This was your first IM as a father... did you get a chance to see Quentin and Jill out on the course? If you did, did it have any effect on your 'race focus'?

Did you have sex the night before the race?

---

_________________________________
I'll be what I am
A solitary man

Hi Jordan,

Congratulations on a fantastic race. Do you adjust your target power based on temperature? What about your running pace? Would you have gone out faster on the bike or run had the temps been in the 70s?

Craig

I think IMC'09 was about proving things to other people. And, honestly, IMAZ'09 was a lot of "unfinished business" on that course and also proving that Canada wasn't a fluke. I think I focused a lot on what OTHER people thought. This race, IMC'11, was really about me. Proving things to myself.

I don't know that I thought about it too much before the race in any of those years. Generally, I try to focus on "today." I learned that from Simon Whitfield. What do I need to do TODAY. That helps keep the noise of the race from interfering with getting ready to actually do it. During the race, though, while my primary focus is on execution, there are those moments - generally the ones where I actually have a rare clear memory of some section of the race because I'm not 100% focused on racing - that you think about "other" stuff, and I those cases, I'd say the other races were very much influenced by my thoughts of other people, including the athletes on the course. And this year, it was really about me. I think I kept my focus really well during this race because of that.

Afterwards, I'd say I have the most sense of "completion" after this race. Following both IMC'09 and IMAZ'09, I struggled with "what now?" I don't feel that at all after this race. I feel like because it was such a personal journey without much regard for other people, I think it's easier to be satisfied with that performance and to shift my focus to my next task, because I'm only worried about what I think, no what other people thought, and what do they think now. As a practical example, I struggled before IMC'09 to find a bike sponsor. Afterwards, I felt like I now "deserved" to find a good sponsor, but still that was stressful because what if winning IMC didn't actually result in good sponsorship? Now, I have great sponsors who supported me even when I was laying in a hospital bed and who I have long term contracts with. So it's not about proving myself and my value to the outside world. Now it's about executing and delivering on the promise that I feel I've made to these companies. To give another example, I raced in prototype Zoot shoes and a prototype Zoot race suit. They made that stuff for me because I said, "This is what I like and what I think will help me win." So they delivered it. And so it's like, they held up their end of the bargain, now I need to hold up mine. That's sort of the opposite of after IMC'09, when it was like, I've held up my end of the bargain, now who wants to hold up theirs?

I guess before I felt I had to *prove* I was a professional. Now I feel like I just have be a professional. And, thanks to their unwavering support, I have been able to make dealing with the accident something that was really only between me and myself. And that has been both hard - because sometimes it's nice to rail against "doubters" and "haters" - but also really rewarding, because it's been a huge opportunity to become a better athlete and better person for myself.

I'm not really sure if that answers your question. I hope so, but feel free to tell me it doesn't...

---

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

---

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

No professional assessment, but also not strictly trial-and-error. I read a lot - both nutrition articles/studies/books and also anecdotes and observations from friends like Simon W. and also guys that I simply saw racing on the Kona broadcast - noting, for example, that basically all of them do fine with on course nutrition. So I think I tried to come up with what seemed like a plausible and sensible plan, and then I tried that.

My best answer to your $64K question is to talk to as many people as you can. Brian Shea does a great job as a consultant (BrianPBN on the forum). I talk with Brian a lot. He was the one who first suggested FirstEndurance stuff to me. My dad was the one who suggested salt pills, even though I doubt he's even run a mile. And a doctor friend of mine was the one who encouraged me to experiment and feel safe about doing so with regards to sodium quantities.

I wish I had a better answer for you. One luxury of being a pro is that when you train a lot, you have a lot more chances to try stuff.

But don't be afraid to experiment. Just try to make your experiments logical.

---

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

Quentin was at home with Grandma until Jill brought him to the finishline. I saw Jill a lot, though. Seeing her is always awesome. It doesn't affect my focus (I don't think), but it's always one of those things that gives good energy. Like seeing a rainbow - it doesn't distract you; it just makes you smile.

---

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

No, I did not. Please, for my wife's sake, no one ask how far in advance of the race we did. I would be totally okay with answering that, because it's not something that I think is necessarily revealing in any substantive way. But I know my wife wouldn't want that. So, I will answer that question, and I'll ask that be as far as that particular line of questioning goes. Thanks.

