Chris Leiferman Interview Ironman World Championships St George 2021
Marilyn:
Hi Chris, happy to have you here. I feel like you are not only a fantastic athlete but a personal friend. I have known you since the very start of your career. We were just talking about how you just got started. You used to come and stay here in Tucson with me. I’ve had the pleasure of watching you evolve into an amazing athlete, that is a contender and an American favorite going into World Championships races. That’s an honor and pretty cool to see. Welcome.
Today what we want to talk about is obviously since Covid, Iron Man has changed a lot. This is a year where there are two world championships. One being placed in the time of year that is completely different, at the front of the year, and St. George versus Kona. So I want to get a really good feel from you about 1) how do you feel about the changes and being a professional athlete, and saying like ok, we’ve always had, historically, it’s like Kona’s it. It has so much history there, that’s what we prepare for. And now it’s going to be a world championship race in completely different time of year and on a different course. Tell me a little bit of what you’re thinking and feeling and your first reactions to that.
Chris L:
My first reaction to Kona being thee place, I’ve only raced there once. I don’t have any commitment to Kona, for me it’s only been a one-off race in that sense because I’ve only done it once. So it’s not something that I’ve been solely focusing on is the Kona course, the Kona heat, the humidity. St. George is kind of ideal. It’s in the US, it’s only a 10 hour drive for us, logistically it’s not a massive headache. It’s a dry heat. The bike caps out at 5,000 feet at one end so it’s fairly similar to exactly where I live here in Boulder. I’m actually kind of excited. I think it’s a good opportunity for Iron Man to try a new spot although I don’t think they got the age group following. It probably wasn’t a good hit. But for my standpoint, it is. I just kind of look at it as another race. Yes, it is a world championship race. All of the good guys are going to be there. But at the same time, you have to do it, you have to go and show up. It’s unfortunate that we weren’t able to have Kona in 2021, 2020: we had two of them. But what are you going to do? This is the card that was dealt so deal with it.
Marilyn:
Touch a little bit on, you mentioned you’ve been to Kona once in 2019. I remember when you came here preparing for that, you were asking all kinds of heat questions. You were here in Tucson getting ready in the heat and really preparing for that. That was your first experience in the world championships. Do you feel like since then, so since 2019, it’s been two years since you’ve had the opportunity to stand on a start line at an Iron Man and race everybody who's the best in the world for that world championship spot.
What are the main things that you feel like you’ve learned since then being that there’s been so much time since that one time experience?
Chris:
That it goes up fast. From the get-go, the beginning of the swim, the beginning of bike, the beginning of run, is hard. And you have to be prepared for that. That’s not anything that I’ve experienced outside of a world championship race. And that really caught me off guard at Kona. So that’s something I’ve been mentally preparing for. Physically, I think I could have been ready for it. I just didn’t want to do it because I was just so caught off guard. Like what a minute, I don’t think that that’s smart to have to do that. But it’s a world championship race, you gotta go for it. Yeah, I mean I got 10th place in 2019, yeah it’s good, but I feel like I’m the only one who knows that at the end of the day. So to get a podium at a world championship is what you really should be going for. So, that’s something I learned from. The heat, that vicious heat. So be prepared for it. Drink more water, I guess. I mean, I’ve raced Cozumel, I’ve raced other hot races, even Iron Man Boulder was absolutely a suffer fest for that, for the heat. But just that on-set, each discipline was hot.
Marilyn:
So it’ll be pretty different in St. George. The one question I asked Ben, and I’d love your thoughts on this to transition from that idea like it went off way faster than you thought. Each race presents it;s own tactical dynamic and there’s no way around it. We know the men’s race is fast and hard like you said but it's extremely tactical. You got to be ready for anything, depending on who is there, what shape people are in, the type of course. Tactically, when you’re talking about, you know, now this will be a wet suit swim instead of a non-wet suit swim, a completely different change in the course. What are your thoughts on, do you even think about the tactics being a part of your race planning at all, number 1, and 2, how are they different in your mind going ok, this is a world championship race but these courses are different. All of that stuff.
