How Matt CRUSHED His First 70.3

Matt not only CRUSHED his first 70.3 Triathlon (& only 2nd triathlon EVER!), but he qualified for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in the process. Holy Smokes!

Needless to say, Matt is a naturally gifted athlete, but he’s not superman. However, he is goal oriented, determined, discipline AND as a happily married, father of 2 young kids, he doesn’t have time to waste. He also knows what he knows and knows what he doesn’t know. Those characteristics are what will make ANYONE successful in the sport of triathlon.

Getting Up to Speed

In mid September of 2020, as a total beginner triathlete, Matt hired us to coach him and get him up to speed QUICKLY (no pun!). He had big goals (short & long term) and didn’t want to waste time trying to “figure things out” on his own. He was also willing to put in “the work” and realistically didn’t expect results overnight.

Normally, we don’t highlight one of our coached athletes until at least a full year has passed, but we felt Matt’s recent success and story was worthy enough to share and inspire others.

Below is a short Q & A with Matt.

We hope you find it INSPIRING & MOTIVATING

Q & A with Matt

How and why did you get into triathlon?

I was looking for a way to both get back in shape and feed my desire to compete again. Triathlon was the perfect set up to achieve both.

Why did you decide to hire a coach and more specifically RTA to help prepare you for your races?

My goal for starting in triathlon was not just to complete, but to compete at a high level. The only way to do this was to invest in the guidance and expertise of a coach rather than wasting a year trying to “figure it out”.

3 reasons for choosing RTA Triathlon:

1. I found their coaching philosophy to be very beginner friendly. They had fantastic content and instruction for those just getting into the sport. I felt comfortable asking a ton (and E can verify…a ton) of rookie questions.
   
2. As good as RTA is for beginners, their expertise stretches strongly to the elite level as well. With both coach’s having a depth of experience with world championship level racing, I knew that I could grow with this team beyond a beginner to a highly competitive age grouper.
   
3. Team, Club and Community. RTA’s club is renowned for its camaraderie and social gatherings. Being able to connect and train with like minded people is a big part of what Triathlon is all about. RTA has one of the strongest Tri clubs in the north east.
   

You recently completed IRONMAN Eagleman 70.3, what was that like?

F$&@ing Awesome!

Nothing feels better than when you set out and execute your plan and walk away with a great result. This was my first Ironman abs second triathlon ever. I was perfectly prepared for this race and the results spoke for themselves. Under 5 hours and 21st in my AG!

What was the best part of the race?

Mile 45 on the bike. It finally settled in that I was executing to plan on the bike portion. Legs still felt strong and avg speed was 2 mph faster than I planned. I knew then I had an opportunity for an incredible race.

What was the worst/hardest part of the race and how did you overcome it?

Mile 11 on the run got dark. The sun came out, heat shot up along with my heart rate, and things got tough.

It sounds cliche but I mentally went back to my training. All those Z3 hill repeats and track work where I pushed myself to this point before. I knew from those workouts how to push through this and I did. Mile 13 was my fasted split.

What will you do differently next time (if anything)?

Not necessarily different, but now that we have a baseline, the coaches and I can dig into the data and adjust training for the next race to find more speed.

What was going through your head when you crossed the finished line?

Holy sh%t, Holy sh%t Holy sh%t….I did it

Any general advice you’d give to others thinking about doing a 70.3 or getting into triathlon?

Triathlon has the potential to be transformative.

Not just for the sport, but for your life in general. Like most things though, you get out of it what you put into it.

If your goal is to challenge yourself and take on this crazy sport, do so in all aspects,… your training, education and self-discipline. You will not be disappointed.

Any other comments about triathlon, or Eagleman or training in general?

Just can’t wait to get back to work, training!

Learn more about:

RTA Coaching HERE

1 on 1 Sessions HERE

Team RTA Tri Club HERE

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