Right now Cyrus is on his way to Rome, Italy to run in the Rome Marathon this Sunday. Before he left for DIA he took some time to talk to us about his upcoming race and how the marathon can fit into the life of an Olympic distance triathlete.
Why Rome?
I think the better question is ‘why the marathon?’. I had a really bad season last year. I was plagued with Piriformis and Sciatic issues all season, which zapped me of power on the bike. I was swimming and running reasonably well but couldn’t put a race together. After one final torturous showing at Pac Grove, I needed a break. I hung up the bike for almost 3 full months and began to focus on running, since that was the one sport that amazingly wasn’t aggravating my injury. I ran a decent half at the RnR Denver half in mid-October and decided that if I was going to race in ’11, I needed a goal to get me back on the horse, and through another winter of training.
I wanted to run a full marathon before tri-season really kicked off and with my first tri scheduled for April, I had to either race in February or March for a marathon to make sense. Of my options, Rome was the one with the best combination of timing and speed… that, and well, I then I would get to vacation in Europe for a week or two as well!
Describe your approach for training for a marathon while also building up for triathlon season, especially since you focus on Olys and 70.3′s.
My approach to training has completely changed this year and has come 100% from my coach (and former Riptide teammate), Josh Merrick. Through his own experimentation, Josh developed a plan that significantly decreased the time I was spending on the bike and in the pool, while putting all of the focus on intensity while training those disciplines. I was a bit skeptical in the beginning but I immediately started to see results when I returned to the bike in mid-December. I am riding less than I have in past years but pushing bigger wattage and climbing, etc more efficiently outdoors. Admittedly, my swim will be a bit slower this year than in past years due to the reduction in yardage, but with racing some 70.3′s and a much improved run, I don’t expect this to be much of a detriment. I am more confident for this tri season than I have been in a few years and am very excited to see how all of this run training washes out in my Olympic and 70.3 run times.
What advice do you give to other triathletes who are thinking of adding a marathon into their season?
I think that it can be a great addition to a triathletes season if they time it correctly. I feel like it has to be in the athlete’s off-season or just before the season begins. Training in mid-(tri)season for a marathon would be very tough on the mind and body. It’s much easier to pull back on the swim/bike when you know that you will have at least a few weeks to tune things up before your next tri. If you seem to have plateaued on your run (like I had), adding a marathon (or even a fast 1/2) will help you improve run economy and build the confidence that you need to run fast off the bike in the races to come.
What was your favorite workout for the marathon? Least favorite?
I haven’t had one particular favorite workout for this race, but I have really begun to like the long runs that incorporate tempo or speed work. Josh would build my week so that I would have a run like this at mid-week and then long runs on Sundays. I did multiple 12-14 mile runs with the middle 6 to 8 miles at tempo pace and as raceday got closer, we shifted the tempo portions to the final miles of the runs. A few weeks ago, I did 19 miles with the final 10 miles at just slower than tempo pace. These runs really built my confidence.
My least favorite workouts were back in the base phase. HILL WORKOUTS! I did one particular workout on a Wednesday evening in January. It was 15 degrees out, dark and in the middle of a windy blizzard. The main workout was 8 x 2min hill repeats in Cheeseman park. It was brutal and I hated every minute of it, but it definitely made me stronger.
What’s your previous marathon experience?
In my previous life, before triathlon (i.e. in 2004 and prior) I had run 8 open marathons with a PR of 2:54. I also “ran” a couple during Ironmans in ’05 & ’06. I have never run a smart marathon, going out with the crowd rather than running my own race and racing the first 1/2 way too hard. I am older now, more patient in my race tactics and with plenty more race experience (and less ego) than I had back then (thanks to my Riptide teammates, HA!). My primary goal in Rome is to run smart. The goal is really to get to 20 miles with as much energy in the tank as possible and go from there. If I break 2:40 in the process, that’ll work too.
Go get em Cy!!
