Sorry, missed this question earlier. The first year as a prof is the toughest as everything is a new prep and you need to work on getting your research seeds planted, meeting the other faculty, and just learning how the university is run. On the plus side, I was able to swim on campus over my lunch hour every day. I also abused the treadmills quite frequently if I had a break. I did most of my riding right after work while my wife prepped dinner...which wasn't exactly the best arrangement but she somehow supported it! Things will open up more the second year and you will likely have a little more control of your schedule to be able to adjust training a bit. The hardest thing is getting to big races that require a lot of travel. Probable not best to be missing a bunch of classes on year 1!

Hope this helps.

It was so awesome to see you break that tape!

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.

Hahaha...nice.

Honored that you would lump me in with those 3 legends. But the reality is that I have a long way to go before being considered in their class. They have each shown they can execute an amazing race on the big island. When I head there this fall, my focus will be on executing a clean race and just trying to put myself in the mix with 10k to go. I have the ability to find the podium there this year, but it will take a great race.

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?

On a plus note, you got mistaken for a pro, thereby fulfilling part of the requirement for "Tech pro". I think Matt's got you one upped on "Prof Pro", but now he's dropped the "Prof" part, so he's just plain old "pro".

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.

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Are you ready to do an Ultraman? | How I calculate Ironman race fueling | Strength Training for Athletes |

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.

absolutely. great point. for example about 3 weeks before IMTX I experimented with a slightly different ratio / carb content and I'd max out at 320 per hour. And then reverting to my trusted simple malto/fructose mix I was back up to 550 per hour with no issues.

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Are you ready to do an Ultraman? | How I calculate Ironman race fueling | Strength Training for Athletes |

Nutrition is not 1 size fits all. You can't assume that because a study with 20 people showed that the max was 300, than that is the max for everyone. Also, there are many other variables such as carb sources. Also, my bike nutrition (First Endurance EFSpro) has multiple carb sources which have slightly different means of absorption. So when you are taking in multiple sources of carb, you can absorb more. There has been a lot of discussion on ST on this topic, but I'd start from the source...real research. Asker Jeukendrup at mysportscience is my recommendation as the place to start.

"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.

LOL....the story of winning IM Texas, driving 17 hours showering after an all niter and then teaching class when you were "Prof Pro" is the heroic status that the rest of us aspire to (minus the race win, but the rest of the crazy schedule while being IM Addicts). That's some of the coolest discussions on race week talking to competitors about how they pull it all off. When you are at your day job, you feel like a crazy freak and misfit in "normal society", until you show up at IM week and everyone is like you. When the race winner is XYZ+Pro, it feels even more awesome than "boring PRO" (using your words, not mine), because at that point you're a way more awesome version of the rest of us. But I/we totally get that at some point you need to shed all the age grouper life baggage to focus on getting as fast as you can be and wish you the best for that....but you won't have the crazy stories of winning races and then changing out of your superman cape into a regular Clark Kent mode. You just have to do awesome things with your superman/trigeek suit on to impress us, which clearly you managed to do this past weekend. So "boring-PRO" is OK as long as you keep sharing heroics from either training or racing. You're just going to have to overexceed on the Pro side to surpass Rob Gray cramming in 6 hour rides while programming Google data center analytics (or figuring out ways to get minions to do that during a 4W per kilo surge) and they flying in and out for an Ultraman Florida win while consuming 1000 calories per hour. Lapping Rob at Woodlands gets you off the hook LOL!

Added for special efffect

IM Texas 2016 =

 

Great info Matt will give it a shot. Thanks and all the best to you!

Paul

Congrats Matt. I'm an SSU alum, class of '95, BA in Chemistry. Did you do your MS in the ex phys dept with Brent Jeffers? I grew up in Sioux Center, pretty close to Storm Lake.

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CB
Physical Therapist/Endurance Coach
http://www.cadencept.net

Nope, Masters was at Southwest Minnesota State and Doctorate from USD...so Coyotes not Jack Rabbits....and I was juuuuust a bit after '95 :).