Racing Penticton again or saving your chips for Kona?

Nice win out there. I think you are racing in Hyperspeed 6s, right? What shoes do you train in? Thanks.

Just want to say congrats on the huge win!

How did you like the bike course? it looks interesting if not very flat (like IMFL)

I would love to race IMM but don't think I can handle the 6 hour trainer rides in January and February

Congrats.

Did you monitor power and/or HR during the race? If so, what did it look like as far as stability and/or what you were shooting for?

best and worst part about Australia in general....careful...im one of them :D

What's the one workout you like to nail a few weeks out of a big race as a judge for your current fitness?

Congrats on a stellar race and getting ugly out there, it is great seeing you achieve success.

How did your power output on the bike in Melbourne compare to Penticton and Whistler, as your bike time was a fair bit quicker, but granted, they are all very different courses.

Do you typically have a target power output that you try to hold throughout the race, or do you adjust it based on what is happening within the race and where you are positioned?

Finally, I imagine you did a fair amount of riding on the trainer while in Canada before heading to Australia (I think you said you also taught spin), and in this regard, did you focus a lot on quality, or did you do some decent volume and long rides too (what did your longest weekly trainer ride look like)?

First off - congratulations and WOW!

About the E-118 Next, how did it feel over 112 miles? Did you ever feel like you were "giving" time away to the Speed concept's, P5's, Plasma 5's and other superbikes?

I made it sticky. :-)

Huge congrats... What a race, and what a finish!

What exactly does Avril lavinge iced tea taste like?

Planning any races in BC this summer?

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Long Chile was a silly place.

Can you share your nutrition plan vs how you executed on it with us?

Awesome awesome awesome race! Go Canada Go!

Can you let us know how you handle nutrition and hydration on the bike/run?

Thanks!
Jason

First of all huge congrats on the win. I can't even imagine how awesome that must feel.

Second of all, I have a question: I think many of us can relate to the feeling of being late in a race and nearly spent. We feel as though every step is misery and yet we somehow force ourselves on to get through. As I have improved over the years to become a top ten age grouper, I realize that the gulf between me and the podium is partly related to my ability and partly due to my inability. Specifically, I refer to my inability to push myself into a place that I am fearful to go. A place where I feel as though I might be risking injury or worse. That fear may be reality or it might just be...fear. You clearly did that in this race, you went there and you overcame. How do you go there? How do you tell yourself that it is ok to push past the boundary of what feels safe and into an area where you risk more than maybe you have before because the reward is so high?

That is my question. I am unsure if you will have an answer.

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Jeffrey Sankoff, MD
TriDoc Coaching/TriDoc Podcast
Train hard, train healthy
http://www.tridocpodcast.com
http://www.tridoccoaching.com

You're awesome mate! So cool that you take the time to allow others to pick your brain and ask about the correct form when "getting UGLY"! ;-) Way to go Jeffy!

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_____________________________________________
"It's a line you have to cross to understand."

How aware are you of your running form? And that head bobbing you got goin on? What's up with that? :)

Also, when / why did you convert from steeplechaser to triathlete?

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Advocating for research & treatment for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME).
http://www.meaction.net/about/what-is-me/

"Suck it up, Buttercup"
(me, to myself, every day)

Do you view the January 2009 training camp in Maui, in which you stayed in a homeless shelter (aka surfer's hostel) with Andrew McCartney and trained in cotton t-shirts under the supervision of Joel Filliol with myself, Kyle Jones, and Simon Whitfield as the defining moment in your career?

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

How relieved were you after the race to find that none of the race officials noticed the hidden ear bud in your right ear? I assume being able to rock out to Metallica for the last 15K had a substantial positive impact on your performance!!

Congrats on a great race!! You inspired a lot of people over the weekend with your display of pure guts!!!

Well that would be character building, I was going ask if the crash he had @ the 2013 Challenge Penticton and going on to win was a defining moment but there's things that I can not know :)

sharing the bed together probably was.. ;)

Was that leather cowboy hat at the awards ceremony really an Australian hat, or is that some Canadian rodeo thing you already own ... it seemed to suit you.

Re: Training in Canada ... I see some posts alluding to spin class and indoor. Is this where you have developed your strength, or do you actually go out and ride long in sub-zero temperatures, or a mix of both?

Do you use a power meter? What sort of power and intensity were you boys holding on that bike leg?

Amazing run and congratulations on the win. Running away from Tim Berkel is no easy feat

not that there's anything wrong with that -- oh, get a grip. I'm OZ too !

.

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RayGovett
Hughson CA
Be Prepared-- Strike Swiftly -- Who Dares Wins- Without warning-"it will be hard. I can do it"

Jeff I saw you race one time in the western subaru series and you came out of the water and struggled to get your cycling shirt on over your wet skin. I thought to myself "what kind of fool is this, he's a pro?"

I'm glad I'm the one who looks foolish now. Big congrats on the win!

We'll see! I will definitely be racing something in Penticton but not sure if it will be the Full half or a relay. I can't even begin to describe how awesome it is to race in my hometown. My racing plans for the year were to 1.) Qualify for Hawaii and 2.) win an Ironman. Now that those are done the world is open! I could even take up crossfit! (not going to happen)

Kona is the ultimate goal for me, but I don't think 2015 is THE year. At 29 I want to set myself up for quiet a few good cracks at it! When I get back to Canada I am going to sit down with my coach Kevin Cutjar and see what he think makes the most sense long term. Our original plan for the season was not to have Kona be the focus, but rather have it as a bonus. Go in there with no expectation, just race it hard and see what happens. A similar to how I did my first Ironman in Los Cabos. We trained indoors during the winter and didn't really tell people I was doing it. We wanted just to have a solid expierence for my first one. It was great to have this under my belt when the pressure of being the local favorite really picked up for Challenge Penticton 2013.

