Describe a little of your athletic background.
From age 7 to 17 I proved that a January birthday and growing early have real advantages as a junior cyclist, and I raced bicycles quite successfully (had my picture in Sports Illustrated, won two national road titles and spent a month in the Olympic Training Center with the Junior National team). I also played football, soccer and track in high school. With high school winding down, I thought hard about going pro in cycling, as it had always been my childhood dream to be the first American to win the Tour de France and Paris-Roubaix, but in those days there was no money in the sport except for the very top guys in Europe and I was a little burned out and trying to cope with not winning every single race anymore. Plus. I was intellectually curious and thought the life of a pro athlete would be somewhat unfulfilling, boring and lonely. So I decided instead to attend college at MIT where I ran cross country and track (was MIT freshman athlete of the year and a GTE Academic All-American). Thereafter I went to grad school at Stanford and somehow basically didn’t ride my road bike again for almost 20 years.
Where did you grow up?
Petersburg, Virginia with a year racing my bike in Herzogenaurach, Germany (where Adidas and Puma started).
When and how did you first get involved in multisport?
In around 1998 or 1999, a friend (Gordo Byrn) living in Hong Kong, got addicted to triathlon after winning a lottery spot in the Hawaii Ironman. In 2000 while on a business trip to Hong Kong, Gordo coaxed me out on a bike ride and made a point of eventually dropping me despite my athletic background versus his, which consisted mostly of drinking beer. He lit the spark with that ride, and then I read Brad Kearns’ very funny book about his time as a pro triathlete called “You do THAT for a Living?” I then got a bit more of a spark when a year later Gordo quit his job as a venture capitalist and came and stayed with me for a month (much to my wife’s chagrin). Gordo has gone on to a great career despite his late start (2nd in Ironman Canada last year) and has coached several athletes and written an excellent book called “Going Long.”
Describe your first race.
I did an XTERRA off-road race in Half Moon Bay in late 2000. I was petrified I would either drown or get eaten by a great white shark during the swim. A friend lent me his windsurfing wetsuit with about 2-3 inches of thickness and I survived the swim and ended up doing very well -- I even beat some of the pros thanks mostly to a very hilly course and my trail running experience. Ned Overend won despite being 40ish years old and I remember thinking how cool it was that he could still dominate.
Why do you choose to focus on duathlon?
Have you seen my swim splits? Plus bicycling and trail running are my favorite sports.
What was it that was first appealing to you about the sport?
I love the variety of training possibilities and the challenge of being able to still run after trashing your legs on the bike.
What keeps you involved in the sport?
It’s a great way to stay in shape and relieve stress without the monotony of predictable workouts. Plus my kids are now getting old enough where they can do some activities with me and my wife did her first duathlon this summer. Two of my four kids have already done a mini triathlon thanks to Tim Sheeper’s summer multisport camp for kids.
What do you enjoy most about training?
It allows me to eat a lot! I love being outdoors and physically active. It’s stress relief with a purpose.
What do not enjoy about training?
Given how little I get to train, nothing. I just wish I had more time in general. I always joke that I need three lives – one for my family, one for work, and one for my sports.
What do you enjoy most about races?
Races keep me motivated. Without races on the calendar I wouldn’t train properly. I am basically lazy so I need to invent specific tangible goals, and picking target races are an obvious way to accomplish that.
What are your multisport goals?
My Dad had a heart attack and died at 46. I just want to stay healthy, enjoy every day and grow old and grumpy. I want to see my kids go faster than me one day (it won’t be too long now) and then my grandkids one day too. I joke with my wife that we are going to love retirement and dominate the 70+ age group.
What do you enjoy about the worlds experience?
Representing more than just yourself always brings added pressure, and I like pressure. When ALCiS (a pain relief cream) put our multisport team together two years ago, there is no doubt that is when I started to take my racing more seriously because I began to feel an obligation, and that motivated me. Similarly, at worlds you feel like you have to represent the country well. It’s just a cool feeling.
Describe the feeling of being the top U.S. athlete at Duathlon Worlds.
Shocked is the first word that comes to mind. While I am delighted that I had a great race and admittedly proud for putting it all together with a respectable time even compared to the international pros/elites there, it also highlights that we need to get some of our young multisport guns to participate in duathlons. I have no illusions that I am actually the fastest amateur duathlete in the country and third fastest in the world. Top 20? Probably. Fastest Master? I’d like to think so at least on that particular day. But we need to get some of the fast young triathletes and runners and cyclists to realize that some duathlon competition will make them stronger and faster in their main sport. And a few of them will realize they are uniquely suited to duathlon, as I think I am, and the other events will become training for duathlons.
