John Kaiser – Sedentary to Race Ready
Q. What events at the USAT 2018 National Championship did you race in?
A. I raced the Olympic Distance Championship.
Q. What was your biggest challenge in your training leading up to the event?
A. Just the general slog that comes with getting back into shape after an all too sedentary, long winter while traveling a lot for work. I qualified for the event late last season and didn’t really get back on the wagon (more like start chasing the wagon) until Precision Multisport’s Tri camp in late April, which was a great kick in the you know what. Rebuilding strength and endurance while inching closer to race weight was/is always a fun journey.
Q. What was your highlight coming out of your race?
A.Given my training has been focused on longer distance triathlon, I’d say finishing the race feeling like I could go around again and negative split it was the glass-half-full highlight. That and life as bib #8.
Len Joy – Rivalries Do Exist
Q. What events at the USAT 2018 National Championship did you race in?
A. I completed in the Olympic and Sprint Distance Championships in the same age group as Bill McCarthy (pictured below on right), another Precision-trained athlete. Bill crushed me, but he’s older and more experienced. I’ll get him next year.
Q. What was your biggest challenge in your training leading up to the event?
A. I had some issues with plantar fasciitis, but Heather Collins of Heather Collins Training devised a training program that minimized the problem while keeping me conditioned enough to race.
Q. What was your highlight coming out of your race?
A. In the sprint triathlon they had to cancel the swim because of riptides. Instead, we ran 2.5km, biked 40km, and then ran other 2.5km. On the second run on the first long hill I passed legendary, world class athlete Madonna Buder, also known as Sister Madonna. She has won a zillion world championships. She is 82 now, but we have sort of a rivalry developing I think.
Lisa Luttenegger – Hot Mess of a Race Schedule
Q. What events at the USAT 2018 National Championship did you race in?
A. I raced the Olympic Distance Championship.
Q. What was your biggest challenge in your training leading up to the event?
A. My biggest immediate challenge was recovering from my A-race, Ironman Ohio 70.3, just 2 weeks prior. Coach Craig has had fun helping me juggle my hot mess schedule of gran fondos, criteriums, short and middle-distance triathlons and full/ultra-marathons this year (sorry, Coach), but when it took me three days to walk normally after Ohio, I did wonder how he was going to get me to the start of Nationals in one piece.
Q. What was your highlight coming out of your race?
A. I race best when I’m focused but having fun, so my highlight was seeing other Precision Multisport athletes and friends on and off the course. We were so fortunate to have top tier Sherpa support, so rather than worrying about hiding flip flops or losing car keys I was able to be very present in my race. Performance-wise, I’ve put a ton of work into the bike this year, so achieving 7th bike split in my age group felt like a huge victory. I also took away a lot more in terms of areas to work on (notably, the area that starts with T and ends with 1).
Bill McCarthy – Intensity Workouts Matter
Q. What events at the USAT 2018 National Championship did you race in?
A. I raced the Olympic triathlon on Saturday and the Sprint triathlon on Sunday. The results of these races were used to qualify for the ITU World Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland next year. I wanted to try to qualify for either. As it turned out, I qualified for the Olympic distance, so I’ll be excitedly winging my way to Switzerland next year!
Q. What was your biggest challenge in your training leading up to the event?
A. My biggest challenge was trying to taper from my long-distance training so that I would be able to have the energy to run faster than I’m used to going. Training for longer distance involves working the long-twitch muscles and emphasis on hours on the bike or run, vs the short-twitch muscles. Coach JP has been incorporating shorter speed and intensity workouts into my training, and that has helped.
Q. What was your highlight coming out of your race?
A. I was very pleased (and surprised) on how fast I was able to run. I’ve been concentrating on long, slow running up to now and didn’t know that I could run with speed (for shorter distances at least). I really enjoyed these shorter races.
Ty Ziniel – Pre-race Pizza Eating Contest is Mandatory
Q. What events at the USAT 2018 National Championship did you race in?
A. While I did race the Olympic distance at Nationals, the main event—my A race for the year—was the pre-race pizza eating contest against Lisa Luttenegger (also featured in this piece).
Q. What was your biggest challenge in your training leading up to the event?
A. I went into this race knowing the competition would be fierce and I noticed that having an effect on my confidence. One of my challenges was staying mentally focused, constantly reminding myself during each training session that I was laying the groundwork for race day. It’s easy to get caught up in training and forget that individual, well-executed training sessions are essential building blocks for a good race.
Q. What was your highlight coming out of your race?
A. The biggest highlight for me was racing and spending the weekend alongside fellow Precision athletes and friends. It’s really energizing to see the people you train with each week perform so well on an individual level. I was happy to have PR’d my bike split, too. With that being said, it was also a highlight leaving this race with a clearer picture of areas that need more focus and attention.
And finally, for those of you who only read this far to find out the results of the pizza eating competition, I’m afraid you’ll have to stay tuned for next year’s contest. The absence of an official referee made it too difficult to declare a winner.