#pro triathlete

[humanpowercoach-blog]

Jordan Monnink Wins Barrleman Triathlon

Cyclelogik // HPP Pro triathlete Jordan Monnink took first place at Multisport Canada Barrelman Triathlon on September 17, 2017. This marks his third time competing in the event placing on the podium each time. On his third outing, Jordan finally took first place winning the Long Course Provincial Championship title.

Jordan Monnink posted the fastest run time on the course giving himself a solid…

View On WordPress

[mau-mendez-blog]

Xterra world championship 2014.

[triathletesnews]

My First Pro Triathlete Interview (Feb 2009): Chris McCormack @MaccaNow

Chris McCormack (aka: Maaca) is a champion in both the Olympic distance and Ironman distance. I had the luxury of seeing Chris McCormick race the 2001 Jamba Juice Los Angeles Triathlon. Macca went running by me like a bolt of lightening; that was a great experience and something I will always remember as it was my first season in triathlon.  Winning LA in 2001 was no fluke as Macca gone on to win multiple championship titles, crushing the competition and setting new records. I am deeply honored to have had the opportunity to ask Chris McCormack the questions you are about read.  Ladies and gentlemen, please take a moment to read about the husband, father and champion: Chris McCormack.

KK: Please tell us how are you able balance your life between family, friends, training and racing, how do you find the time?

Macca: Finding the time is not an issue. Life is all about balance and I think if you are looking for success in anything, it is only with balance amongst the things that are most important to you that you will see success accompanied with fulfillment. My success in my sport is very much attributed to my family. I involve them in everything, the decision-making process and season plans. We are a single unity. I do not see it as separate and for this reason I do not feel the need to balance on these grounds.

Getting the perfect mix for any person when it comes to balancing all the things in life that need to be done is a personal thing. Its about priorities and communication. It's about chasing what you need, but not forgetting where you are. So many times we can be focused so far ahead on the goal we have set, that we forget the things that surrounds us and are important to us in the present. I like to keep check and remind myself to be very present with my thoughts and my emotions. Planning is key to athletic success and being smart in the workloads and sessions you do, so as to maximize the time you dedicate to sport. I guess to answer the question; I achieve balance through careful planning, and remaining true to what is important and about flexibility.

KK: Who and/or what inspires, drives or motivates you?

Macca: I really draw my motivation from within. I am truly motivated by trying to achieve personal perfection. Everyone has his or her own measure of personal perfection and trying to get as close to that as possible is where I drive my motivation from. I am meticulous in my preparation and very focused on what I need to do to get the maximum out of myself. I think over the years we have really learned how to get a very fine balance within the three disciplines and building these individually over a year is something that I enjoy and am motivated from. Obviously success is a very motivating thing and achieving goals, but to be honest if you are motivated by things outside personal ambitions and your own expectations of yourself, then lack of motivation is easy to some by. Motivation should be drawn from deep inside. A desire to achieve a personal perfection or a desire to be the best you can be.

KK: When you're in a race, it doesn't matter what the distance or event, and things start to get tough how do you adjust to the situation?

Macca: Enjoy the moment. I like to stay in the present and really enjoy the moment. I am of the opinion that if it was easy then everyone would do it. When the tough times come I try to stay positive by telling myself that this is what it is all about. This is what I signed up for. This is what makes me special. It is the tough times that make this a challenge. Stay in the moment and try to enjoy the feeling of your body rebelling to the effort. Focus on the little things that are within your control, and run through your checklist of things to do under these tough pressure situations. You should have gone through these in training and with your coaches. I basically like to enjoy the moment, embrace it and bunker down and stay relaxed. Ride out the storm and it will ease. Stay positive and in the moment is key. Don't let your mind drift.

KK: What are some tips that you would give to someone just starting up in the sport of triathlon? Maybe share with a few things that you may have observed throughout your career. Maybe even mistakes from which you have learned.

Macca: Enjoy the sport. Triathlon can become an all-encompassing thing as it has three sports to concentrate on and information overload can take over as everyone tries to become competent in each sport. The sport of triathlon is a single sport that involves three disciplines and training for this sport is different than just mastering swimming, biking and running. Many coaches don't understand this and struggle with the balance of getting this right.

Macca: The biggest mistake I see many triathletes make, both experienced ones and beginners, is this overall drive to do more work. The training philosophy that more is better runs deep in triathlon ranks because we are so focused on mileage as a measure of workload and don't understand the foundation of accumulated "Triathlon" mileage as a single measure. We hear that swimming "x" riding "y" and running "Z" miles per week is what is needed to be good at each discipline so triathletes tend to try and get as close to this as possible. Understanding the harmony of balance amongst the three disciplines and putting rest and recovery first when building a program will see better results. Enjoying the sport and the lifestyle is key. Don't get engulfed by it. Triathlon tends to do this to many people.

