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
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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
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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
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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
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!
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.
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.
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.