Justin Metzler celebrated his first long distance race in 11 months with a podium at IRONMAN Coeur d’Alene, securing his slot for the IRONMAN World Championships in the process.
The American, who suffered with an achilles injury in the early stages of the season, shared that he was glad to have the reference point the race provided and can now plan the rest of his season.
“My goal was to take control of the race”
Reflecting on the race in Idaho, Metzler said that the highs were accompanied with some lows, but that for the most part, he managed to execute his race plan.
“It was a really great swim for me, probably one of the better swims I had and I came out of the water second and was just right at the front of the race. It was definitely faster than what I did in 2021 so was the perfect way to setup the day.
“I got on the bike and was really solid from the start. My goal was to take control of the race and put myself in contention to win, which was definitely a bit of a risk but it was one of the cards I was willing to play.
“I was with the group until the eventual champion Chris [Leiferman] caught us at around halfway and he put in this huge surge that I went with, as I thought that was the surge for the win right there and I covered about a 20-minute attack.”
After successfully covering the move to Leiferman, things began to unravel for Metzler, as he ended up losing contact to the leaders and rolling into transition with a deficit to make up on the marathon.
“I then got a cramp up the hill on the second lap in my adductor and had to manage that, so lost contact with Chris and Matt, and was by myself for the back half of the ride and lost around six minutes at the start of the marathon.
“That wasn’t really ideal but I just kept a positive attitude, put my run shoes on and felt like I was already paying the price for the hard swim and bike, but was still committed to fighting for that podium.”
“I was really struggling out there”
After coming into transition in third place, Metzler decided to try and chase down second instead of defending his podium and Nice slot, a decision that almost came back to bite him.
“I got into a nice groove from mile six to around mile sixteen on the run, where I was getting splits that I was catching second. However, I then slowed down a little when I realised my chances of second were dwindling and then I just concentrated on conserving the podium.
“I was really struggling out there from mile 21 to mile 24 and the guy in fourth caught up six minutes in the stretch. Luckily, I found something extra when he caught me and went to a place I have never been before in an Ironman to be able to find my groove again and make it through the last two miles home.
“It wasn’t the best race of my career, but I was really proud to get on the podium and I think it proved to be one of the most beneficial learning lessons that I can tap back into in terms of mental strength and fortitude going forward.”
Having secured the podium and a ticket to the world championships, Metzler said that he feels confident he knows how to solve the issues on the second half of the run.
“I am hoping to make some adjustments so I don’t have these struggles in the marathon and I have some hunches on what I might need to do, so now it’s just about recovering from this one and just getting into the next thing.”
Moving forward, the ‘Big Metz’ is unsure if he will make the trip out to France to race the world championships, but knows for certain that the only way is up after a good day in Coeur d’Alene.
“I did get my Nice slot, so I will collect that most likely. I don’t know if I am planning on doing it as I honestly haven’t thought about much in the future from this point, I just really wanted a data mark from this race.”
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