10_14_12_Gomes.output.mp3

Foreign.

Welcome back to Endurance Planets week of Kona, where we're bringing you the latest and greatest from the big Island. This is your host, Tawny Przak. And it's the day after the race. A lot more calm, but still a lot of energy. And I have another cool interview for you guys today. A little background first. So when you're in Kona, everyone sort of becomes mom's family. You're in this together, whether you're racing it, spectating, volunteering, whatever it may be. And in many cases, that also includes the people that you end up staying with. This week, I was actually lucky enough to share a condo with several folks, most of whom I'd be meeting for the first time. We had a sports medicine doctor who was volunteering, a coach who had an athlete racing, one of my friends who's raced Kona twice, and last but not least, a pro triathlete who was racing Kona for the first time. And that actually brings me to today's show. That pro who raced is Pedro Gomez, and he ended up having a stellar for showing in Kona, finishing 26. So today, the day after the race, I sat down with Pedro to talk about his experience, what he did to get to Kona this year, his nutrition, race strategy, thoughts on hanging out in Kona, and much more. Enjoy the show. Hi, folks. I'm here with Pedro Gomez. We are the day after the Ironman World Championships, and actually Pedro is sitting here in front of me wearing his Normatec recovery boots. Pedro, how are you doing?

Pretty well. The Normatecs surely help after a race, so feeling good.

How many times have you used a Normatex since you finished the race yesterday?

This is my second time, actually, but I do it like 30 minutes cycles just because I want to make sure I'm not doing more harm than good. But they surely help recovery. It's definitely better than an ice bath and more comfortable. Yeah.

So yesterday was your debut at the Ironman World Championships where you had a fabulous race, finishing 26th overall. In a nutshell, how was your experience?

It was definitely one to remember. Like, I've seen this race like three times already. This is my fourth time in Hawaii, first time racing I've seen the race on tv and actually being out there on the lava fields, it was really joyful and I'm really happy with the way things went on during the day. Looking back now, I probably went too conservative because this is one of those races where you can't just take risks and not think what's going on on the Marathon because no one knows Kona as being a cool race. So I just try to keep it conservative, don't make any hydration or nutritional mistakes and just survive and endure what was a really tough days. Like people that are saying that it was one of the hardest races of recent years. So I'm glad I finished and I'll be back for more.

So before we talk about more specifically about your race yesterday, let's talk about how you were able to even get the points to make it to Kona this year compared to previous years. First off, how long have you actually.

Been a pro triathlete, actually racing long Ironman and distance events? My first Ironman was late 2010, so Ironman it's been only like two years so I'm not. I have a few years in hand so I have still a lot to learn. So the process was hard just because the rankings, if you're not racing Kona the previous year, you have a lot of athletes have a head start on the rankings and you have to. I had to race three times in the US just to make Tukona. So I set up with a 10th place finish in Texas early in the year. I think my coach Jesse didn't want me to get to the final preparation to Kona too beat up by training. So we started slow. The race in Texas was conservative and in F4 10th place. Then I head towards Austria where I had a great race. I finished on the podium, only beat by Faris and Daniel Fontana and I really had a solid performance there. It gave me a ton of points but it was not enough. I had to go to the US Pro Championship in New York, the inaugural Ironman New York. I finished eighth there. It was kind of a late decision. The training was heading already towards Kona so it was another solid day. I think I had a great season to make it to Kona and to race as I did lap yesterday. It only makes me happy and look forward for the upcoming years.

What have you done differently in your training this year to not only get the points for Kona, but you've done now four Ironmans and have done very well at all of them. Has there been big changes in your 2012 versus your previous couple years?

