Two years ago, I found myself leading the Hammerfest Sprint Triathlon in Branford, CT.  I had a quick swim, a pretty good ride and headed into T2 feeling strong.  As the final 50 yards of the bike finished up, another racer came shoulder to shoulder with my into transition.  I had a quick time of getting my shoes and visor on and kept the lead for about 200 yards into the 4 mile run.  At this point everything changed...
 
The same competitor who came into T2 with me raced by me without so much as a blink in my direction.  There was no way I could respond to such an burst of speed.  What I thought was a burst of speed was, instead, a 5:30 mile pace which paced my competitor to an easy win by over 5 minutes.  I would later meet him at the awards ceremony and get my first opportunity to speak with the fastest half Ironman amateur in New England, Janda Ricci-Munn.

Since then, I've had the privilege of staying in touch with Janda and been witness to other outstanding efforts such as his winning of the 2007 Eagleman Amateur Title and the 2007 Ford Ironman 70.3 World Championship Amateur Title.  Janda will be turning pro in 2008 and was kind enough to sit down with me and offer his thoughts on training and racing.

Triathlon seems to have ‘epicenters’ in San Diego , Boulder and Los Angeles —2 of which lend themselves to great year round training.  Living in the Northeast, however, can pose some interesting winter training challenges, what kind of winter training do you do and how many hours per week do you train from November through February?

I believe that in some ways, Northeast based triathletes are at an advantage training wise.  In order to find success as a competitive triathlete, it’s no secret that you have to be willing to work consistently hard for extended periods of time.  However, trying to maintain 15 – 20+ hours of swimming, cycling and running each week, year round, for most of us at least, could lead to mental staleness and burnout.  All things being equal, athletes from down South or the Southwest will most likely perform better during the spring, but last time I checked, the biggest races of the year happen during the summer – late fall.

Living in the Northeast forces you to change your routine up during the winter months and can save you from the mid to late season burnout that can accompany year round, intensive tri training.  I also believe that this “reprieve” provides you with the opportunity to focus more of your time and energy upon the development of your weaker discipline(s) (in my case, swimming!).

I utilize a yearly progression that sees me focusing more upon distance running and swimming during the winter months.  In addition to standard “base” training on the run front, I incorporate VO2max hill training into my routine and have even begun running a bit of indoor track this year, just to keep my legs, and head, in touch with flat land speed and the reality of competition (it hurts!).

I take what some refer to as a “reverse periodization” approach with my cycling, stressing VO2max development during the winter months.  I only ride about 3 times per week for a grand total of 3 – 5 hours per week between December and February.  Come late winter, I start increasing my weekly cycling frequency and volume and begin focusing my efforts upon the development of my lactate threshold, endurance and event specific-sustainable power output.

As far as total training volume is concerned during the months of December – February, I’ve stepped things up a notch this year, especially on the swim front, and am currently training about 14 – 15 hours per week.

Your running background is outstanding and your father’s success in coaching surely must have played a part in developing this incredible track record.  How have you learned from your father’s coaching?

My father has been a major factor behind my athletic success.  We started running together back when I was 7 years old.  He was a competitive distance runner back in college, but had spent the following 25 years smoking 2 packs of cigarettes per day.

Long story short:  He quit smoking, helped me launch my career as a youth runner, and went on to run a 2:52 marathon at the age of 53.

My father is also one of the most successful high school track & field coaches in Massachusetts.  Our high school track team holds the national record for the distance medley relay (9:59) and has produced numerous All-Americans.  The cross-country team won 6 consecutive cross-country state championships and both programs have captured countless league and state divisional titles.

My father’s greatest asset is his ability to inspire young people to believe that they are capable of reaching great heights athletically and personally.  I know that I’m not the most talented athlete out there, but if there’s one thing that I have learned from my father’s coaching style, it is that you must believe that you are capable of attaining your goals.  I believed that I could get to where I am today athletically, worked hard for a long period of time, and things worked out pretty well.  I’m not saying that I’ll ever win Hawaii or Clearwater, but I’m going to do everything that I can to see just how far I can go.

In addition to putting together a tremendous resume of triathlon excellence, you’ve also been a coach for over 10 years.  What do you see as the top 3 mistakes newbie triathletes make in entering the sport?

Training and racing with little or no direction. Figure out what you’re training for, and then train to meet the specific demands of the distance and course profile.

