Thanks for taking the time to show up here, Morgan.

As part of your long term thought process, I hope your are you thinking two Olympic cycles?
Please don't bail on draft legal for Long Course after 2020....

There is a contingent of US ITU fans that are just waiting for the male version of GJ...I think you can be that person.

Good luck and stay healthy

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

Thanks string cheese,

Gwen was on another level.

I will say if I do make the team in 2020 I won’t be going there for the “experience”. I want to make the team to compete.

I don’t have any interest in Long Course. I do hope that ITU grows in popularity in USA and if anyone has suggestions on how grow ITU.... let me know!

Good question. For this marketing folks, why was there Gwensanity vs the lower recognition Zafares is receiving? Understanding that is a start to unlocking interest. Maybe it’s just the volume of winning and the way in which races are won, though Katie has dominated some races in Gwen fashion. Similar to Gwen, the Lance factor, Usain Bolt, Shalane, and now the Kate Courtney factor point to it being individual personalities and winning that get broader attention, not the specific sport as a whole.

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wovebike.com | Wove on instagram

Moving to sprint + super sprints will atleast give any racing series the broadcast angle if they ever want to pick it up or create an local DL series. But then our local US series like MLT has struggled to catch on and now I believe is only 1 event in 2019. It does have FB live as broadcast so it has that going. It's just very "minor league" still unfortunately.


The whole real issue though is anything US based pretty much can't happen in summer as most of the athletes are abroad at that time. So if you created any type of local racing it would all be conti-cup level ITU athletes.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Thanks for coming on, Morgan. Stuff like this helps grow awareness of ITU among triathletes, which seems like a good start.

I notice a lot of camaraderie among the ITU folks on the broadcasts and on social media. I assume some of that comes from squads with athletes from different countries training together (Joel Filiol, etc.). Do you feel accepted in the community yet, or do you still feel like the “new guy”?

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

Hi MI_Mumps,

I do feel accepted by the community. Most ITU triathletes are nice people. Of course some tend to keep to themselves more than others, and I may be considered one of them since I don't really train with other triathletes at the moment.

-Morgan

Hello B_Doughtie,

I agree, some USA races would be awesome, and I think there is a WTS coming to Long Beach in a few years. Surely there is other ways to make the sport more popular though!

Why do you think Ironman is much more popular in the United States? That is, the top professionals seem too be much higher profile.

-Morgan

I think it's more popular in the U.S. because I think we just have little appreciation for anything beyond our own little bubble of racing. Read the threads with ST AG'ers talking about how they don't care about pros, etc. And that's almost geared towards the IM pros', you ITU'ers are pretty much the ugly step cousin that has to always sit at the kids table.

I just think *in general* AG'ers have a lack of appreciation for anything outside of their own little racing bubble. Whereas I think other areas of the world actually appreciate the fact that you guys are pretty damn fast and the elite of the elite. Here in the U.S., it's just more or less "yawning". And so when our very own sport's structure of athletes' don't really support the pros, we are going to have a hard time really building up anything of substance.


And yes ST AG'ers are a very small demographic compared to the rest of the tri population, but just in general I've been to enough ITU races and such to know that here in the states it's just a shoulder shrug.

Go to all these USAT junior cup races that have attached ITU conti-cups at them and by the times the pros race, it's a complete ghost town. Now I realize all these juniors are traveling across the country and need to get home, but it's just complete difference. Of course I wish they could run the races like at 4pm on Sat instead of Sundays but I know that's a whole different can of worms for road closures and expenses.

So I get it, everything I'm basically pushing for to improve pro dynamics all costs real world money. SL is kick ass brand of racing. They really give alot to the athletes, but of course they have big backing money. MLT is the opposite in that they basically have no money backing them it seems.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Hey Morgan, thanks for stopping by, Old runner here but follow the US running scene (HS/College), and your career is very interesting - and also what the Tinman group is doing (that kind of story-telling is great and I think is already inspiring a young generation of runners).

Anyway, curious on a couple of things if you don't mind.

- Roughly speaking, how many run sessions a week are you doing now as a triathlete? (I imagine you were doing more as a runner, but now have to fit swim/bike - for instance, are you still doing double runs?).

- Since you trained with Schwartz (I think his general system is great and works well for runners at many levels). As I understand it, in very general terms, his overall template is: CV session, tinman tempo, long run, with a particular focus on the CV pace stuff and lots of easy running.
I imagine your plan is customized - but how do you modify the tinman approach to fit in swim/bike? (for example, do less CV sessions to allow for the intensity in other disciplines?) - not asking for exhaustive answer, just any general insights (if you have any).

