“RMT Pro of the Week” – Heather & Trevor Wurtele Take Us Through Their Training

RankMyTri caught up with professional triathletes Heather Wurtele (8th Kona 2011, IM Champion Lake Placid, IM Champion St.George) and Trevor Wurtlele (IronMan Arizona top North American) to find out a bit about their training and racing.

Training

Take us through a typical week of training.

The weeks certainly change through the year. Most of the year we will get in the pool 6 days per week. Run 5 or 6 days per week with a few double run days. Ride 4 or 5 times per week. The ride volume in the winter is generally shorter and harder, as we get close to our big Ironman events we’ll put more emphasis on riding and running.

What are you excited about this coming season?

Heather is certainly excited to win some more Ironman events and nail a top 5 in Kona. Trevor has been getting closer and closer to a win so that’s driving his motivation for 2012.

What kit could you just not do without and what bit of kit are you most looking forward to in 2012

We love our Blue Competition Cycles bikes!! But really, there’s so many products we can’t do without….shoes, wetsuits, nutrition…on and on.

What was the best three bits of training advice you were ever given?

Train hard, train consistently. Get the work done. Do your job (as a professional).

Racing

What is your pre-race week training and nutrition like?

If it’s a big race where we’re going through a full taper, the week prior is quite easy – with a few efforts to keep things moving. Nutritionally, Heather is gluten free all year, but Trevor gets on board that wagon during race week.

Do you have any unique race rituals?

Nothing interesting. Lots of positive visualization.

Is there a part of a race that you really don’t look forward to and how do you deal with it?

The swim start. We both just try to stay mentally relaxed as possible, while giving everything we have physically. 10 minutes in, things hopefully calm down a bit and you can find your place in the pack.

People say that you have to race your own race, do you?

In an Ironman this is absolutely true. 70.3 and shorter, however, you have to react more to others in the race if you want to be there at the end.

The RMT 3!

If you weren’t a triathlete what would you be?

Heather would be a Biologist. Trevor would probably have stuck with Day Trading or working for a foreign exchange company.

If someone gave you $1million, what would you do with it?

Exactly what we’re doing now: Live in an RV and train and race full time…though the RV would be a lot nicer and we’d probably fly to races overseas more often.

What three words sum you up? (apart from swim, bike, run)

Heather: Tall, Tough, Driven

Trevor: Slim, Hard-Working, Modest