As a coach, I'm blessed to be able to accompany and watch athletes compete at races. In 2004 and 2006 I was in Hawaii and watched Kathy compete in the Ironman World Championships. It was truly an amazing experience to witness the sports most recognizable event live and in person. I've been watching this event on t.v. since the mid 1980's and actually standing on Alii drive, going to Dig Me Beach and seeing the pros in person is surreal.. Watching Julie Moss crawl over the finish line inspired me to get involved in triathlons. Little did I know, I would eventually turn the sport into my profession.
This year, I accompanied MHM athlete/Coach, Julia Rossi and MHM coach Sydney Cornell to Hawaii. Both ladies had qualified at 70.3 races and this would be their first full Ironman on arguably the toughest Ironman course under brutal conditions.
Preparing an athlete for Kona requires extra preparation by both athlete and coach. The caliber of athletes, the international field, the heat/humidity and self imposed pressures to do well require an athlete to be in top physical and mental condition. Many people often tell me they want to qualify for Kona but I don't think they have a realistic picture of what they are getting into. Be careful what you ask for, you may just get it. The mind games start from the minute you walk onto the plane and continue throughout the week. Past finishers tell war stories of wicked winds and high heat. Athletes being blown into the lava fields and the intense Kona heat reducing the worlds best athletes to a crawl. Nothing can prepare you for the conditions you will face come race week.
Julia and I arrived on Monday and by Tuesday morning she already began to question why she was here, if she had prepared enough and openly displayed her fear of not finishing. She couldn't sleep, wouldn't eat and looked exhausted. We spoke at length about her preparation for the event and how the only goal was to cross the finish line yet her worries persisted. By mid week, I was generally concerned that she had self destructed and may not even get to the start line.
In contrast, Sydney rolled into town, relaxed, like she had been doing this for years. As Julia turned inwards, Sydney was a ball of energy, singing and dancing. Sydney shared concerns over what race day may bring, but her energy and her confidence in her abilities remained high. Everyone shows nerves before a race in different ways. If there were ever polar opposite athletes, these two were it.
We went downtown to the infamous "under pants run", went to the Lava Java once and did some practice swims at Dig Me Beach. I tried to limit Julia from being down town too much to calm her nerves. We drove the bike course, went to the Kona Aquatic center (saw Chrissie Wellington) and did a short snorkeling adventure but generally tried to say away from the "scene".
Saturday afternoon, Julia and I went over her final race strategy and preparation. I told her that on Saturday she would mature and find out more about herself and her heart than she had in the previous 23 years of her young life. I told her that she would "grow up" a lot in one day. Saturday evening, post meal the two of them started to talk more about the day which would follow. I countered with having them watch "old school" and nerves turned into laughter. Off to bed for both by 9 p.m. and up at 3:30 a.m.. Pre race meal, final words of wisdom and off they went to body marking.
Trish (Trish Taylor joined us as Sydney's main Sherpa of the week) and I took up a spot on the Sea Wall and waited for the start of the race. We preceded to the Hot Corner and saw both girls three times in a short period of time before they headed out to the Queen K. We walked the 4 miles back to our house, rested and then headed out to Alii drive in time to see the lead men come by. We were bombarded by folks at home wanting to know how they were doing. Truth be told, they probably had a better clue than we did since race updates were being posted on the Internet. Sydney came by smiling as usual and telling us that "this is hard". I told her she was in 12th place in her age group off the bike and away she went. Julia came by a bit later, she didn't speak to me but had a look of determination in her eyes. Although I could tell she was suffering, it was the first time all week I stopped worrying about her. I told her she was in 5th place, 9 minutes down form 4th. Running isn't her strong suit and I had a pretty good idea she would be caught (top 5 get on the podium in Kona) but this is the Ironman and you never know what will happen. Trish and I headed back to the house, had some lunch and then walked the 4 miles back to the start/finish line.
We were following the girls progress on our phones and trying to calculate when they would come by. The joy and excitement around the Ironman finish line is indescribable. This day has been on the athletes minds for what seems an eternity. We stood in a spot where the athletes could see the finish line for the first time. You could see the pain escape their bodies and expressions of joy and accomplishment take over. There were a few who came in with looks of disappointment and one could only hope that some day they could see the beauty in finishing as opposed to linking success to a time clock.
Sydney came by and finished in 11:08 which was good enough for 19th in her age division. A great time for her first Ironman. I have no doubt that as she continues to race this distance she will be in contention for a podium position one day.
Julia finished in 12:24 which was good enough for a 9th place age group finish. When I saw her post race I gave her a big hug and asked her "who belongs here" she replied "I do" and tears rolled down her face. Next year, she plans to return and make a run for the top 5. In fact, she is already bugging me to start training again!! To read Julia's account of the week go to her blog by clicking here.
