Hey all, a bit late to the party, but thought I'd throw this up here if anyone is interested. Happy to answer any questions you may have about the day.

http://www.matthansontri.com/2017/04/25/2017-imtx-race-report-north-american-champ/

Thanks for sharing! I enjoy your podcast interviews and was glad to see you have such a strong day.

Did you prepare for the heat differently or adjust your race plan to avoid another "nap"? Sounds like this year wasn't as hot as last.

Hey all, a bit late to the party, but thought I'd throw this up here if anyone is interested. Happy to answer any questions you may have about the day.

http://www.matthansontri.com/2017/04/25/2017-imtx-race-report-north-american-champ/

Hey all, a bit late to the party, but thought I'd throw this up here if anyone is interested. Happy to answer any questions you may have about the day.

http://www.matthansontri.com/2017/04/25/2017-imtx-race-report-north-american-champ/

I am not really sure what everyone else thought. My suspicion was he was going to go off the front on the bike like he always does. I won't let that change my race plan. If he holds on throughout the run, I'll just tip my hat to him on a great day. He did the exact same thing last year at IMTX. You have to use the cards that you are given the best you can. Chasing someone down as strong as Andrew down on the bike definitely would not be a wise choice on my part.

By the time Matt finished it was about 65 degrees.

In a full IM, you have to go through the changing tent whether you change anything or not.

Congratulations on a great win! I personally enjoy following you and respect your open attitude towards your fans.

My question is pretty boring I guess, but what is your go to, the workout for each discipline that you personally feel makes the biggest difference during the final 8 week push before a race like Texas?

Thanks again for taking the time out to answer questions, class act thing to do IMO.

I didn't change anything in T1, just slipped out of my swim skin. In T2 I just put on my Compressport sleeves, shoes, and socks. In a full IM, you have to go through the changing tent whether you change anything or not.

I think this is the swim that I finally executed at the swim start. I've been guilty of going out way too hard then getting swam over the top of around the 300 meter mark a number of times. I've also not gone out strong enough and ended up having to surge to make the second pack. There is definitely a learning curve. In 2014, I don't think I made a 2nd pack. At most of the races I did last year, I led out the second pack...here I fell off the back of the front pack, so it is definitely progress.
I've been working on my swim quite a bit. It has been my biggest vulnerability since I became a pro. My first few years working with Tim Floyd, we worked on developing top end speed and neuromuscular control. Now that I am working with Julie, we have continued to polish the first few areas, made a few small technique changes, and added a few longer sessions each week. Also, being able to swim with people much better than me for a few focused camps each year has definitely helped as well. We have also figured out that I don't swim well when smashed...so I try to make every quality swim session the first session of the day and Julie has done a great job managing my fatigue to allow me to make improvements in the pool while staying injury free. This was a breakout swim for me for sure, but by no means am I satisfied to the point where it will not continue to be a focus moving forward.
I was a professor of exercise science at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. I started the human performance program there and was in charge of it until after I won IMTX in 2015. I gave my speech the day after the race, then left immediately and drove 17 hours back home. I arrived around 7:30 a.m., showered at the school and went straight in to teach 8:00 a.m. classes. That was when my wife and I decided it was time to stop moonlighting as a pro triathlete and give it a go. I definitely loved my job there and have stayed in contact with the college as best as I can, but I don't regret the decision to chase my dream.

Honestly, not really sure for 200 or 500 times. I haven't done an all out for either distance in quite a while. The Wednesday before the race, I held 58/59 scy on 10x100 @ 1:30 (so with a lot of rest). On Friday, I finished with an all out 200 and went 1:46....with fins :).

Well, those are both very impressive results; a 1:46 200, even with fins, is faster than 99.9% of swimmers can do. I'll bet you could go sub-2:00 w/o fins, espec off the blocks in a masters meet, and prob 54-ish for the 100 free. Congrats on such impressive swim progress, espec as an adult!!!

Hey Dev, thanks for the questions and kind words....and title changed.

• Did you enjoy this bike course more or less than the old one?

I enjoyed this one 1000x more than last years! LOL. I think the 2015 course suited me a bit better overall and would have broken up the pack a little bit more and separated the field. This course was very fast this year, but it could have been completely miserable if the wind would have came up earlier. This course made the ride it more about tactics which was actually pretty fun for me at the time. Prepping a strategy for this course with the athletes in the field was definitely a challenge.

• Where do you live and do you prep for the bike mainly on the trainer?

I live in Storm Lake, IA. I do pretty much all of my riding on the trainer from November through May (we got snow last week!) but looking forward to getting out for the summer training.

• How many hours per week do you train for biggest and average week?

Average is probably around 22 hours between S/B/R. Biggest weeks was 34 at a training camp early on, but a lot of that was technique work on the bike.

• How much swimming per week?

Swim 5-6 hours per week....maybe 15-25k yds. Whatever Coach Julie tells me to do :).

