He does look promising, although that 13;32 does not mean he dominates the run anymore. Several guys in that range, going back a long time too. But love that he thought the test swim USAT does was nothing3x(8x100's@1;10) 30 seconds between sets. That is a solid swim for a guy that ran his way through school.

So this brings up the elephant in the room, can he get to the top 12 or so out of the water? That seems to be the cutoff these days, unless there is some merging of packs, which is not something you want to bank on for a great race. He needs to get off the bike up front, and then outrun guys like Yee, who I presume will also make the leap soon. I feel a new crop coming up to replace the worn out old guard. Guys like Vincent Luis are going to lead the way to really fast races to the bitter end once again..

Well the races are always exciting, just be fun to see everyone running 10 seconds a mile faster...

He finished 11th at the Grand Final despite being sick...got outkicked by 2 guys on the carpet for 9th.

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Shawn
TORRE Consulting Services, LLC
http://www.TORREcs.com

He has some swims within seconds of Luis. That was impressive. Seemed like he just had issues learning where to position himself around buoys and on the bike. He did lead the bike in at least one race, really pushing the pace.

For fun, name ITU guys who've run faster than 13:32 in open run 5k's...?

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wovebike.com | Wove on instagram

Thanks, I just checked the splits, and seems he has made that top 12 group out of the water, and he hangs on the bike. Too bad he was sick, must have been tough to give up all those spots in your best event..I hope he can prove his off the bike running abilities soon on the big stage, been awhile since we had a yank to cheer for in the last couple miles of the big races...

This guy's running prowess seems to be right up Dan's alley in terms of interest. Get this guy an interview!

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wovebike.com | Wove on instagram

For fun, name ITU guys who've run faster than 13:32 in open run 5k's...?


We'll for sure, I would say this guy Yee no doubt.
There was a couple guys from the early days, Greg something, 13;27, dan would probably remember him. I played poker with him, he was also a professional card counter.
A guy I used to lifeguard with who was early ITU, just couldn't make the lead group off the bike, ran 28 flat 10k, forget his name, always had the fastest run, often ta'ing the ride too..
Have to imagine Allistar, Mola, Murray, Schoenman is in that ball park, but dont know if they ever ran one full out.
Maybe the kid who did that sub 4 high school mile, then got wrecked in an accident?
Have to imagine Alan Webb also?
Ryan Bolton maybe?


I'll leave it to others to find their actual times, but for sure a few of those have gone faster, others in the 10 second neighborhood..

Great article. Met him at the summer crp camp at the OTC just before his race in Omaha to get his elite card. He was definitely a character.

He’s got some real talent and is a sneakily good swimmer for such a run pedigree. It’s going to be interesting to see how the USA all shakes out for Tokyo.

It’s kinda crazy/interesting to see the direction the US takes with the discretion spots and especially with how MTR factors in.

MP has the best chance to swim front pack and stay there, Eli does as well. Matt I just don’t think will in a non wetsuit swim. So the bike tactics could play hugely. And then there is Kanute who’s pretty much only going to get picked (if he’s picked) for MTR.

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

greg whitely. the one who would be good is andy truard. but he's just running right now. 13:21. probably the lifeguard you're referring too is gordon duff.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Using VDOT equivalents, Pearson's 5k is equivalent to a 28:09 10k, faster than Alistair's, Don's, and Gomez's open run demonstrated abilities; equivalent to a 3:55 mile (Lukas Verzbicas ran 3:59), and while Webb's 3:46 mile, the AR, 13:10 5,000m and 27:34 10,000m runs are in a different ball park, he was never going to get out of the water within 5 seconds of someone like Luis. Bolton never ran the equivalent of a 13:32 5k, but he did place top 10 at NCAA D1 XC.

