You were pretty amazing out there today. I think you passed me on the course while you were on your last lap. I was the one that yelled “Go Hawks” & gave you a wrestling comment.

I also live in Iowa & we had a pretty shit winter this year. What did you do to acclimate to the heat/humidity, or is that what you accomplished in the week or two prior that you spent in the Woodlands? Thanks.

Thanks. I think I gave you a thumbs up on the comment...or I tried to at least!

I trained in Iowa for most of the build. I did an overdress/sauna protocol leading into Campeche 70.3, then came down to texas on April 3 before Galveston. The weather here was actually quite cool (amazing training weather, not great for heat prep) leading into the race so incorporated some of the same protocol last week as well.

Tutukin was really running just an inch of you. Is that not annoying, stressful?

Why didn't you let him take the front? Were you so confident he could not follow?

Can you win Hawaii :-)?

I just wanted to say congratulations.

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Congrats on a great race. The point you made about the distance of the course and Tim Don’s record shows me your are a great person too.

I've never had anyone run with me like that before for the entire race. Yes, it definitely puts pressure on things, but I didn't really find it annoying aside from when my heels accidentally got clipped. Pretty common in road races for someone to be that close to you, and something I've talked a fair bit with my coach about the last few months. There are a lot of great runners in IM right now, it was only a matter of time before I got off the bike with one of them and got into a legitimate dog fight with. One way or the other, we knew it would bring out the best in me.

I jumped in front of him in the first mile of the run, I didn't know how long he would hang but I tried to let him take the lead a few times but he seemed content to just sit on my hip. He is a smart athlete and was playing to his strengths. As a former ITU guy, I was not wanting to get into a sprint up the runway.

Yes, I think I can win Kona someday, but I still have some development and things to work on. So no bold predictions of a win in 2018.

Hard as nails, Matt.

How many times did you surge during the run and did he speak English well enough to have a conversation while running?

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

Matt,

I agree that you can podium or possibly win Kona in the coming years and I'm wondering what the things are you feel you need to work on to make it happen.
Also, how has your bike position evolved and do you feel it is completely dialed in or is there more changes to come.

Damian.

Curious as to your weekly SBR percentages during your buildup? Any thoughts about trying to stay with Starky or just let him go believing you would catch him on the run? How many grams of carbs do you take per hour on the bike and run?

What helmet were you wearing? Amazing win, congratulations:)

I didn't really surge until the very end. A race like that was about patients, I felt if I surged early I may have built up a bit too much fatigue being the pace was quite hot all run. I would have put in a surge if at any point I felt that his breathing was picking up or he was struggling, but he was holding strong all run so I didn't want to risk it.

Ivan speaks English, but we didn't say a word the entire run, lol.

I'll have to go back and look at the weekly data and get back to you on that one...I have no idea. I function better taking things one day at a time. I trust the plan that Julie and Matt have for me, so just execute each day the best I can. I can't say that I've looked at any of the cumulative weeks since a big week of riding that I did in training camp.

I was always well behind Andrew. I wanted to minimize the loss, but also not hurt my strength. So I rode as hard as I felt I could on the day without jeopardizing chances at a solid run.

I took in 2000 calories on the bike. No clue how many on the run. Pretty much impossible to measure how much cola you get down the hatch in the aid stations. I did go through a 400 calorie flask of First Endurance EFS Liquid Shot on the run, and got all other calories from cola.

I wear the Kask Mistral helmet.

Many congrats on an epic performance Matt. Superb patient, strategic racing on your part!

What do you think has been your biggest improvement since linking up with Julie and Matt. What have they brought to the table? Finally, would you ever consider relocating full time from Iowa to Boulder and what does the race schedule look like for 2018?

Cheers Champ!!

Hi Again Damian

There is a lot I have to sort out between now and Kona. I need to continue moving forward in the swim, improve on riding in a group like Kona will be that has a lot of pace changes, and get back to racing well in the heat. Doing everything I can to tick off those boxes.