Well, definitely I come from ITU background so until 2010 all training was not exactly directed to Ironman. It was mostly ITU and half Ironman racing. So after my debut in ironman Florida in 2010 I kind of changed a bit. The way training, the planning, training, I had an off 2011 it was full of injuries I had. I went for the wrong coach early in the year, so I will call it off year. But once I got hooked with Jesse from KT2 Systems, we started to work mentally to get me back in the game. So he certainly knows what he's doing. So all the training was directly towards Kona and to just get me back in the game mentally, that is. So the training now is more towards long distance and that surely will pay out, pay off in like a few years, I'm sure.

Can you say qt2 10 times fast? Try it.

Just kidding.

And that was your mantra during the race yesterday, right? I'm just kidding.

No, my. What did you call it?

Your mantra. You're kind of what you say over and over to kind of help get you through it.

What I said over and over on the back of my head, I had my coach Jesse screaming out loud, be conservative, keep cool. Don't get caught in the moment. Don't go too fast too soon. And when I realized that I actually was on a race, I was coming down Palani and went a mile to go. So it was fun, it was a good race.

So what would you say in Ironman distance right now is your strength between swimming, biking and running?

I still think running off a long bike is still my strength, so I would call the marathon my strength.

And what'd you run Yesterday?

I ran 3:02, so it was definitely not my best. But I mean, what is your best? My debut ironman in 40 was sub 250. So I went 248 something that was definitely my breakthrough performance and still to date my best. But coming off 2011 full of injuries and broken bones and I can't complain, so I'll slowly get back to it and I'm looking forward to.

So you came to Kona roughly a month before the race to just be out here and train and engulf yourself in the environment, the humidity, the weather, all that. Do you think that played to your advantage come race day?

Definitely paid to my advantage. I, me, I along with my coach, we had, we had the goal of coming early to climate to the the weather here, getting used to the course, know the course and it definitely paid out. On race day I knew exactly how miles, how many miles I had left, how many miles I was into the race. I, I had like visual markers on the bike so I was comfortable all day, felt really in control and mostly because I knew where I was going. Maybe too conservative, but that's the thing you all think after the race, speaking of that.

So you said that Jesse said go a little conservative. Was there a point where Jesse said, all right, you've reached, you know, mile 20 on the run or something, lay down the hammer and go for it the last six miles? Or do you think maybe he'll say that to you next year? And did he have the same advice for your previous Ironmans or was he taking more conservative approach just for Kona?

It was definitely a more conservative approach considering the race here is always hot as hell and windy. We all know Kona is hot and windy, but it's funny that one of the pre race favorites, Jordan Rapp on the pro panel the day before said something like first try. He also had his first race here yesterday. So he said something like, I'll first endure the day until with the swim bike run until the mile 20 marker and then I'll start to think maybe I can pick it up the pace. And when I talked to Jesse on the day, on the night before the race, we went over the subject and Jordan was spot on. That was, I think the goal to a first timer is definitely make it all the way to miles 20th on the run and then go for it. But by the time I got to mile 20th, I was coming back into town with a headwind and with like no one on the a few guys on the horizon. But I was so far back then I still had that thought in my mind. Don't get caught in the moment, just be conservative. And so I think that was the race strategy. I'll definitely come back next year with a better notion of what I'm doing.

Your nutrition plan is one where you actually going into the race you are pretty carb restricted to some degree. You know, you don't do gluten, grains, that sort of thing. And then come race day you hit it pretty hard when it comes to the calories and carbohydrates. Do you find that your system has responded well to that process?

Well, definitely helps on race day. I mean all my coach Jesse promotes. He is also founder of the Core diet website that provides nutritional advice to endurance athletes. Which is basically a diet where you restrain a lot of grains and keep them out of your daily life. But when it comes to training, you really fuel all training. So you hit hard on the carbs during the training and on the hour prior, on the hour afterwards. So when it comes to race day, you're so used to doing that and that your body just deals really well with it. I never had any issue with like bloated guts or like, just stomach issues I never had on race stage. Just because you're so used to it and on the day prior, you hit hard the carbs because you come somehow depleted to the 48 hours prior because you're missing all the carbs that usually people hit it with it with like pasta. And triathlete has that mind of, if I'm a triathlete, I have to have pasta every day or rice every day. But because I'm following the core diet, I don't have pasta every day. My reserves are always like midterm level. So hitting the carbs on the day prior, it's definitely something that will make you come to race day fully with, like the tank full and ready to go.

