2021 IMVBR70.3 Overall Female Winner Kate Buss

PROthirteen Coach Kate Buss has been a staple of Mid-Atlantic bike racing for over a decade. With her recent Overall Female win of the 2021 Carilion Clinic IRONMAN 70.3 Virginia's Blue Ridge triathlon, Kate has opened her account in the IRONMAN world.

Whether it’s La Course by Le Tour de France, Tour of Guangxi, Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race or the Winston Salem Cycling Classic—she’s raced it!

Did you really start racing at age 12?

I started racing at a young age because my mom started doing triathlons.  My parents enrolled me in swimming when I was a kid, and I always rode my bike to school and around Blacksburg—so triathlons were sort of the natural progression.  The first 5k I ever did though, my parents made me do it—and I hated it.  It was aptly called the “Summer Sizzler,” and I came in dead last… still won my age group though!  Since then endurance sport has been such an important part of my life, and the way I love to spend time with new people I love explore new places.

When did you become interested in tri?

I started triathlons after my mom did a local triathlon with her friends.  I joined a training group, and from there, we were hooked.  Every family vacation we went on would be centered around a race.  We went out to Colorado and California to do junior nationals a few years in a row and after the race we would camp and ride our bikes around all of these beautiful places.  Even after I left triathlon to focus more on running and cycling for periods at a time, I’ve always been a triathlete at heart.  

Describe your tri training for the VBR win

For most of my athletic career I was hyper focused on the metrics and the training plan.  To be honest, for the VBR I took a bit of a step away from all of that to focus on having fun and enjoying the process.  I trained with some cyclists that are faster than me and that really helped to hone in the bike leg which was key to my success.

Describe your TT bike pacing process

Pacing for TT depends so much on the length of the TT and the course.  But it’s all about gaming the system and gaining time where others might lose some.  One of my biggest pet peeves is when I see someone smash it up a hill and then take a breather at the top before they descend.  My manager used to always say, “pedal over the top” so that you can take that momentum and bomb the downhills while still recovering.  

This course had a large amount of climbing and descending. What was your game plan?

One of the big advantages for me in the VBR is my ability to time trial and go fast on the descents, not just the climbs. If you take a look at the results, I gained the most time in the second half of the race when we were returning to the transition area on the fast, downhill portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway. A lot of people tend to discount this part of the race because they think they can use it to recover and not push the pedals, but, while portions can be used for active recovery, that section can really make or break a race.

What are the key data metrics that you train and race by?

On the bike, my preferred metric is power.  It’s so useful how objective it is and though races aren’t won on power alone, in training, power never lies.  On the swim and run, HR is definitely a very useful metric but pace and RPE are probably two of the easiest and most useful metrics to use.

What are some of your goals for 2022?

I’m making a return to running late in 2021 for the Richmond Half Marathon.  It’s been a long time since I’ve run fast so I’m really excited to do so and hope to stay injury free in the process.  In terms of 2022, I hope to return to VBR and defend my title but my primary focus is doing well in PT school and into my clinical rotations in summer 2022.

Why an interest in coaching with PROthirteen?

I’ve always enjoyed mentoring younger athletes and for a while coached middle school track which was such a fun experience.   I’ve always wanted to return to coaching, but only recently have I found the perfect way to do so with PROthirteen. I love seeing the progress that athletes make under my guidance.

Have you had any particular good coaching experiences that you'd like to discuss?

James DeMarco, my high school running coach, was incredible.  He coached us in such formative years and so many of his runners went on to be successful both in athletics and their other pursuits.  He instilled in me an understanding of the importance of “the little things” like stretching after a run, eating well, sleeping enough, etc.  It’s not the hard workouts that make a great athlete exceptional, but the little sacrifices they make along the way.

What was it like to be a professional cyclist?

Being a professional cyclist was a whole different world.  Sometimes it feels like a different lifetime ago for me even though it wasn’t all that long ago.  I was fortunate enough to have really great teammates

What was your best memory? 

One of my favorite races was a 7-stage race in Ardeche, France.  During the race, all of the teams would stay overnight in a campground in small cabins, 3-4 women per cabin.  But each day, we would drive 1-2 hours to compete on some of the hardest, longest, most beautiful courses I’ve raced.  It was like summer camp for elite athletes and the bonds I made with my teammates during this race are unforgettable.

What was it like to race in Europe?

Racing in Europe is everything that you may hear that it is.  It’s the hardest road racing in the world and incredibly humbling experience.  But it’s also so much fun. 

What is your most memorable win?

My most memorable win is probably the collegiate national criterium in 2016.  The day before I had come in 6th in the road race after a time in a solo break before being caught by a group of 5 other riders and I was out for revenge.  I never considered myself a critical racer but the course was perfect for me - up and down a hill.  I rode one of the most perfectly executed races of my career, going off the front with one other rider before attacking for the lead with 5 laps to go.  I still get goosebumps thinking about that race.

What is your least favorite experience of your athletic career?

At one point when I was riding professionally, I had a lot of doubts about my skills and really feared for my safety.  I had seen enough bad crashes and heard about more TBIs than I cared to think about.  The fear I experienced in those moments in the days leading up to races, before the thrill of the race takes over, were together my least favorite experiences.  I don’t mind being nervous, that’s all a part of racing, but this fear for my well-being and my brain was a different beast.

Why did you decide to join PROthirteen?

I’m super excited to coach with someone as experienced as Bart and learn from him.  I agree wholeheartedly with the philosophy that it’s not entirely about the numbers, but about the skills.  Coaching isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, and I’m excited to work with all different types of athletes and tailor their programs to their strengths and weaknesses and unique skillsets.

How would you like to leave your mark on PROthirteen coaching and organization?

I hope to help grow PROthirteen and expand the company into the triathlon market. But also to use my unique skillset as a future physical therapist to work with athletes that are returning to sport after injury or struggling with injury through training.  Additionally I’m very interested in running and running form and would love to use this skill to help runners and triathletes improve their form to get faster and reduce risk of injury.