Tim Reed – smuggling in earnest
Upcoming Aussie Pro Tim Reed took the win at Canberra 70.3 and had a very solid 2011 season. He talked to slowtwitch about racing, the love of his life, why he isn't racing ITU and elaborated on being a budgie smuggler.
Slowtwitch: Tim, thank you for the chat.
Tim: No worries at all. Thank you.
ST: We assume you are back in Australia right now, or are you snow shoeing in Boulder?
Tim: I’m too skinny for winter so I’m living the endless summer. I’m currently in beautiful Byron Bay, Australia
ST: How about surfing?
Tim: I get out there. I would be a contender for the worst surfer in Byron Bay. I think I mainly surf just so I have something to talk about with the locals.
ST: Have you recovered from Laguna Phuket and the holidays?
Tim: I’m getting there. Physically I recover from racing very quickly however mentally, doing nineteen races last season I couldn’t wait to have a break from traveling. I had three weeks off training and am now back building a much needed solid aerobic base.
ST: Which took a bigger toll?
Tim: Ha, when you’re away so much and you come home, there are so many friends and family to catch up with and compulsary partying to get done so sometimes I’m not sure how restful holidays are. I’m not good at resting so I’m quite happy with that.
ST: Looking back at 2011, would it be fair to say that you had a very nice season? Not that your 2010 one was too shabby.
Tim: Like most athletes I’m quite critical of myself and quite confident in what I’m capable of… or perhaps just plain arrogant. Which is why I wouldn’t describe it as very good but I would certainly describe it as an improvement. If I keep improving am never unhappy. The last two years have been steep learning curves. Up until 2009 I always fitted triathlon around a busy work schedule and so I never made the time to do the strength training, worry about nutrition, sleep or get massages, physio or other body work. So when I turned pro I nearly doubled my training but still didn’t include those other important aspects of being a professional athlete and coupled with being hit by a car paid the price with my body breaking down in both years with injuries. Finally after 3 months only spinning on my mountain bike at the start of 2012 with a sacral stress fracture I woke up to myself and become a lot more professional doing everything necessary to keep the body at optimal function.
Since returning from the States I also worked out that I was completely anaemic due to a gluten intolerance which I hope explains why some races I would feel invincible and others I would feel horrible. I’ve felt amazing in races since addressing that.
Sorry to ramble, I guess I learnt through 2012 to simply be a more complete professional and that there is a lot more to good performance besides just training hard.
ST: Tim, it is better to ramble than to say nothing, especially in an interview
Tim: Phew, because on certain topics I do tend to go on.
ST: Can you go on about your highlights of 2011?
Tim: Non triathlon – Getting engaged to my incredible fiancée Monica! She is so amazing at helping me keeping everything in perpective and making me generally such a happy person. Frankly, I’m way out of my league.
Triathlon – It would be easy to pick my first 70.3 victory however that came without too much of a fight and I love a fight. I would have to say Phuket 70.3 and the Nepean Triathlon.
Phuket 70.3 I suffered a puncture 82kms into the bike after riding through crazy condition with all the main hitters. Funnily enough the support motorbike, which had our spare wheels, had crashed with the race official just a few kms earlier. A year ago I would have pulled out with the same circumstances however I’ve learnt never to give up so rode the rim and despite crashing in the process and losing 5 minutes was able to run my way back from 10th to 4th place catching guys that I’ve idolised since starting the sport.
Nepean Tri is the oldest race in Australia with a very rich history of athletes that have competed there. It is raced by some of the Aussie ITU guys, some of whom look at non-drafting racing as second tier. The race is traditionally a group ride with the fastest runner winning. I rode really well that day and was able to win the race on the bike – which was refreshing having been labelled before as only a good runner.
ST: Which label would you give yourself?
Tim: Hard to say. I’ve had my best short course races through a strong bike leg and my best long course races through my running. One thing is for sure,
I’m not a swimmer. Although it is steadily improving.
ST: You seem to also have good shot course running speed, so why no quest for Olympic glory?
Tim: Of course, the opportunity to go to the Olympics is every kid's dream and I'm no exception. I'm especially interested now that there is a possibility of the relay triathlon at future Olympics where the 2nd and 3rd athlete will not be in a pack on the bike and have to be super strong across all three disciplines. However for me to be seriously interested (and start a great deal of work on my swimming) the system would have to drastically change in Australia. I'm going to get in trouble for saying this but I think the more people that speak out about it the greater the chance of change.
The system greatly favors staff but does relatively little for the athletes. It is going to be very difficult to change because the people that can make the changes aren't going to want to upset the equilibrium and potentially risk losing their salary. Triathlon Australia has money. Unfortunately nearly all that money is spent on lining the pockets of the coaches and administration who are 'in the system'. I've heard, and I could be wrong that only one athlete is actually receiving any form of a small supportive salary. Yes, there are athletes getting some of their expenses looked after but this doesn't help the athlete it just breeds dependency. Then when many athletes are booted out of the system, they have nothing saved and lack the drive necessary to make it as a pro in the real world without someone looking after where there next meal comes from.