Word on the street is you do like your donuts and cereals and all that, though. Is it hard for you to, I guess, for lack of a better word, restrict your diet on the day to day?

It was definitely difficult, I would say, mostly because your human beings are animals of habits. So if you're having a donut every other day, your body gets used to it. So to get on this diet, it's just hard on the first week or maybe two weeks, but after that, you also get used to not having that sugar rush every once in a while, so you don't even feel the need to go back to that. Although we have a shit day. Not shit, but shit, shit, shit. I'm European. I don't know how pronounce it. You pronounce it. So you have a meal where you can go high.

Oh, you're trying to say cheat.

European. So there's a meal where you actually go hard on the carbs. You kind of like, take your stomach out of misery. But it's not like, because I'm so used to not having it anymore, then I don't miss it. Although, like, on the day after the Ironman, on the day of the Ironman at night, I hit the donuts pretty hard and everything that's sugary. I hit it pretty hard.

Well, I'm staying with you randomly through our eclectic house of people here in Kona. And I've seen you eating a lot in the last, you know, ever since you finished the race. Especially compared to what you're eating. When I first arrived here earlier in.

The week, well, definitely, like, it's. Although I don't feel like I came out of the race too depleted. I do feel the lack of need to get on the diet. So I'm just hungry and just go for whatever is in hand.

You have to you have to let yourself just enjoy. Enjoy.

Yeah. Just because you had a tough day. So you earn this few days of relax and just junk food and just sugar rice every 15 minutes.

So take us through like one hour on the bike. Tell us your nutrition, like exactly what you're eating. You're sponsored by PowerBar, right? So you're using their products. So I mean, are you having just their gels, drinks? Tell us what you have in like one hour on the bike.

Yeah. Powerbuy has been a sponsor for the KT2 systems team. So they've been really helpful. And all the racing fuel plan goes along the power bar products, because they are actually pretty good. The sodium content of the gels are pretty good. So we use them a lot. So on a regular, normal day on the bike, on an Ironman bike, you do half a bar, 30 minutes in, you do another half a bar, an hour in. And then you go with like 30 minute periods where you have one gel and you drink a lot of fluids.

What fluids are you drinking?

Ironman Perform. That's what you can get easily, can get from Power Bar or on the race day. So you're drinking a lot and every 30 minutes you're hitting a gel. So. And then, so it's a cycle, it's half a bar, half a bar, one hour in, three gels. So two hours and a half in and you then go back to the power bar. So it's a cycle of two half bars, three gels, and again and again until you get to T2.

And then what about the run?

Okay, so on the run we use cliff walks.

You change the cliff products, That's fine. No one's gonna hurt you.

Yes. Okay, so cliff blocks, we use one cliff block. It kind of depends on the person. I'm relatively light, so maybe some other athletes can. So the racing plan, the fueling plan that Jesse and the core diet develops is towards the type of athlete we are dealing with. So I'm relatively light, so I only need one cliff block every two miles and I hit a gel every 45 minutes period. So I do in a 45 minutes, if I'm covering like four miles, I'll do one gel and two cliff blocks on that period and repeat. And you drink. We mostly, we kind of try to skip the coke just because it has, although it has sugar, it has very low sodium content. And because you're racing an Ironman, you get depleted of sodium. So you hit the Ironman Performa out on the course and just do gels from Power Bar and cliff blocks.

I saw that you had a few bottles of Pepsi or Coke sitting on the kitchen table open for a couple days. When did you actually end up using those?

In Ironman Kona, you had six tables where the pros could leave their fluids.

We actually featured that on EndurancePlanet.com A video of me at the first aid station yesterday.

