Jurgen Zack

Jurgen Zack bought a house in Vallendar in the early '90s, overlooking the east bank of the Rhine River, across the river from Koblenz. It's about a mile north of Germany's great intersection, the confluence of the Rhine and the Mosel.

You've got to climb with earnest to get to his house. And that's if you've got a car. It's much worse on the bike. The first question I asked him was if he still had that house in Vallendar and yes, he did, and yes, he still climbed it on the bike after every ride. This seems to be one of the idiosynchratic threads that tie athletes of this ilk. Scott Molina once wrote, " I moved to the top of tough hills just so I could go up them every day."

This interview was conducted at the Roxy, a North San Diego County health-food hotspot, at which Jurgen eats once weekly. Everybody in triathlon eats here, foreigners and locals alike. We talked for almost three hours about his health, his career, people in the sport, training methods, and where to find the best German beer in North County. In fact, this interview took place on short notice, perhaps in part because I toted along a mixed six-pack of Bitburger, Spaten, and Warsteiner in bottles. Also I, as a local, know the whereabouts of a German bakery hidden away in Escondido, and I did deliver two loaves of Volkornbrot so heavy they can't run it through their slicer without breaking the machine.

Handles like The Terminator and The Grip are well-known in triathlon circles the world over. In Germany The Chancellor is better known than either of the prior two. I don't honestly know whether we Americans training in Germany hung that nom de guerre on him or whether the Germans did. My wife and I spent many months over several years training in Koblenz during late Spring, and regardless what they call him we observed closehand the reverence in which the inhabitants of Rheinland Pfalz hold Zack. He is, perhaps, better known in that country than Dave Scott is known in America. He has probably not opened up like this in a long time, though, even for German readers, who know him best.

JZ: I was in San Diego training last September, and my back was really bad. So I went to a chiropracter and it was in spasm, he couldn't get it to go. The next day I was in a lot of trouble, pain shooting down my leg. I had an MRI done and I had a ruptured disc. I got an epidural in my spine, which cost me about $2000 and after that I just had to lie on my back for three days. It helped, the pain eased. But I realized I wasn't going to be able to do Hawaii, I had lost weeks of training, so I flew back to Germany. But it never got better after that, just worse, I couldn't run, it was really tough. [He looks up.] Hey, Petra!

[In walks Petra Wassiluk, German Olympic runner, 15:15 and 32 flat for five and ten-k, another German Snowbird who migrates to San Diego for warm-weather training. She joins us. Back to Jurgen...]

Back in Germany I saw five different doctors and got ten different opinions. I went to a neurologist, he said I had irreversible nerve damage in my right foot. He said just forget about racing. I had a foot-drop, where I couldn't [dorsiflex]. That went on for a month. I went to see a physiotherapist a few times, he helped me a little bit. But then I decided to take a vacation, not thinking about triathlon, not talking about triathlon. In November I just packed up and went to Thailand for a few weeks. Just to sit on the beach. I love country, I love the weather, I love the beaches. It helped.

ST: Let me interrupt for a moment. When, exactly, was your last race, before all this happened?

JZ: Last weekend in August, a race in Koblenz. Oh, and a beerathlon in Switzerland, which I won.

ST: That's surprising, those Swiss whom I know would be pretty good in a race like that.

JZ: I came home and I still had lots of days off. I'd take two days off and train for one day. Three days off and one day training. The weather was still bad in Germany. So I flew again to Thailand over the New Year. More warm weather, more relaxing. This is when I first began to take a few steps, running on the sand, swimming in the ocean. Things began to get better. When I came back it was January thirteenth. The fifteenth, in Germany, was Day One of my training.

JZ: It was terrible. I was running five miles in 7:30 pace, I couldn't go faster.

JZ: Oh, back was fine. But I was SO MUCH out of shape. But. It came back so quick, faster than I expected. I came to America and started riding. I did the Swami's ride [a fast local road-racer ride], it was my fifth ride since late September, and I was right there in the final sprint with [Olympic gold medalist] Steve Hegg. So it showed me I didn't lose much. The most important thing was I got all my motivation back. I was rested, I know what I want in the sport, I want to focus on the big races. I know I don't have many years left and I want to get the best out of them.

JZ: Most of my contracts go through 2001, so I'll honor those. But if I'm still feeling good, healthy, hungry, still can race at the elite level, I'll continue. But. Were I to win Ironman, then I'm gone. I've always believed that you finish on a high note. You end with your best interval in a speed workout. Like that. So if I won Hawaii I think I'd bow out.

ST: You are finally Triathlete of the Year in Germany this past year, which you co-share with Lothar Leder. Did the German people finally catch up with what you've achieved over the years, or what?

JZ: This is the first year the reader's voted. Previously it was the federation officials and the [short course] national team members. I had actually not so good a year, much better years previously. It helped that I was ranked the 14th overall German sportsman of the year, the only triathlete in the top fifty.

ST: To what do you attribute your ability to race so well in the big races relatively late in your career? Different training methods? Different tactics?

JZ: That's an American perspective. I've been winning races in Germany since 1983. But I've been hearing since the mid '80s that I was over-the-hill. First it was Rainer Muller, the darling of the German federation back then, who was the new star. Then Dirk Aschmoneit, then Olaf Sabatschus. And on and on. But here I still am. I outlasted them all.

HISTRAINING

ST: First thing, especially in keeping with the theme of this restaurant, you've had some big changes in diet over the years.

JZ: I was a vegetarian for seven years. For the last four of those years I knew that something was wrong. I had blood tests, and was very anemic, my iron level was low, so was my ferritin. My doctor gave me iron supplements which I took for a year, but they upset my stomach. Then I said, "I've had it." I started eating meat. I couldn't tolerate much at first, but within a month I was fine with it.