My bike position has changed quite a bit in the last 6 months and will continue to change as I develop the strength to hold the position. I raised my saddle, changed to the ISM 3.0 which allows for more pelvic tilt which opens up my hips. I am working on being able to hold the "turtle" longer and longer. Matt has a ton of tiny things that I can work on, so the position will hopefully continually improve.

The biggest change is confidence. I have worked with some great coaches in my career who have fit the needs that I had at that time. Julie and Matt just get it. They work so well together. Matt has helped me be able to learn to express the power outdoors that I am putting out on the trainer which is something I struggled with in the past. Julie does a great job with me in the swim and the run and managing the overall stress. But mostly, they allow me to have a work-life balance. I get up and get all triathlon stuff done by 5:00 pm, then can be home mentally and physically with my wife in the evenings which makes a huge difference as well.

Not 100% sure on the race schedule, but I'll probably try to ride this fitness and do 70.3 Chattanooga and Coeur d'Alene before taking a nice break in early July, then tackling the Kona build.

Relocating to Boulder is not likely in the Cards. My wife has a job in IA, and health insurance is expensive...sooo...

Congratulations on a great race, Matt! Wasn't long ago Ironman was a solo TT type effort. Seems to be a 'race' more often now, which brings a new dynamic.
Well done.

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Brian Grasky
Grasky Endurance: World Championship Triathlon Coaching; Professional Training Camps
RETUL fitter, Biomechanist, USAT Level 3 Coach, USAC Level 2 Coach

Matt,

Compare and contrast the swim this year versus last year. You seemed to make the front group for an extended period of time before falling off last year, this year it appeared you didn't make it at all. Or was it a concerted effort not to go as hard in the swim? I know you are swimming extremely well in the pool but how would you assess that translating in open-water? ? Does Dibens have a plan to improve this? Do you do any open-water swim training?

How was the bike this year compared to last. This year seemed like there was considerably more fire power in the group and I am curious how that changed the dynamics? You were not with the group at the beginning and had to catch up so my question is was that a concerted effort on your part to do that or was the lead group not well organized and you caught up at your regular effort? Were you concerned at all with Ivan on the bike, it definitely looked like to me he got the softer ride. Last year Tutukin was off the back of you by 20 minutes on the bike, at IMTX 70.3 3 weeks ago he was 7 minutes down. These time differentials don't' make sense and I am surprised none of the male pros take matters into their own hands and attempt to shake a rider like Tutukin.

How deep did you go in the run? I know that competition always brings out the best in us and can numb the pain, but do you think this race will require a longer recovery compared to previous Ironman races?

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Impressive run and full respect for what you did irrespective of some distances questions. Good luck in kona. Get off the bike with Lange and that would be fun to watch.

On IMTX, do you think this is the right type of course for the NA Championship for pros and/or age groupers? You will have seen some of the negative feedback already and I will respect if you do not want to have a voice in that but as the race winner your thoughts would be of great interest.

Seems the women's pro race was impacted perhaps moreso than the mens as were many of the women's age groups with some unfortunate draft packs of age group men.

Not to derail the thread and I applaud your effort but your view from the pointy end of what was likely the only clean part of the race would be interesting to many of us.

Congrats on a great race Matt, great to see the CLEAN guy come away with the win! Also, hats off to you for being humble and acknowledging that it wasn't a "world record" due to the short course. Not a big believer in "world records" for distances, rather course records, so congrats on a course record! All the best on the rest of your season and hopefully see you at a race again this year!

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-Brad Williams
Website | Twitter: @BW_Tri |Instagram: @BW_Tri | Strava | Co-Founder & Coach at: KIS Coaching
Partnered with: Zoot Sports | Precision Fuel &Hydration | ISM

Congratulations--outstanding performance. We're going to have to make you an honorary Texan. Bravo!

Congrats on a great race. It was dissapointing that they didn’t have live coverage this year, and of course it would have been the best year to have it!

How good did it feel to beat a doper head to head?

How different has your bike training been under Julie and Matt?

Congrats again on a great race. Sooo glad you took him down!

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https://twitter.com/mungub

Whoa. Really, is that right? Close to 500 cals/hour? That's enormous. What form did that take?

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Any run that doesn't include pooping in someone's front yard is a win.