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Interview with Pablo Dapena
Cover photography: @Activ'images-Jacvan
Pablo Dapena is already a reference in the triathlon of our country. Current champion of Spain of LD and surely one of the most versatile triathletes of the national scene, has surprised us these last weeks with impressive results. Being second in Challenge Roma and having declared champion of Challenge Mogán in two consecutive weeks, ratifying his great state of form and placing his name among the world elite.
Hello Pablo, we would like to open the interview referring to a tweet you published after your victory in Challenge Mogán. In it you declared:
"Surprising performance, unexpected result"
6 days after playing the @challenge_roma I presented myself with the doubt of how the body would answer in the @ChallengeMGC with a long distance world star. Let's be realistic, let's do the impossible pic.twitter.com/espv5crl6h - Pablo Dapena Gonzale (@pablitopiny) April 22, 2018
You went for everything and you arrived the first, surpassing rivals like Patrick Lange and Andi Böcherrer with an impressive foot race. We understand what you argued on your tweet that you did not have such a result.
Yes, as the Tweet says, surprising and unexpected. In Mogán they were not only Patrick Lange and Andi Boecherer, but the members of the powerful BMC team: Patrick Nilsson and Bart Airnouts. People who know what it is to do Top 10 in Kona ... Sven Riederer, medalist in some JJOO, Gustavo Rodriguez, master and lord of almost all triathlons nationwide. There was a lot of level in Mogán!
What food and supplementation routines do you carry out during your training?
I am not a person who has a guideline or a diet, I like to eat everything, but controlled. Now especially that I dedicate myself more to medium and long distance. So I try to take care of the details of the food both in training and in the race. Everything you carry in competition must be proven during training and that is what I do.
Depending on the volume of the session at the hydration level I opt for the isotonic Drink, I have preference for the taste of red fruits, or by the sub9 Energy Drink Watermelon. Between sessions, bars, preferably on the Evo Bar that, in addition to their flavor, are easy to digest and that is important when there is not much time between sessions and you need to put guarantee energy to the body before starting another session. Regarding long outputs both by bike and running, as I said before, here I already opted for the sub9 Energy Drink and as a gels complement, especially those of pineapple and coconut, melon and strawberry / banana. To finish the day you can not miss a very cool strawberry recovery, that enters as nothing!
Credit: @Activ'images-Jacvan
When the time for the competition comes and everything is decisive, what factors do you consider at the nutritional level? What is the winning formula for you?
As they say `` eat and drink '' hahaha! For me, the formula consists in recharging to the body everything we are consuming while competing. As I commented before, Everything you carry in competition must be proven during training. And that's what I do, I don't improvise.
It is estimated that carbohydrate intake can range between 50 and up to 90 grams per hour, therefore in medium -distance tests that last about 4 hours we will need to recharge our body to have energy until the end and not get empty as we stay well hydrated.
How many kilometers can you get for discipline in a week of load?
Actually it varies quite depending on the time of the season, in winter we focus a little more aerobic work in the pool and especially the work of prevention of injuries and the gym to later give priority to the bike and the race on foot, which is undoubtedly where the careers are decided in a half distance.
A week of current load would be approximately the following:
Swimming: 20-22 km
Cycling: 400-450 km
Foot race: 85-90 km
Now, where do you point out? What are your next goals?
After a great year at the national level where I managed to give to a great level from super-sprint distance to long distance, the idea for this year was to make the jump to compete internationally.
It is clear that one always thinks about competing in the Ironman franchise, but the annual license is an expense that could mortgage any test during the season, because when there are no financial support you have to look at everything that can be scratched. Thus with the Challenge franchise, this does not happen and I have been able to make economic trips to compete, as has been the case of Rome and Mogán.
After this start of the season (I repeat, surprising and unexpected) I have fully put in the fight for the Ranking of the Challenge circuit, which is endowed with good economic awards. I will have to perform a total of 6 circuit tests, of which the distance full scores twice as much as Half, so I do not rule out having to "eat a full" this year ... it will be seen.
The next objectives that come are: - Challenge Lisbon May 19 - Challenge Salou May 27- Long distance world championship IU July 14 in Fynn (Denmark), where I would like to take away the spinite of the disqualification last year.
