Full throttle with James Chesson
James Chesson is a fast age grouper from New Jersey who finished 10th overall at 70.3 Eagleman, and also won his age group at Rev3 Williamsburg. His Kona 2013 spot though he had already snagged at Ironman Texas. We had a few words with him.
Slowtwitch: Thanks for your time James.
James Chesson: What an honor. Thanks for the opportunity to share some of the crazy racing and training stories that come with triathlon. I have been racing for about four years now and I have made slowtwitch my go to for everything triathlon. It is one of the first pages on my bookmark bar.
ST: Cherrs, you are too kind. Well, how are your legs feeling after this Rev3 event?
James: Legs are a little sore but that was expected. I have been backing off a bit since Ironman Texas so I can build back up for Kona. Grabbing a win also helps to ease the pain.
ST: Congrats on this newest age group win.
James: Thank you. I have been pretty lucky to string together a few solid races this year. One of my goals was to have consistent performances throughout the entire season. So far I have no complaints. Rev3 Williamsburg was a fair course. It was my first time racing with Rev3 and I have to admit they put on a really nice event.
ST: Why did you pick this Williamsburg race?
James: The main reason was to take my family to Colonial Williamsburg and take in a little American history. My kids are one and three years old so they weren’t very interested. We tried taking them on a group house tour but that back fired on us. I’m pretty sure the tour guide was unable to speak over our yelling children so I cut that one a little short. The other reason we went was to support Team Red, White, and Blue. It was a big turnout for RWB and I was happy to be apart of it.
ST: Wasn't the Philly race much closer and shorter?
James: Philly would have been an easier option but it was more about the destination than the race itself. I drag my family to enough of these events for selfish reasons so I decided to change it up a little bit. Turns out it was pretty fun for everyone.
ST: Despite the yelling kids?
James: Yes, despite the yelling kids. Sometimes I just have to laugh when things get really crazy. The 7 hour car ride was pretty tough.
ST: You could have battled Gadzinski in Philly again.
James: Mike is definitely a competitor that I need to keep an eye on. I have never met him but after reading his recent interview on ST I’ll be on the lookout. I believe we will both be race at New Jersey State Tri and looking for those “bragging rights.” Everyone wants to win in their home state. I have a feeling that both Mike and I are going to have our hands full with some of the other competitors as well.
ST: I know you guys also raced at Eagleman, not in the same age group, but for overall age group honors.
James: Eagleman drawls some of the fastest age groupers and pros in the world. This year was no different. I knew it would be tight at the top and it was. The top five amateurs were separated by only four minutes. Mike was very close to me, I think it was less than a minute. Sami stole the show with a very nice performance, I only wish I went two minutes faster.
ST: Talk about your Eagleman day. Did it all go as you had in mind?
James: Going into Eagleman I had high expectations. I did Ironman Texas three weeks ago so I had been going easy since then. I really felt that if all the stars aligned I could get very close to or even under four hours. Well that didn’t happen. I am not a great swimmer but I felt like I had a decent swim but as far as time goes it was a little slower than I hoped for. I wasn’t worried because I knew if it was slow for me it was slow for everyone. Once I settled into the bike segment I felt pretty good. The conditions were getting hot so I tried to manage my effort/power. I never like giving up a lot of time on the bike. After dismounting the run to transition was like a Tough Mudder. I had to carry my bike because the mud was so deep but looking back on it now that was kind of fun. What was not fun was putting my muddy feet into clean socks because I didn’t have anything to clean them off. After the first couple of miles I knew the run was going to be tough. It was hot and humid and my legs were not in a happy place. I managed a very good result on a tough day so I couldn’t be happier.
ST: At what point were you aware that you might be in the running for overall top age grouper?
James: Its so hard to tell where you stand when there are close to twenty waves in a race. I had no clue. All I was doing was racing the clock. I am not very good at going through the entry list to see who the fast guys are. I race hard and hope for the best.
ST: Was that your fastest half time?
James: 4:07 is my fastest half time.
ST: But you thought you might go under 4 hours?
James: I thought I might go under 4 hours on a perfect day. I guess it was far from a perfect day. Maybe I’ll try again next year.
ST: Did you grab a Kona and a Vegas spot?
James: I took my Kona spot in Texas so I made someone at Eagleman very happy. I didn’t take the Vegas spot but I haven’t crossed it off the list yet. I’m not sure I can travel to Vegas then back home then off to Kona for two weeks. Thats a whole lot of time and money out on the road.
ST: So which Half are you doing next weekend?
James: Haha. Nothing next weekend. What can I say I love to race. I plan on taking a little time to recover and do some short course racing in and around the tri state area and representing a local tri club that I joined this year, TMB Racing. Its time to start thinking about the Kona preparation.
ST: How about the following weekend?
James: Yup, I do have a race in less than two weeks. I signed up to race the Randolph Triathlon, which is a Sprint, on July 7th. That’s going to be a lot of fun and it only twenty minutes from my house.
ST: We were just teasing you, but what bigger events do you have on your calendar?
James: Right now I’m doing New Jersey State Tri, most likely the Toughman Half New York race and Kona at the end of the year. AG Nationals are still up in the air and one or two more 70.3s are possible before Kona.
ST: When you are not racing, what occupies you outside of your family?
James: I’ve been known to drop off the grid for a week or so and go backpacking with a friend. It’s tough to fit in mid summer but when I can we have a blast. I also like to get out and terrorize the neighborhood on a four wheeler with friends. Nothing beats a bike ride where I don’t have to do all the work. Other than that the occasional dirt sprint car race in central Pa is a good way to spend a summer night.
ST: We actually meant job wise.
James: Oh you meant the thing that supports this whole operation. I manage a family owned auto repair shop in Whitehouse, New Jersey. It is not very demanding of my time so I have a flexible schedule. Some race registrations ask for my occupation and I always like to have a little fun with that, each race is different.
ST: We could elaborate on that but let us talk about your kids.
James: I have two kids, my son James aka Jac who is three and my daughter Macy who is one. They come to most of my events to cheer me on. It is amazing how much they have changed my outlook on life for the better. It goes without saying that my wife Jami has been very supportive over the past few years. She keeps the ship sailing straight. Sometimes I am absolutely worthless and she takes up the slack. I sure there are many athletes out there that know exactly what I’m talking about, including you Herbert.
ST: What does your training look like?
James Doug Clark, who I think you know, has been my coach from the beginning. Great guy and great coach plus at forty four years old he still has a lot of speed. Doug has always been about time management and efficiency in training. I'm not sure if what I do is a lot or a little compared to some of the other age group athletes. The biggest month I had was this year in April while preparing for Ironman Texas. I was training around 25 hours a week during that time with a recovery week in between. And yes that beat me up but I felt prepared for Texas. When I'm not building for an Ironman training ranges from 10 to 15 hours. It varies a lot through the summer.
ST: How are those heavy weeks broken down in terms of the various disciplines and how does that compare to your regular weeks?
James: The work load changes slightly week to week but swimming is around 10-15 thousand yards, biking about 300 miles, and running around 50 miles. Sorry folks I don't use the metric system very often. That is a big week for me and all of it is done solo for the most part. Like many athletes I will add a ride or run just to push the limits a little more if I feel good. Regular weeks drop off in volume but I will focus more on intensity. That speed, power stuff really hurts.
ST: Anything else we should know?
James: A big thank you to our troops and veterans that have served and continue to serve our great nation.
In another life I would like to be a fighter pilot but for now I really enjoy racing triathlons. Thanks Herbert and to all that contribute to slowtwitch.