Chris:
Yeah, definitely the tactics have to come into play. I think a wet suit swim will favor me. But I also think it’s going to favor some other guys even more. I’m kind of in the middle, like I can kind of lean both ways. I appreciate being cooler in a non-wet suit. But I’ve been swimming in the wet suit recently so I feel good about that. But that final, looking at the bike course, you pick up Snow Canyon at the end of race. It’s going to be a pretty big deal. I remember the weather really kicked in last year during the 70.3 for the age-groupers. But the pros kind of got rid of that because we were already on the run by then. However, we’ll still be on the bike at that same time of day. So the weather in St. George could just completely throw us all off and put a massive kink in the entire thing. So that’s something you just have to be prepared for, on a game-time decision. So tactically being in a good spot there, being out of trouble, we’re not on a peloton, so that type of stuff doesn’t matter, but just being able to take advantage into the head wind of the group would definitely be beneficial. I think being a good defender is really going to separate the group, it seems like there’s some pretty solid defending. If you can’t handle the bike, you’re going to struggle on the St. George course. So I think it’s definitely going to be if you’re a savvy cyclist, you’re going to benefit.
Marilyn:
Yeah, I would agree with that for sure. So since 2019, 2020, you won Iron Man Florida, you won the Great Floridian. Then 2021, was there anything that you feel like from 2019, 2020 you won the Iron Man, 2021 with Covid, racing opportunities, strugglues, injuries, progression. Is there anything that stands out to you that is setting you up really well to move forward into this world championship? Or even possibly things that have felt like a limiter that you are going to work on going into this race.
Chris:
I am currently injury free. Just that in and of itself is huge for me. That’s something I’ve struggled with my entire career. I feel like I go into every new season with a stress fracture or coming off where I’m just starting building up my running. There always seems to be some massive hiccup. Right now things are good. I’m already a step further in my build than I ever have been. I did feel super fit for Tulsa last year. I had a very unfortunate penalty that I still completely disagree with, however, it’s over and done with. But I was super fit and that was an early season Iron Man. So it is possible to be ready for an early season Iron Man for myself.
Marilyn:
That was my next question. So you live in Boulder, Colorado where the weather can be on the cold side all winter, you’re dealing with winter and snow. However, I know you were at a team training camp in ___ for three weeks. Talk to me a little bit about you know its 3 weeks there, that’s quite a long time until the race, do you have plans setting yourself up weather wise for the race? Or is it fine? Obviously when we know you’re going to Kona everyone does a heat camp, a heat prep camp. Does this change things for you that way? Do you feel confident coming out of Boulder?
Chris:
Yeah, I do pretty well with the weather that we’re thrown at here in Boulder. Like we just got 4 inches of snow two days ago and right now the roads are already clear. So, as you probably remember. Next week its going to get cold, high of 7 on Tuesday which is just really sucky. I feel… I’m racing Clash? on March 11 and then I’m doing Oceanside first weekend of April, April 2. And then I haven’t talked to Zan? but I was talking to Kennett yesterday and we were throwing out ideas, or well he was, and I was kind of getting excited about it, coming to Tucson after Oceanside. I don’t know about that yet. I have to play the weather and see with Cruise now being a year and a half, Zan and I have to make sure that it works for her, I can’t just bounce any time I want now anymore. Hopefully I get down to Tucson in April and come back to elevation before heading over to St. George.
Marilyn:
Like you just said, congratulations to you for the family, I’ve known you for awhile so I feel like to watch your progression, you’re a great dad. Is there things that are a different approach for you? You basically just said that, you have to make certain decisions based on the family now. Is there things with being a dad now, that you feel are additional, its a lot different for you with training and racing. Or is it works pretty well? Is there anything there that you would add to the story?