"I think there is a lot to be said for continuing on the path and plan you set out. Look at the steady progress of your training and racing and not do crazy things if you an outlier race, good or bad." - That is a paraprhased quote from Jesse Thomas from his 2013 Wildflower tips audio clip.

I think there is so much mentally that goes into racing well at Championship races. How do you deal with pressure on both race day and more importantly in the weeks and months leading up! That's what makes sport so awesome! I also think that plays a huge part in guys having rough races at Kona. The pressure of Kona and having to come top 10 to get a paycheck is probaby massive! That why I get a little ticked off when I hear people say "look at results, the some pro should be there" Seriously? All of those guys are damn good! When on form they can do really well. Perfect example my friend and fellow Vancouverite Elliot Holtham. Crushed it to win Ironman Australia in 2014 and had a solid 3rd at Wisconsin. But he struggled with the resulting pressure from his IM Aus win and the fact that he still had to get points right up until August! He was the second to last pro finisher at Kona, but the dude can rip. He's going to have learned from that expierence and prove that this year.

I also see a pattern of guys ripping an upexpectedly awesome race in Kona one year. Not racing much (even jogging a ironman) and having an awful race the following year when they "save their chips". That's why I gain so much respect for Tim Berkel on Sunday. He had a TON of pressure on him. He was all over the magazines here! For him to keep his poise after a couple of rough lead up races and as he said a S(*$ race day, is awesome. Dude is legit!

That was long winded but I have had that asked a lot so I thought I would clarify well. My focus isn't won't be on saving chips it will be working hard each day to earn as many chips as I can!

Also, as you well know, we are all looking for any and every reason to spend quality time training in the Okanagan!!

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Thanks! Yep the Gel-HyperSpeed 6's for racing, with a little bit of Vasoline I can run them sockless for a full Ironman. Given I like to dump a ton of water on myself, and used to Steeplechase this is awesome! I worried when they made a bunch of changes from the HyperSpeed 5, but as soon as I did my first run I was sold. Best shoes I have ever worn! I will do 1 or 2 Ironman race pace training runs off the bike in the Hyperspeeds to make sure everything is dialed.

http://asicscanada.com/...%84%A2-6-g401n-mens/


For most of training run I use the Asics Gel-Fujiracer 3. It's a lightweight trail runner. I start using The Fuji-Racer 2 in 2013 so I could have a little more grip in the snow and love it some much I kept using it once the snow dried up. It is perfect shoe for the Pacific Spirit Park trails near where I live in Vancouver, but works perfect for me on the pavement as well. I really like the last and the 7mm drop. For me it is the perfect amount for my base pace and harder sessions. I find that 7mm drop sets me up really well for switching to the 6mm drop of the HyperSpeed.
http://asicscanada.com/...84%A2-3-t415n-men-s/

I also run in the Asics Gel-Cumulus 16 for recovery session when my legs are feeling beat up. The extra cushioning and 10mm drop feels better for these slower paced sessions. I like the Lite-Show version because my recovery sessions are often at night. I also like that they have some serious swag!
http://asicscanada.com/...E2%84%A2-t4c0n-mens/

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The course was a lot better than I thought. I had imagined a super flat course more like Galveston or Clearwater was,but there was enough elevation changes to keep things interesting and provide some positional relief. That Tunnel was really cool! I was a bit on edge about the tunnel as you couldn't ride the course beforehand and they spooked up at the pro meeting by saying guys were going 100k/h. I don't even think that is possible on a TT bike, We'll maybe it is on an Argon 18 ;) But the whole course was super safe. Rode were imaculate.

However, I do like a course with more hills and changing terrain. Hills tend to not only make it a more honest bike, but they also cause guys to smash themselves especially early on. Richter, and McClean Creek on the Challenge Course and the Callahagan Climb on Whistler course are perfect examples.

Pretty much I like the hardest possible conditions. Heat, hills, wind! Bring on the pain suffering and ugliness!! Which is why I am stoked for Kona!

I don't think the 6 hour training ride are neccessary or a good idea. When I did my first Ironman in Los Cabos it was one week before Melbourne. I was training in Penticton at time and with snow only got to ride outside 4 times in January, February,March. The longest indoor session I did was I coached a 3 hour class. I did a couple of 4 hour rides outside. I was a little worried about the lack of big rides, but my coach Kevin assured me that I would be fine and that 3 hours of quality focused riding was better than 5-6 of garbage time. He was right and the quality of my indoors session more than made up the lack of hours. I ended up having a great ride there! Coaching spin sessions and having that group atmosphere was key for that training block. It was definitely a physical grind, but never really a mental one!

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Thanks!

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I use a Pioneer Powermeter and had on my display the following 3sec avg. Watts (in Big) 60 sec, avg watts, cadence, distance, and current speed.

My plan was to keep the 3 sec avg reading between 280-290. But planned to widen that range to reading between 270-299 if there was an athlete in front of me. If and when the pace dropped below that I moved to the front and settle into that 280-290 range. I knew it was going to be a bit of a long montonous ride and wanted to save that mental energy for later in the day.

But things don't always goes as planned and I ended up doing some big surges out of that range to try and keep Per Bitner in sight between 45-80km. He was stomping it and open up a big gap on Lachie Kerin (Local young Mebournite, great guy) I was pushing WAY harder than I wanted for some long stretch, going up to Olympic Distance pace. Once we caught the main group of guys things really settle down (We'll with the big exception of surges resulting from being yo-yo'd on the back of the group). Don't ever be the last guy in a line of 12 guys coming into Special needs at 40+km/h. Even the amazing volunteers at Melbourne will not have your bag ready and you will have to come to a complete stop and wait for them to find your bag. You will then have to avg 335 watts for 4k to catch back up! (data from Strava file).

