"Given your statement above and how vocal you are against doping, have you contacted USADA with the information you have on these athletes?"

when i say they're horrible specimens as people, i'm not talking about them as dopers, i'm just talking about them as people. however, to your point, when i have happened upon evidence that somebody is doping, yes, you bet. i'll give you two examples of how i've handled that. one: i just found out that somebody was likely a doper. foreign athlete living in the U.S.. i called usada, dropped the dime, they were out there with a sample collector within 2 days.

second example, and this has happened three times at least, to my memory, AGers telling me they were on or were contemplating being on testosterone for what seemed, per the explanation, legitimate purposes, and they asked my advice on how to approach USADA for a pro- or retroactive TUE. in this case i did not drop the dime, rather i told them what i knew about the process from others i'd spoken to (each time this happens i learn a little more).

so, that's how i personally approach this.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

perhaps we could benefit from something as simple as this .....

Michi, you do not want to speak about your past issues. thats fine. in this thread you've been very helpful in steering us towards your power info on the SRM site. you've been very helpful in steering us towards your biometric info on several sites. where should we go to get an accurate re-cap of your compliance issues? if there is a place that has an accurate recounting of your situation we can stop bothering you here.

of course, if there isn't, you could seize this moment to control the narrative. as you said in your very first post, Dan is giving you a great opportunity.

Very nice to hear. I think most, unfortunately, would not do that. When Jordan filed his protest at IM AZ, my opinion of him went from respected, to very highly respected. It's the moral fiber and conviction of doing what you feel is right, that is often the hardest when it can be very unpopular.

I get the impression that you feel that you and I reside at opposite ends of the spectrum on this specific "case" and perhaps in the larger arena of anti-doping. I actually believe that we are closer on the spectrum then you believe.

Like you, I believe there is a process. That process needs to be followed otherwise we lose something intangible in our "free" society. I also believe strongly in second chances. If it wasn't for second chances (and possible third and fourth), I wouldn't be where I'm at in my life.

The single most important part of second chances is admitting your guilt, coming clean, and being contrite. Athletes like Ryan Braun, A-rod, Lance Armstrong, and some others have displayed none of this.

I have no respect for Ryan Braun, and therefore the Brewers, not because he cheated, but because of his (and their) handling of the situation.

I, and I'm presuming many others are willing to give Michi another chance, and not rake him over the coals, but *he* needs to take the first step on the path, and thus far in this thread he has not done so, despite people specifically posing the question.

I find it interesting, that he mentioned practicing some Hawaiian methods to cope with this. One of the methods he mentions specifically talks about the importance of confession, which I find lacking.

Unlike a dealing with trust issues with your spouse, parents, friends - when you are a public figure in a sport - I don't believe you have the luxury to simply say something is in the past to the public at large.

If Michi, is such a fine upstanding person, he should understand these things, and deal with them accordingly.

Also, based on my pm queue, I may have gone to far in inferring that you don't care that he violated the code, but at the time I made the post, that was how it appeared, given the way the LA saga played out.

This appears to be a case of giving someone enough rope.....and not an "endorsement"

Dan, first of all I applaud you for giving Michi an avenue to feel the pulse of the community. Keep in mind if you are Michi reading that you can't use the samples in this thread as a representation of the overall market. Those who are angry will apprear to be louder and a large proportion online than the silent folks who want to give someone a second chance to move on but also fess up.

I'll tell you what the big difference is between drafters and dopers. Drafters cheat right in front of our face, so although we don't like it, we can live with it. They are like people who alway run the limit of the yellow light and cross the intersection as it just turns red....or blatantly a while after it turns red. They "cheat" in front of us, so although we don't like it, we're more comfortable that the cheating happened "in our face".

Dopers do their crime when no one can see it. It is not in our face, it is more clandestine. It's like those white collar criminals who cook books of companies and make off like bandits....we don't even know that it is going on. I think people are more comfortable when they see the crimes going on. And I think that is why people want to know the details (or at least an outright confession) of the doping to really accept someone back to the community.

