The soft spoken James Cotter

December 16, 2011

Kiwi James Cotter had a very good season in 2010 but has been plagued with injuries recently. He resides in the US most of the time but the soft spoken Pro is currently back in New Zealand for 3 months.

Slowtwitch: How is Christchurch treating you and Lindsay?

James: We are having great time so far and are all set up for our 3-month journey. This year has been a tough one, with both of us not being able to meet some of our goals due to injuries and health problems. The opportunity to travel down to Christchurch presented itself in early October and we knew we had to jump on it. We figure it will be a great refresher trip for the both of us. We want to come back to health and have a very successful in 2012 in all avenues. We plan on capping off the trip with a top showing at Ironman New Zealand

ST: When did you guys actually arrive?

James: We started our travels out of Dallas on Friday, Nov 25th, right after Thanksgiving. We arrived on Sunday morning on the 27. It was long flight (13hrs) but I’m still very much entertained by video games, so I literally played games and watched movies the entire trip on the little in-flight TV console. The time went by very fast for me.

ST: Is Lindsay enjoying it so far?

James: She loves New Zealand, and I’m hoping she loves it enough to return here someday. Lindsay is a nutrition specialist and gluten intolerant gal. Being in New Zealand is kind of her dream because they really due cater to a gluten free diet. All the supermarkets, bakeries, and cafés have gluten free products at great prices. The gluten free bread here is out of this world good. The highlight of our trip will be going to Burger Fuel and downing on of their gluten free burgers! We feel in love with this place the last time we were in New Zealand in 09. Lindsay also just loves how clean the food is here. Meaning everything is pretty much preservative free and very natural. Well, compared to everything back in America.

ST: Does that mean you are a gluten-free eater by association?

James: My diet is gluten free by association, well, at least 90% of the time I am. It has been a great success changing over to gluten free. I feel much more energized during the day and know that I am able to absorb more nutrients out of each meal. I call my wife the Allen Lim of gluten free as she makes amazing gluten free meals pre and post big training days. These keep me fueled up and help me recover.

ST: Isn’t your family originally from New Zealand?

James: They are, yes. My Father was from Blenheim and my mother was from Christchurch. I was born in Christchurch then moved around a bit. I ended up back was in New Zealand for primary, intermediate, and high school. Once finished with high school, I moved to Hawaii to live with my old man and that is how I was introduced to triathlon at 18 years of age.

ST: I remember Kiwi Pros like Cam Brown staying with you and your dad in Kona many years ago. What came first, your triathlon interest and thus the Pro house guests, or the other way around?

James: It pretty much came hand in hand. Once I moved to Kona and started racing, our house became the mini kiwi base. Over the years we had Cameron Brown, Jo Lawn, Ute Muckel, and Simon Whitfield all stay at the place for Kona or for training camps at different times of the year. Peter Reid was over for dinner every now and then joining Whitfield. I just loved having everyone stay at the place since I was still new to the sport.

ST: That must have been a inspiring experience. Along those lines but not exactly related – although quite a few facilities in Christchurch have been damaged by the earthquakes, it appears from your We Noticed submission that you found a very nice pool there.

James: Yes, I did. Jellie Park is a 3-minute drive from where I’m staying and it was where I would swim on time a week in primary school. Since then they have added one more indoor 25 meter pool, which I have been doing most of my swimming in with Coach Roly. The outdoor 50m pool opened on Monday, but the weather still has been a little chilly in the a.m. and nobody has been very keen to step outside in the cold.

ST: Who are some of the folks you hang out with / train with there?

James: I have been riding with Reon Nolan who is an up and coming rider from the Scotty Bown cycling team. But as far as getting to know everybody in the tri circles here, I’m still working on that. The high performance team is down here in Christchurch at the moment and I have had the privilege to meet some of New Zealand’s finest ITU athletes. The highlight for me so far was getting to meet John Hellemans, who is one of New Zealand top triathlon coaches.

ST: You have been dealing with a knee injury. When did all that start?

