Last fall Jordan traveled to Westchester, New York to race for the first time since fracturing his tibia in June. A crash just 6 miles into the bike leg ended his race prematurely. Today Jordan talks with us about going back to the course and shares his approach to Olympic Distance events.
The Westchester Triathlon is Sunday, September 26th — just 5 days before Jordan gets married.
You crashed pretty badly on the bike at Westchester Triathlon last year. Can you take us through what happened?
The sea was angry that day my friend. It was a nasty day with rain on the bike, I was pushing hard down a long hill in my hardest gears, the pavement was perfect but right towards the end there was a raised portion from construction. I hit it and was immediately on the ground. Fortunately, with the pavement being wet, I just slid a long ways and only got some bad road rash. It was some bad rash through, the medics freaked out a bit when they saw it, I told them to hack away at it, I didn’t want to go to the hospital for it. Andrew Yoder had to pull out there as well, he got a flat tire from the same piece of road.
Why go back to Westchester? What is the race like?
Part of the reason to go back is to avenge last year. It was my first big race after fracturing my tibia in June. I was immensely disappointed after the race. I remember sitting in my friend Kevin’s car afterwards while the rain poured down, going through why I was racing. Fortunately I had good friends to keep my spirits up.
It’s a cool race through and that’s part of the reason to go back. New England in fall in something special.
What has your training been like for the last few weeks? You had a strong race in Malibu, what have you been up to since then?
The training has been great. Riptide’s coach, Sean Wendt has been mixing this up with so CompuTrainer workouts and interesting pool sets with some hard kicking. So I’m still feeling good, the fitness it still developing, and I’m excited to hit the course.
Describe your nutrition plan for an Olympic Distance race.
I used to have only one gel but I’ve upped that to two this year. Hydration really depends on the weather. A hot day like Chicago and I’ll go through 48oz and still be thirsty. A cool day and one bottle is enough. I’ve been learning how to make the right judgement call on race morning and as the race develops.
You’ve been racing at a high level very consistently since January where you ran 1:09:08 at the Austin 3M Half Marathon. That’s 9 months of career-best performances. What do you think is the most important thing in having a successful season from start to finish?
Rest. I divide rest up into three categories. I take one day off a week normally. Then I’ll take three days off in a row every couple of months. And I’ll take two good breaks a year. A week off during the season which I did after Nautica New York City. A few weeks off once the season is done. I’ve had the confidence this year to really take the rest I need and it’s paying off. Keeping the big picture in my head helps instead over overly focusing on the short term workouts that I want to get in.
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