---

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

I can't say I followed the race or even read the whole race report on the home page. But I saw the pictures! ;-) Adulation!

My only question (which I think you can answer because it doesn't pertain to actual training as much as lifestyle) is on average how much sleep per night you get? (Not including the daily 30min-ish nap)

---

___________________
"TRIATHLON ISN'T ACTUALLY THAT HARD OF A SPORT" -ALISTAIR

I don't really adjust either based on heat given one, perhaps large, assumption - that I've properly prepared in the heat. In this case, I actually did not find the race to be particularly hot, mostly because I spent a lot of time training in July & August when it was notably hotter.

However, I would expect that I subconsciously do scale my power/pace somewhat. As much as I have hard targets for power and pace, I also do rely on RPE. But I do my best to separate, "I feel hot," from "I'm overheating and need to slow down." In other words, I try to have a sense of whether the heat is really impacting my performance or if it's just something that's messing with my brain.

I think if you do enough training in tough conditions, you start to learn what is a problem and what is just time to HTFU. My high school football coach said, "you must learn the difference between 'I'm hurt' and 'I'm injured.'" I'd say this is similar.

I wish there was a more quantitative answer, but ultimately, I haven't found one.

I also think I'm lucky in that I seem to perform well in the heat. But I do think that I've been able to enhance whatever natural ability I have in hot weather somewhat.

I think there are a few things that are important for performance in the heat. Training in the heat is a huge asset if you can do it, but it's not necessary. However, it DEFINITELY helps. But aside from that, here's what I think is important:
- have a solid nutrition plan with a strong understanding from experimentation about how to adjust fluids, calories, and electrolytes based off conditions. But before you start tweaking, the core plan needs to be solid for "most" weather conditions.

- realize that there is a fundamental difference between being hot and feeling hot. By the former, I mean that your core temperature has increased, and your body will start to self regulate to prevent heat stroke. By the latter, I mean that riding in really hot weather sucks, but that doesn't mean it's actually slowing you down. Sometimes, you just need to HTFU. Knowing that there's a difference and understanding that difference is important. I'm not sure there's any substitute for experience there.

I think I would have been more aggressive with my pace on the run if it was cooler. You certainly have more of a margin of error if it's cooler. And, more than that, I know that while I do run reasonably well in hot weather, there are some guys for whom it is a real problem, and that if it was cooler, I would have to be more aware that those guys would run faster.

But for this race, I felt more than prepared for the heat such that I do not think it ever presented an issue with regards to my output. I think that I do what I can do make sure that's the case, but I also think I'm probably lucky that I am able to take some simple and clear steps and have them work.

---

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

I shoot for 9.5, but I think 8.5 is more typical. In my "ideal" world, I'd sleep 9:30-7. But 10:30-7 or 10-6:30 is more typical. If I get more sleep at night, I'm less concerned with a nap during the day. If I miss out, I try to make sure I get a nap.

---

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

So I think you've said before that your plan was to come in to the 30th anniversary of IMC as the defending champ. Is that still your plan regardless of what happens at ITU LD worlds and IMAZ? At what point are you going to shift focus to Kona and what do you feel you need to improve on to get to a point where you feel like you can compete for the win there?

Second question: does your cadence on the bike vary depending on what distance you're racing? Do you think its a result of your rowing career that you prefer a lower cadence? Or is that just a function of the distance?

Congrats again on the win. I'll be up at the turnaround at IMAZ cheering you on in November.

First, congrats on the win! And thanks for your time in responding to so many queries.

I was just wondering about using the s-works shoes barefoot. Do you need to do anything special to the shoes (e.g. body glide) in preparation for long rides to increase comfort level or are they good to go as is? I assume that you find them to be comfortable for any distance, but are there any "small" issues that arise for long rides in terms of discomfort? For instance my tri shoes start to chaff the front of my ankle after a while, tolerable but a nuisance none the less and leads me to use my more comfortable road shoes for long rides. Any issues like that?

Thanks again for your time, and best wishes for continued success!

do you feel that a Super-9 is faster than a straight disc in a bike like the Shiv with a shielded rear wheel, and was the 23 in the back and lower tire pressure for comfort or aerodynamics or Crr or all three?

---

Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

Interesting... I have done nearly the same thing in an effort to keep my knees happy when I am low. I am now on 170s though.