James: Yes, I have been dealing with this injury on and off since Sept in 2010. I was on an easy 40 min recovery run after a week off, and 20 min in to the run, BAM! Felt as if someone had stabbed me in my knee with knife. Still not really sure as to what it was even after my MRI. The knee pain slowly went away for the first half of 2011 but would always appear when I passed a total of 10 miles for the week. It brought me to a screeching halt after World Champs in Vegas and it was then I had to face reality. Shut it down for good.

ST: Has the improvement been painfully slow?

James: Oh man! As an athlete, there is nothing worse than an injury preventing you from being able to do what you love doing, especially after all the confidence I gained in 2010. For the past 10 weeks I have been resting and going nuts, as well as driving my wife nuts. I had heard about a treatment called PRP (platelet rich plasma) that a fair amount of high profile athletes have been using lately, and after doing my research decided this was best route for me. I went to see Dr. Fullerton of ProloAustin two weeks ago and received the shot. Since then I have felt great. The swelling has gone down in my knee and I can run now without being in severe pain. It was a very interesting procedure and I pray as the training ramps up that I will be good to go. Along with PRP, I have been adding in more strength and flexibility into my training, which seems to be doing the trick. Hopefully I will be back to full strength in a few months time.

ST: We actually saw you at 70.3 Worlds in Las Vegas.

James: 70.3 Worlds was my last swim/bike/walk of the season. Unfortunately, like all triathletes, I have an ego and my pride thought I could put in a solid performance. Bottom line, I shouldn’t have lined up to start and if it wasn’t for Amanda Balding telling me to stop as to not cause further damage, I probably would have walked the entire run. Fantastic venue though, and I hope to compete in Vegas in better health in the future.

ST: We assume the race there does not make your season highlight reel.

James: That was a race I would like to forget about. However, it is always a lot of fun showing up to races to catch up with all the other pro athletes you meet at during the season. Catching up with sponsors is always fun as well. Feels good to be able to talk and thank all the people who make it possible for me to do what I love…compete.

ST: Which races or results would?

James: Well, we have to go back to 2010 for some highlight reel. 2010 started off slow until I had my breakout race at Eagleman getting second place and being on the podium for the first time in a 70.3 event. Then I had my first 70.3 win at Steelhead, which felt amazing. I also had a 3rd at Vineman, 4th at Lake Stevens, and Branson and 5th at Lubbock. It was a great year that gave me so much confidence until my knee stopped functioning the way I would have liked it to.

ST: What are you aiming for in 2012?

James: I would love to gain enough points to qualify for Kona again, and IMNZ will be my Ironman for the year. I would like to win another 70.3 and just make it through the season pain free. Injuries have a horrible affect on the mind, and having a pain free season would be huge for getting over the frustrations of 2011.

ST: All well on the sponsor front?

James: Sponsorship has been going well and I have aligned myself with great group of companies who take good care me through the good and the bad and I can‘t thank the following bunch enough. LeadDog Consulting, K-Swiss, Quintana Roo, Profile Design, First Endurance, and Purplepatch Fitness.

ST: Anything else new and exciting?

James: For me, I’m just excited to be eating all the foods I grew up on as a kid in New Zealand that you can’t find in Texas like: hokey pokey ice cream, sausage rolls, Moro bars, and all the great candy New Zealand has to offer. I think all the sugar and fat is having a great healing effect on my knee as well!

ST: With all the good candy in New Zealand, do you think you'll get to the start line at Ironman New Zealand a bit rounder?

James: Haha, you would think. When I found out about my imbalances and weaknesses I hit the gym hard 3-4 times a week for 10 weeks. Now that I'm doing lots of volume, the weight is just coming off despite eating so much candy! From now on I will hit the gym hard every off-season. I will admit that I eat all my candy and chocolate during training so there is better chance of it being used as fuel instead of insulation. Once January hits I will wean my self off.

ST: On that note I guess we’ll say goodbye and thanks.

James: Thank you very much for giving me the spotlight Herbert. I have always been a huge fan of Slowtwitch