2016 Ironman World Championship finisher

The behind-the-scenes moments of training for an Ironman are far less exciting compared to highlighted moment when an athlete crosses an Ironman finish line.

Nobody said that training for an Ironman will be easy (or racing in one) so you better believe that in order to prepare for a 140.6 mile event, sacrifices will be made, investments are necessary and you need a lot of determination, dedication, grit and perseverance.

In order to find success as an Ironman athlete, it is important to identify yourself as an athlete. Self-identity is extremely important as your habits and behaviors guide actions. When you struggle to identify yourself as an athlete, it's extremely easy to feel guilty when you make sacrifices and you can often make choices that do not always foster performance improvements.

Identifying yourself as athlete, especially as an adult, does not make you less of a mom, dad, employee, caretaker, boss or whatever other important role you have in life.

Competing for 140.6 miles is mentally and physically exhausting. It's quite understandable why all the many months of training, and long workouts to build endurance, are so necessary to prepare for the extreme event that is "Ironman".  Commitment to training, along possessing the motivation and discipline necessary for a high level of success in sport, is all based on self-identity as an athlete.

While it is not beneficial to have too strong of an athletic identity where you over-commit to training and lose your purpose of life (parent, spouse, employee, friend, etc.), sport can make you a better person and being an athlete can serve many positive roles in your life.

As a coach to Ironman athletes, a wife to an Ironman athlete and an Ironman athlete myself, I can tell you that having a strong identity as an athlete can improve performance but it also does not have to be at the expense of becoming less of who you are as a human being.

You can be a mom/dad AND an athlete.

You can be an employee/boss AND an athlete. 

You can be a brother/sister/friend AND an athlete.

Being an athlete is part of your lifestyle but it doesn't have to be your life. No one forces you to be an Ironman athlete - it's a choice. You WILL have to make all kinds of sacrifices in order to succeed. It is important to surround yourself with a strong support system, with a supportive team, who all understand your desire to excel in your sport.......because you are an athlete.

--------------------

What a season it's been for Karel. Three overall race wins (Toughman Half, Lake James 50, Mountains to Main Half) and two incredible Ironman performances within 8 weeks of one another (Ironman Austria and Ironman Mont Tremblant). And he topped it all off with a Kona qualifying race (and the fastest amateur male run split) at IMMT.

Just 6 weeks after IM Mont Tremblant, Karel arrived to the 2016 IM World Championship start line with a healthy body (despite a few niggles), a motivated mind and absolutely no expectations.

The nerves were low and the excitement was high.

Another opportunity to race in the Ironman World Championship and a 7th time to race in an Ironman.

Karel put together an incredible race performance to finish a very successful season.

As I mentioned on my Trimarni Facebook page, it may look as if Karel is a really fast Ironman runner based on his 3:10 IM Kona run time, which put him as the 7th fastest AG (40-44) run out of 246 AG finishers.

Certainly, with three "fast" Ironman marathon runs (3:06 at IM Austria, 8 weeks later, 3:08 at IMMT and 6 weeks later, 3:10 at IMKona), it's easy to assume that Karel is a resilient and fast runner off the bike.

But a better way of describing Karel's Ironman successes is that he has raced 7 Ironman distance triathlons since 2013 and he has never had a bad performance.

Karel is an athlete. He identifies himself as an athlete. His life isn't triathlon but triathlon is part of his life.

He is dedicated, disciplined and determined with everything that he does in life, including his sport.

With a well-deserved off-season in front of Karel, there's no other way to describe this season as it was a big SUCCESS.

Karel put together a solid swim, bike and run and outperformed his 2015 IM Kona race by 23 minutes.

Karel finished the swim in 1016th place in his gender (178th AG)

Karel finished the bike in 463rd place in his gender (75th AG)

Karel finished the run in 184th place in his gender (25th AG).

What a performance on a very tough course, under extreme racing conditions, among the best athletes in the world!

Although the finish line and post-race pictures show that all the hard work paid off, Karel and I will both tell you that the behind-the-scene moments included a lot of sacrifices, investments, tough workouts and patience. 

Being an athlete is tough but that finish line experience always makes it all worth it.

Karel's 2016 IM World Championship race report to come....

2016 Ironman Austria finishers

Dreaming big is easy.
It's free, it it's not physically exhausting and anyone can do it, at any age or fitness ability.

Dreaming big is a necessary part of goal setting.

If you can't visualize yourself achieving your goals it's going to be very hard to believe your goal is worth achieving.

And if you can't believe in yourself, you will likely not work hard enough to make your dream turn into a reality.

Eight months ago I started my 2016 season (foundation phase) with one big scary goal.

To be on the podium at the 2016 Ironman Austria for my age group (30-34). 
For 8 months, I stayed present for almost every workout.
Sometimes I lost motivation, felt too tired or found myself "too busy" to train but I never lost sight of my goal.

I followed my training plan and took great care of my body to stay consistent with training.