It was the first time I had put in big spikes in an Ironman and was worried it would shatter me, but it all worked out. Having said that I may probably would have done better ride a steady pace and catching the group later. But who knows, sometimes you gotta take chances.

I have never liked using heartrate. Not that I think it is bad, it's jsut not for me. I think in part because when I first tried to use it my monitor wasn't very good and the number would jump around like crazy. I also was way out of the reccomended ranges. I was just running and didn't have a coach at time to tell me that the the old 220 minus your age things isn't always true. My heart rate is super low. I guess I have a diesel engine. Because of those two things I just didn't trust the numbers and it's hard to go back now. I also don't like the lag of heart rate training. I have like to have information that focuses me on the moment. Watts do this and perceived effort on the run. Even mile split is to out of the moment for me. I think this is in part because I have ADHD and sometime cool about people ADHD is that although you have hard time focusing once you can gain that focus on something everything seems right in the world and you can focus on that task for hours! Watts and perceived effort do this for me and keep out any result oriented or negative thoghts.

It's also why I am writing long ass answers right now. I am in the zone and not worried about all the other things I need to do,and it feels damn good!

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I apologize for my spelling and grammar. I am not checking these posts over. I am just trying to answer everyone questions as quickly and thoroughly as possible even if it makes me sound a bit illiterate.

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Thanks for good entertaining on Saturday. It was fun following the race.

Since you like hard courses. When will you race Norseman??

Here is my take on what I have seen and I could be totally off base.

Best part is easily the people and the attitude toward sport! It's amazing. It seems competing in sport is something that is celebrated throughout your entire life as opposed to just when your a youth like back home in North America. Most other sports in North America the attitude seems to be you are either doing it because exercise is healthy or you are young and might one day make it big. Ironman and triathlon is an outlier to this in North America. People (myself included) get into to sport to push themselves to new limits and race! We all want to compete and finish and bust there ass to go fast as possible. Here it seems like everyone is out running intervals or training and competing in some kind of sport. You see this with the huge number of adult pro and semi pro teams and leagues and sports as well. You also see it in the attitude of the swim squads I think in North America most of us really miss out on the benefits of not competing beyond high school. Instead we sit around talking about the glory days and how we could have made the NHL if... This culture impact pro triathlon here as it celebrates and encourages the semi-pro who might not be making money, but our working their asses off to pursue a dream. It grows the number of Semi-Pros and keeps them in the sport. And I am living proof that it is the semi-pro (or b and c all the way down to z list pros) that inspire and cultivate the next generation of Ironman Champions. In my opinion that is why the Aussies or so dominant in Long Course Triathlon!

Worst. No drip coffee!!! If I ever champion a cause in life it will be to bring cheap drip coffee to the masses in Australia! Most likely in the form of good old Canadian Tim Hortons!!

Other Good things

-Blue Collar work ethic and attitude in Bendigo.
-The phrase reckon is much better than the work think. I also am going to start using "Hang shit on you" (make fun of you) and "shocker of a race" (bad race).
-I freaking love trains!!!
-Kangaroos
-Everyone has a nickname here.
-The way words and names get shortened and then have an -O added at the end. i.e. Shorto, Robbo, Vego (Vegetarian), Salvo (Salvation Army)
-TV Commercials in Bendigo are regional and a bit cheesy, much like used car ads back home!
-The attitude of age groupers toward swimming in the white squalls at Challenge Melbourne."Yep,lets we are getting this done"
-How McDonald's is referred to as "Macca's" even in ads.
-The Bendigo Madison

Bad Things
-Colder than I thought
-Kangaroos when on my bike
-Lack of Super Bowl Post game coverage
-Guys are are all sharply dressed and make me feel in adequate.
-Beating on edge and uneasy for the next 30mins after seeing a nasty crash at the Bendigo Madison.
-Really good prize money ($3500) for handicapped 400m running races?? So the fastest guy doesn't get it?? I just don't understand.
-Price of Gatorade and Water at Gas Stations!
-Lack of public Toilets at Gas stations, restaurants, coffee shops...

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PS: I fixed your signature line. You're a big deal now. You can't be having a hanging [/font] tag in your sig...

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

For me it's the weekend two weeks out from an Ironman. Kevin has me do a solid long ride with a short run off the bike onSaturday and then a solid Long Run the following day.

It's not how either one goes but combo of the two that matters to be. I like to do that ride solid (at the top of my perscribed zone) but it ability to back up the long ride with a solid run that matters to me. If you can't back it up and feel good (well good for the end of an Ironman build) on both the transition run and the long run the next day then even an awesome bike doesn't mean much.

Quick note: I'll gladly give some specifics of the training that Kevin gives me because the value of a coach and Kevin's biggest strength is his ability to give the right workouts and advice at the right time for the individual athlete. Kevin has been my first and only coach since 2008 and the benefit of that is he has been able to see what has worked for me in the past both from a mental and physical stand point and adapt my plan accordingly. I'll just credit him like I would a photographer (speaking of photographers, that Freaking Delly Carr!!! Awesome!! Whistler's David McColm and my boy Chris Stenberg are the only guys I know that can compare! ADHD moment,get back on track Jeff)

Before coming 2nd with a 2:40 run at Whistler that weekend (2 weeks out) looked like: Workout credit - Kevin Cutjar

Sunday: Challenge Penticton Bike Course in 4:48 ride time, 5:03 (I think total time) + 30 min transition run. Later 20mins easy open water swim.
Monday: easy 30 min bike + 2.5 hour Long Run on KVR rail trail at around 4 min pace

