I'm guessing you meant to say the bike for the bolded area.

How would you enforce a "no drafting" in a running race? Not sure that is really a possibility...especially because it is even legal in track and field competition. I honestly can't imagine that you can actually get much of a benefit from running behind someone.

I honestly can't imagine that you can actually get much of a benefit from running behind someone.//

And yet they pay lots of money to many runners to do just that in bigger races, the rabbits. Everything has a draft in triathlon, just different degrees of benefits, but for sure there are benefit's.

That is correct. I meant to say "bike".

Of course, you get much more benefit from a draft off the bike than the run for various reasons, but as the sub 2:00 marathon project showed, it is not negligible.

Tell me again why is it so hard just to improve a little for a guy like Sam?

Magnus was also a slower swimmer but have made huge strides to always be in second group and in roth even first group! He should really write a book for all of us lol.

Back to Sam really solid race, for a bit of a goody guy he almost always nails his race plan 100%! Knows his limits and how to distribute his energy really well!

I thought this too. Not to take away from his truly spectacular performance, but heat was a major factor in the mens race, and I instantly thought "Sam will have a real advantage here from training/living in Tucson" where he trains almost entirely outdoors (as compared to Lionel, who also lives in Tucson, but does a lot more of his training indoors.) Sam is already used to training with full heat with zero cover in the Tucson desert in the dead of winter where it still gets roasty hot if you're out there at peak time in winter, at least compared to most other training locales.

Tell me again why is it so hard just to improve a little for a guy like Sam? //

But that is the thing, he is improving, a little every year. And he started much further behind than Magnus, thus their trajectories that point towards today. I think we all understand that swimming is not cycling or running, two sports that can be picked up in a couple years at a very high level. If you are an AOS, it just takes a dam long time to compensate for what kids got in the pool when their brains and muscle memories were pliable. A lot of folks like to call it talent, and to some extent that is true. But most of that so called talent is just bred into kids at a very young age, and once they have that hardwiring, it stays with them for life.


Guys like same and Lionel never got that, and did sports that were the complete opposite in terms of technique. After watching Magnus and his swimming program lately, it was probably a disappointment for him that he did not make the tail end of that lead group. He did make it once, but it is not just the 2nd and 3rd pack swimmers that are drilling their swim programs, the front group guys are also doing things that are bringing them much closer to their heyday best swims. In other words, the whole swim is just getting faster from front to back..


There will of course be a limit of the lead group to improve, but at that point the back markers then can make some more little gains to get themselves closer to T1...

I thought Sam does a lot of his training early in the morning? Isn't that what Sanders said? Maybe he's pushed it back now that he's got a kid, but early mornings and desert winters are anything but hot. It was in the 40s this morning in Tucson. Day time temps can get a little warm some days, but still nothing resembling hot yet. I'd just guess Sam does a better job in the heat for whatever physiological reasons of his body. I'd hope both are using the sauna if trying to become heat adapted.

True, but I'll bet Sam regularly trains into the late morning daylight hours where temps will easily be 75F with full sun exposure before noon, especially given no tree coverage out there. For sure, it's hotter than most of where everyone else was training during the winter.

Here's the next 10 day forecast for Tucson. The dew points are in the low 40s at their highest which means evaporative cooling would work wonderfully. This is not at all like Miami weather.

---

Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

True - but I'm not saying that Tucson is remotely like Miami in the winter (it's not.)

Tucson just happens to be a LOT warmer than where almost every pro who raced there trained. That's where the advantage would come from.

But as well, Tucson temps this week range up to 70-75F by Friday. Add in the full blast sun, and it's easily 80+F in perceived heat. I know this because I was there this exact time of year last year, and brought clothing prepared for AM 45F temps, and never used it once. All summer weather, all week, and it was barely even chilly in the early Am start. It was frankly, hot near noon.

The only thing distinguishing Tuscon from others' training locations may be precipitation. Southern Spain, Gran Canaria, Southern France, etc don't seem materially different in late Feb RE temp ranges and relative humidity.

Sam crushed it... HOW ABOUT INDIE LEE !

They both were stand out performances and made the race.