10 Q’s with a Pro: Kennett Peterson
Today we check in with the United States' Kennett Peterson.
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
With zero racing action for the foreseeable future and our “Last Weekend Now” column on hiatus indefinitely, we’ll be checking in with a pro every week to see how they’re coping—and hopefully learn a couple of fun facts. This week, the United States’ Kennett Peterson checks in. Here’s what the former pro-cyclist-turned-pro triathlete had to say about life through the pandemic.
My first race of 2020 would have been…
70.3 Oceanside.
I’m social distancing with…
My dog, Maybellene, and wife, Adelaide.
My favorite indoor workout is…
An easy trainer ride watching “Last Chance U.” I can’t get myself to push very hard on the trainer, so there needs to either be extremely loud music or a sports show to watch. I also enjoyed “Cheer,” “Cheer Squad,” and “Dallas Cowboys Cheerleading: Making the Team.” Come to think of it, I was actually sitting on the couch during all of this, watching these shows while Adelaide rode the trainer. So I guess that means my favorite indoor workout is watching someone else ride the trainer.
If I wasn’t a pro triathlete I would be…
Fat? Not sure; I’ve been trying to figure this out all year.
My favorite post-workout meal is…
Soda, Top Ramen, sandwich, leftover pizza, chicken, and rice with sweet chili sauce. All of it, in that order.
One change I’ve made that will probably stick is…
Writing more. I’m writing a cli-fi (climate science fiction) novel. Earlier during COVID, I was helping Adelaide put the finishing touches on her memoir that’s being published in October (“Degloved: Every Scar Has a Story,” which details the crash she was involved in back in 2014 while training, the emotional trauma and PTSD that the crash caused, and her eventual return to triathlon and earning her pro card).
Helping her with the memoir inspired me to start working on my own book. I’ve been treating the writing process a bit like training. I’ll write 4,000-7,000 words a day and do one short workout somewhere in the middle of that. During a normal race year, my training/work routine is reversed—training takes priority and I’ll squeeze in a few hours of legal blog writing (my other job) wherever it fits. I’ve known for a long time that it’s incredibly difficult to train long hours and put a lot of mental energy into work or a big project—and I think it’s astounding that so many age groupers can do this—so I’m trying to write in blocks (also like training) of two weeks on, one week easier so that I can get outside and enjoy the summer a bit more.
The last thing I watched on TV…
“Money Heist.” That’s actually not true. Adelaide and I just finished “Money Heist” a few days ago. Last night we watched “Jeffery Epstein: Filthy Rich.” Another good documentary if you have too much faith in humanity or if your life doesn’t have enough depressing things going on already is “Dirty Money.” Of course, “Planet Earth” is the most depressing of all, because most of those animals will be extinct by the time your children retire.
I knew I could be good at triathlon when…
I won 70.3 St. George as my first race, which led to an overinflated ego. A few races later, I realized I wasn’t actually that good and the ego got popped. I guess I finally felt like I was good last year, then the ego got popped again at the end of the season. I’m still wondering if I’ll be good at triathlon.
It would surprise everyone to know that…
I’ve really enjoyed taking some time off from training and racing, and really just focusing on—NOT! (in Borat’s voice).
The last thing that made me laugh…
Some of the more crude answers I wrote before deleting them.
Kennett’s sponsors: A2 Bikes, Blue Seventy, Form Goggles, Maruten, Vision, Tifosi, iKOR