(Last I struggled with injuries, and did some racing as Ironman prep so leading up to that we didn't do to many big long ride or runs, I was a little worried about not having a ton of big sessions in. However my theory is you don't need to back up tons of big workouts just need to do it once on race day)

Before Ironman Melbourne

Saturday: 5 Long Ride with the PreComptri boys in Bendigo. Last hour was solid following the Legend Dave Meade.
Later that day 1 hour recovery run
Sunday 30min warmup ride and and this 2.5 hour descending run. similar to the description below, except went 20 warmup then 30:30:30:30 10 cool down.


http://triathlon.competitor.com/...s-birthday-run_92677

I also did a 75 15:15:15 descending run on the Last section of the Ironman Melbourne course. I had a bit of a tailwind and felt grat averaging 3:22k for the last 9k of the course. They had the mile markers already put out so I was able to know where they were and know which one (the only one on the whole course as I check when I pre-rode the run course) was placed in the wrong spot! That gave me a lot of confidence and even more when I hit that section on race day.

On a side note when I do my key long bike session I try and mimick race day as much as possible. Staying in my aerobars, taking as quick of water stops as I can, using my exact pre ace nutrition even peeing on the bike (Gross, Yeah whatever, my motto is Get Ugly!) The only thing that changes in the prescribed effort on the day.

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Are you going to storm the Okanagan HM again this year? We enjoyed watching you sprint towards us on the return leg as we slowly plodded along on the outward leg!

What is your body weight?

Jeff,
it's been tried and failed. Starbucks, after opening stores all across Australia, packed their bags and left. May be a few stores left, but only frequented by tourists.

I'll counter with, one of the best things about Kona ... espresso coffee!!!!

I see you went with the chrome-dome - What happened to the "fresh to death" haircuts like at Austin? I guess it worked as it did at Vegas Worlds, and Austin, well not so much. Just remember to shave the head at Kona this year, and fwiw, it will be a war of attrition no doubt, although you will have some competition in regards to "getting ugly". And let me know about Canada when you figure it out. Congrats again :)

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Here are links to the Strava files for the 5 Iron-Distance races I have done. The main difference in my riding was I spiked my and dropped my power more at Ironman Melbourne as I wanted to catch up to the pack and stay there. The other 4 rides I think I had someone in front of me for a combined total of maybe 6km's so I just rode a steady pace with maybe a 10-20 watts increase on some of the climbs.

IM Melbourne

https://www.strava.com/activities/273310407

Challenge Penticton 2014

https://www.strava.com/activities/203917568

IM Whistler 2014

https://www.strava.com/activities/191954090

Challenge Penticton 2013

https://www.strava.com/activities/78353425

IM Los Cabos 2013

https://www.strava.com/activities/53029373

I have a target wattage that I try and stick to based on ow training has gone. I am a total hammerhead by nature so I really use it to control effort in the first bit of the bike. I do make adjustment on the fly if I need do, you gotta roll with the punches sometimes.

I didn't actually ride the trainer too much in the lead up. I did some 60-90 minute session leading into Bahrain on December 6th but for the most part I could still ride outside. After Bahrain I took an end of season break with 1 week completely off of training, 2 weeks of one thing easy a day for a maximum on 60mins. Then pretty much a week off/easy with Strep Throat after that. I had two weeks building back into solid training and a week of solid training before I flew to Austrailia. IN that week I think I did a couple 2:15 minute session, but nothing I would consider crazy. There was definitely some good quality threshold sessions on the bike over those three weeks and a few Hard running intervals as well. I wanted to push straight though from Bahrain, but Kevin insisted I take a break. I was amazed at how little I had lost when I race Chalenge Melbourne On February 1st and Ironman 70.3 Geelong the weekend after. All of the bigger Ironman miles were done outdoors in Bendgo.

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The E118-Next is awesome! I tested it the E118-Next, The latest Speed Concept and the P5 at the University of Washington Wind Tunnel last year and there were less than a watt difference with a rider on the bike. These the difference between most top of the line bikes is practically nothing when a rider is put on. I wrote a more in depth review on a previous thread, but it's awesome, we just need a mapping function for Terenzo! .

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Here is a link to E-118 Next review I did on a previous thread.


http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...nds%20e-118;#5302633

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I hope you don't mind me posting this photo of you. It was just after one of the aid stations, you were still with Tim Berkel in =2nd, although he was about 10 metres in front of you here as you had stopped to grab some stuff & he didn't..you were flying, and I knew at this point you were the likely winner. Congratulations on a great race & result. I hope you enjoyed my home town.

Thanks for that. Less than a watt delta - and its UCI compliant unlike the P5 and SC9.

If your mum ever puts you up for adoption can I go first please?

I noticed that most of the guys at the pointy end of the race were hanging out in recovery for quite a while, some looking more shattered than others. What do you tend to do for recovery both immediately after a race like that and also in the days/weeks after?

Congrats on the win!

What does an Avril Lavigne Ice Tea taste like?
Is there a little of her in it?

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Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
DarkSpeedWorks.com.....Reviews.....Insta.....Facebook
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Not knowing what aerobars were on the p5 and SC, hard to say if it was uci compliant or not.

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

Congratulations on a fantastic race and win. I'm really looking forward to following your race in Kona.
Just a couple questions relating to your general training.
1)How much sleep do you usually get per day
2) How often do you get sick and do you train through it or back off?
Thanks,
Will

Thanks for the reply, CONGRATULATIONS and best of luck in the future!

If there is you get a nickel back.

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___________________________________________
http://en.wikipedia.org/...eoesophageal_fistula
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_palsy
2020 National Masters Champion - M40-44 - 400m IM
Canadian Record Holder 35-39M & 40-44M - 200 m Butterfly (LCM)

Will the Jeff Symonds bobble head action figure be ready in time for Kona?