One point I disagree with is the "niceness" of the guy. This is business and assholes that follow the rules, while rubbing people the wrong way are fine. We have assholes in every business, who are star performers. We also have nice guys who are star performers. But when either breaks the rules, realistically why should a nice guy get better treatment for the same crime. At this point in the history of sport doping, we have seen a ton of nice guys dope. I don't really care if a guy is jerk in his private life or even his business life, just like I don't care if he is nice or not. At least with a jerk, I know where I stand, whereas a nice guy who is deceiving me is almost worse.

I applaud you for giving Michi an avenue to feel the pulse of the community, but I caution that this is not the pulse. You're going to see a slanted table weighed down by the noisy and those who don't tolerate second chances and they will take out the WADA 2 year ban vs. 4 year or lifetime ban on Michi rather than on WADA who could have banned him for life in the first place if that was their rule. Maybe if he had received a lifetime ban, and if he was indeed innocent as he claims, he'd have fought the ban legally. But since he accepted it whether for economic reasons or because he was indeed doping, either way he is now a doper. If it is the case of the former and the guy still believes he did nothing illegal, but did not have the economic means to fight it, then I can kind of "see" why he is asking to move forward. He would not be the first guy to be wrongfully convicted of something.

If he was actually doping, then from the outside he would be best served by putting out the details. Perhaps he is waiting till 8 years have elapsed. Maybe there are peers from a time long ago who have moved on to other parts of life, and he'll come forward with the rest of the details when they do after their statute of limitations time has passed. It's not that far away. Some will say this perpetuates Omerta, but as you can't undo what happened 7.5 years ago, maybe they are all waiting for 8 years to tell the full story and then help the next generation by doing so. Perhaps a bunch of them have a lot to lose by it all coming out 3-4 months too early. I don't know, but the timing from 2005 - 2013 seems to be 8 years.

Michi, you seem like a nice likeable person. My .02 fwiw is to treat this like a 12 step program. The first step is to admission. If you can not get past owning up, there is no point for you to be on this forum. It will frustrate you and everyone else. If you know anything about recovery, or have been to/seen a meeting, before anyone speaks they say "hi, my name is xxxxx and i am an (insert vice here). Once you own your past and mistakes, no one else can.

My first step, if i were you, would be talking to a PR firm. You just do not know how to handle this situation, and thats ok. However you may be in a unique situation to bridge the gap that is so desperately needed in our sport.

"But this bridge will only take you halfway there. The last few steps you have to take alone.”
Shel Silverstein

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http://www.TriScottsdale.org

As sentania and I have said, and now you agree, he has NOT really embraced the situation well and even dealt with it. Failure to address the overwhelming number of questions on this thread of his past, keeps him in that past. To still claim "I was framed" or the equivalent is an insult to us. For me, this casts a very negative light on any current or potential sponsors, so his visit here I would guess was a disaster in that area.

What he does to train, etc, is of small value to most of us, as many of these techniques are very individual, and most of us know what we need to do to get better. With my years in the sport, I know there are no secrets. He is a pro, and young man, so much of this is way over the heads of many and doesn't pertain. He's a nice guy….great! The vast majority of great triathletes I have met and spent time with are great people, a la Craig Alexander, Michellie Jones, Natasha Badman, Paula, an on and on. What makes them greatER is their integrity and openness, which Michi had not figured out. Can't sweep it under the rug that easily bud. Dopers suck.

---------

So in a post before above you said other pro tweets were unprofessional but above here you suggest media's coverage and people not accepting doping is a doping deterrent. So which is it? You don't want to be called out by your peers or you want people and media to break omertà?

I think we agree. Omertà is of no help. So i am proud to see Matt Lieto and the Wurtele's are calling out dopers. It is the peer groups that will make the culture and culture of a sport (or business) drives success of objective (in this case drug free sport)

Dev believes in 2nd chances. I do to. However, when it hits home you must admit it is hard to accept. So for Matt Lieto or Trevor Wurtele's of sport your participation after a suspension is a walk across their living and they are not allowing, by calling you out, omerta to seep into triathlon. they should be applauded for this not called unprofessional. Doping is unprofessional. Omertà is unprofessional.

I wish you luck and happiness and I applaud you for coming on ST. But I won't be the poster here to window frost the rear view mirror. That view is very real and raw for your peers. My advice is give thought to them and that as much as you are asking we give thought to 2nd chances and looking forward.

