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David McNamee

I'm Here To Win

By InnerVoice

October 11^th, 2019

I was a swimmer

Scotland certainly isn't a hotbed of triathlon, by any means. I come from a swimming background, a bit more of a traditional pursuit where I'm from. I joined my local swimming club when I was 8, and after a couple of years, I started to see quite a bit of success. The great distance swimmers at the time were the Australians, Grant Hackett, and Ian Thorpe, they were my heroes in the pool. They were the guys I wanted to be. Between 10 and 14 was where I hit my straps in the pool, and that wasn't a good thing. I was so driven that as soon as I tasted success, even at a young age, I overtrained. I was in the pool twelve times a week, doing crazy volume, and my Mom was so supportive, and she wanted to help me; however, she could. Training so much definitely gave me short term success, which I was chasing, but in hindsight, it limited my ability in the long-term. At the age of 14, I stopped improving.

When I look at who's helped me to get to where I am today, I think about some of the swim coaches I had growing up. In Scotland, I'd guess that 95% of the coaches aren't paid, they're doing it because they love the sport and want to help out. And it's not until you look back that you realize the sacrifices these people made. My first swim coach, she was at the pool at 6am every morning. As a young athlete, you take it for granted, but those types of people are there because they want to see you succeed, not only in sports but in life. Those are the people who've helped shape who I am today.

underrated

I was 18 when I entered my first triathlon, and it was even shorter than a sprint distance; the novice distance. Triathlon is something that you fall in love with and think it's awesome, or you hate it, and you never do it again. I very much caught the bug from that first race. It was boring following a black line up and down the pool for so long, and I wanted to try something different.

Now, I'm sometimes referred to as one of the most underrated triathletes in the world. Even though I've been on the podium at Kona twice in the last two years, people are still shocked. I understand it, though. I'm someone who loves to focus on the world championships in Hawaii. That means I don't always have the performances throughout the year to show I have the form. But people can have short memories. If you get on the podium in Kona one year, you can do it every single year. Being under the radar can be helpful, particularly for me. I like to go about doing what I do, and I don't care about what the outside world perceives. Not being a threat means I can avoid some of the spotlight and have extra breathing space to relax in my preparation.

I won't Fail

Sponsored by Unit Nutrition

I will never fail the rep after I have a mouth-rinse. I won't fail. I have a belief in myself and the product. When I'm right on the edge, it takes 10 seconds, I rinse with Unit Rinse, and I immediately feel a little bit sharper. Most of the time, in training, especially intense training, you mentally give up before your body does. You can always do more when things get tough. Your mentality can switch, and you start to tell yourself that you're tired or that it hurts too much.

Unit Rinse gives me a mental stimulation and a belief that I can actually keep going. It's a little reward and helps me look forward to hard-intense workouts. That's how I build confidence in my ability to perform. When I complete tough workouts week after week, the ones I'm not sure I'm going to get through, I walk away knowing I can push through when those doubts appear. We all remember those sessions when you're halfway through, and you wonder how you're going to get to the end.

Carbohydrate mouth-rinsing is not a new concept, there are decades of research that show the benefits. For me, the fact that Unit Rinse is a product designed for this purpose is significant; you rarely find a product that is backed by science and proven in the field.

"Last year, the commentators asked me how my life has transformed after being on the podium the year before. I told them that my life was good beforehand, and I still do the same things every day. I didn't think finishing third in Hawaii was going to be this magical transformation in my life - and I don't need it to be."

trust in my team

My mindset has developed over time. I have confidence in myself as an athlete and trust in the people that I work with. I know I've done everything possible to get to Kona in the best possible shape. I'm lucky in that the people around me don't bullshit; if they think I'm in bad shape or I'm doing something wrong, they'll tell me. I have a great relationship with my coach, Alex Vega, who is one of my best friends. He's been in pro cycling for 20 years, and we work together on my running. He's always honest, and if he thinks that I'm in bad shape or that I can't compete with the best in the world, he'll tell me. A lot of people have a coach who is always supportive, but if you've got someone telling you that you're in the best shape 12 months a year, then something is wrong. I like that I've got people like Alex who give me confidence but are willing to point out when I'm not in the best shape.

I do like to look back at my training logs, and the good thing is they're all online nowadays. I'll look back at the last three or four months and think 'that's impressive,' 'that's an impressive session,' or 'that's better than I did last year.' Especially as you taper down for the race, you can't have niggling doubts and be wondering if you've done enough. Sometimes you trick yourself into thinking you're not training well, or you've had a bad week, but when you can look back at months of work, those numbers don't lie.

Focused on kona

My hyper-focus on Kona comes from the fact I realize who I am and what drives me as an athlete. I know I will look back in 10 years and it'll be my results in Hawaii that I'm proudest of. Apart from me, Patrick Lange is the other one who takes this approach. If you look at Patrick, who's a two-time world champion, he's only ever won one Ironman outside of Kona. Do you think he's going to look back in 10 years and worry about the number of races he won?

