Fraser Cartmell has now repeated his victory at Ironman 70.3 UK and appears eager to add a few other podium finishes to his growing resume. Slowtwitch sat down with the Scottish talent to find out more about his thoughts on training, racing, nutrition and more.
ST: Fraser, you just repeated your 70.3 UK triathlon victory. Did one of these wins mean more to you than the other and if so why?
Fraser: Although winning last year was fantastic, in that it acted as a natural stepping stone into the non drafting arena and away from the ITU circuit, defending was much more satisfying. I had always had that as my major goal for the first half of the season, and so it’s great when a plan works out. The UK 70.3 is such a tough race – you just have to look at our bike splits for proof, but the run is brutal, which I think is what really sets this race apart from others. It is hilly, really hilly but crucially mostly on grassy trail which is unusual. It suits me though; I’m a strength athlete and I’ll always fair better on that sort of terrain as opposed to the flat, fast runs at races like Oceanside and Clearwater.
ST: You race a variety of distances and XTERRA triathlons. If you had to choose one distance which one would you pick?
Fraser: Certainly I see myself as a versatile athlete, in that I reckon I can be on the start line in most types of race and actually be competitive. For instance last year I raced the ITU World Long Distance (2/80/20k) the one weekend in France and the following was racing Super Sprint (0.3/7/2.5k) draft legal in London – and actually did pretty well. I have dabbled with XTERRA as I love the mountain bike, and part of me thinks I could be a reasonable off road racer, but I fully respect how technically gifted those lads are. When I was training in South Africa earlier in the year Dan Hugo showed me how the rough stuff should be ridden and he is now leading the US Series after 3 events, so I understand I would have my work cut out. I do however feel I have found something I can work with in the shape of 70.3!
ST: What else do you have on your race schedule this season?
Fraser: Clearwater is the next major goal, where I would be delighted to improve on my 7th from last year. I intend on preparing for that in San Diego from mid September onwards, and will most probably include the Austin 70.3 in my block of work. Prior to then I shall stay at home in Scotland, with a training camp in Spain through July leading into the British National Olympic Champs on the 26th, leaving August and early September free to organize closer to the time.
ST: What is your athletic background and who or what inspired you to race triathlons?
Fraser: Like a lot of triathletes, I spent my childhood in and out of the swimming pool from the age of 7 to 15. Although I really wasn’t a very good swimmer, and whilst I had become bored of the competitions I really liked the training aspect. A friend of my folks suggested a local off road tri in ‘96 (since I didn’t have a fangle-dangled road bike!) and I soon became a part of the Scottish Junior squad, and was eventually funded via them for ITU racing till last year.
ST: Please describe a typical hard training week for us.
Fraser: During April whilst I was training in San Diego, getting ready for St Anthonys and Wildflower I had this template for 2 weeks:
Mon: Swim 5k (mostly aerobic), bike 2 hours easy, run easy 50 minutes
Tue: Swim 5k (45*100 on 1.15 cycle), bike 2.45 with 1 hour TT, 40 minute run off bike
Wed: Swim 4k easy, bike 3.15 steady, run 1 hour tempo
Thur: Swim 4k IM/drill mix, bike 2 steady, run 90 minutes off road
Fri: Bike 2.45 including 12*(2minutes on/2mins off) with 10k run off in 36minutes.
Sat: RECOVERY DAY swim easy 4k early, run 1 hour easy late
Sun: Bike 3 with 3*(20mins TT/ spin) - 20k run off as descending 4*5ks from 19.30 -18.00. Essentially 25k (yards) swim, 500k bike, 100k run (I use a GPS watch)
ST: How you typically spend the off-season?
Fraser: Well this past winter I only had a couple weeks down time after Clearwater and then headed off to South Africa to crack on with the miles. (which I think only now am I fully getting the benefit of) In previous years I was still studying, and so spent it the lecture theater I am afraid. Not very exciting!
ST: If you could change anything about the sport of triathlon, what would it be?
Fraser: I think it would be fantastic if there was a further event included in the Olympic schedule, and ideally one that really showcased the 3 disciplines at their fullest – be that a middle distance or XTERRA event, or even something like a short sharp individual time trial with qualification rounds and a final. I believe there is scope for a much wider audience for our sport and the Olympics are the best platform.
ST: How are things going for you in terms of sponsorship?
Fraser: It's slowly getting there! This year I am part of a new team here in the UK, set up by my friend Phil Gray, called T.R.I – www.totalracingint.com – which includes a mix of a pros, up-and-coming youngsters alongside age groupers really focused on specific Ironman and 70.3s. We really hope to create something a little different to what's currently happening in the UK, and already in our first few months it is exciting to see where things are going. Phil has sorted 2XU for all my racing and training gear, Ceepo for my TT bike, Xentis wheels and a new energy product that I am really pleased to be associated with called GENR8. I met Anthony Almada, the GENR8 CEO whilst in California and am blown away by his vision for the product.
ST: Do you follow any other sports?
Fraser: I always head to the sports section in the newspaper first and this year I will have the Olympics on 24/7! I like to follow many sports a little bit – I’ll keep tabs on the skiing in the winter, the tennis always gets my attention as does the motorsport spectrum – be it F1, World Rally or Moto GP. Being in the UK you can’t avoid the football (soccer ed.) either.
ST: Can you share with us some of your food likes and dislikes?
Fraser: I could live on cereal, of that I am sure. Thereafter it is the usual suspects I am afraid; pasta and pizza. I don’t dislike veggies, just don’t eat enough of them and my only real problems are with seafood of the wriggly and/or slimey nature and olives. Which can make eating out in Spain difficult if there is no Italian in sight!
ST: What about music? Anything you listen to more often?
Fraser: I have my mp3 with me during most training sessions, including an eclectic mix.
ST: What was the last book you read?
Fraser: I read Positively False by Floyd Landis and am just finishing off The Kite Runner, which is an interesting account of living in Afghanistan prior to the Russian Invasion through to Taliban rule.
ST: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Fraser: Still in the sport is the dream (and making an acceptable living would be nice!), but more specifically in 2014 Glasgow hosts the Commonwealth Games, in which Triathlon will be included. I think that experience of racing for you own nation, at home on the big stage, would be fantastic.
ST: Is there anything else we should know about you?
Fraser: I studied Chemical Engineering at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh.
Fraser Cartmell's website is frasercartmell.com