Forgetting abour the "technical" side of the sport. It’s a well-known fact that swimming in particular requires a tremendous amount technique refinement, especially if you do not come from a swimming background.  However, position on the bike, cycling cadence, running biomechanics – these are all just a few of the “other” things that come into play when examining the issue of energy expenditure and efficiency during both training and racing.  Many new triathletes overlook these issues and pay dearly during both training and racing.  Don’t be afraid to start off slowly; Jump into the technique lane at masters and “drill” your way to a faster swim.  Take the time to get properly fitted on your tri bike.  Have a coach evaluate your running form.  These are just a few starting points of course, but the list could go on and on.

Not individualizing their training progression. The only “perfect” training plan is one that fully takes into account all the things that make you you; your unique physiology, time constraints, daily stressors, mentality etc. Once you have figured out exactly what you’re training for, the next step is to optimize the relationship between hard work (stress) and recovery (active recovery/low intensity training or complete rest).  Everyone enters this sport with varying degrees of available training time, tolerances to specific training volumes & intensities etc. Your training program should be centered around you, not the other way around.

2008 will mark your return to the pro ranks.  What have you learned from your time away from the professional tier and your national success since at the amateur level?

I raced as a “Pro” back in 2001, but was grossly under-prepared, both mentally and physically.  Simply put, I lacked the confidence, mental resolve and maturity needed to successfully compete at that level.

My time away from the Pro ranks and recent success on the amateur level have taught me a bunch of extremely valuable lessons, the most important of which is...consistency reigns supreme.  If you want to race with a high degree of success, you have to be willing to commit yourself to year round, highly structured training.  There is no substitute for hard work.

Since I began preparing for triathlon again, I have gotten out of bed, every day, for over 2 and a half years, with one primary objective on my mind:  knocking of the day’s scheduled workouts.  I have a dry erase board that hangs in my office.  At the beginning of every month, I write the workout(s) that I need to execute for every day of that month on the dry erase board.  For well over 2 years now, I’ve laid down every session that I wrote up on that board.  I’m not saying that there weren’t days where I had to improvise or change what I had originally planned on doing, but the bottom line is that when it is time to train, I train. Without this level of consistency, there’s no way that I could race successfully as a Pro.

You’ve written/said that recovering from a 70.3 race will pretty much knock you out for about a week after competition.  What kind of recovery activities do you put yourself through and how will your recovery plans impact your racing schedule in 2008?

I usually keep things REALLY light for about 1 week to 10 days after a 70.3 event.  I’m open about the fact that I lack the natural ability that some of the other Pros bring to the table (i.e. Craig Alexander, Chris McCormack), and this being said, I have to train with an extreme degree of consistency and tenacity in order to whip myself into the kind of shape that’s necessary to compete with the big boys.  I also believe that I have to dig deeper during the races and tolerate quite a bit more pain in order to stay up near the action.

This being said, I’m wasted after a 70.3 and need time to recover both mentally and physically.  I might take the day after an event completely off and just go for a walk.  I might lay down an easy swim and/or bike ride on days 2 and 3 post event, and won’t run again until I’ve given my legs 4 days of non-impact training.

In addition to keeping training volume and frequency low during active recovery weeks, I’m also a firm believer that you should strive to cut loose mentally after a big race.  Stay out/up a little longer than you normally would, eat at McDonalds if doing so is something that you’ve been dreaming about, blow off training and go do all of the “other” things that you don’t have the time and energy for when you’re prepping for a big event.

I specifically designed my 2008 race calendar so that I can make time for recovery during the competitive season.  I like to hit a 70.3/half Iron event every 5 weeks or so.  Doing so allows me 1 full week of active recovery post event and then another 4 weeks to train specifically for the next event.

I was super excited about the fact that Rhode Island 70.3 was recently added to the 70.3 circuit, as this gives me exactly 5 weeks between 3 of my key summer events:  Eagleman 70.3, Rhode Island 70.3 and Timberman 70.3.  I’ll follow Timberman up with Muskoka 70.3 and will then begin prepping for either Clearwater or perhaps IronMan Florida, both of which occur at the beginning of November.

OK.  Here’s a time machine.  Get in it and fast forward to December 1, 2008.  Give us the number one result you could look back on in 2008 and be most proud of.