Nice. So the pros could leave their own bottles with whatever they wanted on the racecourse. And I feel like Coke because it has so much sugar on it, it kind of brings you back to life if you're having a bad moment. So. However, because there's only like one or two opportunities to get Coke on a station, if I for some reason would miss one of the Cokes followed by Ironman perform on the eighth session, I would grab my bottle on the pro fluids table because I always carry salts on the fuel belt. So I just always carry pill salts. And to compensate if I missed something on the aid seizure, I would grab Coke on my Pro4 fluid table and have like a pill salt so I could keep track. I mean, keep in the training, in the race. Fuel pan, steady on the carbs and the sodium.

So when you finally, you know, are making your way down Pulani and making that final turn onto Ali' I Drive to finish the race, you said you've obviously been here before and witnessed the race and everything. What did it feel like to run down a leaf for the final time and cross that finish line especially? You were actually, like, very close behind Mike Lovato, so you obviously knew that you were in a good position for the day. What. What was going through your head?

Two minds went through my head. One was that it was two. I had played two conservative all day and it was not that much time left. I had a mile to go. The second thought was that this is actually a lot more fun doing the race than actually spectating, like going through Alley Drive. The view you get from the athlete's perspective is a lot more fun than the spectators that just see the athletic go by. And it's definitely rewarding to get to that line. And on my case yesterday, I actually saw Michael Lovato. I was like 50 meters behind him on the finish shoot. But it was not like I was gonna sprint him. He was enjoying his day. So I just got. Then I finally got caught in a moment and I finally had like, let it go. Let it all go and just enjoy the moment. It was really nice.

Another question on the conservative thing. How do you define conservative? What you and Jesse discuss is it by your pace, I mean, are you looking at a garment or is it by heart rate or is it by perception of how you're feeling?

Jesse, I don't have power on the bike, so all day is based on heart rate. I train based on heart rate. And so my day was supposed to be based on heart rate. However, when I came out of the water, for some reason the heart rate was not working. I tried to move it a little bit, but it was not working. So most of the that's why I feel so that I went so slow, just because I had no idea what was my heart rate. And I kept hearing like Jesse saying, play it safe, keep conservative. So I just went by feel. And when you have someone in the back of your head like screaming, go slow, go slow, you actually go slow even if you're in a race. Oh, man. So that's how I pace my race, just by feel all day.

So heart rate never ended up working for you?

Never ended up working.

So when you're training ever, then do you find that it's important to maybe wear your heart rate monitor and Garmin, but still learn what it's like to know what certain heart rates feel like without actually having to see that number?

Well, this was actually in 2000 when I was racing mostly short course. You never really use heart rate. You go all out until it's all out from start to finish. When I started to race Ironman, I started to get like so used to race with heart rate. Then when some. It has been a while since the last happened to me. So I was doing a new course, a race that everyone says claims like being one of the hardest. And I had no way of knowing if I was going hard or just feeling too good. So it was a hard day for me to pace just because I had no idea of how should I be feeling, how should I feel? So it was hard.

Did you have pace like a speedometer on the bike and your Garmin for your mile pace on the run?

Yeah, but it's Kona. And the headwind was. The crosswind was brutal. I was looking at the speedometer, it was like, okay, this feels tough, but I don't know if I should go faster. I don't know if this speed should be happening right now because on the previous 23 days I had been here, I never experienced such a hard day on Queen K. So it was ironic that on the day that the wind was really brutal on us, I had no heart rate and I had no idea if I was going at a Decent pace or not.

So are you going to go back to Jesse and say, like, hey, you know, in case this ever happens in the future, we need to have like, sort of a plan B set out that we should practice in training or something like that?

No, I didn't think about that. But I talked to Jesse on the. On race afternoon, and he was. He was overall happy with how the day unfold and considering this, all this situation. And I'm not disappointed about the race. I'm excited to come back next year, and I'm excited that I have done my first race here, finished, like, solid, didn't die on the finish line. So I don't think there's gotta be a plan B. I just think I need to get a better, I don't know, heart rate.