Chris:
Yeah, well, probably for the last 6 months, we didn’t have really solid daycare. We were just bouncing around babysitters. And that was super stressful for Zanna? and I. She works full time, I work full time. Fortunately she’s in real estate so she is on the computer at home but she’s taking calls all day long or she’s out for showings or she’s at open houses. It was like ok, can you be home at this time, I’ll be gone from here, for just a half an hour there, an hour there just trying to make it work. So it was very stressful. Right now we do have childcare from 7am to 2pm which is a pretty inconvenient times. So I was up at 5:30, on the treadmill at 7:15 this morning, and we go to bed, start wrapping up bed time at 8pm, so we can get enough sleep to do it all over again. We do have childcare 5 days a week but we’re just having to shift everything forward to make it all work.
Marilyn:
If you had to say for you to win, or be on the podium at St. George at this world championships what are the top 3 things that have to go right in order for that to happen? It could be in training and the race.
Chris:
So in training be injury free. Don’t have any hiccups in my build up. Don’t get sick. Don’t have any niggles so that’s number 1. Number 2 I think being in the second pack on the swim. I don’t ever expect to be in that front pack with all those super fast fish up there. But to be in that second group will set me up immensely. And I feel like my swim as come a lot already just even this year. Definitely making improvements there. And just being savvy. Just reading the group. Knowing when to push and knowing when to hold back. And staying on top of nutrition. And if everything goes right on the bike, and I’m where I’m at coming out of the water, my run should fall into place.
Marilyn:
Do you feel like this course is basically set up that if you’re a good bike rider and everyone gets off that bike together. You know in Kona, a lot of people can get off the bike pretty close to one another and it really becomes- you know the heat is such a factor.
Do you feel like at St. George it could become, if there’s a big group of guys who get off the bike together, much more of a foot race? You know the course isn’t quite as hilly as it was.
St. George has the potential to be really hot and dry. And its higher so the sun sits right on top of your head a bit so it really can have that heat effect. It can also be cool at that time of year, a little different dynamic. Do you feel like that if there’s a big strong group of guys that all get off the bike together. What’s your thoughts on that in comparison to Kona vs. this race?
Chris:
It depends on how hard they pushed on the bike. At what cost was it for them to come off that group going into the run leg. So, I dunno… no one knows. We don’t have any experiences to do it. It’s gonna be hot, I’m predicting that it will be hot. People are going to get a little excited. If there is going to be a group, people are going to try to break away. It’s not super hilly but the hills are long and it’s just going to be a sticky run. I think that first 21k is going to surprise a lot of people. It might not look as daunting or feel as daunting through the first half but it’s going to catch up to you.
Marilyn:
They're going to separate later in the run based on the decisions you made all day long.
Chris:
Yeah, I think so. Because that bike does not look easy. And that big grinder- that big long, how long is that climb? I know it’s only like 1%- It’s just a sticky, long climb. And then you descend, and then you have that 7k climb up Snow Canyon, more or less.
Marilyn:
It will be interesting for sure. Is there something in particular- I’ve watched your training evolve a little bit through the years. I’ve seen you change coaches and use different- you’re really up on some of the latest training, things that are available out there to really get the most out of yourself. I’ve always known you as an athlete who is really precise on ‘ok, this is exactly what I need to do and no more.’ I’ve seen you really kind of go out there and hit very specific sessions. I would describe you if I was talking behind your back, I would say Oh Chris is a real race horse. You know you're that race horse, that when you train you go fast, you do really specific sessions. And then you really just sit back and rest. In comparison to some of your peers who maybe are like mega volume type people, and go on these big epic adventures and stuff like that. And you can correct me if I’m wrong on this but this is from an outside perspective, I see you much more on the science side of things and very specific about your training, a real race horse type approach. And then you put the hay in the barn and just sort of let it all absorb and rest. Has that evolved that way through just pure, like that’s the route that you chose and is it working for you. Or has that happened just as an evolution through the way your body adapts to training or injury or anything like that. Tell me a little bit about that.