ST: We recently did a series on overtraining on Slowtwitch, a lot of top athletes relate to having dug themselves into a hole. Have you ever experienced any problems like that?

JZ: When I won Zofingen in '92 I thought, "I'm going the right way." And to [win Zofingen again] maybe I should do five percent extra, because I want to be even faster. I know Mark Allen is coming and he'll be prepared. So I did train a little bit more and I didn't even finish. I had some problems with my back, and I was probably also overtrained. It took me a while to realize I had to change my training and I have to admit that it was my coach at the time--who coached me for a year--the one time I had a triathlon coach in my career. He convinved me to ride less, and do more running. Not more running mileage, but more double runs, more variety in my running. Lots of speed, tempo, then two days off running, then a long run, like that. Not only my running was better, but my cycling too. [Looks up] Hey, there's Jochen and Nicole.

[Jochen Basting, former 7th place in German Ironman, fast runner, nice guy, with nice girlfriend Nicole. They've been dating for perhaps six or seven years. I rib Jochen for not having married her yet. Back to Jurgen...]

ST: You're doing more cadence stuff than you used to do. What kind of cadence do you ride at Ironman.

JZ: Between 80 and 95. When I race I go at a higher rate than when I train. I'll climb at 80 beats, and ride the flats at a higher rate. When I was 18 I was lucky to meet an older road-racer who had my riding in a fixed gear duing the winter and early season, between 100 and 130 beats per minute. I was able to ride 125 for two hours on the Mosel. In the early '90s I started doing two or three sessions a week of five-by-three-minutes at 120 beats-per-minute. Of course that's often during another workout, like during a long ride. But I also sometimes do sessions at a very low cadence.

ST: You mean strength sessions. Jimmy Riccitello does that. He does it up Mt. Lemon in Tucson, about a 7% grade, he does ten to twelve minute repeats in the big chainring, seated, at 30 beats. You're the only other guy I heard that does that besides Jimmy.

JZ: I'll ride maybe 50 beats up the hill. I learned it from Glen Cooke and from Spencer, years ago. But at a very low heart rate.

ST: Jimmy says the same thing, if you are riding at a high heart rate you're doing it wrong. But another question. Do you do much of your mileage on the road bike versus your tri bike?

JZ: Are you reading my mind? I was just about to mention that. I do 80 percent of my riding on my road bike, in a laid back road position. I only do the fast stuff on the tri bike. I'm uncomfortable riding the tri bike when going easy. I have a Roadrocket set up just for road, I do a lot of my miles on that.

ST: That's a pretty familiar story among a lot of top triathletes I know. Speaking of mileage, though, what is your mileage? What's a big week nowadays?

JZ: I don't do as much as I used to. A big bike week for me is 400 miles. And running, 60 miles, the biggest mileage running week I ever do now is 70 to 75. But I used to do more. Back in '93 I was doing 500 a week and running 80. But I have a lot more differentiation in my training now. Every session has a purpose. It's much more targeted. And I go for two peaks. I only do two long races a year now.

ST: So what does preparation for Germany entail, three intense weeks before the race?

JZ: Exactly. When I go back to Germany I'm motivated to see where I am. I want to see how my San Diego training worked for me. I ride my old routes. The terrain in San Diego is harder, it's all hills. The riding is slow. It's easier riding on the Mosel, faster. I test my speed on the canyons up the Mosel.

JZ: 9:08. That's last year, with a bunch of Australian pro cyclists who came to town.

ST: Oh, you mean you sleep more during the day. God forbid sleep cuts into your night life.

Note: Jurgen is not known as an early-to-bed kind of guy. We found this to be part of the culture in Koblenz when we stayed there. It was rare for the people we knew to be home asleep before midnight, including athletes, business-people, most everyone in the under-forty bracket. In fact, after this interview, which ended at 8:30PM, I was on my way home to turn in, the others were just warming up.

HIS OPINIONS OF HIS FELLOW COMPETITORS, AND THE TRIATHLON GOVERNING HEIRARCHY.

ST: Let's do some word-association. Except people, not things. I'll say a name and you say the first thing that comes to mind. OK?

JZ: OK.

ST: Thomas Hellriegel.

JZ: Nice guy.

ST: Peter Reid.

JZ: Peter who?

ST: Greg Welch.

JZ: Nicest guy in the sport.

ST: Wolfgang Dittrich.

JZ: Difficult. That's the word that comes to mind. But I always enjoyed his company.

[At this point I mention a couple of other names of prominent German athletes. His responses are direct and non-complimentary. I cannot argue with Zack's view. Nonetheless, we have decided to edit--omit, actually-- remarks that might not serve Zack's interests. Perhaps we shouldn't so edit. But that's what we've chosen to do.]

ST: Spencer Smith.

JZ: I consider him a friend and regret that I didn't train with him more.

ST: No hard feelings about the wager?

JZ: Absolutely not! I had a great time with that! In fact, I'd love to do it again.

JZ: He sold the soul of triathlon to be in the Olympics. As for me, I didn't fit into his system. We have a saying--roughly translated, it refers to when somebody walks over your body to get to a goal. Once, mine was the body he walked over.

[Zack refers to an incident several years ago, perhaps 1997, when he, Wolfgang Dittrich, and another German took part in an ITGP race in Koblenz. The German federation declared that anybody taking part in this race would be suspended from the federation, and not allowed to start sanctioned races. These athletes raced anyway. The DTU then asked the ITU to force USAT to declare Zack ineligible for Hawaii. The ITU sent such a letter to the USAT, but the U.S. federation ultimately declined to accede to the DTU's request. The ITU later said that they didn't take any particular side, but nonetheless were obliged to make the request on behalf of one of its daughter federations. Zack is not able to split these hairs so finely, and still chafes at the mention of the ITU].