Another question for Tim... How was the Giro Aerohead at Kona. I see that most opted NOT to wear it. Was it hot? How was visibility with the face shield and all the salty sweat that happens out on the queen-k? Can you talk a little about your strength/pt work that you do? How many hours a week have you been dedicating to that?

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I wouldn’t be surprised if the corsa speed tires were tubulars. In the past he has ridden tubulars.

I want to know about the bottle setup he had in kona as well as the nutrition strategy. Looks like he ran 4 bottles (BTA, top tube (cervelo p5 disc bottle), down tube, and BTS. What nutrition/fuel is in each bottle? Did you replace the bottles at special needs?

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blog

Hey Tim, what is your average race day weight?

correct about the Corsa Speeds in tubular..the Gum sidewalls are only available in Tubular for the Speeds

Just mentioned the same under Dan's article. Scratch that, looks like my comment was deleted......


So my question for TO, is why still using tubulars?

Tim I think this was your fastest run in Kona, probably with the least run specific training. Did the additonal swim-bike training allow you to access a sub 2:50 run, or do you think it was water running and the anti gravity treadmill. Final question, how are the Hoka carbon plated shoes vs other Hoka models like the Clifton?

i have a SECOND question, to which i refer in our article announcing this Ask Me Anything thread. you are blessed with a cornucopia of stationary implement providers. it is my guess that you were a GARMIN athlete, and a technogym athlete, before GARMIN purchase TACX, presumably relieving of any obligation to use TACX for stationary cycling.

but i don't know. there is no doubt technogym makes treadmills that anyone would be over-the-moon to have, and i'd like to know if you're using one, and which (because i'm taking a little informal poll on whether curved or planar mill contours are preferred and technogym makes both).

but as to stationary cycling, it is hard to argue against the first-tier category position of at least the NEO, and probably the NEO bike. but technogym makes a smart direct drive trainer (i don't know who they sell it to, but they have one) and it also makes a whole suite of stationary bikes. smart bikes.

what's in the pain cave?

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

i didn't delete any comments. but i do have this same question. almost nobody rides tubies in tri. the only defensible reason they don't ride them on the road is that you can more easily ride a flatted tubie than a flatted clincher.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I'm very curious on this one too as my first set of tubeless tyres rocked up yesterday and have been using tubs up until now. Note Rohan Dennis rode the same tubs to the World TT title this year and was under no sponsorship obligations so they obviously aren't slow.

X2 for nutrition and logistics of bottles and food!

Tim, did you guys do any testing in the tunnel with your Crono water bottle moved closer to the bottom bracket?. And who made the plate that allowed you to move the water bottle further down the frame.

Hi Tim,

What is your race schedule for 2020?

Do you plan to still race as an AG athlete with Rinny when pro days are over?

Favorite 70.3?

What was your rate in the USN? and thanks for your service!

SK3 (SS) Veteran

Hi Tim!

As a Garmin sponsored rider we saw your bike at a photo shoot with Garmin Vector 3 pedals that were missing the doors and had chewed up threads. Do you mind elaborating on this and is the Garmin V3 the power meter you use or did you move to something else?

I thought it was interesting that your crank length was listed as 167.5, and we're the same height 6'. I have always ridden 172.5 not really by choice, but just because it's always been recommended to me by the manufacturer's guidelines for frame size. I do have pretty long legs for my height though.

Do you feel that using the shorter cranks take away power on the bike?

Do you feel that the shorter cranks leaves you fresher for the run?

What cadence do you typically race at?

Thanks!

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Professional interests in Genomics, Bioinformatics, Hardware/Software interfaces, sports interests are running from 800 to half marathon, sprint tri to half iron, cycling road races

https://brave.com/ - A safer and faster way to browse the web
https://www.strava.com/athletes/3757906

What was your total volume for each sport?

Did you prefer to record data with the Quarq over the Garmin Pedals that can be seen on your tri and road bike?

A few years ago I believe you were fit by Matt Steinmetz, then Jim Manton, and recently Julie Dibens/Matt Bottrill. What drove your to have your fit changed so often? Which fit philosophy has worked best and what are the significant changes from each fit?

