After finishing my 5th Ironman World Championship in Kona in 2019, I wasn't mentally ready to commit to preparing for a May Ironman. Instead, I was happy to support Karel on the sidelines in St. George. In July of 2021, I won my age group at IM Lake Placid. I let my slot roll down for the 2022 Ironman World Championship in Kona as I no longer have ambitions to race there. I'm honored and satisfied with my 5 Ironman World Championship finishes on that island.
Fast forward to January 2022, when the course was announced for the Ironman World Championship in St. George, I took a look at the course and elevation on the bike and run and immediately wanted to participate in the race. Not because it was a World Championship event but because I love challenging and tough courses - and I love racing in St. George. After feeling a bit of FOMO that I didn't register for the event when it was open to general entries, a few weeks later Ironman sent out emails to All World Athletes for the opportunity to register and participate in the Ironman World Championship in St. George. With this being the first World Championship outside of Hawaii - and during the unpredictable circumstances after the pandemic - the added entries were a way to help add more participants to this unique event situation. I quickly chatted with Karel and without hesitation, I paid for my entry and registered for the event.
The past few years have been interesting for us. As experienced and accomplished long distance triathletes, the pandemic served as a page change for a new chapter in our life. With our normal triathlon training and racing routine disrupted, we saw this as a special opportunity to try different things. Thanks to triathlon being three sports, we took advantage of our swim, bike and run fitness (and experience) and jumped into different swim, bike and run events. This change provided us with new motivation and excitement for training but more so, it taught us that we are healthier and happier when we pursue different challenges and adventures - specifically outside in nature.
With Karel enjoying mountain biking, gravel biking and Xterra racing, he didn't want to stop having fun with these different sports (and races) just because he had an Ironman on his schedule. For myself, having registered for the event in February, I didn't feel the pressure of this event looming over me for several months. With a tremendous amount of experience, resiliency and success in long distance triathlon, Karel and I decided that we would take a different approach to preparing for this event. We didn't want to give up the recent sports that brought us great joy so we found a way to incorporate them into our structured triathlon training.
For myself, I did a lot of trail running, group road biking and mountain biking. I love to swim, especially with others. I spent time on the bike trainer (tri bike) every week but focused on more high intensity and/or steady state workouts. I never spent more than 2 consecutive hours on the trainer over the winter/spring. Instead of spending long hours inside (or outside) on the tri bike, I spent a lot of hours outside biking on different types of bikes. And with being new to mountain biking, every ride gave me a nice mix of intensity, endurance and skill work. My bike handling skills have never been better. Because our terrain is very hilly and challenging, I focused more on strength-based sessions instead of trying to get faster with speed work. I never established training zones (no power test) and I haven't worn a heart rate monitor since last September. Every workout was by feel (perceived effort). I use sport nutrition in every workout and I ate before every workout - those are non-negotiable for me. I ate more calories in my daily diet than I've ever eaten before. I did a lot of mobility work and strength training. Most of my runs were brick runs. I gave myself new workouts like run/bike/run or bike/run/bike/run. I kept myself healthy and injury free for over 3 years and that meant 3 years of consistent training. I did several 2 hour runs (most including trail running) and my longest bike rides were around 4-5 hours (with 2 of my longest rides on the mountain bike - 5+ hours). As I got closer to the event (last three weeks), my workouts became more "race specific" and I really focused on perfecting my fueling strategies for bike and run. I've been coaching myself for the past few years and I give myself workouts that target my strengths and my weaknesses.
For Karel and myself, we were excited to see how this different training approach would pay off at the Ironman World Championship in St. George. To be honest, we both felt extremely fit, strong and healthy - even if our training was very unconventional. We didn't feel any pressure to perform at this Ironman and we didn't feel like we needed to change our training to deliver a 'World Championship' worthy performance.
Having said this, we trained a lot (swim/bike/run) but it just looked very different than what we did in the past. More than anything, we were having fun, enjoying the process of training and always focusing on the little details to keep us healthy. We never let the stress or pressure of the Ironman get to us. I believe this helped us stay healthy in mind and body. We never felt burnt out and it was nice to have something different to look forward to each week with the incorporation of trail running, mountain biking and more high-intensity swim/bike/run workouts. I gave myself some challenging sessions and I really enjoyed doing new things and testing my body in different ways. It was refreshing to have a different approach for my 18th Ironman (Karel's15th) and we both trusted our training that we would be prepared to race for 140.6 miles.
I've achieved a lot in the sport of triathlon over the past 16 years. Participating in the Ironman World Championship in St. George was not about needing to prove something but to enjoy the adventure with my body and mind. Going into the event, I knew that my training needed to reflect this mindset shift. The sport of triathlon is very important to us but our results do not define who we are as humans. I had no expectations and I was there for the experience. But to stay competitive, we can't keep doing the same things over and over.
I've always been one to challenge the "norm." I challenge the ideal body type, I challenge the normal Ironman training preparation and I challenge the ways that triathletes fuel for long distance triathlon. Endurance and resiliency takes time to build. It's not acquired over a few months but many years. And when you do build that strong endurance foundation, adding to it won't necessarily make you a better athlete. If anything, it can bring on injury, health issues, a plateau in fitness and burnout. The more experienced you get, the more you need to find ways to change things up - recognizing that getting faster can't be the primary focus. You have to start doing things smarter - like nutrition, mobility, sleep, movement efficiency, fueling, technique and bike handling skills.
My self-identity does not revolve around triathlon. I am a triathlete but I don't want to be remembered for my wins. I want to inspire others by my 'health first, performance second' approach to training and racing. I want to show other athletes that there is not one right way to train and race. When it comes to training, you have to work with your body, your lifestyle and your current fitness. You have to find joy in the process and not obsess over an outcome.
Far too many athletes put too much energy and focus into the "long" workout miles, forgetting that the Ironman is a strength-based sport requiring exceptional health and good application of sport nutrition/fueling/hydration. You have to be strong, you need to know how to take care of your body under massive fatigue/intense weather conditions/challenging terrain and you have to be able to endure a lot (in mind and body). You also need to know how to listen to your body, make quick decisions and not overreact. You don't achieve this from checking off the long training sessions on the weekends but through years of consistent quality training and from a lot of racing experience. You'll never be able to go through the same motions and emotions in training as you do on race day.
Training for an Ironman is not easy. It requires a lot of time, energy and focus. But it doesn't have to be all-consuming, destroy your health and negatively impact your life. A smart approach to training ensures that you are prepared for the race - not just physically but mentally, skill-wise, terrain management and nutritionally. Don't assume that there is only one way to train for a long distance triathlon - there are many different paths to take and what works best for someone else may not work well for you. And if you are experienced, don't burn yourself out by doing the same training year after year.
Karel and I are very proud of our performances at the St. George Ironman World Championship event. We took a different approach and it paid off. We both felt strong and healthy all day and most importantly, we had fun, we enjoyed the suffering and we gave our best effort on the day.
Marni - 10:53.16. 5th AG (40-44)
2.4 mile swim: 59:58 (1st AG)
T1: 5:22
112 mile bike (~7200 feet elevation gain): 5:45.38 (2nd AG)
T2: 5:01
26.2 mile run (~1500 feet elevation gain): 3:57.17 (5th AG)
Karel - 9:58.48, 11th AG (45-49)
2.4 mile swim: 1:00.11 (11th AG)
T1: 5:42
112 mile bike (~7200 feet elevation gain): 5:28.50 (19th AG)
T2: 3:30
26.2 mile run (~1500 feet elevation gain): 3:20.35 (1th AG)
Race Report coming soon......