Chris:
Yeah, with my old coach there really was no adaptation to recovery and refocusing after injury so that was kind of unfortunate. But with my new coach, definitely the less is more approach and staying fresh and just staying healthy. I think 2 years, unfortunately, I crashed my bike and broke my ankle so that wasn’t a stress injury that just sucks. It has been going a lot better. Every session just seems, is focused. I don’t have very much volume at all. It’s nice. And I have a life. I have a family and a kid. I can’t just be out on the bike- swim, bike, running for 8 hours a day. It’s just respecting other things that I have in life and also getting the most out of every session that I do.
Marilyn:
That’s great and that’s what’s interesting between the two interviews that I’ve done. Those two are completely two different approaches. It’s fun to have these two opposing interviews that I’m doing here. And one approach is completely on one end of the scale. If we were going to take them and put them on a scale. You guys are here on this scale, one approach is here and one approach is here. But you’ve both produced similar, you know, you’re going after the same goal: most favorite Americans, both in a similar position as far as speed and pace and that kind of thing.
Chris:
I think for Hoffman, I think he mentally needs that. If you gave him something less, you almost have to give him more because that’s what he craves and that’s what he wants. I’ve seen that, I’ve heard other people talk about him, and I’ve heard that from him as well. You have to satisfy that as well as a coach. It used to eat me up inside earlier as a pro when you see people doing this massive volume its like I should be doing that, I should be doing that.
And anytime that I did, I just snapped, I broke. So it’s definitely something that I’ve learned over the years that it is very individual. You just have to put the blinders on and do your own thing.
Marilyn:
There’s a huge lesson in that and I really respect you for that. You know that takes a huge amount of confidence and courage like, hey this is me as an athlete and this is how I respond to training. The goal is at the end of the day that you’re all charging toward that finish line wanting to be first. And whatever path it takes to actually get there and make that happen it doesn’t matter. And it doesn’t matter, it’s what builds the bricks in order for you to achieve that can be different than the other 49 guys you’re racing. It takes a lot of maturity, a lot of confidence and a lot of understanding yourself as an athlete like this is what’s going to make me fast. Because at the end of the day all that matters is that you're as fast as you can be and get across that finish line in the best position possible. I’ve seen a lot of athletes actually destroy themselves or cut themselves short on the results they could get because they were so focused on just what everyone else is doing. Huge kudos to you as a real professional to be able to know that, understand that, respect that and lock into it and say this is what’s going to get me there to be in the best shape of my life to contend to win because that’s what matters. So that’s really cool and I think that’s an important message for a lot of people.
Because sometimes we only hear one message when it comes across as professionals racing to win Iron Mans. So it’s really refreshing to hear this perspective and say yeah this is what works for me to be able to show up and be there in the best form of my life. So that’s really cool.
So last things, I want to give you the opportunity here at the end, any closing thoughts when it comes to world championship races, the changes of course, and just heading into St. George as a whole. Anything you would like to put out there as an athlete, as one of our top contenders from the USA?
Chris:
I’m just excited to be racing in St. George. I feel like I have a vendetta against St. George. Because the two times I’ve done the 70.3’s it has not gone well. Now going back to St. George, coming back for the Iron Man, hopefully it’s just kind of this new way of thinking and new way of approach internally that It’s an Iron Man at St. George not a 70.3, even though its the same time of year and same location, it’s a completely different race. It should go out well. So this is my third attempt at St. George, I haven’t even finished a 70.3 there, as embarrassing as that is to say, it has not gone well. So I’m really just wanting to go in with a good attitude, as cliche as that sounds. But just go in, and not be afraid of St. George. The training is one thing, hopefully that ticks along great, no hiccups. But just go in not afraid of St. George. And I think that is something that… as I’m doing this right now, I’m not afraid at all. I’m excited and I’m wanting to do this. I’m ready to go tow that line in May and I think that is huge.