Maybe we won't ask what kind of heart rate monitor you're using. It was kind of cool on my end, getting to witness a pro triathlete in the days before the world's biggest event. You know, our super bowl is. Was Kona and everything. One of the things I did notice about you was you were very casual and easygoing and asking you a couple questions before the race. You always just were like, I'm just gonna go out there and have fun. But, you know, you weren't saying that in like a sandbagging kind of way. It was like you genuinely seemed excited and ready to push yourself and suffer in a. But that's like the fun part of it. I mean, have you always been. Had that sort of attitude and demeanor leading into big races like this?

Yeah, I've been always. It's not my first year doing this, so. And I actually race a lot during the. During the year, so I go through so many races that you end up, like, getting used to it if it's. Of course, you get a little more nervous about the situation you're about to face. But it's good nervous, not nervous. It's not being nervous. It's being anxious to go for it. You just want to get it started, you know, because after that, your body knows what he's doing. You just want to get to the line and just. I mean, to the starting line and just go. And from like a few years of racing, I think I'm just used to it. I don't get extremely nervous. I just do whatever I have to do and just be prepared to get on racing. Lay it all down.

So do you think about the other, like, the rest of the men's race going on, playing into how you're Racing at all. Do you let that? Maybe not necessarily in Kona since it was your debut and you were like you said, going conservatively. But even in other Ironmans, is what's going on in the front playing a factor into how you're pushing yourself?

I don't think I'm yet on a position where I can actually play tactics on race day. When I'm getting out of the water in front of and biking in front or with a league back and running for the victory, then I'll start to think about it. But since I'm. This is always a learning, will always be a learning process until I can actually be right up front like disputing a big race like this. It's always. Until then it will always be my race. I do my thing, I focus on what I'm doing at the moment and just don't get caught in the moment. Just don't freak out if someone just blasts by you because it's a long day. You have to be careful and don't go over like excited with the pacing and with the packs going by because it's at the end of the day individual sport. It's not a team sport. It's not, it's not. It's tactical on the bike. But at the end of the day your own legs will still have to run their 26.2 miles. So.

So that said then after you finished the race and everything and you found out what went down with, you know, Pete Jacobs, MACA dropping out, Crowley not doing as well as maybe everyone expected. All the stories, were there any surprises to you or what was like the biggest thing that sort of hit you is like, wow, I can't believe that happened.

Well, definitely Pete Jacobs winning. I met Pete Jacobs a few years ago. We had the same homestay in New Hampshire. I was racing my first ALF Ironman. He was coming into the scene, he was like 25 years old maybe. And he said to me a thing I'll never forget until, I mean, it's not about me. But he said something like in a few years I will win Kona. And I thought to myself, yeah, right, keep on dreaming, right? It actually happened yesterday. I'm super happy for him because he's a super laid back guy. He's super nice. So that caught me a lot by surprise and during the day seeing how the things were unfolding, a lot of I caught a lot of the pre race favorites on the bike just going backwards. That surprised me a lot. Seeing Maca just falling back. Michael Raylett just Failing back. Luke Bell just failing back. I ended up getting back to Joe gambles right before T2, which was kind of surprising because those are the guys you look forward to see out there.

Yeah, I talked to Joe yesterday and he said, I saw him walking up Palani while the race was still well into it and he said that his glutes and he has some issues going on with his back where he just was on fire.

Well, it was definitely a hard day. I think overall the guys that really had the time in their heads and really want to go fast on the bike and just have a great run ended up blowing up just because the bike was so hard. And the guys that actually just had in their mind just doing their own race and just going, just going for a solid performance ended up doing really well. So it was, I think it was a race worth of Kona. It was a world championship. It was definitely a hard day for everyone and some did okay. Some were probably just not prepared to face such a hard day.