Sure money should not be the number one reason that athletes do things but the reality is I want triathlon to be my job and to able to support a family. When I look at what the top Aussie long course guys are making and their lifestyle then look at what the top Aussie ITU guys are making and their lifestyle it's a no brainer. I have no desire to drop everything, to be told to go into camp for x number of months in Europe without my (soon to be) wife, not be allowed to race any non-drafting races or have personal sponsors and have to train under coaches I don't wish to, some of whom have nice exercise physiology degrees but highly questionable coaching methods with a knack for injuring and burning out athletes.
At the moment all the Australian Olympic spots are discretionary. In a completely objective sport like triathlon this is ludicrous. Sure perhaps one spot out of three could be discretionary – to have a domestique for the other two guys, but three?
It could be such a simple system. Athletes have to accrue points to get World Cup Starts. Then the top athletes get points at World Cup races with the places rolling down if the top guys decline, then the highest ranked athletes get Olympic spots. If I was ever to go or not go to the Olympics I want it to be because I was good or was not good enough to qualify, not because I was chosen by a couple of people who I'd kept on side. If the funding was redirected from all the coaches and admin into an television friendly elite national series, and an incentive based scheme that paid athletes for their race performance or gave top ranked athletes a salary Australia's ITU depth and performance would be vastly improved.
I could go on but I'll take a few deep breaths and leave it there.
ST: On that note let us talk about what you are actually doing. Will you race Port Macquarie again in 2012 and will we see another runner-up spot or the top of the podium?
Tim: Ha, would be sort of weird if I said you would see a runner up finish!
Clayton Fettell who won this year was outstanding and will be gunning for it again. We both train under Grant Giles Aeromax Team along with a lot of other great pros. I love training with Clayton especially in the pool as his swim stroke is so beautiful it’s a moving artwork. He is very hard to beat because when he has done the work he truly believes that he is the most deserving winner and will never 2nd guess his plan of demolishing everyone with his swim/bike combo. It’s very hard to beat guys that are convinced of their superiority on the starting line. Watch out for him at the front of the race in Kona for quite some time. I think he is very beatable but it will take a different preperation and different race tactics to last year.
ST: How about defending the title in Canberra?
Tim: Yes, for sure. A hard, fair course to finish 2012.
ST: It has not been that long ago when you raced as an age grouper in Kona. Is your goal to return to the Big Island as a Pro or are you content with the mix of races you are doing currently?
Tim: As I mentioned, I spent the past two years getting my body right and injury proof hence I was only averaging about 60kms a week of running which is simply not enough to have the strength endurance for Ironman. However now I’m back doing the long runs I love and riding way more per week then I did in two weeks racing age group Ironman is definitely back in the sights. At the moment my plan is for 2013 to be all about going back to Hawaii and seeing what is possible.
ST: We have to ask you, are you a budgie smuggler?
Tim: I certainly love to smuggle. I’ve copped some rather critical accusations that it’s simply a blatant attempt at trying to gain some publicity and attention. The accusers are spot on. It’s so difficult to distinguish your self and make a buck as a pro triathlete and I see wearing budgy smugglers as a point of difference.
However I never do anything in racing without a lot of thought and reasoning. We spend 30% of our energy keeping our body cool so my thinking is covering your thighs or wearing a full tri suit is not as heat efficient in long course racing as a crop top and smugglers although that’s not based on any hard data. Additionally, and people may find this hard to believe I have a lot less chafing in the budgies. It’s like a supportive bra for the man bits. My final excuse for the visual assault spectators have to suffer is that I love the history of the sport especially the old school era where smugglers and a tri top were the standard get up. I’m just trying to keep the old school alive.
ST: All well otherwise on the sponsorship front?
Tim: I’ve been very fortunate with sponsorship. I know everyone says this. However when a young athlete says he is turning pro and would like some assistance from a company it takes a big leap of faith from that company and Zoot, Kestrel and Budgy smuggler provided assistance from the outset. I’ll also be working with and using the amazing products of Vision/FSA and SIS sports nutrition for 2012 and hopefully many years beyond that. Nothing frustrates me more than athletes who have a ‘sponsorship is their right’ sort of attitude. I strongly believe that athletes need to do a lot more than just race for their sponsors and I know my current sponsors appreciate that I do that.
I know I can continue to improve over the next 10-15 years so want long term relationships with companies I can grow with and whose products I love. I’m off to a good start with the companies on board.
ST: Is there anything else we should know?
Tim: No, thank you for the opportunity to talk about myself. Monica doesn’t let me do that too often.
ST: Remember, she is out of your league.
Tim: Yes indeed. I’m reminded of that every time I look at her.