KK: In your triathlon career you have been very successful in both the Olympic distance and Ironman distance. How different is it to train for an Olympic distance race compared to an Ironman distance race?

Macca: It is very different. Success can be carried across both distances but planning and programming becomes much more important for the athlete that is looking at excelling at both distances. Ironman is about getting efficient and building a huge aerobic engine that can sustain prolonged stress.

Macca: Olympic distance racing is more power orientated with an emphasis on threshold work and less rhythm work. I love both distances because planning and training for them requires such different workloads and session types. The key difference between training for the two is basic pace, and volume obviously. You can make many more errors in your training for Olympic distance than you will for an Ironman.

Macca: With Ironman training your program needs to be much more specific and a greater focus on efficiency. This is particularly so for that athlete who have targeted a time and are actually racing an Ironman as opposed to those who have taken up the challenge and who's primary goal is to simply cross the finish line.

KK: What do you do to prevent injuries and if an injury does occur what do you do to recover so quickly?

Macca: I do a lot of yoga and recovery work. I actually use a Yoga technique in Australia called Sportoga that is very much yoga done at speed and a less specific yoga focus. It is a type of yoga that was developed by a Triathlete friend of mine who has a huge training corporation in Australia and I really enjoy the workouts. The focus on flexibility and core is key to me. Overall I have been pretty injury free as I always rest fatigue as opposed to training it. I have no guilt in taking two months off at the end of a season and having no structure to my workouts. The key to injury prevention is being mentally confident enough to rest when you are sore, lots of massage and flexibility work and being body aware. Your body will give you signs of injuries before they arise. Be aware and look out for this. I have never had a chronic injury, as I have always been very cautious here. Maintenance is the key. Massage, stretching and nutrition

KK: What brought you to compete in triathlons?

Macca: I was drawn to triathlon from running for the simple challenge. In Australia during the 90's Triathlon was experiencing the boom that is happening right now in the USA. I thought the sport was cool and loved the challenge. Like most people who do their first race, once I did it, I thought that was unreal and was looking for the next one to do. I did my first triathlon at 18 years of age and remembering driving home with my father saying, "that was sooo much fun dad, we need to find another one of those I think I can go quicker next time." I still love the sport, love the challenge and have the same passion for it that I did when I first started the sport. It is awesome. It was the challenge that bought me to the sport, but it's the people who keep me in it.

KK: What was your best race ever? Why?

Macca: Personally my best ever race was the 2001 Goodwill Games in Australia. I had just crashed at the ITU World Championships in Canada when I was sure I was going to win my 2nd ITU World Championship. I had not been beaten in a race for 16 events and the World Championships was mine. I unfortunately crashed in the wet conditions when I was off the front on the bike and it ultimately put me out of the race. I was so disappointed and decided that Goodwill Games was to be my focus. The Goodwill Games was an invitation race of the best 40 triathletes in the world regardless of nation and a huge prize purse. It was the biggest short course race of 2001 and everyone wanted the title. It was 2nd to the Olympic games and as I had controversially been left of my Olympic Team 12 months prior, I wanted to show that I was still the best triathlete in the World. I had been on a rampage of winning for 18 months since missing the Olympic Team and had left my federation and moved to the USA. The Goodwill Games were to be held in Australia, live on TV and I wanted to win against the best guys in the world. I absolutely blew the field apart and Hamish Carter and myself rode 4 minutes into the field and I went on to cruise to victory and win the biggest race since the Olympics and keep my unbeaten record intact. I had a period from April 2000 until about October 2002 where I was just unbeatable at any distance, but this Goodwill Games event was sweet revenge for me and really gave me a platform to voice my disappointment at Australian selectors and make them look stupid for not allowing me to race in our Sydney Olympics. It was a beautiful day.

Macca: Obviously winning World Championships at Olympic Distance and Ironman were special, but for those days where you remember that everything clicked and your mindset was perfect, then Goodwill Games was that event for me.

KK: What was the race you would like to forget? Why?