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wovebike.com | Wove on instagram

greg whitely. the one who would be good is andy truard. but he's just running right now. 13:21. probably the lifeguard you're referring too is gordon duff. //

AH yes, Greg Whitely. I remember him swimming in lane two for two full years, doing double a lot of the time. HE knew he had to bridge to at least the 2nd pack to have any chance, but his swim just never got there. Not Gordon Duff, it was a guy that was like 5th in NCAA steeple? I just cannot remember his name right now, but he did ITU for at least a few years, 28 flat 10k guy.. How fast was Gordon, and how about Ryan Bolton? Think you coached and sponsored him for awhile? Thought I remembered he went low 28 10k?

ryan was very fast. but he was fast in xc. 12th place in NCAA D1 XC nationals. but i never saw him translate an effort like that onto the road or track. had he done some it would've been 28:30 or so. but i never saw anything like that. i don't remember how fast gordon was. one of the faster pure runners in triathlon, in the old days, was ruben chappins. he was a beast. i don't know what he ever ran as a PR, but good luck beating him in a road race.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

he was never going to get out of the water within 5 seconds of someone like Luis.//

Well we didnt know that before he came in. He had a 4;50 500SCY swim as a kid, so he certainly had the chance to get out with the leaders, provided he could bridge that huge gap of time he spent only running.. And like I said, for most of the top guys in the past decade, a lot of them would be within 10 or so seconds of that time. I would imagine Allistar could focus on running and done that time. He always said his 28;30 was not optimal, just something to do..


I'm sure I missed one or two others, did Grahm who posts here ever do an ITU? 3;51 mile, probably did under that time for 5k too..

Most of the ITU guys haven't run all out races for times since their Junior years, other than USA guys and Yee, so looking up their times isn't really comparable. But lets look at who we think could be capable to run these times if they focused on trying to,obviously Yee, Alistair would have once (now probably not), Mola, Birtwhistle, Louis, Coninx, and of course some of your USA guys. Murray I doubt and Schoeman I would think not. All out speed for a 5k is different to the endurance in a 10k off the bike, even a 5k off the bike.

Interesting part of Webb's ITU career is that they basically focused entirely on simply getting to the last person in the chase pack because most of the time those chase packs would catch the front (course dependent obviously, but many ITU races it came together). Webb was actually swimming with guys in the itu squad that was chase pack athletes, he just never was able to put it into the race. Which makes sense, he really had no open water experience and he was sorta "old" so essentially it was a 6 month fast track of can he or can't he make it. If he can't, off he goes into the sunset. If he could, he would have very likely ran to top 10 and then "extend" his ITU potential. He just never once came out of the water close to the chase group, so he was always riding alone in 58th place. Doesn't matter what you run, your stuck at finishing 34th at best.


LV just needed time to mature and deal with the pressure of being the "next" top thing. I think he would have done really well if he could have gotten away from his father's training and really become his own person, but alas that really near death crash in the Garden of Gods f'ing up his back/neck and really never recovering. He bounced around with some coaches and even tried to see if Sutton could help. I think last I heard he's in Europe enjoying his non sporting life.

All I know is 2/3rd of the US men vying for the olympic spots in San Diego WTS race were concerned that winter when LV quit Oregon to come into ITU. They were worried they were going to get subbed out for him on the start list at the last trials event because that was a pancake flat course that had 50+ coming together in T2. It never came down to that as they didn't want to "rush" his development, and hindsight is as they say it.

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

From the races I’ve watched, he’s been placed high enough after the swim to be in the front group, but hasn’t been able to stay with that lead pack. Same goes for Hemming (if I’m remembering correctly). He’s had front pack swims but lost the front pack on the bike.

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https://twitter.com/mungub

Hello,

Morgan Pearson here. I should start by saying, I am not an avid SlowTwitch user, in fact I have only been on the site a hand full of times and had to make an account to reply to this forum. However, I was informed about this post by someone who also suggested it would be smart to reply, and connect with the triathlon community!

To those that have read the article, thanks for taking the time to read it!

I have run two running races while training for triathlon full time, the first was 2018 USATF Club Cross Country, where I finished 9th and the second was a 8:07 3k at the CU Boulder indoor track meet this past February. I plan on running 2019 Club Cross Country again this December and maybe USA Cross Country Champs or an indoor 5k. I would love to run more races in the spring and summer when I am super fit but we race so much in ITU, it doesn't really make sense.

My first two years of triathlon have presented many challenges, but I feel by the end of the 2019 season (aside from an awful swim at the Test Event) I was starting to figure the sport out a bit; 2nd Mexico World Cup, 6th in Edmonton WTS and 11th at the Grand Final. With more and more experience, confidence, and training in the swim and bike I am hoping to translate my run to triathlon more consistently.

I dealt with E. Coli after / durning Lausanne so I had to take a break, but I hope to race the last two world cups of the season in Lima and Santa Domingo.

