Chris Leiferman is on the verge

July 17, 2015

Chris Leiferman is late blooming triathlete on the verge of a half Ironman breakthrough. After a 2008 age group overall win at CapTex and a 3rd overall age group placing at Life Time Fitness Minneapolis that same year, he took up the sport regularly when he transferred from the University of Minnesota to Colorado State University and joined the triathlon team in 2011. While his best day at CSU was 9th overall at the 2013 USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals, he was advancing quickly in the pro ranks that same year with an overall win at Memphis in May and a 4th at Rev3 Williamsburg. After a 3rd at Timberman 70.3 in 2014, he went all in for 2015, taking 2nd at Puerto Rico 70.3, 3rd at Wildflower Long Course, 2nd at Challenge Knoxville and 2nd at Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3.

Under the guidance of coach Michael Lovato, Leiferman is training hard in Boulder with his aim at the podium at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship at Zell am Zee.

Slowtwitch: Where did you grow up and what was it like?

Chris Leiferman: I grew up in Truman, Minnesota, a small farming town of 1200 people. It was a very active town and a lot of fun. Everyone started working at a young age. After work, we played a lot of baseball and night games with a bunch of kids in town.

ST: Tell us about your family.

Chris: I have two older brothers, Jeremy and Adam, and one younger, Kevin. My dad Greg is an electrician who is a super hard worker and my mom Denise is the secretary and co-owner of the business. We are all super close and stay in touch as much as possible.

ST: What sports did you do in high school and college?

Chris: In school I wrestled for 13 years, played baseball from t-ball to senior year and football from 7th through 12th grades. I did two non-consecutive years of cross-country (7th and 11th grade) but I hated running and only used it as a way to get in shape for wrestling season. I also danced from 1st-6th grade – tap, jazz and ballet. Ya, ya, ya. Let the jokes flow in. But in hindsight , I'm glad I did it and it helped mold me into the person I am today. I didn't do any varsity sports in college.

ST: What were your best sports accomplishments?

Chris: I placed 5th in state my senior year of wrestling in the 145lb weight class. That was something my brothers never did, so that was huge for me. They were all really good wrestlers and went to state more than I did. But I placed higher and I will hold that achievement over their heads for as long as I can 🙂

ST: Did you have any challenges growing up that helped define your character?

Chris: My older brothers were always better than me at sports so I had big shoes to fill. It really discouraged me but I kept at it and did the best that I could and not what I felt I had to do based on what they did.

ST: What did you study at the University of Minnesota?

Chris: Wildlife Biology.

ST: What did you study at CSU?

Chris: Sports Medicine.

ST: Why did you transfer to CSU? What did you get from studying exercise science?

Chris: I wanted to move out to Colorado and I figured that transferring schools would be a good excuse to do so. I got out of Exercise Science the understanding of physiological numbers and how systems in our bodies work. I understand things better if I know how it works and not just why or the correlation of numbers. My time at CSU was huge in allowing me to learn just that.

ST: You competed for the CSU Triathlon team. What did you learn from collegiate triathlon?

Chris: At CSU I joined the triathlon team and it was awesome! I had a great time. I learned a lot about how important the team environment is in an individual sport. Also, it taught me how much of an influence you can be and that you should always be on the up and up being a good role model to the younger athletes on the team. My first year at CSU (2011) I placed in the mid 40's at USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals. My second year I was injured and my third year (2013) I placed 9th.

ST: How did your brother sign you up without your knowledge for your first triathlon in 2008?

Chris: I'm not sure. Adam just got the race information and found me a bike to train on and he told me to start training.

ST: Your strength was running. But I understand you had to pretty much learn to swim and bike from scratch. How did that first race go?

Chris: I guess my strength was running since that was the only thing I was doing for about a half year. I just knew that I had to do the distances in the race so that's what I started training on the bike and swim. It was all indoors and there were probably 67 people that raced but I won and that was enough to make me want more.

ST: Were you inspired to do more?

Chris: I did a bunch of local tris. I would place pretty high in the overall contention and I won two or three of them. In the bigger races, like Lifetime Fitness Minneapolis, I would win my age group or at least come close. I was getting better year after year so that kept me going.

ST: After graduation, you worked for your father. What was the job and how did it go?

Chris: I worked for my dad between my time at the University of Minnesota and Colorado State University. He's an electrician and we had a lot of big jobs that 9 month stint I worked with him. We worked hard and played hard. We would put in 48-plus hour weeks and I would have to swim or run before work, and bike, swim or run after work. It was rough but I had to prove to my folks that I wanted to race and that I was serious about triathlon.