All best wishes. Would be great to see you in Tokyo and put US on the map. Keep up the good work!

The article is a good read. Thanks for dropping on. A quick question, with the prep for Tokyo 2020, what’s your “off season” will be after the 2 remaining WTS races this year?

I echo those on the thread in noticing your bike improvement this year. That seemed like the big missing piece, and it was very exciting to see you holding on at the Grand Finals!

Can you give us insight on the dynamics in the pack? I believe Ali Brownlee used to be the guy yelling and bossing the group. Is there one vocal guy now? Several? Is it hard to get people to take turns pulling?

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

Hello JEI,

Yes the Tinman Elite guys have done a great job with everything. Tom has also done a great job coaching those guys to some impressive races.

Generally, I do two run workouts a week, meaning some form of quality. I also do a long run usually which is sometimes faster and could be considered a quality run.

Tom does not coach me anymore, I have a triathlon coach. My coach does let me run with the tinman guys sometimes, when it makes sense - its fun for me and its also good to be pushed. I also still have a good relationship with Tom. In terms of overall quality with the swim, bike, and run... I let my coach worry about that stuff and I just try to execute what he assigns me. Swimming touches some quality almost every day, be it sprints, longer endurance, or super hard. My coach gives me power to hit in training, its usually very doable numbers.

Sorry if this isn't an adequate answer... I am a bit confused by your question.

Thanks..!

Hi MI_Mumps,

Thank you, I know if still have a lot I can improve on but its nice to be in the races.

The first lap of the bike is usually very hard and important. The Norwegian guys are very strong. There isn't a lot of chatter that goes on durning the races.

My sense is that the Brownlees kind of changed the sport making the bike way harder and more important and now everyone who is competing now its just accustomed to that sort of riding, at least on the WTS level this is. However, this is speculation.

Hi dalava,

Thanks for reading the article.

The last two races are actually World Cups, not WTS - I know it can be confusing!

I will probably take some down time around Christmas. Other than that off season will be lots of training. I will run some races, and I hopefully do some cyclocross races.

Thanks for taking time to respond, great answer! - was just looking for general points. I thought tinman was more involved with your run training, but great to see that triathlon coach let's you run with them when it makes sense. There seems to be really good chemistry when you run with them.

Incidentally, I think you mentioned running XC club nationals this year (I'll be there for the masters race). If so, I'll look for opportunity to say hello. Once again though, my very best wishes in your pursuit for Tokyo and look forward to following your triathlon journey.

Thanks bunches for answering so many Qs!!! Any discussion with your coach about jumping into a Masters meet, just to see what you could do for 200, 500, and 1650??? I've read that Gomez has gone 15:50-ish for 1500 scm in Spanish Masters meets. :)

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

I haven't talked to my coach about it, maybe though.

I still love running races and can still be competitive. Cyclocross and crit races are fun, a great work out, and also help me with bike skills / confidence / relaxation etc. If something popped up and it was super easy to get into I would do it, but a pool swim versus and open water race are a lot different.

True but generally the fast OW swimmers are also pretty quick in the pool. Lots of Masters meets all over the country. :)

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

I don't think the reason MLT changed to only one race this year was due to popularity issues, but more due to logistical issues with sponsors, and the fact that Dan and Sarah are preparing for baby #1 and moving across the country. Next year the goal is to have a full series, not just one race in Colorado.

Great that you're jumping into some crits and CX (I saw that Ben Kanute was also doing CX races two weekends ago). Very underrated in terms of skills development for draft legal racing, especially as you're working on improving the bike. Motorpacing is another great tool that doesn't see as much use in the multisports world, but is a standard for cyclists (nothing gets you more comfortable cornering at speed than trying to hold the wheel of a moto cornering at 60km/h)... The toughest thing for runners coming into tri is to get strong/comfortable enough on the swim/bike to be able to really use the run to its biggest advantage. It's one thing being able to run fast run times, it's another to be able to run close to that off the bike. You're definitely moving in the right direction. Good luck with the late season world cups!

Morgan,
Can you fill us in on your training set up?
Where are you located? Who's your coach(es)? How much input does USAT have? ($$'s and training direction)
Are you a full time triathlete?

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

Hello Stringcheese,

I live in Boulder, CO. My coach is Dean Golich. I am lucky enough to swim with Elevation Athletics Swim team most days but occasionally swim alone or with masters practices. As I mentioned in a previous post, I work with Joe Lewis for cycling skills since im still learning, and I sometimes train with Tinman Elite. I recently got on the USAT triathlon silver level national as my level of support from USAT.

I don't have any other job, although I sometimes tutor math or econ students.

-Morgan