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@rhyspencer

Dev, I don't normally agree with you on a lot of things, but this is spot on. Everyone that sacrifices to be their best is affected by those that take unethical short cuts, whether it's sports related or business, professional or recreational.

I understand JonnyO's point and though I'm not a professional triathlete, I think his point is valid that a clean athlete shouldn't have to wonder if their opponent is cheating.

I also think michi has voiced his regret as best and politically as he can. I think we are truly beating a dead horse. It seems he is playing by the rules. The rules may suck, as JonnyO pointed out, but they are the current rules.

Maybe we should voice our opinions to change the process, not the man. Micro managing is a waste of time.

At first I thought you were just beating the drum, but I think I get you now.

Good argument.

I am struggling to grasp what I am actually seeing here...

Let me just explain how my mind works. I see it like this...

Michi Weiss has received and served a 2 year suspension for doping. As Dan points out, and I am sure many in this thread will also confirm, he has never been heard to deny the doping. He avoids any question immediately connected to doping yet still amid all of this, he is given so much attention, an opportunity to give back to the sport, something I have no-doubt so many other professionals would crave the opportunity to have. Michi Weiss has doped. We have to determine this as A) he does not deny this B) a panel of arbitrators felt there was enough evidence to convict him of this. So therefore Michi Weiss is a CONVICTED drug cheat, he is, no matter how clean he might be today, how much of a 'solid' guy he might be, is bringing this beautiful sport into disrepute and dragging one past doping scandal to the surface. Why? Because I feel, and it is my opinion, he lacks the respect towards his fellow competitors, he lacks the care for what his past actions have towards this beautiful sport and quite frankly I am disgusted deep within me. I simply cannot justify the forgiveness of a CONVICTED drug cheat in this way.

Dan Empfield I respect you, but I do not respect the way in which you give Michi Weiss an opportunity to answer questions when his past is so dark, so seemingly vague, all because you believe he is a 'solid' guy? Can I ask you these two simple questions; why didn't you give the opportunity to the likes of Mirinda Carfrae, Frederik Van Lierde, Sebastien Kienle, Melissa Hauschildt, Non Stanford, Javier Gomez, Rachel Joyce, Luke McKenzie, James Cunnama, Tim O'Donnell, Tyler Butterfield, Bart Aernouts, Timo Bracht, Faris Al-Sultan, Eneko Llanos, Liz Blatchford, Kelly Williamson, Leanda Cave, Helle Frederiksen, Jodie Swallow, Yvonne Van Vlerken, Caroline Steffen, Meredith Kessler, Michelle Vesterby, Linsey Corbin, Alistair Brownlee, Jonathan Brownlee, Laurent Vidal, Andrea Hewitt, Mario Mola, Lisa Norden, Sarah Groff....you get my point here, there are far too many professionals out there better deserving and in a position to answer the same nutrition, training, racing, life related questions as you pitch should be asked towards Michi Weiss, the difference between them and him, they are NOT convicted drug cheats. So why do you believe he should be the one answering questions on all-topics related to triathlon and not doping?

Second question did you even consider asking them? If not, why not? Right not I see at as a leverage of business through the attraction of a controversial topic that contains a convicted doper. I am open minded and can be easily convinced of otherwise.

Have you ever considered not exposing a CONVICTED drug cheat on your media platform, being a leader in the fight for clean sport? The first ever media in the history of sport to not report, picture or interact with a convicted drug cheat. I think if I new that was the case I would respect Slowtwitch far more than I do now having seen your efforts towards giving attention towards Michi Weiss.

"As sentania and I have said, and now you agree"

i get the sense you skimmed my comments from yesterday, but did not really read them. in any case, if you now understand my view properly and it does not overly differ from yours, so much the better.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Michi, what are your thoughts about gym, functional and weights lifting?? Thank you and congrats for the imcoz!!