I always give 100% in every race, but I don't worry about smashing every single race and being the best. I care about being the best when it matters. I know I'll get the best out of myself if I focus on one big event every year. For me, I know that mentally, I couldn't focus and be in the best possible shape in July, knowing that in October, I need to repeat it again. Some people can do it, but I'd be cooked if I tried it that way. I'm someone who, after the world championships are over, I like to relax and make time for much more of a normal life. My partner isn't a triathlete, so it's nice to go home and spend proper time with her and be with the people I love. They've all made sacrifices for the last eight or nine months for me, so it's nice to make time every year to give back.

It's not over until it's over

The thing that I keep on telling myself during races is that you never know what's going to happen. Especially in Hawaii, you know people fall apart, you know people have to walk. The bike is not my strength, so the last 50-60 kilometers, I have to be on top of my inner voice. I tell myself that I need to keep pushing as much as possible because the race is never over until it's over. In 2017, I was running fourth with 12 or 13 kilometers to go. I was a long way behind Sebastian Kienle, 3 or 4 minutes, so I thought that my best outcome was going to be finishing 4th. I was super stoked and happy with my performance. I mean...4th at the world championships. At that stage, I was only worried about getting caught from behind. But as I'm running along, someone on the side of the road starts yelling that I'm catching up and that I can get third. I thought to myself, "Shit! There are 7 kilometers of running left here; I'm a chance." Then, I could see Sebastian, and I could see he was struggling. It's not over until it's over.

Motivation throughout a race can be an interesting push-pull. Fear is an excellent driving force, and it was driving me to keep pushing, so I didn't lose 4th place. Hope is also a positive driving force, too, and it was driving me to try to catch Sebastian. Getting chased by people is motivational; chasing and catching people is motivational. With a couple of kilometers left in the marathon of the world championships, you're so tired that you go from one extreme to the next. Knowing how to capture and use the motivators that you need at that particular moment is important.

Enjoy what you're doing

I don't like to get up early in the mornings - I know that most people are already out there at 6am. Not me! You'll see me trucking along at 1 o'clock in the afternoon. I always feel much better later on in the day. My longest run session might be 16 or 17 kilometers. That's what I'm comfortable with, and that's what I enjoy. It's the same when I'm at my home base in Girona. I go to a local 25-meter swimming pool and swim by myself among all the seniors doing their aqua aerobics class. I know what I enjoy, so that's what I do.

There's an idea of what performance should look like, but one of the driving factors is to enjoy what you're doing because this is your life. You can force yourself to do something if you think it will give you benefit, but only over the short-term. If you told me to get up at 5am for the next 12 months to go swimming, and if I did, I'd be 2-seconds faster every hundred meters, I'd get excited. But then, six months later, I'd hate it, and all this negativity would start creeping in. If it's not realistic, and it's not something that inspires you, it's not going to work.

One of the great things about this sport is longevity - it's something you can do even into your forties. I was speaking to Joe Gambles the other day, and he's been doing triathlon at a high level for 21 years. He's only been able to do that by knowing what he enjoys and training that way. This isn't swimming where you've got six or seven years at the top, and you're retired by your late twenties. If you want to be like Joe and compete for twenty or twenty-five years, you may as well make damn sure you enjoy those twenty-five years.

Enjoy this Feature?

You can listen to the full interview between David and Travis McKenzie below on the INNERVOICE podcast

This Race will be special

Like last year, Josh Amberger will try to drag away a group of eight to ten guys in the swim. This year Jan Frodeno is racing, and he'll be in that swim group but won't be hanging around on the bike. This year's race is going to be special. People know they can't get off the bike and try to run with Patrick Lange, so if you have a weapon, you're going to use it. Josh has a weapon with his swim leg, and Jan Frodeno, Sebastian Kienle, and Cameron Wurf have a weapon with their bike leg. There's not much point holding onto those weapons, you may as well use them, especially since Patrick has gone back-to-back. A big determining factor in how the race goes will be how Jan swims, and Cameron swims. That's why this year's race is going to be so exciting.

I'm looking forward to Saturday's race, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens. For me, it's very much the biggest day of the year. Thank you to everyone out there for their support, I'm ready to go!

Footnotes

Words by David McNamee, Photos by James Mitchell for Unit Nutrition and as attributed, Cover photo courtesy of David McNamee, Edited by Cody Royle & Travis McKenzie, Published by NTSQ Sports Group

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FootNotes

Words by David McNamee, Photos by James Mitchell for Unit Nutrition and as attributed, Cover photo courtesy of David McNamee, Edited by Cody Royle & Travis McKenzie, Published by NTSQ Sports Group