Hi Tim,
Since you’re in the Southern Hemisphere at the moment (unlike our PM you’re taking your holidays to be with all the fire victims 😂), my question is: are the in-laws nice to you?

hey Tim,

thanks for joining us during the holidays.

curious your thoughts on Lawrence, Kansas as a pre-Kona training grounds?

is Boulder that overrun in the summer/fall now that Coach Dibs needs to get you guys away from the crowds or does Lawrence do a better job of mimicking Kona-like conditions?

Thx,
LF

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Lars Finanger
Odyssey SwimRun

That's *Lieutenant America (Fixed to denote USN rank)

What is your suite of Hoka One One shoes and what do you use all of them for?

Have you kept doing pullups since Dive School?

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

TIM .

where did you get your your 10 tooth cassette cog. DID you use it in HAWAII?

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Technique will always last longer then energy production. Improve biomechanics, improve performance.
http://Www.anthonytoth.ca, triathletetoth@twitter

i'm not tim, but he's riding SRAM Red AXS, which we wrote about here. this is a 12sp cogset, it begins with a 10t cog, i believe he's riding a 10-26 in the back, he's riding 2x, and he said he's riding the biggest ring options the groupset has, which i believe is 50x37. 50 may seem small, but if you run the numbers on the 10t cog it's not a small gear.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Hey Tim
Are you are Shellback or a Bluenose?

TO,

It seemed like you went balls-out in Kona this year—deliberating saying “I’m competing for the win.” Will you talk about the pro mindset of really going for it vs just managing for the podium, top 10, etc. Is that something you focused on doing this year, more so than in others?

Awesome performance!!! Also, love that you rep the USA as a Navy man.

Thanks for the intro Dan! I'll be popping in all day (here in Australia!) to answer questions. I'll do my best to answer everyone! I know everyone on here is into their numbers, I hope I don't disappoint with to little data in my answers...the engineer inside me check out a long time ago :)

Why did I know my tires were going to come into question in this forum? :)

Everyone told me I should ride clinchers years ago so I did Timberman 70.3 in 2016 with them and flatted! After that I went straight back to tubulars. I've always found tubulars reliable and one less thing to worry about so I decided to stick with them. With that said, I can't ignore the savings you get from a great tire and this year I switched from the corsa to the corsa speed.

That's right, four bottles on the bike! BTA was refillable for water (grabbing a bottle at every aid station) the other three bottles were all the same mix:

2 scoops of plain UCAN
1.5 scoops of grape Roctane
Salt

I would drink one bottle ever 80-90 min

Other then water I carry all my nutrition with me, I had 8 gels, extra salt and a half of a payday in my jersey pockets!

How many cals per hour does this equate to and how many mg sodium per hour. Also what was your before race weight and after race weight?

Curious to know what model of Bontrager wheels you were using in kona. Couldn’t see anything like that on the website. I’m assuming they aren’t avail to the general public yet?

I didn't have any issues with the Aerohead or the visor, they worked great! I have less issue with getting sweat on my visor then glasses as it sits further off my face.

For strength I work with Erin Carson (ECFit) at Rallysport. We aim for 3x a week (Tuesday after run/swim) Friday (after early AM swim) and a home session on Sundays after my long run. TUES/FRI sessions are heavier lifting. The Sunday session is more movement based with the TG K1 machine. Erin and I will have my program in an app form available soon...stay tuned!

T.O. Great race in Kona! How tempted were you to go with Jan when he he made his move at Scenic Point, or had you predetermined you were going to stick to your race plan no matter what.

Also, how do you like your Raptor. That is one Badass truck!

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Let food be thy medicine...

Tim... small world but on Alii Drive at about mile 2 i got to chatting with your old coach from military days. Real pleasure to share story with him of your racing our little small race in Caledon Ontario Canada in 2004 with Simon’s build to Athens. We agreed of your graciousness and class from our experiences.

I am always fascinated in this mad sport what goes through the minds of us back half of marathons. Do you have a mantra or positive reinforcement words you use to stay in the moment?

Also, coming from a bike background i am curious how often in off season vs in season are you riding non tri bike(s)?

