Kyle Leto was first out of the water at the recent Rohto Ironman 70.3 California event and ended up in 8th place after being out-sprinted to the line by Ben Hoffman. This first year Pro though is more so focused on ITU racing and 70.3 California was his first race at that distance. Less than a year ago, Leto won the Wildflower Olympic distance triathlon representing the University of California at Davis.
Slowtwitch: Kyle, thank you very much for the chat.
Kyle: You are very welcome. I constantly check Slowtwitch for new articles and interviews so I am excited to have this opportunity.
ST: Well, you had a nice finish in Oceanside and we wanted to know more about your day there.
Kyle: I would have liked to have come out on the winning end of that sprint finish but I am happy with the result. This was my first 70.3 race and I have a lot that I need to learn to be more competitive. I think that with a little different training and some mistakes that I made in the race that I could have had an even better result.
ST: That is right, you and Ben Hoffman sprinted for the line. Who caught whom?
Kyle: Ben caught me at probably about 12.5 miles in. After he went by, I just tried to gather myself and knew that I was about to be in a lot of pain. I knew I wouldn't have much left for a sprint so I tried to pick up the pace with maybe 400 left, but I didn't have enough to gap him and at the end he won the race. We both just collapsed at the finish line.
ST: But you were first out of the water and beat some very fast swimmers back to the pier in Oceanside Harbor. What was your plan for the swim and did it pan out as you thought?
Kyle: I always plan on taking the swim out pretty hard. I train with John Dahlz and I knew that he would have some early speed but I knew that I could rely on the second half of the swim to take the lead. Because of my swimming background I try to use that to my advantage the best I can. My goal was to be first out of the water and I knew that would be tough with such a great field so I was happy with that.
ST: How did the rest of your day go?
Kyle: I thought it went well. Because this distance was new to me I was pretty conservative on the bike; especially in the early parts of the race. I haven’t done enough training specifically for a 70.3 race and I think that really took its effect at about mile 10 of the run. I was feeling good and holding pace up to that point. When I was passed at the very end of the race I was actually happy to just be able to make it a sprint finish because I really didn’t have anything left.
ST: What do you think about the race course itself?
Kyle: It was a really hard course. It seemed that we had a head wind the entire time and it is obviously very hilly. I was lucky enough to have a friend that is stationed at Camp Pendleton so he was able to drive me around the course the day before which was a huge help. I knew that the second half of the bike would be really hard. The run course was great and was it was awesome to have so many people cheering at the race. It seemed as if people were lined along the entire run course. It truly was an amazing course for a race.
ST: What race is next?
Kyle: I will be racing at St. Anthony’s next. I will try to get a little running speed before then and hopefully be competitive in what is an extremely strong field.
ST: What else is on your schedule for 2010?
Kyle: A lot of my schedule is still up in the air. I am still waiting to find out if I will be on the World University Games team and depending on that my schedule will vary. I am also trying to get some points in the ITU circuit so that I can start going to some bigger races. I will also be doing some non drafting Olympics; some of the TriCal, Rev3, and Lifetime races. I will also be doing at least one other 70.3 race before Clearwater. Unfortunately, with not knowing which ITU races I can get into right now a lot of my schedule is decided last minute.
ST: Would you say that racing ITU events is currently the priority?
Kyle: I would say that it is right now. I want to mix in some non-drafting Olympics and 70.3 races but my main focus right now is getting to WCS races and training for the Olympics.
ST: Your background is swimming presumably?
Kyle: I swam for distance free for UC Davis from 2004-2008. I had two quarters left of school and since I didn’t redshirt a year I was out of eligibility but I didn’t feel that I was ready to be done competing. I had some friends that had picked up triathlon and thought I would give it a try. I spent a few months just swimming, biking, and running whenever I felt like it and did my first race in the fall of 2008. After that race I was hooked but still was just doing it for fun. I then joined the UC Davis triathlon team for the 2009 season and that is where I met my coach John Hansen and that is when I really started training for triathlon.
