A Spanish newspaper has an interview with Javier Gomez and he just confirmed he will attempt Kona in 2018, and talked a bit about how he wants to approach the challenge:
https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/..._201712G27P42991.htm
Below you can find the interview translated to English (it is an automatic translation, so don't expect perfect English, but it should be readable).
Q- Like Nadal and Federer, you stand as an old rocker another year at the summit.
A- I was really looking forward to this year after missing the Rio Games because of a complicated injury to my elbow. The results were very good in Olympic distance and medium distance and now I decide to focus on the long distance. Although it's not usually easy to get back to the Olympics because of the kind of training you do, I don't rule it out either.
Q- What image do you rescue from 2017?
A- The last 500 meters of the World Cup in Chattanooga... To go down the last hill, to know that I was winning... It fulfilled my great goal. And I'm left with the opening of the Olympic World Championships in Abu Dhabi because it was difficult to return winning. It left me calmer for the rest of the year.
Q-As he is used to chaining medal after medal, I don't know if at some point he had to explain himself, as if the general public didn't perceive his great campaign.
A- Since there were some ups and downs, some people ask you if this year didn't go so well,"in the end Mario Mola beat you. But I was runners-up there and that's not a bad thing, even though I focused on the middle distance and won that World Cup. Some people still ask me if I have recovered well from the injury (laughs). It's normal for some people to follow your sport more than others.
Q- David Cal in some messages was "comforted" by his two silver medals in Beijing.
A- Yeah, you almost got condolences for an Olympic silver.
Q- In the face of the ironman, do you draw lessons from your mid-distance tests?
A- It's very different. In ironman nutrition and hydration in racing in an extreme climate like Hawaii's will be key to, apart from the rhythms, bike watts... I'm able to cope with that, train and do it well, but racing nutrition is something new to me. And it's gonna be key.
Q- He sees the middle distance more like the Olympian than the ironman.
A- I won my first half ironman world championship by taking only two gels in the whole race. I arrived just right, but they are races of three hours and 40, more assumable, and by the rhythms it goes fast. If you're going eight hours, it's not like it's twice the distance, it looks a lot longer.
Q- For the first time he faces something radically different.
A- It's exciting to face a different challenge, a kind of race where I don't know if I'm going to do it right. The comfortable and conservative thing would have been to stay the same, but I don't want to be left in doubt about what I would have done over long distance.
Q- Of the three sectors, by time and distance, cycling is the main challenge.
A- Yes, it's where I have to improve the most, in the form of training, in many things. We'll see how far I go. But if I want to win an ironman level, I have to win it in the marathon. Other big guys would win it on the bike, but I have to do it running, be good enough on the bike and swim, to get there on foot with options. That's the kind of race I'm going to train for.
Q- He barely names swimming, his DNA since he was a child.
A- It's more anecdotal and in my case I think I'll be able to suppress some training a week to pass it to the bike and the race. The way to train will be very different. In an ironman you run slow. With paces of 3.40 min/km you're going to make the best time in the marathon, but it's about doing it after five hours of effort, feeding while competing. There I have to try to improve, work long sessions at a slower pace than now.
Q- The ironman requires adaptation. But you know the demand will be high from day one.
A- I have no doubt that people will ask me to win Hawaii the first time, but it's something no one else has done (laughs). All Hawaii winners before winning that race have a baggage. with important victories and podiums, and I in the best case will arrive with an ironman behind my back. The challenge is more complicated than many people think. The ironman is very unknown, but that gives me an extra incentive.
Q- The vertigo is there.
A- Yeah. Yeah. A feeling of restlessness about not knowing what you are facing or how you will respond. I will be happy to do so regardless of the outcome. If it goes wrong, I will know that the distance is not for me, and if it goes well I will expand my capacity range to longer distances.
Q- The ideal would be debut between June and July
A- Almost as important as Kona's ironman, October 13, will be his qualifying test: The ideal would be between June and early July. There's Nice and Frankfurt, there's Cairns (Australia), which could be interesting for Hawaii due to the weather.....
Q- In 2016 he competed for almost 11 months. It's going to be weird running less, except for running tests.
A- I'll move less to train in one place, but I won't have a quiet season until Hawaii. I'll do several 70.3 in preparation, including that World Cup, and a lot of practice, maybe some Olympic distance.
Q- He keeps his usual team, with Carlos David Prieto as coach.
A- Carlos will follow. And the triathlete Óscar Vicente, who is a physiotherapist and will help me in recovery, strengthening and training, will be with me.
Q- It's been a year and a half since his elbow fracture.
A- Luisa[DomÃnguez, the traumatologist,] operated on me, did a great job and made it clear to me, but it was a complicated process. In three or four weeks your elbow is more or less fine, but to live a normal life or work in an office. If you demand the elbow every day on the bike, in water and even running... it takes longer and you have to do a very good rehabilitation to gain all the mobility and strength. I had trouble for quite some time.
Q- Apart from victories, what was the emotional moment of 2017?
A- (think) That's when, after the operation, I started swimming at the rhythms of before. Swimming the left arm had always been the dominant one, and I noticed without so much strength, it was difficult for me to stretch it and grab the water as I did. And it took me a while to find the good feelings. Then, when I did the time before the operation, it gave me peace of mind. And winning the 70.3 in Dubai in January on a circuit that was unfavorable for me, almost the most difficult, was a very nice moment.
https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/..._201712G27P42991.htm
Below you can find the interview translated to English (it is an automatic translation, so don't expect perfect English, but it should be readable).