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@rhyspencer

Tim,

1. I can't help but notice that you ride a Trek and Rinny rides a Felt. Does this cause marital stress? It seems almost like a Catholic being married to a Presbyterian.

2. Do you periodically cross paths with Ben Hoffman? You live in the same town, but Ben is never mentioned on the Tim & Rinny Show.

Thanks in advance,
2old&2slow

usually 164lbs going into the race...a few lbs extra race morning with water retention from carbo loading. Lightest I've been pre-race was 159lbs...too light for me, that was 2011 and I got sick race week.

I really think the injury helped my run in Kona this year. Most importantly, it allowed be to up both volume and quality on the bike. In our Kansas camp I was hitting numbers I'd never seen before in training. The extra bike fitness allowed me to ride within myself in Kona this year. While I may have had better run fitness in years past I had always ridden too hard and couldn't access my run ability. When I hit T2 this year it was definitely the best my legs have ever felt in Kona.

The alter G was a huge benefit to my running as well. It allowed me to really train my neuromuscular without the wear and tear of some of those bigger run sessions. It really left my legs fresher then normal. You can't train like that all year (have to do the work at some point) but luckily my run fitness was great prior to the injury so I had some fitness in the bank.

I also noticed my recovery was a lot tougher after running that well with lower run volume, I guess there are trade offs, right!

Congrats on the great result. Any tips for staying healthy with a toddler?

What was your power on the bike and did you pay attention to it during the race?

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https://twitter.com/mungub

Hey Tim,

Suppose you were in a WWE doubles wrestling match. Which other pro triathlete(s) would you want in:
A. Your corner
B. Opposing sides
C. Afraid to go up against

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Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

Love this question Dan...pain caves are always fun to talk about!

When we built our house a few years back we wanted made a point to have the pain cave above ground. We wanted to look up and see the sky every once in a while we were suffering. We ended up with a pretty amazing view of the open space from the training room, which is sweet!

First the treadmills: we have both the SkillRun (flat) and SkillMill (curved & self powered) treadmills from TechnoGym and they are awesome. In my opinion, you can't really compare as they are different tools in the toolset for different jobs. I truly believe the SkillMill (curved) has been an important part of my run improvement. It really helps you get good hip drive and helps get your foot placement under your body and not out front of you. Running on these treadmills is hard though, it definitely gets the HR up. The longest I'll run straight on it is usually 30 min but I do a lot of turnovers on it too. The treadmills are right next to each other so I'll hop back and forth between the two during a run.

Next we have TechnoGyms Kinesis 1 (K1) machine in the training room. Its a beast, there are so many exercises we can do on it, its perfect for our home sessions with Erin.

Finally we have out double trainer setup. We have two TehcnoGym myCycle trainers with TVs mounted low on the wall for both of them. Since we are riding in our bars for most of our rides its nice to not have to look up to see the TV. It is a great smart trainer, smooth quiet and sturdy. I have no issues linking up to Zwift for a ride but usually just end up do my workout in a standalone mode and watch Netflix!

I didn't do any specific testing, just relied on feedback from Trek engineers and their data along with my cycling coach Matt Botrill and the data he has from so much testing. I think it is somewhat accepted now that having that space at the bottom of the frame is faster. Last year we made a bracket to mount that bottle lower, this year Mark Andrews at Trek made sure I had custom mounts drilled in the frame to accommodate the low bottle position. It is way cleaner then original setup!

Well I didn't make it too far in the Navy (LT O-3)...those first two promotions were automatic with time in rank :)

Still, I'm incredibly proud of where I came from, grateful to al the men and women serving our country and honored to still represent them when I race around the world!

Now back to triathlon, my 2020 schedule is still not nailed down. Kona will again be my focus and I'll make a decision on which other IM I'll do I the next couple weeks. I checked the box for Kona already with IM Cozumel so I have some freedom in where I go!

Other then that I'll probably do an early season 70.3 (TBD) and then I'll represent the US team in the PTO's Collins Cup event at the end of May.

Favorite 70.3 was St Croix, awesome place and TOUGH race. I hope it will make a comeback someday.