"why didn't you give the opportunity to the likes of [a big list of pros]"

because they didn't specifically email me and ask for the opportunity to address you all. michi did. it seemed to me a unique and valuable experience for you all, and for him.

my agreement with him is that he's welcome to come on the forum, and the lot of you can ask any questions you want. my only stipulations were, to him, that he must submit (not that he'll answer, but he'll certainly read) any questions you want to ask; and to you all, that whatever questions you ask, you just ask them civilly. as to that latter stipulation, it's not simply a matter of forum decorum, but it's a lot more likely that you'll get your tough, pointed questions answered if they're delivered in a spirit of civility.

as to the other pros on your list, some come here on slowtwitch to answer your questions. why more do not do so is a mystery to me. but here's a clue for a lot of the pros on your list, and a lot others. because i am 57 years old, and because i've been in the industry since 1987 and in the sport since 1980, and because i have both a manufacturing background and now run slowtwitch, and am a founding member of our industry association, i get asked by a LOT of brands who it is they should sponsor. and i tell them all the same thing. you should sponsor THIS person, and THAT person, etc., because they achieve THIS thing and THAT thing on the field of play, but ALSO because they come on slowtwitch.com, or they have this particular outlet for their outreach, because they do THIS for charity, and as a result a manufacturer will get THIS as a complete package and a total value.

if you look at the list of athletes in your post, fine me ONE who we have not interviewed on slowtwitch. is there one? i can't think of one. however, we cannot force them to answer your questions on the reader forum. it takes the special person, who is involved in the special outreach, to do so. you know who i'd sponsor, today, if i were a bike sponsor, beyond jordan rapp? brandon marsh. why? because of all the pros, this guy does more behind the scenes, is more involved, does more on this forum, he leverages his talent about as far as he can. the movember calendar initiative, the men of triathlon? that was brilliant. the very first thing i'd do, if i was looking for an athlete to sponsor, is see who on that calendar is available (brandon being one).

so, sorry to take your post off on a tangent, but there is a LOT more to this discussion of athlete integrity and professionalism that simply who gets on what podium, who rides his bike faster or slower, and so forth. to bring this back around, i allowed michi to address you because so many other pros do not take the opportunity to address you. but i also will not censor out categories of questions you'll want to pose to him.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I used to swim with the USAT group at the OTC for three years, but could not swim anymore on the OTC while I was suspended.
Therefore I started to swim with my new coach, Joe Novak, at Cheyenne Mountain Aquatics. I tried to join his high school team practices, but swimming with those fish-like kids didn't work for me :-)
So I'm swimming most of the time alone, with Joe's program, 2-3 times with him on deck.
This will change anyway, since i'll be moving to Maine. I hope to find some people to swim with, for getting better in drafting off feet.

Most of the time, I stayed in Colorado Springs for training, especially over the last two years.
Which does not work for me. Although the weather is ok to train somehow all year around, I get mentally burned out of constantly riding and running the same routes.
This is one more reason for us, to move to Maine. Yes it is cold there, but I think the seasons are very important for every athlete, to give the body and mind time to recover.
I'm more of a training camp guy: Have a cozy, solid home base, where you can train basic stuff with a great infrastructure, but then head somewhere for 2-4 for boot camp, where there are no distractions.
My favorite places in the US are (so far) the San Diego area (Encinitas, Chula Vista), but I will also return to Colorado for blocks of altitude training.
I wanna give Florida a shot (Clearmont), and am missing a bit the Euro training camps such as in Spain (Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Mallorca), which I was doing a lot back in the days.

All other traveling and destination training is always related to racing and its specific lead up training, such as before Kona and Maui, or in Klagenfurt for Ironman Austria.

I did tons of strength & conditioning training, but i'm still benefiting just from my "raw" strength I have from mountain biking (which i'm still keeping up).
In base and build phases, I do 2x/week advanced core strength stuff, with everything what is out there: TRX, Bosu- and gym ball etc.
In addition, i'm doing real strength training in the gym with heavier weights.

If I was an agegrouper, I would do at least twice per week 30-45 minutes of core strength.
It does not take a lot of time, but is so effective! You can even skip that extra 30 minutes riding and do strength instead...
So important to stabilize both on bike and run, and for staying injury free.

personal number one advice, because I know how most of you guys work ;-)
Do NOT do the same routine all year long. Always mix it up, find new exercises which are challenging (yes, they will bring you out of your comfort zone), for confusing your body to get new adaptation.

In Austria: Stiegl from Salzburg.
In US: Shipyard from Maine.
In general: Hefeweizen.

I also like non-alcoholic beers, which we have a lot in Austria/Germany, even in the Weizen-version. It's actually my favorite recovery drink!

