#wtschicago

by Katie O’Dunne

At the beginning of my 2015 season, I decided that this was going to be my fastest year yet. My winter training led to track workouts surpassing my college times and power numbers in Energy Lab that I had never seen in my life. I started to think very seriously about focusing on short course racing to prepare for competing in draft legal races. For this, I knew that I needed a road bike – which meant that I needed a bike fit. I also needed to make sure I could translate all of the work I had done in the lab to outdoor riding/racing, which had been a struggle in the past.

 I immediately set up an appointment with Matt at Podium Multisport to use the new GURU Fit System. It was unlike anything I have ever experienced. Matt’s expertise coupled with the system proved to be a fantastic combination. When sitting on the stationary bike linked to the screen, Matt made tiny adjustments as I let him know what felt better and worse. At times, I needed to close my eyes to even feel the changes, as they were so minimal. But this is what makes it so precise! After we got everything just right, the system recommended the best road bikes for my particular fit.

Once I had the bike all squared away, the guys at Podium set everything up for me. I returned to the store for one more fit with Matt on my new bike to make sure everything was perfect. It was! I had never been so comfortable on a bike in all of my life. It fit me just like a glove.

This triathlon season, I have actually been racing on my road bike for almost every race. Many people have been surprised to see that I am not on my tri bike. However, I know that I really want to get comfortable on this bike for draft legal racing. Even on a road bike racing against tri bikes, this has been a huge breakthrough season for me. I have been placing and scoring higher than ever before, even in the elite categories. I attribute all of this to my bike fit. Matt set me up in a very precise position based upon my goals of handling, keeping up with tri bikes, and being able to use my running strength off of the bike.

Matt had me head back to Podium to add some mini aero bars for National Championships in Milwaukee. Once again, he set me up so that everything fit like a glove. I felt even more comfortable in aero on this bike than I ever had even on a tri bike! It was incredible. On this same visit, Matt and the guys at Podium set me up with race wheels to use for Nationals. I took these new aero bars and race wheels out for a spin this week, and once again…I was amazed. After this fit and second fit with the new aero bars, I have never felt more confident in my riding – not just my power numbers inside, but in actually translating this to my outdoor riding!

 I can’t wait to show up to USAT Sprint Nationals on August 9 and ITU Sprint World Championships on September 17 with my brand new road bike fit. I have Matt, the guys at Podium, and the GURU fit system to thank for my incredible successful season so far. I can’t wait to hit it hard on the next two races. I look forward to reporting back on how I was able to power through the bike and run this course faster than ever with this new bike fit.

Editor’s note: Katie wrote this before Nationals on August 9. She has since competed, and has this post-script:

P.S. I ended up going from 1:22:04 last year to 1:16:21 this year at AG Nationals! It was one of the best races of my life and my first race to break 90 for a USAT score. I have ITU AG Sprint World Championships on September 17 and hope to have more big results to share!