Super Fan and Funny Man

February 2, 2022

Atlanta, Georgia based Joe Wilson goes by Triathlon Joe on social media and could be spotted at races either in a Speedo and a mullet wig cheering on athletes or racing his heart out at the pointy end of the field. He grabbed a 2022 Kona spot and that is his big target for the year, but he is a man of many talents and we had a chat with the man.

Slowtwitch: Well hello Joe

Joe Wilson: Hey Herbert, as someone who’s been an avid Slowtwitch reader for going on almost 10 years, I kind of feel like a kid in a candy store right now.

ST: How has the holiday season been treating you?

Joe: Not going to lie, I got hit by the bug and it knocked me down pretty hard. Couldn’t work out for a week, and then was just exhausted for about a week. I wasted my holiday vacation on sitting on the couch eating bon bons which is my least favorite thing to do.

ST: In the fall of 2021 you had a strong race at IRONMAN Indiana and grabbed yourself a Kona slot. Was that what you had hoped for in terms of results and times etc.

Joe: Thanks. It was the race I knew I could pull off. I had almost given up on Ironman and just concentrated on racing 70.3 which I’ve had the most success. I typically get on the podium at that distance, but Ironman had been a different story. There were Ironman races where I laid on the grass, more out frustration than anything. But to say that distance hadn’t gone right for me was an understatement.

At the end of 2020, I went out and got a coach that specialized in getting people to Kona. I quit trying to race every weekend during the summer and focused on Indiana. And he worked me over those 4 months leading up to the race. I knew going in that I was well prepared. We talked some strategy and some keys that he focused on during the race, but it was really all up to me.

I will also say the week before my race I was in Chattanooga cheering people on in my signature speedo and mullet wig and just by sheer luck I ran into this guy who gave some great advice on how to race an Ironman. He said that whenever you start to have a negative thought, take a gel. It’s the brain craving sugar. I used that strategy during the run, and it seemed to work.

ST: How many gels did you consume during the run, and which ones are your go to ones?

Joe: I actually stopped counting. I had a plan to carry a gel flask with about 5 servings, but took one swig of it, and knew that I would not able to handle that for the run. I tossed it and started taking in the Maurten gels. I took in about 6 or 7 on the run. They’re good until they are not and then they are very nasty. And also lived off of Coke. Side note, I mistakenly switched up the special needs bags, and all of my nutrition that I was going to get at the midway point on the run was out on the bike course. Looking back at my race I’m still not sure how I finished the IRONMAN between the lack of sleep and having so many issues go wrong. I guess you have to out train your mistakes.

ST: You mentioned a new coach, who is he? And who is the guy who gave you the gel advice in Chattanooga

Joe: A good friend of mine, Thomas Skelton with Merge Multisport is coaching me this year. I’m trying to do more of a dive into my training to better understand what’s going on, and he’s helping me in the process.

As far as the guy I met in Chattanooga, I ran into Heather Jackson’ s coach Frank Jakobsen. I was cheering people on the bridge and he had remembered me in my crazy outfit from Worlds the week prior. I spent the better part of two hours, while he was waiting for his athletes to come through, picking his brain. The guy knows his stuff.

ST: Talk about your race.

Joe: Where to begin. I thought the day was over before it even started, starting with sitting in a dental chair the day before trying to figure out which tooth was killing me. The Indy doctor couldn’t find it, but he gave me some pain meds and I got about 4 hours of sleep. Had he looked a little deeper he’d have found I had a nasty cavity in the wisdom tooth, and had he pulled it, I wouldn’t have been able to race.

Anyway, the race went about as well I thought it would be. I had a typical swim, 1:13, but then a great bike, about 4:50, and a good run with a 3:37 time. I tried to get fancy with the bike and took off the front derailleur, a trick I read about on ST. And it worked perfectly for 40 miles until I hit a bump in the road, and then I rode the small ring the rest of the way. That probably helped my legs for the run though since I was about 95-100 rpm to maintain about 220ish watts. Then about 80 miles in I realized that a screw had come loose on my front end. So, I dealt with that the last 35 miles. I kept thinking I was going to crash.

But once I got onto the run, I felt good. I took easy the first 13 and was just kept trying to get down as many gels/calories as I could stomach. Once I got to about mile 22 someone told me I was in 5th and 6th wasn’t even in the picture. At that point I decided to take it easy and not kill myself. I probably could have ran down 4th who was only 40 seconds up the road, but I didn’t care as long as I was on the podium. My finish time was 9:57 and I felt like there was about 10 minutes I left on the course. But doesn’t everyone feel that way after a good race. Anyway, I was 5th and got a slot through the allocation process. Glad it went that way because I got bad information and missed the award ceremony the next day.

