PowerUp Tri Podcast Episode 28: David McNamee

The PowerUp Tri Podcast is hosted by former pro triathletes Matt Lieto and Jordan Rapp, who lend their in-depth knowledge of the multisport to the Zwift Tri audience.

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There is no doubt the COVID-19 pandemic has affected a lot of athlete’s lives greatly, but not many have had to put up with the level of restrictions David McNamee has endured. Being a two-time world champion podium finisher, David could have sulked and complained about his full lockdown in Girona, but that isn’t this Scotsman’s style. David quickly started trending on Twitter with the daily log of his quarantine lockdown, with the same dry humor that those of us who know him cherish.

“Day 38 – Had a shower with my swim goggles on. They still work. Happy to report that my avatar hasn’t put on any extra weight from my birthday cake feast. Even happier my scales need a new battery and all the shops are still shut.” 

In all seriousness though, this period of time could be incredibly stressful both physically and financially for a pro triathlete, especially one that wasn’t allowed outside to exercise for nearly two months! David shares with us what his biggest challenges were as an athlete, but also just like the rest of us: as a human who misses the outdoors. It might surprise you to hear that it wasn’t the training restrictions that bothered him, it was more missing out on things like just walking outdoors with his girlfriend.

With the season being very much up in the air, David realizes he may have a big 2021 with the recent announcement that Kona will be delayed until February 2021. The ever-confident competitor, David says all he has to worry about now is winning two Konas in 2021 ;). I take this world champ chat opportunity to reminisce about when I witnessed IRONMAN CEO Andrew Messick filling up David’s empty nutrition bottles, minutes before David’s first appearance at the Ironman World Championships. “I had no idea who Andrew Messick was. To be honest, I just thought he was some very helpful volunteer.”

Being stuck indoors for this period of time, there was no doubt we’d see David on Zwift. David was sadly a late recruit despite our early advances, but nothing like a good old fashioned shelter-in-place order to give us the upper hand. David gives us some real honest talk about his first impressions a few years ago about the platform, but also tells us why he surprisingly now loves Zwift and will continue to use it moving forward. “Over the last 7 weeks I’ve improved as a cyclist, And I think a big part of that is the fact that the workouts have been more specific.”

You want laughs, you want banter? This is the episode to listen to. Tangents galore and some really funny stuff from David. Once he and I can’t hold it any longer, the friendly ribbing starts. We talk about a range of topics, we somehow get to the point where Jordan rips on Florida Man and percussive “recovery” devices, while David teaches us what it means to be a true “Lad” and how he is impervious to seemingly any extreme temperature. Plus, find out who used their buttcrack to hold their water bottle en route to winning Kona!

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