Question: What have you found leaving 180s / 175s has done to your climbing? Its made mine terrible but I am trying to be patient
Question2: What gears did you use? I am thinking about changing to 172.5

And, well done sir. If IMC was a "fluke" its still a hell of an accomplishment. You make a lot of us proud, vicariously

No Questions (I really don't understand much anyways)

Congratulations on your win and the new baby!

Rappstar: Congratulations on your win. And your speech is great.

It seems your rode pretty hard at times on race day. Do you think you would take the same risks (and be as comfortable taking them) on a course that you don't get to ride as often as you ride IMC?

I was curious to know how racing the Leadman Tri being such a large volume day impacted your training for the summer leading into IMC. Did it help you build off from? Improve your base? Any comments to share about Leadman and your training after?

What size cassette did you use on Sunday, and is that the same size you use for all IM's are do you use specific cassettes based on the course?

I think it is, though I'm trying not to focus too much on next year since I still have some big goals for this year. In my most ideal world, I'll *NEVER* have to shift my focus to Kona. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't race Kona, or even make it a priority, but I believe that the singular focus of this sport on a single race that is controlled by a for-profit entity that makes decisions based on that status is a bad thing. In other words, WTC could decide to do basically *anything* with that race, and no one could say anything.

Look at this way - the only race that really, really allows to "make it" as a long course triathlete is a race, late in the year, in relatively hot relatively humid conditions, that's relatively flat and relatively windy, with an ocean swim, etc. What I mean is that it NEVER changes. I can think of several corollaries in other sports - The Masters, which is always played at Augusta. Or the Daytona or Indy 500 or Le Mans in auto racing. Or Wimbledon/US Open/French Open in tennis. But in every other case where there is a single event that is of significance, it is neither the overall championship (in the case of NASCAR, Daytona is one of the first races of the year, and has no special impact on who wins the overall series) nor is it the only "championship" (such as with golf with the four Majors or tennis with the Grand Slams).

Simply put, I think the way our sport exists currently, with ALL roads leading to Kona is a very, very bad thing. I would be unhappy if I never raced Kona. However, I would not at all be unhappy if I never raced The Ironman World Championships in Kona. In other words, I think that WTC should make Kona the equivalent of the Daytona 500, and that the World Championships should be held, sometimes in Kona, sometimes in Frankfurt, sometimes in Canada, etc. Or they should make it like Wimbledon, with equal calibre races at Germany and some other locations, and perhaps not necessarily have a "World Champion" for pros.

Right now, if you win Kona, you get huge media attention. But if you finish 2nd or 3rd, you basically get nothing. You might get some attention if people think you have a good chance of winning the next year, such as Andreas Raelert, but look at Cameron Brown, who's been on the podium four times. He's finished 2nd twice and 3rd twice. But, especially in 2005 when he finished 2nd, I think he got very little exposure from that. And I think it's because people didn't seem to have the same sense that they do with Andreas Raelert that it was "inevitable" that Cameron would win.

Simply put, WTC has far too much control over the trajectory of a successful long course pro career. And I do not like that, in large part because they haven't necessarily shown that they make decisions with very much regard for how that influence affects pro athletes. Obviously, the ITU also makes drastic decisions - such as the shift to the WCS system - that can have huge impacts as well, but in that case, you have a IGB, that must respond to NGB, etc. There's a formal and normal and logical way to protest and address changes, etc. In other words, there's a system in place with some checks and balances.

None of this exists with WTC. WTC decided to drop the number of pro slots to 50 men and 30 women this year. There was some very minimal "discussion" (and I use the term loosely) about this, but basically, they decided that this was the way it was going to be and that was that. That same sort of decision couldn't happen with something like the ITU. National Federations would protest. And they have leverage. I have zero leverage.

Right now, everyone complains about this, but in the end, the best athletes all go race Kona. But what it they didn't? What if Crowie and Raelert and Lieto and Vanhoenaker all decided to work with Felix Walschoffer and to all race Challenge Roth. And to NOT race Kona? Sure, Kona still have the right to be called the World Championship, but tell me who you think the best athlete in the world would be? Many folks say, for example, that ITU LD World's is not a meaningful World Championship because the best long distance athletes don't race it. But whose fault is that? Some if it falls on the ITU, for not making it a race of significance. But some of it falls on the athletes for not making a race of significance.

