This was my first crack at a “championship season” as I had qualified for the IRONMAN 70.3 Worlds in South Africa, the IRONMAN Hawaii in Kona and for the legendary Boston Marathon. So, where to start? This season has been one for the books. Hell, this whole year has been a roller coaster ride. Trying to adjust to having a growing family, moving internationally, bringing my training load into line to a more rigorous work and family schedule, and at least, trying to gallivant all over the world!
Since I started triathlon 3 years ago, each year has been a new experience when it comes to training- the type of workouts, the efforts, the technique focus, etc. I feel like I still have yet to learn how to effectively, and of course efficiently train my body to get the most out of it. However, one thing has been different this year: A more personalized touch. I have been working with Dave Luscan of FINDING FREESTYLE and with Stefan Drexl of SUGAR & PAIN Coaching for 2018 and it has done wonders to my training and way of racing. Both of these men are phenomenal swimmers. Ironically, that is exactly this discipline where I lack the most. I made sure that to put my head down and listen and do the work. The results are finally speaking for themselves.
IRONMAN 70.3 SOUTH AFRICA Klodian Mitri is Back on Track for WC / Ending up having a personal best swim despite getting sucked in a wave getting tossed around © klodian mitri
GETTING TO SOUT AFRICA: THE FIRST CHALLENGE
Every race I have entered into this season, I have made sure not to have any expectations. The caliber of athletes here in Europe is on another level and the courses are incredibly challenging compared to the United States. I wanted to make sure that I gave each race my best effort so when I crossed the finish line, the tank was empty despite if I made the podium or not. I am new to triathlon and Ironman racing, I still have a lot to learn before I can hope to be one of the best in this fascinating sport.
The first challenge in itself was actually getting to the 70.3 World Championships. I planned to arrive about a week and a half early since South Africa is such a long trip and I would be traveling with a nine month old baby and a pregnant wife. I am glad I planned that extra time, because as we were connecting in Paris at midnight on a Friday, we got denied boarding due to issues with our copy of Adeline’s birth certificate. The problem was that due to child trafficking, Air France required the original birth certificate which was in our locked apartment in Germany. We frantically called friends to get it and were trying to find a post company that would overnight to us the certificate. However, the price was approximately 250 euros and it still wouldn’t arrive till Monday. We decided to try our luck with the US Embassy first thing Monday morning. Luckily, we were able to spend some time exploring Paris, which was a beautiful city. We got to visit the Eiffel Tower, Palace of Versailles, and take Adeline to Disneyland. After consulting with the Embassy, they authenticated our copies and after some further arguing with Air France, we were finally back on track for South Africa!
IRONMAN 70.3 SOUTH AFRICA Klodian Mitri is Back on Track for WC / my advantage was staying tucked aero for 95 percent of the race © klodian mitri
STAYING TUCKED AERO
So coming back to South Africa and the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships: It was finally time to showcase my hard work! This was my first time swimming in a surf. This season I have been lining up with the 30 minutes and under group in hopes of finding feet and pushing the pace to try to keep up. I ended up having a personal best swim despite getting sucked in a wave getting tossed around a few times before exiting the ocean. This was very motivating to see that the hard work from Dave’s training plans and Stefan’s technique drills and ballerina feet were starting to pay off!
The bike has been interesting for me all year as I consider myself a strong cyclist except since I moved to Germany. European athletes are on another level. They sprint uphill making you look like you’re standing still and then blast-off on the descents. It’s quite amazing to actually watch them ride. For this race, I made sure to push as hard as I could for the entire 90 kilometers (56 miles) on hard uphills, wet pavement, windy descents and road surfaces that made your whole body shake for 88 kilometers of the course. One thing I did differently in my training that I was able to finally use on race day to my advantage was staying tucked aero for 95 percent of the race. This helped me maintain a strong and comfortable speed even if my legs were feeling gassed.
