Marcel Walkington Interview
Thanks for taking some time out to join me for a quick chat Marcel.
I am sure that many Triathletes that come through the clinic’s doors at SportsMyo will hopefully find it an interesting read and give them some excellent insights as to what an elite Olympic distance triathlete is doing every week to put themselves at the pointy end of their races.
For those of you reading that don’t know Marcel, he is the newly crowned Australian champion living in Melbourne training and racing with the Victorian Institute of Sport’s Triathlon Program.
We might kick things off by telling us a little bit about your race schedule so far for the year and what’s in store for the remainder of 2016?
Thanks Toby. Yeah, the race season started for me with just a local Gatorade race down in St Kilda. We VIS boys usually use these races as training and for a good hit out. So we used this race to prepare for our first main race, the Australian Olympic Distance Champs. Here I was lucky enough to take the win and also secure myself a spot on the u/23 world’s team for later this year in Cozumel, Mexico. Following this race, I had an Oceania Cup race in Takapuna, New Zealand. Here I finished second.
Just last weekend, I had a World Cup race in Mooloolaba, where I finished in 20th place. Wasn’t too bad of a result for me, considering that the field was quite strong.
It sounds like it has been a busy couple of months! Where are you at with your training at the moment, and what would a typical week involve for you across the three disciplines?
At the moment, I am in the middle of the race season. So training has basically been recovering from races and preparing for the upcoming races.
However, when in full training, a typical week would usually involve about 25km of swimming, 300km of riding and around 90km of running.
Within that volume, there is a fair bit of intensity. So, for instance, a hard swim session that we do might be 6-8x400m on 5:00 cycle coming in around 4:30. Or a hard run session for us could be 3x10min efforts at around 3:10 pace.
It sounds like a solid amount of training! What about outside of the swimming, riding and running? Do you incorporate any strength & conditioning?
Most certainly. Gym is one of those things that I have always considered a necessity with training. During the week, I would do three gym sessions per week. My gym program (designed by Harry Brennan from VIS) has a lot of stretching, mostly hips/quads/hamstrings/calves. I also do some weight exercises as well to strengthen my calves, glutes and core.
I enjoy doing gym a lot since it is one of the things where you are able to see your progress, whether it be lifting additional weight or being able to get more range in the stretches.
Nice, I think that will give some of my other athletes back at the clinic some good insights into what you typically do outside of the three triathlon disciplines to keep you performing at your best and allow your body to handle those sorts of training workloads.
What do you try to tick off when it comes to recovery around training, and do you have set times that you like to do these around training & racing?
Some of my recovery is incorporated into my gym sessions, for instance, the stretching aspect. As well as this, I would try to keep hydrated, especially leading into a race. I do this by drinking a lot of water and also having some sports drinks. Ice baths are one of the ones which I find hard because it hurts so much. But I would usually do it after a hard run session to cool off.
Another recovery method is also getting the massages. I try to get at least one per week, maybe more if I feel that my body needs it. I think it is a vital part of keeping your body in shape. Some weeks I don’t even feel that I need the massage, but it is always good to get it just to be sure that the body is in top shape.
That is a fair point you make. However, I don’t think I have come across an athlete who has not found ice baths a bit of a mental hurdle. So what has your favourite race been to date so far?
This is a tough one. There are a lot of countries that I have been to, and that itself has made the racing experience very enjoyable. But for the combination of favourite race and city, it would have to be Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic. The city there is absolutely stunning, so picturesque and beautiful. Then the race is really interesting; the swim is done in a lake, the ride over some steep hills through the city and then the run winding through the city streets. It is a really tough race since we ride up a 20+% steep gradient hill. However, it is so enjoyable at the same time.
Here is a random one for you. What is the most annoying habit of one of your training partners? Feel free to name and shame.
This is an interesting one. Because I spend so much time around the others, there are actually a few things which piss me off a little. We spend that much time together at training and overseas that we basically get sick of each other by the end of the year before our break (when we actually get to spend time away from each other!). However, one thing that does somewhat annoy me is when someone jumps in my lane to swim. We have set swim lanes that we have each designated ourselves at the VIS. I have the inside lane and have had it for the past three years now. So if someone tries to take my lane, I won’t be getting into another lane. They will just have to put up with swimming next to me.
Haha, that is an interesting one that someone could just go and claim your lane in the pool like that, an absolutely disgraceful performance. Before we wrap things up for the interview, is there anyone you would like to give a mention to?
Well, apart from the torture you sometimes give me with the massage and needling, your treatments are pretty handy! Additionally, coaches that I currently work with, Danielle Stefano and Harry Brennan, plus the other staff at the VIS. They certainly work well as a team and have helped a lot with my development as an athlete.
Also, my sponsors, Swift Carbon bikes and Brooks Running. It is their help to supply me with racing and training gear that I appreciate so much. It also means that I get to exercise in style and comfort!
No worries at all. Thanks for joining me to have a quick chat before heading out to New Zealand tomorrow for the Oceania Champs this weekend. Hopefully, the run of good form can continue!
For anyone interested in following Marcel’s progress, you can follow him on his social media accounts below.
Instagram @marcelwalkington
Twitter @walkingmarcel