Congrats buddy.

For the win!

Do you view the January 2009 training camp in Maui, in which you stayed in a homeless shelter (aka surfer's hostel) with Andrew McCartney and trained in cotton t-shirts under the supervision of Joel Filliol with myself, Kyle Jones, and Simon Whitfield as the defining moment in your career?

Lot's of, chopping wood and carrying water!

That's what it's all about!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Jeff - any upcoming plans for sponsor events/talks at LBS in vancouver/etc...?

Congrats on the win, always great to see a local win a big race like this!

( I grew up in Kelowna, so Ironman Canada, now Challenge Penticton was always in my backyard and I knew one day I'd do it! )

I've been on and off the injured list ( bike accidents ) but am also considering either the challenge half or relay this year as long as my knee holds up.

How much local training do you do? Does it tend to mostly be solo due to your fitness levels and specificity needed?

I find myself swimming solo ( schedule doesn't work ) but I do try to do a lot of the local time trials, crits and sunday road rides in Kelowna when I can, and am trying to do a bunch of the interior running series this year, just to get my fitness levels back up.

Jeff ^^^^^^^

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___________________________________________
http://en.wikipedia.org/...eoesophageal_fistula
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_palsy
2020 National Masters Champion - M40-44 - 400m IM
Canadian Record Holder 35-39M & 40-44M - 200 m Butterfly (LCM)

Swimming solo - tempo trainer pro to teach stroke rate and PACING. Swim long course as much as you can as well.

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___________________________________________
http://en.wikipedia.org/...eoesophageal_fistula
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_palsy
2020 National Masters Champion - M40-44 - 400m IM
Canadian Record Holder 35-39M & 40-44M - 200 m Butterfly (LCM)

Tempo trainer is probably the next tool on my list to buy. Just had a swim analysis done too. Worth every penny :p

Also Jeff Your link to the Challenge Penticton 2014 Strava link isn't working

"https://www.strava.com/activities/203917568"

Comes up as " This activity is no longer available."

Hello Jeff. Congratulations on the Win and the Big Time.

Which was uglier, Penticton 2013 or Melborne 2015? The road rash from Penticton established a respectable baseline of badassness.

Do you elites spend the whole day in the red zone? Or, do you spend some time in the comfort zone? As a mortal MOP athlete, I can push Z4 in a 70.3 but don't spend much time there over 140.6. Assuming you redline the day, what mental state is required to sustain that effort for 8hrs, and how do you prepare yourself for that mentality?

Thanks for participating in the forum, and best of luck with your season,

Scott

Not nearly as good as I imagine the Sweet Tea Billy Currington sings about in "Good Directions"!

Apparently Slowtwitch is FORBIDDEN in China! I guess the government wants to control the flow of triathlon information!

I'll definitely be racing something in BC. The plan before Maelbourne was Ironman Canada and maybe the Half at Challenge Penticton. So many great races up here I'll probaby end up doing more!

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Race day nutrition


PreRace
2 Vanilla Crisp Powerbars
3 packs of maple brown sugar instant oatmeal (sent over from Canada)
1 large Coffee
½ bottle of Powerbar Perform before swim warmup

Bike (all Powerbar Perform was mixed at 50g of carbs for 750m bottle)

0-22km 750ml of Perform
22-45km ½ bottle of On Course Endura + a big drink from another bottle of Endura + 250ml Perform
45-67km 1 x Powerbar Starberry Banana Gels + 750ml water +250ml Perform
67km-93km 2 x Powerbar Starberry Banana Gels + 750ml water +250ml Perform
93km-112km 750ml of Perform
112km-135km ½ bottle of Endura + ½ bottle of Perform
135km-157km 2 x Powerbar Starberry Banana Gels
157km-180km ½ bottle of Perform + 1 Powerbar Strawberry Banana Gel

Run

Aid stations were roughly once every 2kms and I alternated between:
-1 Powerbar Strawberry Banana Gel + at least 2 cups of water
-At least one cup of water, but if I felt like more I grabbed more.

The total was 10 Gels.

Race Nutrition was almost exactly as I had planned. The only differences were that I had planned on full bottles of Endura on the bike, but they were handing out ½ bottles and on the run I also grab a few sips of coke if I really felt like it at aid stations.

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See above for details of the nutrition plan. If you meant how did I carry it all, then, I use two bottles on the bike to start with and picked up two in special needs. I went old school and taped 6 gels on my bike. Two on the top tube and 4 wedges between my aerobar pads and bottle cage. On the run I had 6 gels on my race belt and picked up another 4 at my Special needs.

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So, what about your swim training??? How many meters per day, how many days per week, do you ever do a mini-iron workout like Karen Smyers liked to do: 4000 m sw/60 mi bk/13 mi run??? When you're swimming say 20 x 100 m free, what sort of pace??? Just guessing but i'd say you could prob do 20 x 100 scm on 1:20 coming in around 1:10-ish??? Also, did you swim on a team growing up???

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Thanks! It's kind of strange surreal feeling because not only have I dreamed of winning a big race like that, but I have mentally rehearsed the emotions of it during long training runs. So when it actually happened it felt like deja vu, yet just a dream. Kind of weird. It was more the commitment to coming over to Australia, working hard and laying an awesome last training block. The Journey not the destination.

With regards to your question, that is what love about the Ironman and why I race. To find out how I will respond in those moments. The ones where you need to throw caution to the wind and go for it. I think Crashing at Challenge Penticton and still running the Marathon allowed me to set a new standard for how much I could push. My left hip was pretty wrecked from the impact and the road rash was quite painful and the pads of four of fingers on my left hand were shredded . There was lots of reasons that it may have been smart to not quit, but I made the conviction before I set out on the marathon no matter what. I also I plan out what i want to think a key points in the race and make sure I have an answer for "Why am I out here?" before I start asking myself during the race.