ST: Did you like the work?

Chris: I really like doing electrical work. I have been doing it for many years and I will definitely get into it once I check out of triathlon.

ST: What triathlon performances let you know you might take triathlon seriously?

Chris: At CapTex in 2008 I placed top overall age group and at Lifetime Minneapolis I did well (3rd overall age group) and that made me pursue it even more.

ST: What was the process you took to decide to go pro and how did you qualify?

Chris: I qualified at CapTex in 2008 but I honestly didn't know that I had qualified. It wasn't until 2013 that I raced my first pro race.

ST: Tell us about it.

Chris: My first Pro race was Memphis in May in 2013 and I placed 1st. (Leiferman finished in 1:52:57, ahead of Daniel Bretscher and Brian Fleischman). I didn't expect that at all. I had a fantastic bike and that set me up for the rest of the race. It was TT start for the swim starting alphabetical order. I was near the end and I had a lot of rabbits to chase on the bike. Once I got ahead, I just held on during the hot, hot Memphis run.

ST: What does your family think of your decision to go pro?

Chris: In my 1st or 2nd year, I remember my older brother telling my mom that "He can really go far with triathlon," or something along those lines. So yes, they are all 100% behind me!

ST: I heard you are engaged to be married in November. How did you meet your fiancée Zana Buttermore-Baca? And why are you two a good match?

Chris: I met Zana at CSU. She was on the triathlon team there and we would meet at the Boulder Stroke and Strides each Thursday and got to know each other more and more. There are so many reasons that we are a good match for one another that it is too hard to come up with just a few. We are a team and we both support each other in whatever each of us is doing.

ST: Why did you move to Boulder? And why did you sign on with Michael Lovato to be your coach?

Chris: I moved to Boulder because Zana was living here. Ha ha. It’s pretty simple – she must have had mind control over me 🙂

ST: What changes were on tap?

Chris: Since I moved to Boulder, I no longer had the hands-on coaching that Jon Mason of MP Multisport of Fort Collins offered. I really loved that about his coaching and it was really effective with my training. Since Michael lives in Boulder, I knew that we would have team trainings like I was used to. I reached out to him and he was excited to bring me on.

ST: How has Michael improved your mental game? And what is it like working out with his squad?

Chris: I feel I'm a pretty mentally stable racer but there can be many hiccups that happen within a race and in training. He is good at reassuring me through these hiccups and that I can't bury myself if I have a bad swim or bike because there is still a lot of race left, especially in a half or full (which I will be starting next year!).

ST: How has he improved your swim? I see this season you started off with several 27 minute swims giving up 2:30 to 3 minutes to the leaders. But at Buffalo Springs you cut your time to 25:17 and only gave up 1:33 to the winner.

Chris: We have some solid key sessions during the week. Michael coaches a morning squad twice a week at our club and he definitely makes it a workout focused on making us better open water swimmers, rather than better pool swimmers.

ST: How has Michael improved your bike? At Timberman you gave up 5 minutes to Leon Griffin. At Wildflower your bike split was 9th best 2:24:18 – 5 minutes back of Jesse Thomas. At Knoxville your 2:16:20 split was second-best but still 5 minutes back of Cam Dye. Finally, at Williamsburg, bravo! Your 2:04:44 bike split was race-best and 2 minutes faster than Kevin Collington. Why was your bike split so good that day?

Chris: I got a new bike! My Blue Triad has been great for me. I am so glad to have been given the chance to represent Blue and it is a great bike for me. I look forward to riding with them for years to come!

ST: Your run has always been your ace. I see you posted best runs at Puerto Rico, Knoxville, and Buffalo Springs – 1:17:25. Good signs. But where might you take off that extra 4-5 minutes necessary for the win at a major 70.3 race?

Chris: I have the capability. Four or five minutes is a lot but totally doable. I just need to work even more on my swim and come out consistently in the front pack to work with a group on the bike – to have the energy for a faster run.

ST: What is heart-breaking and what is encouraging about your several second place finishes this year?

Chris: It's frustrating that I haven't reached the top of the podium. Four podiums yet no wins is annoying. I know it will happen and I am happy with staying consistent with my races.

ST: What is your dream finish at Austria 70.3 Worlds?

Chris: Third would blow my mind! I know it's not first or second but I know who I'm going up against and there have been no-names who placed 3rd at their first appearance and I believe I can be one of them.