As for racing post PRO career...I count you'll see me racing much but I would love to pick one race every year, get some other former pro friends to come with and maybe have a friendly side bet!

you can't get any detail by Slowtichers! :)

So I had crashed on those pedals and messed up the body a bit, the cap just happened to fall off before that ride when I was pulling my bike out of the car. I didn't realize till after the ride but the good folks at Garmin fixed them up for me later that day!

I know, I know, I get them for free...I should've ordered a new pair after I crashed...but waste not want not, right?!

I originally rode 172.5s and switched to 165s quite a few years back. I actually have a bone impingement in my hip and the shorter crank helps me get low and avoid irritating my hip. I do feel like I ride better with shorter cranks (especially over rolling courses), my power is better and pedal stroke efficiency is better. As with life there are trade offs and I do think I run better off of longer cranks. I tried 170s and then settled at 167.5s for my preferred length. Compromise wins!

I usually ride around 85-90rpm in a race

I believe on the new 12 speed SRAM Red, the cranks only come with quarqs? Regardless, Trek built all of our bikes with them and (as you do when you get free stuff) I smiled and said thank you very much! I've used both and both works great with oodles of data collection.

In terms of fit, I am always trying to improve as an athlete and at 39 that usually means being smarter and to training harder! The work I did with Jim Manton was awesome. We paired up with Garmin's Alpha Mantis team and dialed in everything on the velodrome in LA. Last year when Matt Botrill came on board, we actually didn't touch my saddle position at all and left the front end reach and height pretty similar. We really worked on bringing my arms narrower and angled the front end up to hold me into place. The most important thing we did was work on my ability to hold position in a race. We can hold hold an awesome position for a few laps on the velodrome but doing it over 180km takes training.

haha, yah they are great! I mean they'll give me a hard time when I call the "Tommy sauce" ketchup but other then that pretty good! This is my first Christmas in summer, so I am getting used to that but on the plus side I don't have to coordinate any holiday plans..I can just sit back and watch My Little Ponies with Izzy!

I love Lawrence! No joke, Lawrence is an awesome town, I highly recommend! Last year I wanted to get down from altitude before Kona, that's where the search started. It is just hard to get the top end sessions in at altitude, at least without needing a lot more recovery. This is especially true as I get older. We were looking for a somewhere within a day's drive that had a little heat and humidity too. We actually got the Lawrence idea from Talbot (who got it from Gwen's husband Pat) I had done the 70.3 there in 2009 and it was HOT and the bike course was legit too so I figured it would be perfect. It turns out it really is great, they have an awesome 50m public pool, awesome gym with TG equipment (thank you JayHawk Club), a great gravel trail to run along the river and some nice roads for riding. On top of that the people in town are awesome, so nice. Don tell Rinny, but I think we should get a place there :)

LT America reporting for duty :)

I spit my coffee when I read the pull-ups question, so good! I'm not gonna lie...I don't think I've done a single pull-up since I graduated from Dive School :)

I do most of my running in the Mach 2s but Cliftons are great for EZ runs and the new Rincons might fight the Machs for most miles worn this spring when I get back to the US. Tempo and speed are done in Carbon X and Carbon Rockets.

Don't hold it against me for not getting those Quals :)

Thanks so much for the kind words! You definitely have to be in it to win it when racing Kona, particularly with the swim and bike. If you are a contender and don't want to take chances then I think you can snag a Top 10 just by being smart, not over biking and having a solid run. If you want then win (or really the podium) then things change a bit! The crucial part is taking calculated risks (making the swim break, staying with the leaders until the top of climb and turn around).

In terms of mindset I actually don't get caught up in trying to "win" I focus on executing my best race. I believe if I execute my best race then that is a performance that can result in the win.

I go off of grams of carbs and shooting for 110-120/hr

The Raptor rocks...I love that thing!!

As for Jan's move, I definitely ramped up my power but hit a point where I knew the power it would take to bridge would be too much at that point in the race. I just had a feeling that it wasn't my move at that point. I honestly think I made the right call.

"Don't Give up the Ship" is always in my mind!