Breaking 3:50 for the 70.3 distance.

So many coaches talk about how although their initial role is the teaching of their students, so many talk about the learnings they have picked up from their pupils.  What have been the biggest lessons you’ve learned from your clients?

Without a doubt, the biggest lesson that I have learned from my athletes is that in order for my coaching to be effective, I have to take the time to listen.  I rely upon the diverse feedback that my athletes provide me with in order to construct the training schedules that I send out to them.  Without their feedback, I wouldn’t be able to operate effectively as a coach.

It’s important to remember that sports science can’t provide all of the answers when it comes to effective training prescription.  Understanding the psychology involved in the training of athletes can be just as, if not more important than understanding, say, how to go about improving one’s power output at functional threshold.

I’ve learned how to listen more and dictate less.  Working one-on-one with an athlete is a very personal affair.  You really have to take the time to understand the person you’re training, not just their body.

Vanilla question time—3 parter.  Favorite race?  Biggest triathlon accomplishment?  Biggest triathlon failure?

Favorite race: Timberman 70.3

Biggest triathlon accomplishment: Overall age group champion at the 2007 Ford IronMan 70.3 World Championship.

Biggest triathlon failure: Toss up.  Either crashing into the side of a cliff and DNF’ing when I was 21 years old and “racing” in the ITU Long Course World Triathlon Championship in Nice France (I had no clue as to what I was doing at that point in my life)

OR

Coming down with strep throat at IronMan Lake Placid 2001, attempting the race anyway and then dropping out at the 70 mile mark in the bike.  I spent the night before the race spitting into a cup because my throat was so swollen that I couldn’t even swallow.  2000 mg. of Ibuprofen every 6 hours helped to reduce the swelling, but my body quit on me about 4 hours into the race.  This was my first shot at racing as a Pro and I made A LOT of bad decisions, life-style wise, that year (typical 25 year old Tom-Foolery!).  I paid dearly for these mistakes and the DNF at IMLP led to my quitting the sport for 4 years.

I love learning about elite triathlete’s race nutrition.  For a 70.3 distance, what does your nutrition and hydration plan look like?

Morning: (2 – 2.5 hours before gun goes off):  Coffee, a bagel and perhaps a banana. 

Bike: Gatorade mixed with extra sodium if temps are high, 1 x PowerBar (cut into strips and plastered onto my top tube), 2 – 3 x Power Gels (caffeinated).  Total liquid consumption depends upon temps, but at least 2 bottles of Gatorade over the course of the ride.  I try to consume about 250 – 300 calories per hour.

Run: Gatorade and coke only.  I take a drink at EVERY aid station; Very important that you keep the glucose flowing.
I must note, however, that I don’t require as many calories as some during races due to the fact that I rarely consume calories during training, even during 5 – 6 hour bike rides.  Although this practice can lead to some pretty severe hunger during long training sessions, I believe that it gives me an edge on race day.

Its 10 degrees outside and all the roads are icy.  You have to put in a 2 hour death session on the rollers or trainer.  What are you watching on TV or listening to on your iPOD?

Well first of all, I gave up on 2+ hour trainer rides years ago.  I refuse to ride any longer than 1.5 hours on the trainer and would rather brave the elements than ever do so again! I hate the trainer!

As for my MP3 player…Where do I begin?!?!  For starters:  Coldplay, 311, Incubus, Feist, Ben Harper, Jimmey Buffett, and a bunch of other “adult alternative” type stuff.

Janda Ricci-Munn
Born: 1975, Gloucester, Massachusetts
Age: 32
First Triathlon: 1995
Turned Pro: 2008
Family: Girlfriend - Michelle
Lives: Gloucester, Massachusetts

Career at a glance

• 2007 Ford Ironman 70.3 World Championship - Overall Amateur Champion
• 2007 Timberman 70.3 - Overall Amateur Champion
• 2007 Eagleman 70.3 - Overall Amateur Champion
• 2006 Ford Ironman 70.3 World Championship - Males 30 - 34 Champion
• 1996 & 2000 Firmman Half Iron Tri - Overall Champion

Web: www.jandariccimunn.com

Blog: www.jandariccimunn.blogspot.com/

Thanks to Janda for giving us a little insight into the mind, body and training regimen of an elite athlete. Good luck in the 2008 season!

Interview by Max Wunderle

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