Pete Jacobs 4:41 at Oside

Triathlon Forum
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What is the story with Pete Jacobs training and racing philosophy? We know he doesn’t have a coach and is a big proponent of rest and going off “feel”, which is fine and dandy, but is this going to continue to work for him? I guess it will be interesting to see how this works for him this year, obviously it didn’t work out so great last year.

Secondly, what’s up with him coming to a race and turning it into a long training day? His he cheating the fans? The pro’s are a draw to a race and when they are scheduled to come it creates hype for the race. Coming out and having a decent swim, then cruising a 2:36 on the bike and then running a 1:36 with an age grouper, seems a little disingenuous. I guess I could care less if he choose to come to a race and turn it into a training day, but I am curious about why he would do this. I think he was a late add too.

I want to hear your two cents on 1 - Pete Jacobs training philosophy and use, or lack there of, of a coach. 2 - Pro’s turning races into training days (not because they are injured or blow themselves up on the bike).

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Pete Jacobs the Ironman World Champion?

What business do I have questioning his training methods, they work for him, very well.

As far as pros using their race for a “training day”, again why do I care? If I am out there racing, I am doing it for me…I don’t give a shit what the pros do…Not real sure why you do…or why you feel cheated

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He can do what he wants. As far as using the day for training, I dont think fans are concerned. Maybe (and probably not), sponsors might have issues. Eventually.

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Wondering about that too but maybe he’s injured and testing out his body or something specific for training. As far as training philosophy goes his interview in youtube pretty much probably sums it up. He trains by feel, talks to other athletes or athletic friends/advisers and changes small things like technique for improvement but I don’t think he ever mentioned really getting a coach. Turning a race into a training day is fine with me, they’re pros and they’re doing it for a specific reason. Also good to get some time with the AG folks too.

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What is the story with Pete Jacobs training and racing philosophy? We know he doesn’t have a coach and is a big proponent of rest and going off “feel”, which is fine and dandy, but is this going to continue to work for him? I guess it will be interesting to see how this works for him this year, obviously it didn’t work out so great last year.

Secondly, what’s up with him coming to a race and turning it into a long training day? His he cheating the fans? The pro’s are a draw to a race and when they are scheduled to come it creates hype for the race. Coming out and having a decent swim, then cruising a 2:36 on the bike and then running a 1:36 with an age grouper, seems a little disingenuous. I guess I could care less if he choose to come to a race and turn it into a training day, but I am curious about why he would do this. I think he was a late add too.

I want to hear your two cents on 1 - Pete Jacobs training philosophy and use, or lack there of, of a coach. 2 - Pro’s turning races into training days (not because they are injured or blow themselves up on the bike).

First off I will say this goes against all the “Pros don’t matter” threads. Secondly, Pete had some other things here to do regarding sponsor obligations. I don’t want this to go down the route of Gwyneth but honestly go work for 8-12 weeks and then find out that you don’t get a check and see how that goes over with the misses. That is often how it goes in triathlon. When you finish 1-3, you are getting some monies from prize money and then a guy like Pete is getting lot of bonuses from sponsors. He might get something for 4-5, or 6-10 but obviously the drop off is pretty steep. So there is a lot of why bother. And he doesn’t need points because he is auto-qualifier so it is even more of why bother. We are going to see more and more of this I predict.

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Why can he turn it into an training day? Because he has the luxury of doing that because he’s already made the 2014 Kona start list because of the 5 year window for him being a former champion. But you likely wont see this from the middle of the pack pro who needs every point/position from each race. For them more than likely each event is make or break for them. Maybe 1 better spot means their expenses from that trip are covered.

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This is what Pete posted on Facebook after the race:

“I’ve never felt worse or slower in a half than the last 2 races I’ve done. For 3 weeks I’ve been really flat, and only early this week did I realise that I started feeling that way the same time my stomach parasite flared up. I didn’t expect much this weekend in California, but how bad I felt while going slow, hit home how much I’ve lost in the last 3 weeks and the poor health I am in. I may chang…e my race plans until I get my energy back and can build up to the mileage I want to achieve this year in my quest for Kona glory. I thank my fans, supporters, and sponsors, and I’m sorry I couldn’t deliver the performance you wish me to have. You won’t see me racing again until I am on top of the podium. Thanks again. Onward and Upwards!”

