2015 has already been a bit of an emotional roller coaster season for Cameron Dye. A nice win at St. Anthony's Triathlon, his second at this popular Florida event, but the demise of Life Time Fitness pro purse weighed heavy on the Colorado based pro.
Slowtwitch: Congratulations on the nice win at St. Anthony’s Triathlon.
Cameron Dye: Thank you, that was a good one.
ST: But it is a bit crazy with these distance races going away for pros.
Cam: Yeah, basically the extinction of the distance. That is at least what it seems like.
ST: Indeed there aren’t that many options left.
Cam: There are about 4 races that are standalone Olympic distance races, and that is only if you count Alcatraz, which is kind of a weird distance. Basically our hands are forced, either retire, race a lot less or go long.
ST: Before we talk about other options, let us go over tis race. How many times have you done St. Anthony’s?
Cam: I think this was my 7th in a row. It is likely the one I have been doing for the longest time, as I have only been a pro for 8 years.
ST: Was this your second win there, or third?
Cam: The second one. The other was in 2010.
ST: That was a decent sized gap between those two wins.
Cam: Yeah, this is definitely a race where you get some issues when you get too many people on the course. It ended up being a big draft pack last year and that is never going to favor my strengths. This year we had a smaller field and tough conditions, and those are both good things for me. It is one of my favorite races and that is why I go back every year.
ST: I saw somewhere where it said you were first out of the water, and somewhere else third. Which is correct?
Cam: I was third. Tommy Zafares led out of the water and he had Eric Lagerstrom on his feet. I in return was on the feet of Eric and we had about 30 seconds maybe on the group.
ST: Where did you make your move on the bike?
Cam: It was maybe 1km into the race and I hit it hard as soon as soon as I had my feet in and we were over the cobbles. There was a pretty strong headwind right away and I used that to my advantage.
ST: The last time I was there it was eight laps on the bike course. What is it like now?
Cam: No, no, it is a single lap course, and it has been the same every year I have done it. The last time it was 8 laps when it still was a World Cup, and that was before I was doing it. It is just a single loop and does a couple long straight out and backs, plus a lollipop that goes around the golf course.
ST: Got you, but I guess that shows how old I am.
Cam: Well it would have been fun to do one of those ITU events back in the day.
ST: Did you have a pretty good idea where you were in relationship to those behind you because of some of these out and back sections?
Cam: There is an out and back maybe at mile four and that gives you a good idea where everyone is coming out of the water. I saw that I already had a big gap over Eric and an even bigger advantage over the big group. At the final checkpoint [32km] I realized that I had 2 minutes or so and I told myself to push it all the way in and maximize that advantage. I think I ended up starting the run about 2:58 ahead.
ST: Did you feel good as you started the run and felt that around 3 minutes ought to be sufficient?
Cam: Well, it was hot and the humidity was bad, and that is always an issue for me so early in the season. But I felt 3 minutes was reasonable and if I held it together it should be enough. However if you have a guy like Zafares who can run 30 flat in an ITU race, 3 minutes is still a lot but maybe not enough. So I still had to have a pretty good run. The first 5k is and out and back and I pushed it pretty hard on the out section to hopefully demoralize people on the way back. It turned out he was chewing up about 1 minute ever 5 km, and I felt pretty good about my run. It was hot and windy but definitely pleased how it went.
ST: Did that title mean more than the first one, or was it the other way around?
Cam: No I didn’t think this one meant more, that first title was my first real professional win. I shared that podium with Greg Bennett and Craig Alexander and that is when I became a professional in my own mind. So that one will likely always be my favorite and most memorable win, unless I am going to win a world title. But this had a lot of satisfaction because I had a struggle the last 3 years where I had a good swim, came off the bike in the lead, and then either struggled with the heat or got caught by the pack.
ST: So what is next for you?
Cam: I will be doing Challenge Knoxville in 3 weeks and then Alcatraz.
ST: Earlier we talked about the demise of these pro purse Olympic distance events and how that forces you hand. I doubt you will retire.
Cam: No, but there were definitely a couple days when Life Time Fitness announced they were done where I contemplated if I had the desire to go on. I had always kind of considered going longer, but I had envisioned doing it on my own terms. And not being told in February, “hey, your race plan is completely out of the window.” It was a bit of a scramble, but I will throw in a few 70.3 and Challenge races where the courses will suit me and figure out the distance. There are some guys who did it right away, but others need a year or more to figure out nutrition and the strategy part of it. I will want to give myself the best chance to succeed.
ST: What are some of the longer bike sessions you do currently?
Cam: My cycling strength carries over well to the longer distance. I already do 4, 5 to 6 hour rides occasionally during the summer and I do not think that the volume thing is going to be a big issue for me, as far as the cycling goes. The running, put in a few more miles, and even that is mostly tweaking what I am currently doing wrong.
ST: As a strong swimmer however, your advantage is not as great in a half.
Cam: That is sort of the most frustrating part for me. The Olympic distance is as close as you get to a true triathlon and where the swim actually matters. The run is only twice as long as the swim as opposed to in a half where you swim about 20 minutes and then run about 1:15. But I have won more races on the bike than I ever have in the swim, and the fact that the bike more than doubles suits my strength.
ST: Have you penciled in a few of these races already?
Cam: This is still to be determined at this point. I will start with Challenge Knoxville, and that is a course I know and I am kind of excited to test it out there. It will be a first good hit out and then we will see how that goes. I will look at the calendar after that, but I still want to focus on the few Olympic distance events there are. At this point though I am not really committed to any races.
ST: I had forgotten that Challenge Knoxville [formerly Rev3 Knoxville] is now a half distance race.
Cam: When Challenge took over Rev3 they got rid of all their Olympic events. That event went from previously being an Olympic distance race to an odd distance [40 mile bike, 10 mile run] last year, and now to a full half.
ST: Anything else?
Cam: I guess I just want to make sure to thank all the people that have supported my career thus far, whether that be my amazing family, my sponsors, or my coach and support crew. What I have done so far in this sport wouldn't have happened without their help, and now as I start a new chapter in my career they will all be a huge part of that transition.
ST: Well, good luck in Knoxville and thanks for your time.
Cam: Thank you Herbert.
The website for Cameron Dye is camerondye.com and his twitter handle is @camdyetri.