Macca: My 2nd attempt at Hawaii in 2003. I had made a huge impact on the race on Debut in 2002 when I got off the bike 12 minutes in front and then cramped so badly that I could not finish. In 2003, I honestly thought that I was going to cruise to victory in Hawaii. I had won again in Australia and just had a sprint finish in Quelle Challenge Roth, an Ironman distance race in Europe and probably one of the world's biggest Ironman races. I had won my 4th Alcatraz title, another Wildflower crown and a World cup event in the season before July. I honestly thought I was going to just turn up to Kona and crush them. Emma Jane and I had planned to get married in January but had found out we were pregnant with our daughter Tahlia. I decided to move our wedding forward to mid August. With my pre wedding celebrations and then our honeymoon by the time I started training for Kona in was late August and I was well out of shape. That being said, I still thought I would smash these "slow' Ironman guys. When I got to halfway on the bike, I knew I was in for a tough day. The winds were howling, it was stupidly hot and I simply did not have the fitness or the volume in the legs to handle the pace. I ended up walking to the finish line that day and finishing in 9:24. It was a tough experience and a tough day at the office and to be honest was the event that made me check myself. It was the event that made turn my back on the Olympic Games and go for Kona glory and it was the event that made me focus solely on becoming the best athlete I could be in Hawaii and winning that World title. I would like to forget it simply because I am annoyed at myself for not respecting the event or the athletes enough to give the race its due focus. I never made this mistake again.

KK: What are some of your favorite things to do, during the off-season?

Macca: Family. My off-season is all about them. I just being a dad and spending time with close friends and family and doing anything but triathlon. We go away on holidays, surf and water ski. I love the beach and I love watching my girls grow up. Right now I cannot think of anything better to do than going to our property south of Sydney and surfing and watching my girls ride horses and spending time with Emma Jane. Off-season for me is truly off. I do nothing triathlon related at all.

KK: When people think of Chris McCormack, what do you want them to know?

Macca: I am really a fun gun who is passionate about triathlon and more so about this sport. I am like most guys with a family who try to juggle work with family and being the best father and husband I can be. I am dedicated to excellence and expect that from myself and the people I put around me. I am driven in that sense and really attentive to detail. I think I am a great teacher because watching others enjoy the qualities that this sport has given me is something I truly enjoy. I think I want people to know that I am pretty laid back, cruisy and not at all like some of the stuff I read about myself. I think my focus and drive can sometimes give people the wrong perception of me. I just expect a lot from my team, they know that. I expect from them the same that I expect from myself. I think this has been the main reason for my triathlon success.

KK: Do you have a favorite quote that you live by?

Macca: Dream, Believe, Create, And Succeed. This has been the foundation of our career and sits above every yearly plan we have ever put together. Every goal we set we follow this exact mindset and process.

Macca: I also love a quote that my friend Simon Whitfield said when he won the Sydney Olympics in 2000. "Great things happen to those people who make great things happen to themselves." Those words have always stuck in my head and I really changed them to  "Make it Happen." I honestly say this to myself before every race, every tough training session and pretty much any challenge I face. Its up to me really and these words which were created from the Whitfield quote have really become a mantra for me

[gcmendurance-blog]

This is what happens when a coach and athlete have proper set goals, images and synergy.  He not only get sponsored and stronger, he gets a two page ad.

Seb Navarro and myself met a couple of months ago.  Seb was new to the triathlon racing scene but had some really amazing results with top tens, qualifying for the 70.3 Worlds and local regional championships. 

We spoke via email a couple of time talking about his goals and my coaching style and we set up a Skype interview. Him being from the UK and my from the US, it made things interesting.

Seb Navarro's main goal is to get his pro license, win races and, race in the 70.3 Worlds. My goal is to get him is pro license and crush the competition.

We messed personalities right away and we are making some very quick great gains in strength, speed and technique.

Seb is now sponsored by FFWD Wheels, Reflex Nutrition, Blue Seventy, Epix Clothing, Moose Clothing, and Hertfordshire University of Performance.

Seb is a prime example of what hard work, good coaching and a no quite attitude can do.

Coach Greg C. Moriates

[pmccrann]

Time: 8.5 minutes Audio Only: Download MP3 Here Who: Matt Lieto, Pro Triathlete Current Residence: Bend, OR Years in Triathlon: 10 2009 Races: Ironman Lake Placid Website: www.mattlieto.com Matt Lieto may be soft-spoken, but you can feel the energy beneath the surface. No surprise (really) to learn that until IM Hawaii 1998 he tipped the scales at 240 lbs. Watching his big brother (Chris) and all of those incredible “finishers” race in Kona inspired him to try again and lose the weight. In very short order he lost 75lbs, and started triathlon, and eventually worked his way to racing as a Pro. Learn what drives Matt, why he fervently supports www.rememberstevelarsen.com, and much more in this quick interview.