As for no Tri bikes, I try to stay off of it in the off season. Cross, mountain, road, anything but the TT bike. We'll be here in Australia for 6 weeks and I actually just brought my road bike with me.

Haha, no stress with the competing brands...I know deep down Rinny wishes she was on a trek ;)

Ben and I are good friends, have spent plenty of time riding the canyons around boulder together...plenty of nights drinking a bottle or two too much of reds too :)

I think I was around 285 NP for the ride if my memory is correct, I don't look at it during the race though...I just race!

As for staying healthy with Izzy, it is definitely hard. We have a live in nanny which is huge. Avoiding daycare is big plus as that is probably the number one place for kids to pick up germs! We also make sure izzy washes her hands frequently and we take a lot of vitamin C and essentials oils (doterra for the oil gains out there) to help our immune systems.

I do love pro wrestling! Izzy LOVES the Ultimate Warrior and The Macho Man Randy Savage...it drives Rinny insane and I think it is amazing!

As for tag team partners, would have to go with Jan, he is a great guy to have on your side with the swim and bike (Kona!)

Opponents: Cam Wurf (cause his smack talk is entertaining) and probably Sebi (cause he is an awesome competitor)

Afraid to go up against: Lionel (he will literally destroy himself to try and beat you) and Rinny....cause no one wants to get beat by their spouse :)

The question that builds on this that swim+bike threshold to T2 is key to a good IM. It feels like you want to do your run block "way early" and maybe loose a bit of run specificity, to jack up swim + bike but have "enough left" to execute the IM run at the highest "percent" of retained run fitness.

Related to this, in the last 6 weeks what was the rough average breakdown in swim hours, bike hours and run+virtual run hours and would you use the Halter G again in your build to help jack up swim+bike

I have a question..1 related to triathalon..2 not related..
First..cobb seat..where did you have your bts bracket made and can I get in touch with them? I just switched to the same seat as I felt it was a better choice after speaking with Cobb & company..
Second..I saw a picture in your house of a zipp disc turned into a clock..I crashed z disc the beginning of this year and wanted to do the same thing
Thanks

Tim,

Thanks for coming on here. Huge fan.

Only 1 question - Could you please win Kona in 2020 and bring the title back to America? I'm sure I'm not alone among team RWB that we would love to see you win. And we'll take the double and have your wife win again.

To follow up on the weight question. .....

So 164 is your race weight.

How long does it take for you to get there (164) and what is the heaviest you're ok with during the off season?

Thank you for taking the time to hang out here....these are awesome.

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"Good genes are not a requirement, just the obsession to beat ones brains out daily"...the Griz

BTW, you can get some really nice bottle cage adapters from Wolf Tooth.
I used one of those to mount my Specialized Virtue aero bottle low enough on my Speed Concept (L) to fill that lower triangle really good.

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What's your CdA?

Thanks for being here!

What are your plans for life after your triathlon career concludes?

Can you tell us a bit about your education in Naval Architecture and Mechanical Engineering? Have you thought about a second career in those fields?

Hey TO,

What are your favorite runs and rides to do when staying in the Noosa area?

Cheers

How much time do you spend on an indoor trainer vs. riding outdoors? 50/50? Mostly trainer? Mostly outdoors?

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"Human existence is based upon two pillars: Compassion and knowledge. Compassion without knowledge is ineffective; Knowledge without compassion is inhuman." Victor Weisskopf.

Is there a product you continue to use from a previous sponsor because it’s that good? Or simply move on.

Some of wurfs interviews had a wwf vibe to them, I keep waiting for fellow athlete to storm his breakfast with bob holding a folding chair. Also a huge triathlon intercontinental championship title belt would be great over the shoulder in interviews...

Tim,

Great race in Kona.
Saw you race a bit in Cozumel. Was that just a punch the ticket from the beginning plan or did you go in not knowing how the body would respond and thinking you might compete for the W?
First of all Ive seen you at several races the days before. Always shy away from saying more than hello as I imagine you get exhausted with people taking energy in race lead up. Does it drive you crazy when strangers try to chat you up?

