FCF Pro Interview: Summer & Ben Deal

TTB: Ben/Summer, thank you for time to be interviewed. Could you tell us a little about yourself? 

Ben: We are currently living in Charlottesville, Virginia, where we went to high school together. While we knew each other, we didn't date until well after Summer graduated college and I was in heading into my final year. We got married and moved to Albuquerque, NM where Summer got her Master's and then headed back home to Charlottesville right around the start of the pandemic.

We both ran cross country and track in high school, but while I went to Columbia to run distance, Summer actually pole vaulted for George Mason University. We both stopped competing after a few years due to a number of reasons, including injuries, and Summer started running marathons. She was still in that phase when she signed up for a triathlon to, as she says, "impress me", and from that point on we were both committed to the sport. It really works well for us though, especially as a way to reduce the risk of injury from running over training. We've now been in the sport for about four years. 

I had my first pro race at St. George 70.3 in 2019 and Summer had her first at the end of that year, at Indian Wells 70.3, so we're both still pretty new to the pro field! So far we've been focusing on the 70.3 distance, and we were actually signed up for 7 of them this year! Summer was/is planning to do her first full Ironman at Florida this November as well. As we are relatively young to the sport at 27 and 26 years old, there is no reason for us to rush headlong into full distance racing. Halves are a great distance where you can race relatively often and learn something from every race. While Kona might be an eventual dream, it's not even on the radar for us right now!

TTB: What was your initial reaction when races started cancelling in 2020? 

Ben: It's pretty funny looking back at the start of it in March and thinking there was a 50/50 chance we were going to be opening our season in a few weeks (would have been at 70.3 Texas in Galveston). Once that one went down, we pretty much resigned ourselves to the idea that we weren't going to be racing for awhile. That didn't stop us from counting down the days till the next race on the schedule that wasn't cancelled yet though. We're even still doing that now!

TTB: Once the dust settled and it appeared that there wouldn't be professional races this year, what was your path forward for your training? 

Ben: We do have slightly different mindsets in regards to training and racing: Summer could train year round and just keep getting fitter, whereas I train out of necessity for racing. 

Summer: Like a lot of people, I wanted to take the opportunity of no races to strengthen some of my weaknesses: primarily swimming. Of course this was tough without pools open, so we searched out open water and tried to get in as often as possible. As someone who didn't grow up swimming competitively, but who also doesn't want to be the last pro out of the water in every race, I knew I would just have to suck it up and get more comfortable swimming often, especially in the open water. One of our friends has a small pond on their land that we would use when we are home, and we took a few camping trips to a nice big lake a few hours away. I love training, so honestly the motivation part hasn't been too hard in general, but I've still had days here and there were the fatigue was high and motivation was low, but I'd just tell myself "there's no expectation for this workout, so if it's not going as planned that's ok- not every workout will be a breakthrough!" 

(Open water swim practice in Lake Moomaw, VA)

Ben: I've always erred on the side of "listening to my body", i.e. scrapping a workout if I'm not feeling it. Without races on the schedule, that happens more often. I've seen a bunch of other people just go out and do 100 mile rides 5 days a week, putting in massive hours and I just think that wouldn't be sustainable for me. I'm a big fan of quality over quantity so I've worked with my coach to more-or-less stay in that mindset despite the increased time and freedom of a race-less schedule. Having a few races on the schedule, despite not having a pro field or purse, has been great and I think I'll feel refreshed and ready to train hard again coming out of them. 

TTB: What inspired you to sign up for the Fall Creek Falls Half Iron, and what is your goal for the race?

Ben: I heard about the race through another pro, Aaron Kolk, who will also be there. I looked into it a bit more and it looked like a fantastic venue, with good camping options. While the 7 hour drive isn't ideal, we've done much, much longer for a race and it promised to be a good, isolated vacation! We really just wanted a chance to test fitness and be reminded of the unique challenges of racing in case one of the few remaining Ironman races happens later in the year. 

We definitely show up to every race hoping to win, but we every race is an opportunity to build good habits in regards to nutrition, pacing, and mentality, so hopefully we can put out a strong showing on all fronts there!

TTB: What are your plans for the rest of 2020? Endurance Sports Management (ESM) is holding halves on Sept. 13 in Scottsboro, AL (Goose Pond Island) and on Oct. 3 in Lenoir City, TN (Atomic Man Triathlon). Do you plan on racing those? 

Ben: We're still hoping (but not expecting) a race with a pro field to happen in 2020 (maybe Florida in November or Indian Wells 70.3 in December), so we'll be there if it does. There is a cool, 4 day bike time trial race at the end of November we're considering as well, Tour the Trace (https://tourthetrace.com/). After this weekend of racing, I think we'll head back home and get another solid block of training in before looking for another race, but Atomic Man does look like it could be a great option!

TTB: Is there anything else you would like us to know?

Ben: We do think it's important for everyone to keep the competitive spirit alive during this time. Our local cycling club was running a "Segment of the Week" challenge for awhile that was a blast to participate in. Finding real races is great, but doing anything you can to challenge and push yourself is super important to staying happy and motivated. 

Summer: I coach multiple athletes and encourage them to create an individual time trial goal or even a full on solo triathlon to still get to put all their hard work and fitness to the test. Now is a good time to take a look at your training plan or talk with your coach to decide how you want to approach the rest of the season- it's a great time to explore training opportunities, and maybe mix up your training by focusing on either one of the three disciplines (ie: a bike focused block), building up to a super long swim, or adding more strength routines etc. Our coach even had us do a fully unstructured week where we just did whatever workouts we felt like doing on the day. The low pressure week meant we left it feeling energized without taking an entire week off!

We're certainly hoping for a full 2021 season, but we'll be ready to roll with the punches as much as needed. We've been super thankful for all the support we've had in 2020, especially our bike sponsor Tririg. We know it's not an easy time for any of the businesses reliant on multisport, so we're extra thankful for the ones that keep supporting athletes. Both of our families and a lot of wonderful friends have been incredibly positive and encouraging during this time as well. We and Summer's family even made it on ESPN briefly with a little stunt we pulled during the Ironman VR11 Pro challenge! Gotta keep things fun!

https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/29311771

TTB: Thanks for the time Ben and Summer! We'll see you Saturday. Good luck!

Follow Ben and Summer on Instagram @deals_on_wheels_tri