Q- Like Nadal and Federer, you stand as an old rocker another year at the summit.
A- I was really looking forward to this year after missing the Rio Games because of a complicated injury to my elbow. The results were very good in Olympic distance and medium distance and now I decide to focus on the long distance. Although it's not usually easy to get back to the Olympics because of the kind of training you do, I don't rule it out either.
Q- What image do you rescue from 2017?
A- The last 500 meters of the World Cup in Chattanooga... To go down the last hill, to know that I was winning... It fulfilled my great goal. And I'm left with the opening of the Olympic World Championships in Abu Dhabi because it was difficult to return winning. It left me calmer for the rest of the year.
Q-As he is used to chaining medal after medal, I don't know if at some point he had to explain himself, as if the general public didn't perceive his great campaign.
A- Since there were some ups and downs, some people ask you if this year didn't go so well,"in the end Mario Mola beat you. But I was runners-up there and that's not a bad thing, even though I focused on the middle distance and won that World Cup. Some people still ask me if I have recovered well from the injury (laughs). It's normal for some people to follow your sport more than others.
Q- David Cal in some messages was "comforted" by his two silver medals in Beijing.
A- Yeah, you almost got condolences for an Olympic silver.
Q- In the face of the ironman, do you draw lessons from your mid-distance tests?
A- It's very different. In ironman nutrition and hydration in racing in an extreme climate like Hawaii's will be key to, apart from the rhythms, bike watts... I'm able to cope with that, train and do it well, but racing nutrition is something new to me. And it's gonna be key.
Q- He sees the middle distance more like the Olympian than the ironman.
A- I won my first half ironman world championship by taking only two gels in the whole race. I arrived just right, but they are races of three hours and 40, more assumable, and by the rhythms it goes fast. If you're going eight hours, it's not like it's twice the distance, it looks a lot longer.
Q- For the first time he faces something radically different.
A- It's exciting to face a different challenge, a kind of race where I don't know if I'm going to do it right. The comfortable and conservative thing would have been to stay the same, but I don't want to be left in doubt about what I would have done over long distance.
Q- Of the three sectors, by time and distance, cycling is the main challenge.
A- Yes, it's where I have to improve the most, in the form of training, in many things. We'll see how far I go. But if I want to win an ironman level, I have to win it in the marathon. Other big guys would win it on the bike, but I have to do it running, be good enough on the bike and swim, to get there on foot with options. That's the kind of race I'm going to train for.
Q- He barely names swimming, his DNA since he was a child.
A- It's more anecdotal and in my case I think I'll be able to suppress some training a week to pass it to the bike and the race. The way to train will be very different. In an ironman you run slow. With paces of 3.40 min/km you're going to make the best time in the marathon, but it's about doing it after five hours of effort, feeding while competing. There I have to try to improve, work long sessions at a slower pace than now.
Q- The ironman requires adaptation. But you know the demand will be high from day one.
A- I have no doubt that people will ask me to win Hawaii the first time, but it's something no one else has done (laughs). All Hawaii winners before winning that race have a baggage. with important victories and podiums, and I in the best case will arrive with an ironman behind my back. The challenge is more complicated than many people think. The ironman is very unknown, but that gives me an extra incentive.
Q- The vertigo is there.
A- Yeah. Yeah. A feeling of restlessness about not knowing what you are facing or how you will respond. I will be happy to do so regardless of the outcome. If it goes wrong, I will know that the distance is not for me, and if it goes well I will expand my capacity range to longer distances.
Q- The ideal would be debut between June and July
A- Almost as important as Kona's ironman, October 13, will be his qualifying test: The ideal would be between June and early July. There's Nice and Frankfurt, there's Cairns (Australia), which could be interesting for Hawaii due to the weather.....
Q- In 2016 he competed for almost 11 months. It's going to be weird running less, except for running tests.
A- I'll move less to train in one place, but I won't have a quiet season until Hawaii. I'll do several 70.3 in preparation, including that World Cup, and a lot of practice, maybe some Olympic distance.
Q- He keeps his usual team, with Carlos David Prieto as coach.
A- Carlos will follow. And the triathlete Óscar Vicente, who is a physiotherapist and will help me in recovery, strengthening and training, will be with me.
Q- It's been a year and a half since his elbow fracture.
A- Luisa[DomÃnguez, the traumatologist,] operated on me, did a great job and made it clear to me, but it was a complicated process. In three or four weeks your elbow is more or less fine, but to live a normal life or work in an office. If you demand the elbow every day on the bike, in water and even running... it takes longer and you have to do a very good rehabilitation to gain all the mobility and strength. I had trouble for quite some time.
Q- Apart from victories, what was the emotional moment of 2017?
A- (think) That's when, after the operation, I started swimming at the rhythms of before. Swimming the left arm had always been the dominant one, and I noticed without so much strength, it was difficult for me to stretch it and grab the water as I did. And it took me a while to find the good feelings. Then, when I did the time before the operation, it gave me peace of mind. And winning the 70.3 in Dubai in January on a circuit that was unfavorable for me, almost the most difficult, was a very nice moment.