Jonathan Caron, also known as Jonnyo on Slowtwitch, had an amazing 2007 season with a fantastic second place at Ironman Canada and a sixth place at Ironman Arizona. He talked to slowtwitch.com about training, racing and food fetishes.


ST: Jonnyo, you must be very proud of your 2007 season. Can you describe it for us?

Jonnyo: I had many highs this season! It started with Ironman Arizona where I finally broke the 9 h mark and took 6th overall in a pretty good field! This was a huge confidence builder. And the go 8:50 was a dream come true! I was the happiest person alive! I then followed them up with 2 Half Ironman victories in Canada and one of them was the National Championship. It was a goal of mine to have a national title and I got one! Finally, I had an amazing day at Ironman Canada. I was racing in front of my home crowd, on my home course, with my friends, coach and sponsors there to support me. It was a very special day for me. I took some big risk and it paid off with a second place and the fastest run of the day! I could not believe it!! Me a non runner! Looking at my finisher picture and seeing the clock at 8h39, that was something I would never thought possible but it all happen on a very special day! I wish I could re live this day!!!

On the low, I would say getting sick the day before the Hawaii Ironman and not having a real chance at competing. It was extremely frustration to be this fit but also this weak on such an important day. But I will be back for more!


ST: Can you describe a typical mid season training week for you?

Jonnyo: During the summer, most weeks will be around 30-35h of training with 20km of swimming at the most, 500-700km of riding and 80-120km of running. I do one or two threshold swims and the rest is Zone 2 swimming. Swimming is the area where I don’t want to waste too much energy during the week, better invest in the bike and run! I am on my bike 6 times a week. This includes two or three long rides from 4-7 h and a lot of steady and race pace riding. I do ride on both road bike and time trial bike during the week. I run every day and minimum of 50 minutes. I do one long run, one tempo run and once in a while I have a double run day!!!!

ST: Would you describe for us how you recover from an Ironman race?

Jonnyo: Well, I am allowed a week off. I will then eat a lot of ice cream and try to change my mind by going visiting friends or traveling. I need to keep myself busy as I get bored if I don’t have a mission! Then, I will follow up with 2 weeks of unstructured training, biking and swimming mostly and keep on eating a lot of chocolate and ice cream. I usually get back to normal training after 3 weeks!


ST: What is on schedule for you for 2008?

Jonnyo: I m presently in New Mexico and will be training here until Ironman Arizona. I will then do a few 70.3 and short course races in Canada and will get ready for Ironman Lake Placid. I do hope to finish the season with Ironman Hawaii and maybe Clearwater if things work out!


ST: Do you train with anyone on a regular basis?

Jonnyo: I do enjoy training alone a lot. But since I have been in Las Cruces, I have joined the New Mexico State University swim team. I don’t like to swim alone and to swim with a NCAA Div 1 swim team is great! The best part about it is that I joined the WOMENS swim team!!!! I am the only guy with 22 girls and I am doing just fine!!! I also ride from time to time with my friends Danny and Bigzach here in Las Cruces.

When I m back home in Penticton, I do a lot of training with Tom Evans. I been training with him for the past 4 years and have learned a lot from him. He as been very generous with his time and energy to help me out and I really enjoy training with him. We can ride for long 6 h rides side by side with only a few words exchanged and there is no need to say anything. We just like to get the work done and challenge ourselves!

ST: Do you consider yourself a disciplined in terms of training and nutrition?

Jonnyo: I am extremely focus on my goals but I do have a lot to learn and improve in terms of following the training plan. I don’t use a power meter, watch, heart rate monitor or any other measuring device. I often go a bit by feel to keep things fun, but sometimes get carried away from the training session goal. I am a very impulsive person and like to have things my way! So in this matter, I do have to improve and learn to stick to the plan! As for food, I would say I am extremely disciplined about it. I never miss my weekly ice cream rendezvous and track down religiously my daily vitamin and chocolate intake! I do allow myself some treats like vegetable and fruit once or twice a week to keep everything balanced, but I am definitely following a rigorous guideline!


ST: What or who inspired you to race triathlons?

Jonnyo: It was a bet with some friends at school. There was this half Ironman race near my home and my friends told me I could not finish the dam thing. I registered for the race, went to the running store and got some running shoes, then put some air in my tire and got a Speedo! I took the time also to put together a masterpiece training plan of one intensive week to tackle this race. I rode 90km every day for 4 successive days and took one day off. The next day, I did the race. It was a nightmare, got out of the water barely alive without a wetsuit, rode the 90km but forgot to eat and drink during the ride and took a amazing 2h42 minutes to cover the half marathon! I finished last in 6h42 minutes and lost 12 lbs. I got so sick after the race, and all I could think is how much fun it was!!!!!! I was hooked!!!


ST: Interesting. When did that happen and what is the name of the race?

Jonnyo: The race was the Demi Ironman de St-Agathe des Monts in Quebec and the year was 1995. WOW that was a long time ago!


ST: Can you tell us what has become your favorite race since then?

Jonnyo: Ironman Canada has been my favorite race so far. It s my home race! It is by far the most beautiful course I have ever raced on. I really like single loop course and mountain. Ironman Canada has everything and the community really loves and supports the race. I will be very sad this year to not be competing but will hopefully be there to support and volunteer!

ST: What is going on for you in terms of sponsorships?

Jonnyo: I m really excited to be riding with Cervelo for the next 2 seasons! It has been a dream since I started triathlon to ride on Cervelo. They are from my home province and been around since I started in the sport. They are very passionate about their product and have committed to help me out in my career and I couldn’t be happier! I should receive some new toys soon…. I am very impatient and really look forward to the UPS truck to shop up at the apartment!!! I also have many great announcements coming up but I do have to wait a bit more!!!


ST: Do you follow any other sports?

Jonnyo: I use to be a huge hockey fan but I don’t have cable so I can’t watch any games. I also love curling and can watch it forever during the Olympic tournament! I used to play!!!

I also enjoy women’s volleyball, women’s swimming, women’s tennis, women’s ice skating…

ST: What is your favorite and least favorite food?

Jonnyo: I really enjoy good quality food. When going out, I don’t mind going to a fancy place because I want the best of the best. My favorite place in Penticton is the little truck call JEFFERY FRIES that make the best poutine!!! Poutine is French fries, gravy and cheese cruds. But not everyone can appreciate this “fat free” plate!

I also like sushi, ice cream and anything that as chocolate and sugar! I don’t like spicy food, onions, milk and anything that has mint in it!


ST: Where do you think you’ll be in 5 years?

Jonnyo: I really hope to still be competing as a pro in this beautiful sport. I dream of been one of the main contender in Hawaii every year and travel the planet for training and racing! Maybe even have my picture in some big triathlon magazines!!! I also hope to have a home somewhere that isn’t my car! But I do have a hard time looking up this far ahead… I am focused on this season and that is all I can really see!


ST: Is there anything else we should know about you?

Jonnyo: A few years ago, at a training camp, we were under a very restrictive diet. Our coach was controlling our food intakes (fruit veggies oatmeal and honey only) and he pushes us so far pass the point of starvation that I swam a 15km swim set because he promise bacon if I did it. I finished the set but realized it was a lot of work. So I decided to escape the training house and break the curfew one night and go groceries shopping. I came back with bagels, cookies, butter, cheese cake, chocolate and cereals. I then started selling my treasures to the other athletes who were starving. Every night, they would come to my room and buy a bagel for $3 with the option of butter on it for an additional $1. It was a great time. ☺