I am happy to answer any more questions.

Hey thanks for stopping in Morgan, you are beginning to get a bit of a fan club here. I have a couple questions, first of all, what type of swimming are you doing? Is it geared towards a 500 pace with some distance to get through the mile, or more of a sprinters regime to catch onto that lead group? What is a hard test set you do, times and intervals?

And secondly, how do you find yourself feeling off the bike? What I mean is, we have had really top runners in the sport, but running off a really hard bike and swim can be a bit different than a straight up run. Do you feel like you could be one of the guys that runs just a few seconds a mile slower in a triathlon? It seems for many, the first two events are a warm up for the run, and they can drill a 10k within 20 to 30 seconds of what they could do stand alone.

Hope you are through your illness, sometimes that can hang around, especially if you dont get it all. But that is part of racing, you will no doubt have lots of challenges besides just the training and racing, we all do. Its how you meet and overcome them that marks a true champion. Good luck, we will be following very closely now that the games are getting close, and the selection even closer. If it were my choice, you would be first on the team, seems like you have the best shot in the time allotted, which isnt much...

Thanks for your kind words Monty.

This past season, I was doing a lot of work on my technique, sprinting, and power, I think you would be very surprised how many 50s and 25s and kicking I do. In high school I did mostly long aerobic sets and it only got me so far; now I do longish/hard/aerobic sets 1-2 times a week.

One test set that my coach had me do was 3*100 on 1:45 best average. 300 smooth on 3:30, 3 times. I will not give you my times because I don't want to give to much away. I believe I am a better open water swimming than pool. Personally I don't think that its worth doing a ton of these sets.

I am always feeling different off the bike, but I will say to do not have the same pop as running on the track, imagine running with really wet and heavy shoes, versus spikes on the track. This next season I want to incorporate more strides and speed into my running and also increase my long run distance. I've also been told it can take a few years to develop a run off the bike, but who knows. I should note, I have tremendous respect for the top runners in ITU. If Mario Mola trained as a runner, I'm sure he could run some extremely competitive times.

First of all, congrats on your 11th place in Lausanne, I was there to watch and it was a brutal race. Just making the front pack at T2 was a challenge.

It seems that you had a swim-run background and early in your WTS career you struggled a few times to hang on to front packs. But your last few races and especially Lausanne your bike was really solid, do you feel like you've turned a corner in terms of bike strength in the last few months or was it other circumstances that explained earlier troubles?

Thanks Diabolo,

Biking has been the biggest challenge for me. I do think I have gained some extra power from the beginning to the end of the year - credit goes to my coach. However, my biggest gains on the bike have from from improving my technique, strategy, and comfort level. The biggest help has been I working with a professional cyclist named Joe Lewis once a week in Boulder. Joe still races but he has also started a coaching business that works with juniors, and a friend of mine suggested I reach out to him and we work 1 on 1. It’s been very helpful. I also did the a summer crit series called Tuesday Night Thunder which is hosted by Pearl Izumi and many group rides.

I still have a ways to go on the bike to reach the top level, but at least I am able to hold my own now!

Thanks. Very insightful.

Alex Yee - 13:29

Hey Morgan,

Good job on those Lausanne hills, and your result. Getting 11th in your 2nd year of the sport bodes well. I first heard of you on some podcast and you told how you dropped into that US national race while driving across country, and I thought 'dude's got some talent' and started to follow your rising results.

Questions: What was the strategy behind your heavy race schedule last year and this year? How did / do you deal with that much travel and get in quality training?

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Advocating for research & treatment for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME).
http://www.meaction.net/about/what-is-me/

"Suck it up, Buttercup"
(me, to myself, every day)

Thanks Scottriguy!

The two basic reasons for the heavy race schedule are 1) experience - I am racing guys that have been in the sport for many years. It is important to get in as many races as possible, with in reason. 2) Olympic Points - to get 3 olympic bids, USA (or any country) needs to have three athletes ranked in the top 30 of olympic points.

As for dealing with travel / racing / training. I am still learning and figuring that out. My coach is really smart with having me do go sessions after travel to prepare for the race. I also work with a strength coach, Chris Lee who gives me a travel session which gets by body reset after travel. I do find my performances tend to fall off at the end of long racing trips so I hope to limit these trips in the future.