ST: So Kona it is. Will that be your main target for 2022?

Joe: Yes. I have no crazy expectations or false pretenses about this race. My entire goal will be to go out there and soak it all in. I’m bringing my daughter who’s 13 and an amazing swimmer. I’ll be just as happy watching her do the swim they put on the week before the race as I will be about crossing the finish line.

ST: How is your bike set up and have you had any help with it, or are you not letting anyone else touch it?

Joe: I ride a Ventum and I love the way it feels. It hasn’t been worked on since Indiana, but I’ll make sure the right people aka not me set it up for Kona.

ST: What running shoes did you use and are those typically the shoes you race with?

Joe: I’m just like everyone else. It’s Nikes or bust. Although I do get some bottom foot pain in them occasionally. When I’m not racing, I’m a Hoka guy. I just haven’t found anything that matches that brand. I especially love the Cliftons, but I usually get whatever is on sale.

ST: I bumped into you a week later in Boston after you had just finished that iconic race. And you looked happy like a kid in a candy store. You still had your medal one several hours after the finish and looked like you were not ready to return back to the hotel. Was that race different for you or are you like that after every race, big or small?

Joe: I absolutely loved that race. It was a race that put everything into perspective for me. Normally I take the medal and throw it in a bag and just move on to the next race. I had qualified at Austin in 2020 right before the pandemic. I picked Austin because I wanted to beat someone that this forum talks a lot about. (laughs) Anyway, between that race and Boston a lot of things had changed. I won’t go into it, but the shutdown hit me hard, so this was kind of a turning the page, end of a chapter in my life kind of race. Also, it was Boston. I highly recommend this race. I ran with a GoPro Max and recorded as much of it as I could including that iconic last mile. I was blown away by the atmosphere and I loved every single minute of it.

ST: How did that all fall in place that you had an IRONMAN and the Boston Marathon so close together?

Joe: Who knew that Ironman Indiana and Boston would fall 9 days apart. I almost signed up for St. George too, but smarter minds talked me out of that one. I was able to, however, go out and cheer people on in my signature Speedo and mullet wig in St. George. Watching a bunch of fast people race definitely motivated me.

ST: What was your goal for that marathon, and had you adjusted that goal knowing it was so close to that IRONMAN?

Joe: Normally I would have loved to have gone sub 3, but one mile into the race I knew that wasn’t going to happen. Then I just enjoyed the race and tried to not let people I know beat me; spoiler alert, they all did. Then I just wanted to beat my time from the Ironman run. And I did but only by about 3 minutes. And truth be told it took me over a month to feel normal again. I also don’t think I can ever eat another Maurten gel.

ST: Talk about your training and how you spread it out between running, cycling and swimming.

Joe: I swim with a masters team to get my butt kicked by former high school and collegiate swimmers. I’m a heavy Zwifter, and I like to mix it up with my runner friends. I’d say between all of that I’m training 15-20 hours a week. I lead the Tuesday night Zwift Slowtwitch group workout ride, please come join, and that’s been a lot of fun.

ST: Describe your Zwift setup.

Joe: I have tried it all, laptop, desktop, iPad, iPhone, and now Apple TV. And other than the terrible remote, the Apple TV is the easiest to get on the game and not have to worry about power drops, etc. I also have a hospital table; thanks TG, and my iPhone to give people kudos while I’m riding.

ST: Where do you think you can still improve the most?

Joe: Swimming. There’s no doubt about that. I came out of the water in 37th place at Indiana and had to work to get back into contention. But between losing range of motion from being hit by 2 cars, and being an adult onset swimmer, it’s tough. But I’m in the pool 4-5 days a week and the times are getting faster. I’d love to try and do a 25-minute swim at St. Anthony’s at the end of April this year. That’s the goal. With that said, I slept in this morning instead of swimming.

ST: Like many other triathletes, you have a kid who seemingly can swim circles around you. But I don’t think it bothers you, you actually seem to be proud.

Joe: I absolutely love watching my daughter swim. I am constantly amazed by her work ethic. I know at that age I sat out in right field and chewed on my glove. Also, I’m hoping swimming pays for college.

ST: That sounds like a plan.

Joe: Fingers crossed.

ST: Is there anything else we should know?

Joe: I’m here for the fun as much as I am for the competition. I learned very early in triathlon to check the ego at the door and just have fun with the sport. And that’s what I’ve done for the past 8 years. If you see me on the course, I’m probably the guy with the biggest smile and remember you’re never too pro to high 5 someone. You can also find me doing something funny and or crazy on IG and it’s usually in a Speedo. [laughs]