So, it looks like he’s been sick, and even he’s not sure what exactly is going on.

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Pete Jacobs the Ironman World Champion?

What business do I have questioning his training methods, they work for him, very well.

You or I can question it all day long, because this forum is made up mostly of training related questions. Yes, he won a world championship and my guess is he will win another one, but I think you could argue he has been a little inconsistent since that win and being this is a forum, I am raising the question as to whether it may be because of liberal training philosophy.

As far as pros using their race for a “training day”, again why do I care? If I am out there racing, I am doing it for me…I don’t give a shit what the pros do…Not real sure why you do…or why you feel cheated

Yeah, I get you are out there for yourself, as am I, but I am also a fan and I look forward to certain match ups and when they intentionally don’t come to race, its slightly disappointing. It certainly doesn’t ruin my day, but I would rather see them coming to compete.

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This is what Pete posted on Facebook after the race:

“I’ve never felt worse or slower in a half than the last 2 races I’ve done. For 3 weeks I’ve been really flat, and only early this week did I realise that I started feeling that way the same time my stomach parasite flared up. I didn’t expect much this weekend in California, but how bad I felt while going slow, hit home how much I’ve lost in the last 3 weeks and the poor health I am in. I may chang…e my race plans until I get my energy back and can build up to the mileage I want to achieve this year in my quest for Kona glory. I thank my fans, supporters, and sponsors, and I’m sorry I couldn’t deliver the performance you wish me to have. You won’t see me racing again until I am on top of the podium. Thanks again. Onward and Upwards!”

So, it looks like he’s been sick, and even he’s not sure what exactly is going on.

Well there you go! Thanks for posting that. This makes sense and I didn’t see this come across FB.

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In my eyes Pete Jacobs is still top #3 if not #1 Long Course Triathlete. The guy is a beast!

That being said he is been known to “race” and use it as a training day. I use to think Pros should race every race to the limit and they should finish regardless of how the day is going. The reality being a Pro they need to look out for #1 more than anyone else. If their not having a good race then either back out or lay off the gas. Being a Pro Triathlete unfortunately isn’t like being a Pro baseball player where they make X Salary everyday for showing up. Being a Pro triathlete is extremely tough so I no longer question their methods.

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First off I will say this goes against all the “Pros don’t matter” threads. Secondly, Pete had some other things here to do regarding sponsor obligations. I don’t want this to go down the route of Gwyneth but honestly go work for 8-12 weeks and then find out that you don’t get a check and see how that goes over with the misses. That is often how it goes in triathlon. When you finish 1-3, you are getting some monies from prize money and then a guy like Pete is getting lot of bonuses from sponsors. He might get something for 4-5, or 6-10 but obviously the drop off is pretty steep. So there is a lot of why bother. And he doesn’t need points because he is auto-qualifier so it is even more of why bother. We are going to see more and more of this I predict.

Thomas,

Now that we determined is performance had nothing to do with training. Putting that aside, are you saying that you think more and more will show up for races just to show up or not show up because there is no incentive?

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Satisfaction is the enemy of success.

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First off I will say this goes against all the “Pros don’t matter” threads. Secondly, Pete had some other things here to do regarding sponsor obligations. I don’t want this to go down the route of Gwyneth but honestly go work for 8-12 weeks and then find out that you don’t get a check and see how that goes over with the misses. That is often how it goes in triathlon. When you finish 1-3, you are getting some monies from prize money and then a guy like Pete is getting lot of bonuses from sponsors. He might get something for 4-5, or 6-10 but obviously the drop off is pretty steep. So there is a lot of why bother. And he doesn’t need points because he is auto-qualifier so it is even more of why bother. We are going to see more and more of this I predict.

Thomas,

Now that we determined is performance had nothing to do with training. Putting that aside, are you saying that you think more and more will show up for races just to show up or not show up because there is no incentive?