Also they say with age comes wisdom. As you are older now have you finally realized that Army rules and you should have gone to the USMA instead of Annapolis and served in green not dungarees? :-)

seriously, Thanks for your service and the attention you bring to those of us still serving and trying to do this awesome sport and those who have

TIMMY THE JET!!! you da man sir

1) Can you talk about your training volume? hours biking and running a week? And how often do you go hard in training?

2) Do you know about how much caffeine you take in during a race? total during bike and run if you can estimate?

3) You say you lift heavy twice a week, can you elaborate more on that? Are we talking squats or deadlifts? 5 plates?

4) Is there any trash talking during the race? Like when you, Ali, and Jan are at the front so long, did you turn to Ali and tell him "this isn't short course bro"?

5) Do you think you can beat Kipchoge in a duathlon?

Hi TO,

I have two questions on your treadmills. I use the similar (but probably a lot older) woodway versions and am curious of what you've experienced.

1) How often (if at all) do you make use of the SkillMill resistance feature?

2) Comparing an endurance type run on the SkillMill (no resistance) vs a run at similar heart-rate on the SkillRun ("normal" flat/1% incline), what speed difference do you see between the two treadmills?

Whoa, that Wolf Tooth catalog is pretty great. Check out their pump bag - makes for an incredible bento box. https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/...gs/products/pump-bag

Tom Hopper at specialized made the BTS bracket that goes into my Cobb saddle. He modified a mount that is actually for sale at Colorado Multisport (not sure of the brand)

We actually won that clock at a World Bicycle Relief auction at CMS YEARS ago! Not sure who made it but I imagine you could do it yourself pretty easily.

haha! Ok, I put getting the WIN on my to do list for 2020 :)

Thanks so much for the support!

Last year I was light all year, Coach Dibs was actually mad at me because when you are light early it gets hard to stay healthy and hold it. It wasn't intentional, for some reason my body just didn't want to hold onto the lbs. I've made an effort to put on a few lbs this off season, I don't obsess over weight but I'd imagine I'm around 172 right now. My shirts are a little tight :)

I don't worry about getting dow not race weight too much anymore, when I cut out adult beverages in the final training block leading into Kona it usually comes off by itself!

What's my CdA? Why that's a personal question thank you very much. :)

That's actually a question for Matt Botrill! I haven't tested since we tweaked my position but he is super good at getting it from the data.

That is the million dollar question! To be honest, I believe I can still have a better race in Kona and I don't want to distract from achieving that goal by worrying about post racing. I'd love to stay in the sport to some capacity, not sure what that would look like but I would love to do something focussed on the family side of the sport: how we can blend training, racing and family.

Non-triathlon, I do love real estate, I've been learning about investment strategies as well as syndicates and would love to possibly get involved on the development side.

As for my degrees, my focus was structural (ship design and off-shore rig design) but I think I am too far removed from that world to go back...I'm not sure I'd step foot on a TO designed boat :)

I love running through the national park and also running around Noosaville and Tewantin. As for riding, going up the range is great to Maleny and Mapleton.

I'm definitely riding the trainer more and more. I'd say I do more rides on the trainer but more overall hours are outdoors. Usually my tow longer rides are outdoors and the others (shorter more specific) rides on the trainer.

I'm wracking my brain and honestly don't know if there is one! There are things I use that I don't have a sponsor though (saddles, sunglasses, aero helmets)

...actually I still eat Udi's gluten free products!

this would be amazing! Should I paint my face like the Ultimate Warrior?

Haha, thanks so much for the kind words but as for USMA...I think we showed you guys what was up a few weeks ago in Philadelphia :)

As for Cozumel, finishing was definitely the goal but I was still planing on putting it out there. Unfortunately I got a stomach issue before the race and was having some GI issues. I ended up not being able to hold anything down and it turned into get to the finish line mode quickly!

I'll use the resistance feature during my gym sessions as a way to load heavy but when doing a run session I stay on regular setting.

I'd just get guesstimating but if I run at 8 mph sustained for 30 min on SkillMill my HR will get up into the big h150s (maybe even 160s). That's easily sub 6 min pace on the SkillRun.