Well, if this thread already did not have controversy, if nothing else at least a young man like Michi is advocating what a bunch of us older athletes have been saying for many years about the other benefits of strength work. Also you mentioned XC skiing in a previous post and that certainly "confuses" our bodies into new movements every winter and works the core both aerobically and anaerobically like no other sport. I assume you will do a lot of that in Maine this winter. Do you skate ski or do classic style? What about speed skating? They used to a have a nice winter triathlon in Inzell in Austria....30K XC ski-20K run-40K speedskate.

"to bring this back around, i allowed michi to address you because so many other pros do not take the opportunity to address you."


So many other pro's don't have their public reputation in tatters having been a convicted of doping. Weiss of course he is going to do all he can to savour his reputation. But that is seemingly OK and fine to do despite having been convicted of doping. I can't follow you that well on that Dan, as you seemingly align Michi Weiss with every other professional athlete I named. No different? Your perhaps missing my point, I named them all as athlete not convicted of doping and as role models. I can't look at anyone who is a convicted doper and categorise alongside another professional athlete as a role model, I'm sorry but it is against my ethical views. It is very apparent that you don't look at Michi Weiss any differently despite his doping conviction and this concerns me. You, having said it yourself are an go to source for brands yet you do not separate Michi Weiss from all those role model professionals. He might be a 'solid' guy, have a big heart, but he has doped, so how you categorise him and his efforts with the same as every other professional athlete is disturbing for me. And please don't say you don't as you said it in my quoted text above.


In relation to professional athletes use of Slowtwitch, it is like Marmite...not for everybody. There is a big world of opportunity outside of Slowtwitch alone so it may not be their first port of call to get their name out there. That is not to say they wouldn't take the opportunity if it was presented. However as their reputation is not in tatters I don't think a lot of them would ask for the opportunity. Thats just my opinion. I could be wrong. As you see slowtwitch.com being so valuable, perhaps reaching out to them and inviting them may be an idea? As I can imagine many a professionals would be interested. It can be extremely time demanding for a professional who may already be active in the community, already have internal activation programs running yet lack the time to engage with Slowtwitch.

but i'm still benefiting just from my "raw" strength I have from mountain biking (which i'm still keeping up).
_________________

oh boy. That is a can of worms.

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@rhyspencer

In cycling, David Millar was a convicted drug cheat. He served his 2 year ban and since his return, he has proven to be one of the great advocates for cleaning up professional cycling.

Just a thought...

Jared,
Not many. Some names surfacing in places like operacion galgo etc... but for the most part we raced in an era before EPO testing and blood passports. It would likely take a fallout akin to the one which has occurred in cycling to bring to light further transgression at this point. I don't think the field was anywhere near as polluted as cycling during that time, but it certainly wasn't a level playing field. I can look back upon results and shake my head at the 'suspicious' names. That being said, I lived and trained with guys who ran a 3:43 mile and 7:20 3k etc... who I am very confident were clean.

Btw, Speed Theory is an awesome store:-)

Although i'm Austrian, my xc-skiing technique really sucks. Therefore I'm compensating a lot with strength, which makes my upper body blow up.
So I can only do it in moderation, like 3x/week.
However, I started xc-skiing together with my parents at young age, like with 8 years old or so.
We only did classic back then.

Over the last two years, xc-skiing in Colorado (Breckenridge, Frisco, Devil's Thumb) and in Maine when visiting my in-laws, I got more into skating technique.
I just got in touch with our friend Roger Knight from Boulder Nordic Sports East in Portland, ME, for getting a new set of skating equipment.
I figured out to alternate skating and classic, since they target different muscles. Which means when doing both on the same day, every single muscle is sore...LOL
Sometimes I do skating 2h in the morning, and 2h classic 3-4h later, after lunch and a nap.

I have never tried speed skating, and am not planning to get into it, but i'm convinced it's another great way to cross train!
Mix it up over winter, don't only sit on your compu trainers and run on the tread mill!!!

Thanks! I live close by in New England and we are spoiled by some great post ride recovery stations (breweries) you will be in Maine so I highly recommend Allagash too.

Thanks for taking part in this q&a even though most people are being assholes and have never done anything other than being saints and keyboard jockeys.

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"Base training is bull shit" - desertdude