IRONMAN 70.3 SOUTH AFRICA Klodian Mitri is Back on Track for WC / Running in the gray area the entire run and being lucky to see the finish line © klodian mitri
RUNNING IN THEE GRAY AREA
Nevertheless one thing about the bike has been incredibly frustrating. I was getting a five minute penalty for “drafting” on an uphill section. My division started at 9:10 am as the race started at 7:30 am with the pros. So I’ve been in one of the last groups to go of a total of 4500 athletes. It meant that nearly everyone was riding in front of us. I had to spend most of the time trying to pass athletes on a very crowded course. I was incredibly disappointed in this call by the official, but nothing was changing the call. After finally serving my time and leaving the penalty tent on a hill climb, I was determined to make up time and burned all my matches trying to catch-up. This do or die attitude helped give me some confidence on the technical descends which I have been searching all year long.
Having had such an aggressive second half of the bike IRONMAN 70.3 South Africa trying to catch-up, I was genuinely worried that my legs would not show up for the run. Immediately after T2, I started feeling the inkling of a cramp in my right quad. I upped my salt intake and ran in the gray area the entire distance. Racing with a fellow SUGAR & PAIN athlete, Sven Pollert who is a phenomenal swimmer and just as good of a biker, I kept seeing him at each turn around. I really did want to close that gap in hope of finishing with him. Unfortunately, I’ve tried everything to run out of real estate. Even with a 1:20 hour half-marathon run, I could not catch up. His performance is testament to how strong of an athlete he is and the fine-tuning that Stefan can do with his coaching here in Munich.
IRONMAN 70.3 SOUTH AFRICA Klodian Mitri is Back on Track for WC / Stefan Drexl of SUGAR & PAIN Coaching has done wonders to my training and way of racing / Klodian, Stefan, Sven (f.l.t.r) © klodian mitri
FIVE TO SIX TIMES IN THE POOL TO GET COMFORTABLE
Even with my penalty, I ended up third American in my division and in the top six percent overall. I was very happy with my performance and where I have come over the last year. I definitely cannot be disappointed racing among the best. At this point in my career, I cannot compare myself to these other athletes but only work on improving myself and learning the proper techniques of these disciplines. Luckily I got a great team behind me and have amazing friends and family supporting these crazy endeavors of mine.
After IRONMAN 70.3 South Africa Worlds, I changed my focus to swimming and biking. I have upped my time in the pool to five to six times a week, swimming about three to four kilometers a session. It is daunting but I know I need to put the time in to get comfortable in the water. In addition I’ve been spending a lot of time on the bike trainer riding in the aero position. I want to make sure that when race day comes that I am able to maximize all the aerodynamic benefits of my incredibly aerodynamic equipment. I mean what’s the point of having all this fancy stuff if I am not going to use it to my advantage?
This is my first Kona and I am not going in with too high of expectations as the course is unique and challenging in itself. The IRONMAN Hawaii has eaten up some of the best athletes in the world. I want to race to my best ability and make sure I leave it all on the course. One thing for sure: They’ll have to carry me out on a stretcher before I give up. See you at the finish line. The journey continues . . .
NAME NAT PL ALL SWIM BIKE RUN FINISH
Rohan Meyer ZAF 1 28 00:25:43 02:15:06 01:17:19 04:03:12
Sven Pollert DEU 41 169 00:26:45 02:25:18 01:24:30 04:23:52
Klodian Mitri USA 57 227 00:32:03 02:29:03 01:20:27 04:27:04
INFO
HOMEPAGE IRONMAN 70.3 South Africa 2018
HOMEPAGE IRONMAN Hawaii World Championships
RESULTS
IRONMAN 70.3 SOUTH AFRICA 2018 Results
READABLE
INTERVIEW PATRICK LANGE Triathlon bis ich Hawaii gewinne
IRONMAN PIONIER Frank Smith
HONOLULU MARATHON Mit Aloha Durch das Blaue Paradies
AUTHOR
Klodian Mitri
PHOTOCREDITS
Klodian Mitri
Sven Pollert