• Do you train with any others or mainly solo?

Mainly solo. I did a 2 week Arizona camp in January, a 2 week kona camp in February. I'm planning a trip to Boulder in June and from there we'll see. But when I am home, I do all training solo.

• Height, weight, body fat percent, age?

I turn 32 in a few weeks. I'm 5'10 and in the 150lb range...I honestly haven't stepped on a scale in 2017. I just don't care. As long as I am getting faster, I'll let my weight be wherever it wants to be. Last time I did a body comp test was summer of 2016 and I was 5% body fat.

• What was your sports background before tri?

I wrestled until I dislocated my hip. I ran in High School and a little in college after my wrestling career came to an abrupt end.

• How did you get into triathlon?

When I was 16, I had a mentor who challenged me to make a list of 50 goals for the next 10 years. One of those goals was to complete an IM...so I signed up for one IMCdA. I had to re-learn to swim, buy a bike ($600 ebay special and I ate Ramen for a month because of it!), and figure out how to put a training plan together. It was actually a good time to start being I was living alone while going to grad school so I had a decent amount of time to figure everything out. I planned on just doing one, marking it off my goal list and calling it good, but I ended up qualifying for Kona at CdA. After Kona, I was hooked on the sport.

• When did you realize you have the genetics and drive to compete as a pro?

I earned my elite license and qualified for Kona in 2013 at IMTX, but didn't really plan on taking my pro card. I ended up with 3 flats that year in Kona and was frustrated that I wasn't able to see where my fitness was. Because of that, I decided that if I took my pro card I could race at Arizona. I was 18th in Arizona and was thrilled about it...I had a 30 minute PR and I wasn't last! It wasn't until IMTX in 2014 where I ran a 2:41 that I actually started to wonder what I could do in the sport.

• What keeps you motivated daily, target race outcomes, or the daily process?

I love the process. I enjoy the preparation. I believe that for some reason I have been given a gift and have the responsibility to use it for the best of my ability. There have been times in my career when I've lost the focus on the process and raced for outcome, but I've found that I race much better and am a much happier human when I stick to the process. Obviously, I have outcomes and results that I want, and do set outcome goals...but the focus is on process.

I had to re-learn to swim

Yup, college wrestling. Not so much high school anymore since I moved to IA.

it was pretty funny, you passed me while I was on my first lap and still running ok, and you were on your second lap. The crowd was very helpful in giving me splits "go go go! Hanson is only 2 minutes 3 seconds ahead!"

yeah more like 1 hour 2 mins and 3 seconds...

Awesome job. Always great seeing an American win. On that note, Assuming an American male sweep at Kona this year, who is the odd man out? Potts, T.O., Hoffman or you? Pulling for all 4 of you - would be great to see it come true.

it was pretty funny, you passed me while I was on my first lap and still running ok, and you were on your second lap. The crowd was very helpful in giving me splits "go go go! Hanson is only 2 minutes 3 seconds ahead!"

yeah more like 1 hour 2 mins and 3 seconds...

Congrats on a great race! 500 calories seems really high as I was told 350-400 was about max anyones body could handle. I am 6'1 170 lbs and currently take in 300 per hour. Curious how tall and your race weight you are? I might need to experiment with taking in more?

those "studies" are based on sample sizes that are too small. But everyone just accepts them. I always recommend athletes experiment with taking in a ridiculous number that DOES give them GI distress and then reduce it until they don't experience any issues. Even with a high calorie intake, you're running at a deficit. For example, at my IMTX power I am burning about 1000 calories an hour, 750 of which is carbohydrate. So even at a high intake like 500 I would be at a deficit of 250 per hour.

I'd also recommend experimenting with different products as well. Previously I could take no more than 200 cal/hr in HIM or my stomach would get upset, but tried something new and found out I could take 400 cal/hr at HIM intensity. That was a game changer for me.

Congrats on a great race! 500 calories seems really high as I was told 350-400 was about max anyones body could handle. I am 6'1 170 lbs and currently take in 300 per hour. Curious how tall and your race weight you are? I might need to experiment with taking in more?

those "studies" are based on sample sizes that are too small. But everyone just accepts them. I always recommend athletes experiment with taking in a ridiculous number that DOES give them GI distress and then reduce it until they don't experience any issues. Even with a high calorie intake, you're running at a deficit. For example, at my IMTX power I am burning about 1000 calories an hour, 750 of which is carbohydrate. So even at a high intake like 500 I would be at a deficit of 250 per hour.

"Plain Old Pro..." Ouch. Are you calling me boring?

Yes, intake will always be less than what you are burning. An ironman is managed bankruptcy. You have to manage your intensity throughout the day so you don't go bankrupt before crossing the line. If you don't manage well, you end up lying on the ground hugging a 2L bottle of coke 2.5 miles from the finish line...or so I hear.