I also really try and focus in on the moment repeating mantras controlling my thoughts so doubt doesn't creep in. so far I have never been seriously hurt from pushing hard in a race. I have got hurt from racing with prior injuries and running on the Challenge crash. I also think it helps me push hard knowing that the races that have been the most intrinsically rewarding are not necessarily the ones where I place well, but rather the ones where I overcame adversity and push really hard. Just helps with the motivation and giving meaning to the suffering.

I also repeat a Tim Tebow quote from when he was at Florida playing in the national Championships. "You got 30 minutes for the rest of your lives" That's how I think. Push hard for the next 30mins or however much left and who cares how you end up tomorrow or the rest of your life. I also tell myself you never have to hurt this bad again ever again if you don't want to. But the morning after I always want to do it all over again!

Tim Tebow Clip

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Thanks! It's my pleasure to gave back to a site that I have gained a ton of knowledge from over the years!

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I am only aware of it because I have seen it on film and heard people talk about it. I don't do it at the start of the run (well not as bad) it happens once I start to dig a bit deeper. But really I don't remember too much at all from that part of races because everything is just focused on the task of going as fastas possibe.

Whenever I told people that I ran cross country and Steeplecahse in Penticton they would ask if I was going to do Ironman that year. When I said no, they would always say "just no good enough". The summer after my Sophmore year of University I was working in a Vinyard and biking to work. I thought I would do a triathlon to prove to people it wasn't as epic as they made it out to be. I was wrong it was totally epic and I was hooked. I still focused on running until my University eligibilty was up, but my heart was away from the track. When I graduated from University in 2007 I made the switch for good.

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It was definitely a defining moment! I googled that place the week before I came out and the reviews were all about bed bugs and tripping on Vitamin L (Which I found out was LSD). I flew in a bit late and Joel and Kyle dropped me off there at around 10:30pm. Andrew came the next day so it was me on my own. The place looked dodgy and I'll always remember the shit grin on Kyle face as I went in the door. He was giggling like a school girl trying to peak in the hostel. The room had 6 bunks and 5 guys already asleep so I jumped into bed without being able to turn the lights on to check for bed bugs or see if the other guys were kill me in my sleep. The room didn't even glass in the window and in January the temperature would swing so much that I started off sleep drench in sweat and would have to get up in the middle of the night to put on a hoodie and sweatpants! We met some really interesting people there!

In hindsight I would definitely do it all over again! I learned a ton from you guys even if I had to put up with derogatory hostel boys jokes the entire 3 weeks!
I am also fortunate to have learned a ton from yourself and Jill in Penticton. I'll always remember ragging on my for drink tap water when we have filtered water right there. "If you are going to drink water you might as well drink the best water" Great mentality to have!

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Hey come one now I am Country boy! I also throw in a little Bon Jovi when I want to take things to another level! "Shot through the Heart and your to blame....."

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The hat is definitely Australian! I saw it at a Bendigo dollar store for $9.95 to see what the guys at swimming would say. It has Mick Dundee written all over it! I think it might have even been made for a costume.

I have done a good mix of indoor and outdoor sessions. I think the indoor sessions were great not just for nailing down high quality session but also for getting mentally coached when I first got going. Spin classes are a rare situation where coaches can give you instant feedback during the middle of hard interval. The classes were also great for hearing story of previous Ironman races. I could learn the mistakes people had made before I had to go out there and make them myself.

Being in Vancouver I can get out for outdoors sessions pretty much everyday, however I think there is a point where it takes so much mental willpower to battle the elements that you sacrifice the quality of the workout.

I use a powermeter and posted my file earlier in the thread. There are quite a few of us pros that are on Strava so it kind of cool to see how the other guys races were going.

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Ha! Ironically that is what being a pro is all about! That race was being televised nationally on TV. With my sponsor at the time the only logod race kit that I had was a 2 piece suit that was made for long distance racing not swimmig in. My sponsors had invested a lot in me and I needed to make sure there logos were represent on TV, even if it meant cost me time and looking bush league in T1! The following year I started working with Champion Systems I order a CS Elite Tri Suit specifically for that race!

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I would love to race that course! The fact that I got hooked on the TV show Vikings while training in Bendigo increases my desire to race there! Ultraman Hawaii is on my list of races to do one day as well and after hearing Jack Mott hype it up I also want to race Savageman!

When I do Norseman I am going to turn up with a badass beard like Ragnar Lothbrok!

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Congrats!!! I caught the last part of the race where you were just getting amazingly ugly out there.

No real questions from me, Just a few simple statements.

Firstly - Nice work (allthough I will say that as I gave my bike to the catcher in Frankston, you had just jumped off the podium.) I will say I had no idea who won, even watching the video.

And Thanks for giving me my medal a good 6.5hours later - a nice touch after a shite run.

Again - Well done, and hopefully we can see you again next year (you have a title to defend)

Your knowledge of country music struck me as impressive in your Slowtwitch front page interview. Pulling that Dierks Bentley reference was a pleasant shock, how often do you listen to country music, and who would you say is your favorite country artist currently?

Thank you Jeff. Much appreciated you taking the time to do this

I love that race! There are few things better than racing in the morning and hitting Thanksgiving dinner that night! Just wish I could race them all!

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Jeff!
What is your prediction for Oceanside?

I'm thinking 1.Brent, 2.the Colonel, 3.Wurtele

Sorry everyone, I kind of burnt myself out with post race stuff. I want to make sure I get an answer to everyone that took the time to ask questions now that I am mentally recharged!

