Congratulations to T3’s September Athlete of the Month, Vinny Cooper! Vinny comes from a running background and now tees up his strong runs by “warming up” in the water and on the bike. Vinny has humbly performed very well this season while maintaining balance between racing/training and family life. Let’s learn a bit more about Vinny…

A:  Vinny Cooper from Moreau, NY

A:  43

A:  Urologist

A:  5 years

A:  This is my first year with a coach.

A:  The Fronhofer Tool Triathlon because of its great location and personable race atmosphere. There are always many familiar faces and it’s great to catch up with friends afterwards and talk about training/racing.

A:  My tri bike. I got it a few years ago and it has helped me feel much more comfortable on the bike and run. It looks cool too.

A:  Some of my most memorable races include breaking my high school’s mile record in the last race of my senior year, completing the Boston Marathon during my 1st year of Urology residency and this year’s Fronhofer tool triathlon. My goal in Boston was to break 3 hours. I did it in 3:00:09 and I still don’t know where I lost those nine seconds in the 26.2 miles. This year I won my age group at FTT with a personal best. That was my first age group win in a triathlon.

A:  I wanted to be competitive in my age group and improve my bike and swim. I was able to place in each of my races and felt stronger on my bike leg. Most importantly, I enjoyed training and racing and stayed injury free.

A:  Over the next few years I would like to continue to improve my time in sprint and Olympic distance races. I eventually would like to complete an ironman, but I plan on waiting until my kids are older in order to have training time.

A:  Chick peas, garlic and beer (usually dark or wheat - that’s why I have enjoyed the pint glass trophy)

A:  Pink Floyd is a must. Comfortably Numb is a great mantra for a tempo run! This is often with some blues (Joe Bonamassa) and a few choice songs from Rocky for those speed intervals.

A:  Get in open water swim practice whenever you can and intervals are key to increasing speed.

A:  Get your workout done early in the morning when possible. I find I have more energy during the day and I am not distracted trying to figure out when I will have time to work out. Also, don’t forget the hills.

A:  10 X 400 speed intervals with about 2min recovery. I did a nice variation of this with Carl early in the season with increasing speed as we progressed. Great for speed and mental stamina. I have loved hating this workout since high school.

A:  I found it extremely helpful this year to have a set workout schedule in advance. This helps with planning and motivation. It forced me to get up in the morning to make sure I got it in. I also found it very helpful to have Carl available for advice and recommendations about training and race day strategy.