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ATHLETES: MATTY REED’S JOURNEY TO BEIJING
Photos by Blue Creek Photography
June 5, 2008
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In 2006, Matty Reed was suffering from a mysterious virus and asthma. In 2008, fully recovered and with a renewed spirit, Matty qualified for the Olympic Triathlon team for the USA. If that wasn’t enough, his brother Shane qualified for the team in New Zealand, so they will be racing against each other in Beijing. We caught up with Matty to learn more about his race in Alabama and his road to the Olympics.
RBA: Matty, tell us about the event in Alabama?
Matty: I had a pretty bad swim, and was 40 seconds down on Andy Potts, so I rode solidly for the first mile and we were working all right together and I could see that Hunter was not really putting in a lot of effort, so I was a bit concerned. I was solid through the turns and we eventually caught Andy. I could see they were both saving their legs and it wasn’t in my plan to attack the bike, but when I saw those two taking it easy, I decided to put in one really hard attack to see if they would want to hurt their legs and chase me. With 5k to go, I attacked. It was into the wind; I sprinted full-speed for ten seconds, looked back and they were both looking at each other. Then I knew this was going to be good. I got 1k into the attack and had a time gap of 13 seconds. I hit it again, flew up the hill, had a tailwind, pushed it, and ended up at 25 seconds.
RBA: Is 25 seconds a comfortable lead going into the run?
Matty: Very comfortable. I’ve been focusing on my run and I felt pretty good, so 25 seconds was way more than I expected to have on them anyway.
RBA: What will it be like to line up with your brother, Shane?
Matty: He was so happy that I made it, that I qualified. I was thinking about it a lot on the run, competing with him in China. I won’t really be focusing on racing Shane; he will be out there, but he’s not my main focus.
RBA: If you had to make a prediction, will you or Shane win?
Matty: Shane has had a few more results at the World Cup level, but I’d say more times than not, I win!
RBA: Tell us about your virus and your struggle back?
Matty: I had a virus similar to Mono, that made me feel really weak. I spent a lot of time in bed. My hematocrit was at 36….It lasted for a good three or four months. It was just a slow journey to try and regain my health. It took all of 2007 to fully regain what I’d lost.
RBA: How has fatherhood changed your racing? [Matty has two young children]
Matty: I think about the kids at every race. My little girl was on my mind in Alabama, she was my inspiration. My son loves watching me race; he cheers me on and goes absolutely crazy!
RBA: Can you give any secret training tips to RBA readers who want to improve their bike leg of triathlons or get faster at TTs?
Matty: Sure, here is a typical in-season training week for me:
Monday: Hill reps on the bike, which varies week by week for variety, but always includes climbing steep hills.
Tuesday: A 30-minute time trial full speed or a really hard group ride.
Wednesday: Easier long ride.
Thursday: Hills again, or if I’m too tired, an easy one- to two-hour spin.
Friday: Five- to eight-minute time trial intervals.
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