Unfortunately I won't be able to make it out to the BMO Okanagan Marathon this year as it falls on the same weekend as Kona. I love that race! It is a great time for running and there really isn't much better than racing in the morning and demolishing Thanksgiving Turkey at night!

Hopefully I'll be able to race something else in Kelowna to make up for missing it!

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I weigh somewhere between 160-165. I try to take the Fedor Emelianenko approach and not worry about my weigh or being lean, just do whatever I need to do to perform at my best. My philosophy on nutrition is to eat as healthy as I can to maximize my energy and performance in workouts. I find worrying about weight for myself, and for others I have talked to, almost always leads to sickness injury or bad races. No if only I could have Fedor stoic intimidation and complete lack of any wasted movement, but that just ain't me!

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Just trying to look like you! But seriously, I had been trying to grow out the flow since last August but shaved it all off the day before the race. It all came down to the question "is this hair helping me get to the finish line faster"? The answer was no. Even it was a miniscule amount, I felt like the long hair was heavier, hotter and aerodynamically slower on the run. As someone who waxes his bike the night before a race, I know you can appreciate that!

In hindsight i will take Craig Alexander's post race advice and shave my head a week out from the race as the Sunburn on the top of my head was pretty wicked!

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Thanks! I appreciate you posting the photo! I absolutely loved Melbourne and can't wait to come back next year!

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I am not sure if you mean you want to adopt me or be adopted by my parents? Being adopted by my parents would be a better way to go! They are an amazing support crew. They came out to Melbourne to watch and were everywhere on race day. My mom can reel off the stats and PB's of almost every pro and my dad has multiple sheets of paper with race splits and calculations that he uses to determine how I am doing and where they need to be to best cheer me on.

I don't remember doing too much recovery in the recovery area. I think like most people we let our guard down after an Ironman. Ideally I would have like to get a massage, eat some greasy food. But what I actually did was report to drug testing, drank a coke, had a G.I. shower and did as many interviews as I could. As I told one reporter, "let's get it done now, because it will sink in my tomorrow and I'll might become a total jerk. I do like hanging out in the recovery area afterward to swap war stories with fellow athletes. I say athletes becasue I don't like segregating age groupers and pros. We are all the same and all go through the same thing and have great stories to tell! That is what makes are sport so amazing! I did get to see fellow Vancouverite Brendan Naef finish in a huge PB of 8:49 which was pretty cool as well. One of my best memories of the race was coming back to recovery area later that night and listening to story of an elementry and high school Jon Gresl, friend who completed his first Ironman. he and 5 friends trained in in through a real Canadian winter in Fort McMorray to do the race and hearing there stories just reminded me what Ironman racing is all about.

The week after I didn't do too much. It was swamped with doing interviews and thank you and slowtwitching and what not. I was able to get for a swim on the Tuesday after the race which was awesome for getting things moving. I flew out form Melbourne at 11:30pm on Wednesday and it was a 31 hour trip through China. I was pretty tired from that so didn't do too much training. but did get another swim and a bike and run in that week. I got in to see my Physiotherapist Sean Campbell when I got back to Vancouver to make sure I was alright biomechanically from the race. During the next week I did a light activity on thing a day. During this time I don't feel like I need to be training but rather I just love swimming biking and running. And even more so when you don't feel like you need to be doing it. Just doing it purely for fun. I did eat a few burgers during that first week. I also make sure I do things that I neglect or wouldn't do during a hard training phase to mentally recover.

It is now three weeks since the race and post race stuff has finally died down and I have started back into a structured training program.

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Ha! I left my wallet in Australia so I didn't get to try it. I can only imagine that it would have been "Everything, Everything that I wanted (that I wanted)!"

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Thanks!

Usually somewhere between 8-9 hours. If I get 9 I feel great, 8 I feel good, 7 I feel passible, anything less than 7 I am a wreck. I don't nap all that often but if I do it 20mins. That seems to be the best amount for me.

I get sick fairly often, maybe 3-4 times a year. I am lucky in that if I train to much my immune system breaks down before my body does and I get injured. I have found that over the years I gotten sick less. I think this is a result of improvements to my sleep quality, eating quality and understanding of my body and how I am feeling. Going easy when I need a bit a rest. It is also the adaption to the training and the gradual improvements in the training load I am able to handle.

It all depends on how sick I am but I usually stop training when I know for sure it is a sickness and start training lightly again when I am back on the upswing. This usually means a day or two off of training and a couple of really easy day. I am probably not the best to ask about this as I am a hammerhead and always want to get back as soon as possible.

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Ha! Mike Brown had told me he is working on it for Great White North!

Hope to see you soon!

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Will see! I went out last minute last Wednesday to help out with BlueSeventy at the North Short Athletics Tri Night. I have been swamped and don't really have time to plan something but I love talking to fellow triathletes so if an opportunity comes up I will gladly do it and let you know. I might see if Speed Theory wants to do something soon.

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Thanks! It's great to represent everyone back home in the Okanagan.

I am based in Vancouver right now as my girlfriend is finishing up her masters at UBC. I am back and forth to the Okanagan a fair bit and love training there. My parents still live there and I was able to do a great block of training there leading up IM Caanada last year. I do most of my training here in Vancouver. I have always found it better for me to keep conisistency rather than go here there and everywhere for training camps. Having said that, going to Melbourne a couple of months early to train worked really well. Plus my girlfriend liked "not having cereal boxes all over the counter" when I was gone! So I might do that a bit more.

Most of my training on the bike and run is done solo. I am a big beleiver in training how you race and I like getting my head wrapped around being out there by yourself for hours. It's also tough to find others that are planning on doing a similar session and at a similar speed. I also like it from a time management approach. You just get the work done. I am also suceptible to racing in practice and going to hard in a workout and compromise the next days sessions. Having said that as I mature and can control that mentality I will look to find guys that can push me on the bike. I also like to work out with other that are preparing for the same race I am for the mental benefit. It can be motivating and calming just to hear where they are at with training and how they are going through the same feelings emotionally and physcially that I am.