What was it like coming “home” to compete and do so well?
It’s hard to describe really. My first bike race at age 7 was in Byrd Park. I was a bit concerned the family and friends might be a bit of a distraction for the race, but then I reminded myself that half the purpose of the trip was to see family and friends and have a good time! It just all came together really well. I was outright laughing on the last hill when my boyhood buddy who now trains Navy Seals was yelling at me at the top of his lungs to “get my butt up that hill….”
How many hours do you typically train during a week?
Three years ago I kept a log and averaged 7.5 hours a week. Two year ago, just before turning 40, I decided to try to get in better racing shape and raise some money for a favorite charity. So I sent a bunch of buddies a letter to get me motivated and on track for USAT Duathlon Nationals last year. Tim Sheeper helped me get a simple plan together that didn’t involve a lot more time which I have basically used since. I train for fun as my schedule permits so don’t keep a log anymore, but the simple plan is to try to get 10-12 hours a week in. Typically 1-1.5 hours four days a week plus a 3-4 hour ride and two hour run on the weekend gets me there. My day off just depends on how my schedule shapes up between work and family/children activities. Some weeks, during vacations typically, I might get 20 hours in and other weeks I get four or five hours in. To utilize time efficiently I tend to ride the rollers at night while talking with my kids and/or run on my way home from work. In the summer I try to ride my bike to and from work, but my hours make that tough more than one day a week.
How do you balance your work and family with training and racing?
Work is demanding given my job for Wells Fargo Bank investing some of the bank’s money and managing the market risks of our financial products business. Markets are unpredictable and so my schedule and intensity levels are as well. But I try to keep it in perspective and realize I do a better job when I am relaxed, and I am calm when I am happy with my training! As for family, it can be hard sometimes, and I appreciate the sacrifices my wife in particular makes. But it’s actually getting easier as my children get a bit older, as the youngest is now almost six. It was really hard when they were little, which is one reason I only picked up the intensity the past two years. But my wife is as much of a fitness nut as I am – she is really tough to be around if she doesn’t get her daily workout in. So she thankfully understands my desire to get some time in. And increasingly I try to include my kids as much as possible – I’ll run along side while they ride their bikes, for example. And I do wind sprints when I am coaching my son’s soccer team, stuff like that.
Who do you train with?
I am lucky I can run with my wife periodically, and I have two buddies Todd “big butt” Hinders and Mark Pietrofesa who both live down the street and are accomplished triathletes/Ironmen. And as extra bonus Alex Tilson, the 50k national running record holder and Olympic Trials marathoner, lives nearby and often organizes a small weekly Sunday morning trail run that is always epic.
What role does multisport and fitness play in your life?
It gives me a nice balance.
How long do you see yourself competing?
As long as I am alive and the ALCiS cream keeps my tendons and joints working!
What do your friends and family think about your multisport life?
They think I am a little nutty, and they are probably right! But they also know I love doing goofy, fun athletic things and am blessed to have some folks who will do them with me, and I get to live in an area so spectacularly beautiful. You haven’t lived until you run up Half Dome for example or climb Ebbitt’s pass (or do the whole Death Ride for that matter) or just run or mountain bike through the coastal redwood forests virtually right out my back door or bike down the coast to my in-laws place in Santa Cruz. I lead a lucky life.
How do you spend your time when you aren’t training/racing?
Aside from work, we always have 8,000 things going on – kids activities mostly. We try to get up to the mountains whenever we can and we all ski together as a family. I usually coach at least one of the kids’ various sports teams and I devote some time to giving something back by serving on the local school foundation board and the regional advisory board for Jumpstart, which teaches underprivileged young children to read (http://www.jstart.org/). I am a big believer in the power of education.
What advice would you give someone new to the sport?
Enjoy it. Find some folks to train with on weekends. Do as I say and not as I do – if you have the time, plan out your workouts and get a coach. But if you don’t have the time, spend the time you have to get out and do what feels good.
What do you tell yourself when you don’t feel like training?
Mostly I love to train, but sometimes when I don’t want to get up on a cold Saturday morning and it’s dark and I’m tired, I think of the words to a Rush song: “You don’t get something for nothing. You don’t get freedom for free. You won’t get wise with the sleep still in your eyes, no matter what your dream might be!”