Do you pay attention to the pro women's race going on? I mean, whenever you kind of cross paths or see one of them going by and if so, I mean on that end, did you see any surprises how that panned out?

Well, I actually didn't pay attention to what was going on in the women's race. I ended up seeing the finish line and seeing the last two miles of the the women's race. It was definitely a surprise that Leanda did this. Back to back wins at the 70.3 Worlds in Vegas and this one yesterday. And I always look forward to see how Kate Snow does because she's coached by Jessie as well. So we've been kind of training partners for the last month or 23 days.

Were you afraid that she was gonna potentially check you on the run?

Potentially, she definitely has the potential to check anyone on the run. I think she, overall she was kind of disappointed. I mean, you can't be disappointed by being top 10 in the world on the world championship. But because she was ninth last year, so she wanted to step it up this year was like she beat a lot of girls that she never had beat before. So she had a really strong day. And I think overall compared to last year's race, I think overall both the men and the women's side were deeper. The field was deeper. I think there were more contenders to win it than in previous year. But it was definitely a surprised to see Leander do so well coming from a win in Vegas.

Lastly, since you've gotten to Kona, and have been able to spend so much time here. What are some favorite, like, some things that you've discovered here that you've fallen in love with? Like, you know, for example, papaya salads at Thai restaurants.

Definitely papaya salad at Thai restaurant.

Introduced to you by yours truly.

That's something. Yeah, that's something that I'll never forget. But. Well, I love the lifestyle here. It's super laid back. People just wear flip flops and board shorts every day. They just go to work with the button on, the shirt untied. I mean, not put on. It's super laid back. But I mean, I don't think I would hold on in such a. Because, I mean, I think people know. But it's a small town, it's not a big city as Chicago is not LA for sure. And I would never. I'm a big city guy, so I would never live in Kona for more than a few months. But it's definitely a cool place to relax. A cool place to hang out on the beach, to snorkel, to do kayak, surfing, paddle surf, cliff jumping. It's definitely a place to come and relax. And one of those places where you want to go and just do nothing.

It's cool because, you know, you have your beautiful Kestrel bike that you race on here. But, you know, it's one of those places too. On the flip side, as you and I both know very well this week you have your little beater mountain bikes that you can cruise around. And in our case, we're using one that doesn't even have brakes.

Well, definitely. And I was talking to Tim Snow about that, that if I actually lived in Kona, I wouldn't own a car. I would just have a bike, maybe a scooter, just because sometimes you don't feel like biking. But it's. The bike is all you need. It's. There's not many roads where you just ride your car. It's like how you drive and Queen K, those are the main roads around here. So it's definitely a lifestyle. You get used to it really easily.

Yeah. What's the name of that grocery store we really like too that has all the healthy, gluten free, sugar free peanut sauces and beets and everything that a triathlete would love on their menu.

And you mean awesome peanuts sauce. So it's called Island Naturals. It's right off town behind bike work. So it's kind of a Whole Foods place. So it has all this natural stuff, organic stuff. It's not cheap but it's as I said, as someone that Conan had on his front door. It said something like, it's expensive but worth it.

Yeah. I noticed the kombuchas there were, like, over $5. And I said, yeah, I'll wait till I get home.

Well, definitely, if you go to Whole Foods, you can spend a whole month of payment there.

Whole paycheck, right?

Oh, yeah, definitely.

That's what it is. Well, thank you, Pedro. It's been a pleasure picking your brain about the race. Congratulations on your debut at Ironman Kona. Super stoked to see you race so well and have such a great attitude about it.

Oh, my God. Will this be on tv? Thank you.

You're welcome. And that's gonna do it for this edition of Endurance Planet's Week of Kona, featuring protrack athlete Pedro Gomez, who made his debut at the Ironman World Championships yesterday. Thank you for tuning in. This is your host, Tawny Frazak, wishing you success in all your training and racing.