Swimming is a different beast. Swimming with groups is great. I have a hard time judging my speed in the water so having other faster swimmers helps me find that fast effiecient pace. It also helps to prepare for the dynamic of swimming in groups like you do in a race. I also find that I can smash myself in the water and recover quickly. But also for the some of the same reasons as biking and running, I do session alone.

Best of luck in the build up to Challenge Penticton!

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Thanks! Fixed it. Link is here as well https://www.strava.com/activities/203917568

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Thanks!

Penticton 2013 by far! That was next level ugliness. Between the shredded finger tips on my left hands, the sweat in road rash, and my busted up hip that hurt! Then stack on normal Ironman pain! I think that really alllowed me to find a new level of suffering that reset my standard for future racing. It doesn't matter what I do from here on out, It will never be covered in blood beating Macca in your hometown Badass! I guess you could say I have peaked!

I definitely not in the red zone all day. The start of the swim is all out, but then you settle in. The bike in Melbourne was off and on with some big efforts early and chill once I was in the pack. I definitely felt those early efforts stack up later in the ride. The run is pretty chill until about halfway. I like to think of it as a long run that hurts a lot. That is basically how it feels for the first half and then it get tough. You need a way higher level of mental focus to hold that pace in the second half. It would probably make me sound like a badass to say I was in hurt box the entire run, but that wouldn't be true (unless you crash at 60+ km/h). You do keep your foot on the gas the whole way but I think in order to get the finish line as fast as possible you need to keep that first half somewhat relaxed. I always want to make the last part of the race the hardest and hurt the most. If you start burying yourself to early you don't have the energy or mental energy to make that happen.

Best of luck with your season as well!

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I didn't have a great swim, so I am probably not the best to take advice from on this topic. In an Ironman build I try and swim 15-20km's per week. If I can I like to do at least one session per week in the open water or Kits Pool (137m long!). I never did a swim to bike brick. I have only done these in preparation for ITU races or big 70.3. I haven't had a problem going from swimming to Ironman Pace riding. I don't think it's something you really need to train and for most people it's probably better to feel like junk and hold back on the first part of the bike. I could probably do that workout. I would be stoked and feel like I had a great swim if I did. The closest I can think of that would be similar was Elliot Holtham (2014 Ironman Australia Champ and by the world most underrated pro) did a workout where we had 10x100 scm on 1:20 in the middle of a 3k workout. I was really feeling the magic that day and was leading them and came in on 1:07 and 1:08's. I remember the rest of the workout being tough after that. I can't remember if I was catching the tail end of somebody in our lane, but I may have been.

I did feel like my swim training was a lot better than my swim performance on race day. However, although I wasn't in the pack I wanted to be I got out of the water feeling great so all the swimming wasn't for not.

I swam a couple of summers growing up. I think that laid the foundation for my stroke. I only learned freestyle when I swam, so my other strokes my backstroke and breaststroke are awful! I also swam with a high school group after I graduated. I was swimming up to 9 sessions a week ranging from 90mins to 2 hours. I made huge progress in my swimming and more importantly learned how to train like a swimmer. I also solved all of the highschool kids relationship problems! If I had a time machine I don't think I would tell myself to swim more when I was young. I think having to work at swimming had increased my drive and work ethic and has helped me more than any time I might give up on the water. Plus I think I can swim with some more hard training I can be front pack in a big non wetsuit swim like Kona like I was in Vegas 2011.

But seriously don't take my advice on swimming as gospel. Listen to RealAlbertan or MarkyV. Those guys are fishes! Also listen to JonnyO I learned a ton about swimming and life from him and DrTommy driving up to Summerland to swim the year the Penticton Pool was closed. Plus I think he has just copied everything from Paulo Sousa who is responsible for the biggest Canadian triathlon breakthrough of 2014.... Trevor Wurtele's swimming! If it was like everything else Trevor has achieved the secret was hard work!

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Thanks!

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Thanks! Congrats on your race as well! I had an amazing time in Melbourne and Bendigo and will definitely be back next year to defend the title! If you see me don't forget to say hi!

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I am a huge country fan. JR FM in Vancouver and Country 100.7 in Penticton are always locked in on my radio. It was also a dream come true to be feature on a local country radio station, SoCountry radio, with Dennis Dumas Walker after winning Challenge Penticton this past year.





Favorite country is a toss up between George Canyon and Paul Brandt. George Canyon is awesome, I saw him open up for Toby Kieth here in Penticton and he should have been the main act! Paul Brandt probably edges him out because he completed in the BMO Okanagan Marathon in 2009when I was there racing the half. He did it without any fanfare or hype. Like the rest of us he just wanted to push himself and do something epic! I shook his hand afterwards, it was pretty awesome.

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No problem! Sorry it took so long to answer the rest of the questions.

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I had it 1.Trevor 2. Brent 3. Lionel 4 Taylor Reid

I wasn't perfect, but the boys showed up and it was awesome! Excited to see more from them this year!

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thanks for the updates Jeff!
I'll keep an eye out for any events you plan with Speed Theory - i'm sure myself and many other fans in Vancouver would like to congratulate/meet you in person

Interesting perspective, most guys would like to do the time machine and swim 10 yrs while growing up. In any event, thanks for all the info. Doing 10 x 100 scm on 1:20 holding 1:07-08 is some pretty quick swimming:)

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Hey Jeff,

I'm sure you are ready for this thread to fade out, but I just wanted to thank you for coming back to answer all our questions.

Rock on,

Scott