer you won the Alpe D’Huez Triathlon, and that hilly, technical racing is seemingly more your cup of tea. Is that fair to say?

Leon: That would definitely be fair to say! Hilly, dare I say mountainous and technical is the type of riding I like most. I’m a cycling fan at heart, and years of watching the Tour de France growing up has shaped my love for cycling that goes beyond pushing power on a straight road. I wish the big races made use of topography and side roads a bit more.

There’s a lot of talk about the draft zone, how it should be pushed up to 20 m… A tricky course adds that extra dynamic to the race, where crafty cyclists can break up groups. At Alpe d’Huez Triathlon, the draft zone is 5 m. When you’re going up the Alpe and you’re cooked, there’s nothing that can save you! That’s why the gaps can be so big.

I was also in a position at the start of my career where I absolutely needed to choose races that would suit me to the tee, to build up my profile and rack up a bit of prize money to pay for my student fees. Now I’ll foray into those flatter races, with the confidence from Kona that I can also do well on more benign courses.

ST: You finished 6th in St. George and that is maybe the first time many in North America and in places outside of Europe saw you in action or heard your name. And now you are certainly in the limelight. But which race do you really treasure the most up to this point?

Leon: The triathlon scene in Europe is congested with talent. There’s a lot of races and a lot of fast people, and it can be very tricky to rise above the crop. It’s a great learning experience but it also makes it so much harder when you are just starting out. You have to learn fast.

Ironman Mallorca last year was a great example: that start list was stacked. Winning that race ahead of some very strong guys, after riding away with Cam Wurf… it showed me that I could actually compete with the best in the world, and that there weren’t that many people out there who could keep up with me on the bike.

ST: Is there anything else we should know?

Leon: As you said, not that many people know of me or know me that well. I basically started training with a professional mindset at the end of 2020 when Rob and Susie Cheetham took me on some sort of apprentice scheme. The goal was to qualify for Kona 2022.

It was the first time that I was training consistently over 25 hours a week, with a coherent structure and clearly defined goals. I’m competing against guys who have been doing this for 5, 10, 15 years, so I can’t expect to be at that level quite yet.

I’ve finished my studies now and I think that will also affect my training and racing positively. I just need to give time some time!

Anyways, thank you for having me and giving me this opportunity. Hopefully I’ve not rambled on too much!

Image 1 © Aaron Palaian
Image 3 courtesy Leon Chevalier
Image 2 and 5 © Brian Glynn
Image 4 and 6 © Korupt Vision

The post Run Leon Run first appeared on Slowtwitch News.