ST: So you really barely have turned Pro?
Kyle: Yeah I have been a pro for less than a year. It will be a year this June. It has been an interesting ride so far.
ST: What would you consider your best result to date?
Kyle: Even though it was an amateur race I was really proud of my win at Wildflower last year in 2009. So many athletes really started their careers at that race and winning that race was a big honor for me.
ST: Do you ever get asked if you are related to Chris Lieto, even though your name is clearly different?
Kyle: Haha it is funny that you mentioned that. I don’t think I was called by my real name during that entire race. I was called Leto (with a short e…the pronunciation of my last name is actually with a long e.), Lieto, and Chris. I thought it was funny that people were yelling “go Chris” while I was running. The next time I am riding with Chris I am going to tell him that I get more attention for him at a race than I do for myself.
ST: Tell us about your training.
Kyle: I focus mainly on training for draft legal Olympic distance racing. The biggest difficulty that I have with training is that I have a job so we are constantly trying to manage that with what I need to be doing for training. My coach and I have been very conservative with my run training because I have been a swimmer for my entire life and we have been doing out best to avoid doing too much too fast. This past winter was the first time that I have done a lot of base work for running. Our goal of doing Oceanside was to train for a race that would allow me to have a little bigger base and then focus on some speed for Olympic distance races. After this past race though I wouldn’t mind actually training for some 70.3 races and seeing what I can do.
ST: How are things going for you in terms of sponsorship?
Kyle: Things are going alright. I would say my full time job and my parents are probably my biggest sponsors. I am new to this sport so I have been trying to learn the process of getting sponsors. Kiwami has been a huge supporter for over a year now and they have been great. I receive coaching from my coach who works with Athleticamps which is based out of Sacramento. Davis Wheelworks which is a bike shop where I went to school has been helping me out with my bikes for the past year and this season as well. I recently picked up Blue 70, which was cool because when I didn’t have a wetsuit sponsor I was still wearing a Blue 70 wetsuit. I also recently started using Rudy Project glasses and helmets and the day before Oceanside I found out that I was selected to the PowerBar Elite team.
ST: Do you follow other sports?
Kyle: I am a huge sports fan. I follow everything from the major league sports (my pro teams are the Sharks, Niners, and A’s), college sports, cycling, and of course everything to do with triathlon. Whether I am competing, coaching, or with some other avenue I will always want to be involved in sport.
ST: Any special diet you subscribe to?
Kyle: I don’t really have any diet. Nutrition is actually something that I have been trying to focus on a little more recently. I developed bad nutrition habits with swimming. Swimmers eat whatever they want and as much as they want and usually not at the best times. It was not uncommon for me to not eat before workouts and then swim for 3 hours with only having about a half bottle of sports drink. I have been trying hard to break habits like that. I still eat a lot and sometimes I think I train to eat.
ST: What is your favorite food then?
Kyle: I could probably eat good Mexican food for the rest of my life and be content.
ST: What about music?
Kyle: I really listen to everything. Recently I have been listening to a lot of house music before races. My Ipod has everything from hip hop to country.
ST: What was the last book you read?
Kyle: Unfortunately it has been a long time since I have read a book for fun but I think the last one I read was a book about a Navy Seal that was the only survivor after an attack in Afghanistan called the Lone Survivor.
ST: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Kyle: I see myself racing at the highest level of ITU racing. Hopefully making a big impact on the WCS series and representing the United States. If that question was “where do I see myself in 6.5 years” I would have said I see myself as an Olympian. I also want to be very competitive in 70.3 races and hopefully over the next few years I will be having a big impact at the world championships. I just want to keep training and racing because that is what I love to do. Hopefully sometime soon I will be able to find something that will allow me to give triathlon a more full time commitment, which will help me in achieving my goals.
ST: Is there anything else we should know about you?
Kyle: I just truly love the sport of triathlon. I get so much motivation from seeing people do their first race and falling in love with it. I have a goal of trying to get my Dad to a triathlon; I think I am getting closer to convincing him.