Dan and I had a conversation along these lines a while back. He wrote something to me that I hadn't considered really. He said that Kona is the birthplace of this sport, and that WTC wasn't just the owners of that race, they were STEWARDS of it. And that, as stewards, they had an obligation to leave it better off than they found it. And I think that's true. And I don't necessarily think they've done a good job of that. However, I also think that, as a person who makes his living as a result of this sport, I *also* have an obligation to leave this sport better than I found it. And I don't believe that just putting that typical focus on Kona is doing a good job there either. I think Challenge is leaving this sport better than they found it. I think Rev3 is doing the same. I think Lifetime Fitness is as well. And I think WTC has the most enormous ability to do so if they choose to.

But in my ideal world, I'd like to see this sport - for pros - grow beyond a single race on the Big Island in October. And if I can facilitate that in some small way, I'd like to do so.

I'm sure that was more than you wanted, but it's something that is particularly important to me.

The short answer is easy for question #2. I try not to worry too much about cadence. I try to keep it "about 80." I think you don't want to ignore it and get bogged down "pushing big gears," but I also think it's fine to just go with what feels "comfortable." Ironically, despite being by far the tallest rower on my team in college, I also rowed the erg with the highest cadence. When I pulled my PB - 6:18.3, my senior year - I did so at an average cadence of 36.

Cadence is SOMEWHAT distance dependent, though I averaged 78 at Rev3 Portland as well, although typically, I prefer a cadence about five beats higher for 1/2 ironman. But I don't fret about it too much as long as I feel good and my cadence for a half or full Ironman is "about 80."

---

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

I use body glide on the heel cup. I tend to ride with a fair bit of ankle action, so I've found a touch of body glide on the heel helps to keep friction at bay there. But I actually have done races without body glide there and been fine; I Just find it marginally more comfortable to put a little bit on there.

---

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

I *know* it is faster. The 23 is for comfort. Crr is pretty much the same. Aerodynamics is VERY SLIGHTLY worse. But I prefer a bit more air volume for comfort on a rigid wheel like a disc.

---

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

Jordan, no questions, just wanted to say congrats for the win and treating everyone at the finish line with a hamburger!

Not helping my line but helps finish the day :)

Cheers

#1: my climbing improved. Or at least didn't get any worse and the improvement was simply a by product of more fitness. I would say of all the areas where it had an impact, the impact on climbing was the most minimal.

#2: On my TT bike, I ride 54/42 with 11/23 for pretty much everything. I rode 53/39 for a long time, but I switched to 54/42 for tactical reasons. At Wildflower this year, for example, I would gap guys on the "slow" parts of the course, but then they'd catch back up on the fast parts where there was a tailwind or downhill. And I'd rather be able to ride a more comfortable cadence than feel like I need to pedal that much faster than I want to on fast parts. I.e., I usually pedal faster than I want to a fast section, but with a 54, I at least save about 2 beats of cadence, which isn't much, but it's something. On my road bike, I ride a 53/39, also with an 11-23 for pretty much everything. I prefer to have substance in the middle of my cassette than a bailout gear I might rarely use.

---

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

Jordan, Tim Carlson, Dan, the three of you need to work together to take this content from this post and convert it into a front page article. Please don't let this well thought out response sit in the forum where only a few hundred people will read it (not everyone reads every post) buried in a thread about IMC. When you put this on your front page, it will not just be read there, but also pushed out on your newsletter. I really don't think that most involved in the sport are thinking about "how to leave the sport better than they found it" and that message deserves to be more widely disseminated than just here on this thread. Please consider this request.

I think so, provided I had at least some idea of the nature of the course. I try to always pre-drive the entire course. And also to talk to folks about it, so I can get some insight. I think I took some big risks my first year at Wildflower, but Dan and Andrew McNaughton (a friend and 3x winner there) gave me a lot of good insights into the course, so I felt like I was taking risks, but calculated ones. They might not have worked, but they did. However, I think that's going to be true of ANY plan. Even a plan that says, "I'm just going to be totally even in my pacing" has some inherent risks, because the race might get away from you. I remember after Chris Lieto took 2nd in Hawaii, everyone commented on how "brave" he was. I think Chris is brave, but no braver than Craig. Chris had his race plan, and he executed it. But so did Craig. You think it was riskless for Craig to start the run 14min (I think) down? No way. However you approach it, racing involves risk. Even if the risk is "not taking any risks."

---

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