Personally I am not a fan of the auto-qualifier, I don’t think anyone should auto-qualify but that is what it is. I think this will be the trend because the field depth keeps getting larger and larger. There has been some growth in number of events as well, but not as fast as the field. Tactics are becoming more and more apparent as well as field size grows, and more guys in front packs etc. When people have off days and/or are out of it they will turn it to a training day. But how can you blame them, what they are really doing is the next best option. IMO they are actually being smart. What is the point of smashing yourself and digging deep and draining the well for an 11th place finish. You only have so many times to dig and sometimes you just have to know when to fold your cards and play another hand.

Now everyone’s motives vary and not everyone is in the exact same situation, but I think in general this will be the trend, and especially so in the Ironman events.

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First off I will say this goes against all the “Pros don’t matter” threads. Secondly, Pete had some other things here to do regarding sponsor obligations. I don’t want this to go down the route of Gwyneth but honestly go work for 8-12 weeks and then find out that you don’t get a check and see how that goes over with the misses. That is often how it goes in triathlon. When you finish 1-3, you are getting some monies from prize money and then a guy like Pete is getting lot of bonuses from sponsors. He might get something for 4-5, or 6-10 but obviously the drop off is pretty steep. So there is a lot of why bother. And he doesn’t need points because he is auto-qualifier so it is even more of why bother. We are going to see more and more of this I predict.

Thomas,

Now that we determined is performance had nothing to do with training. Putting that aside, are you saying that you think more and more will show up for races just to show up or not show up because there is no incentive?

Personally I am not a fan of the auto-qualifier, I don’t think anyone should auto-qualify but that is what it is. I think this will be the trend because the field depth keeps getting larger and larger. There has been some growth in number of events as well, but not as fast as the field. Tactics are becoming more and more apparent as well as field size grows, and more guys in front packs etc.** When people have off days and/or are out of it they will turn it to a training day. But how can you blame them, what they are really doing is the next best option. IMO they are actually being smart. What is the point of smashing yourself and digging deep and draining the well for an 11th place finish.** You only have so many times to dig and sometimes you just have to know when to fold your cards and play another hand.

Now everyone’s motives vary and not everyone is in the exact same situation, but I think in general this will be the trend, and especially so in the Ironman events.

Yeah, I agree with this totally. Pro’s have a career to worry about, not just a single race. Plus, as you alluded too in Ironman, they champs get to validate by showing up to a race, not necessarily placing.

Where it starts to get foggy is if they are already auto-qualified, were a late addition to a race, or even though they are auto-qualified over stacked their schedule. If it is chalked up to poor planning or they are getting paid to simply show up, I think the incentive system may be a bit faulty and not good for the sport. Frankly, I am not sure how often this really happens anyway. Now, in the case of Pete and Oside, it seems as though he simply didn’t quite know what was going on with his health, so he simply didn’t have a choice but to take it slow.

All in all, the premise of the original post was pretty much shut down based on his reasoning. I didn’t see the FB post so was obviously speculating for the sake of conversation.

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I note all of the agruments above, but I cant see past the fact that I’ve gone quicker than Pete Jacobs in a half Ironman. All other information is superfluous.

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I would say the only triathletes you have a high probability of relying on at any given race would be the Brownlees. In long course racing there is a lot less certainty.

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I’m surprised that we don’t see a lot more pros signing up for races as training days. Hell, I’m a schlub and I sign up for training races. I once signed up for a half mary just because a friend was doing it, not because I wanted to do well in the race itself. I like racing and the race environment. It’s fun. I see no reason why any pro on the circuit should be criticized for showing up to a race without his/ her A-game. You’d get a lot more pros showing up to races- which I see as a positive. Then, I’d love to be in position to race next to a guy like Pete while he’s training (because, ya know, I’m easily a 4:41 HIMer). It seems like a great afternoon to me.

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http://competitorradio.competitor.com/feed/podcast/

Interview by Bobbit may answer your ?

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I wanna hear what THEREALSTARKY has to say on this subject…WWTRSD?

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I guess I could care less if he choose to come to a race and turn it into a training day

And you should.

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