I didn't question the workouts that Karel gave me because we had a game plan for this season.
 (and with the help of Matt Dixon with Purplepatch Fitness, who is Karel's coach) 

With 10 Ironman races behind me, including 4 Ironman World Championship, Karel knew that I didn't need any more endurance in my body.
Karel knows I can go long all day and will be happy in my comfort zone.

So this season - Karel took me waaaaayyyy outside my comfort zone. 

And I loved it. 

I trained like I have never trained before and that kept me excited to put in the work day after day, week after week and month after month. I loved seeing my progress week after week but certainly, I had those stale moments when I questioned if the plan was still working.

I swam more frequently than I have ever swam before as a triathlete (4-5 days per week).
I biked more on the trainer than ever before (weekly rides) and rode mostly my long rides outside. My longest peak IM training ride was 5 hours (about 85 miles) and most of my "long" rides were around 3.5-4.5 hours.
I did a lot of brick runs.
I did a lot of strength training, mobility work and hip/glute work.
I ran a lot - not long but frequently. And most of my running was on the treadmill. My longest peak IM training run was 13 miles (at Rev3 Knoxville).

I worked extremely hard when I was told to go hard and I went easy when I was told to go easy. My mind got in my way a lot and I had to learn how to use my mind wisely.
I never became gadget obsessed and didn't focus on metrics. I never trained with the intention of swimming, biking or running x-pace on race day. I simply trained as smart as I could to stay consistent with training. The more consistently I trained, the more anxiously, nervously excited I became that I was going to be able to do something amazing with my body on race day.
I never had to miss a workout because of a sickness or injury.

While I felt like I was doing a lot of "new" things this season, I constantly reminded myself that I've made a lot of mistakes and have overcome a lot of obstacles in the past 10 years as an endurance triathlete.
Thank goodness for those mistakes and setbacks!
Those were simply lessons in my athletic development to get me to where I am today.

Knowing that training consistently (and enjoying my training) would help me move closer to my Ironman Austria goal, Karel knew where I could gain the most with my fitness (swim and bike) and where I could possible lose the most with my fitness (running), depending on how we set up my training plan, workout volume, intensity and frequency and periodization.

This season I needed to get myself into great physical shape (while keeping myself very healthy) but I needed to mentally prepare to suffer like I've never suffered before - in training and on race day. 

Karel and I raced Ironman Austria in 2014 and we fell in love with the race venue, the crowd and volunteer support, the course, the atmosphere, the finish line experience and most of all, the high level of competition that brought out a level of racing that we never thought was possible in either of us.

In order to achieve something amazing with my body on race day, I needed to be in great health. 

I needed support from a team who believed in me when I questioned the craziness of this goal - especially when Karel told me he thought I was capable of breaking 10 hours (thank you Karel and Gloria for your ongoing support)
Thank you to my mom and close friends who "get me".

To reach a big scary goal, I needed consistency in training and a lot of ambition.
I am thankful for great triathlon guidance from Tower 26 podcast and Purplepatch Fitness, and our PT friends Chris, Drew and Kent and the amazing Dr. Cassas who always seems to have time for us despite a busy work schedule.

This season, I remained presently focused but not obsessed, with my training as life and happiness can not revolve around one goal.

I had a deep inner fuel to work very hard.
I needed this scary goal to help me stay motivated.
I needed great teamwork and teammates to keep me enjoying this Ironman journey (thank you to my Trimarni coaching athletes and my fun, girl power bike partner Meredith and the awesome Greenville triathlon crew).

You can't expect that everything will come easily when you are training for an Ironman but above all, you have to believe in yourself that you can do whatever it is you want to do if you are smart and patient.

Athletic dreams do not come easily, especially if you set a goal that seems impossibly possible to achieve.

On June 26th 2016 I not only conquered my big dream goal of placing on the podium at the 2016 Ironman Austria but I achieved more than I thought was possible from my body.

It's very hard to describe this Ironman Austria experience.

I've always loved racing a high level of competition but to combine it with this 140.6 mile course, I suppose the best was brought out of my body and mind on race day.

Amazingly, this course brought out the best in Karel too.
When I grow up, I want to be able to suffer like Karel.

Karel's body has been giving him some issues over the past year and every time he feels he is in the "best" shape, something comes up with his body which makes it difficult for him to train like he wants to train. This has been mentally and physically exhausting for both of us. It's been extremely sad at times and also frustrating knowing that he is trying to do all the right things but his body doesn't always cooperate.

Surprisingly, Karel shocked himself with his race performance at Ironman Austria. We say this honestly as Karel was in a tremendous amount of pain in his hip/groin in the 3 weeks leading up to this race after a MRI showed an impingement in his right hip so his training had to be significantly adjusted. Not to mention, he was in some agonizing back pain in the 72 hours leading up to this race but thankfully. Karel and I are against steroid shots and aggressive, quick-fix treatments so thankfully we have a great team of docs and PTs helping us out with good advice.

Most of the time, time just heals those injuries/niggles/issues.

But for Karel, time was running out before Ironman Austria so he came to terms with his body and just stayed optimistic that maybe all will be OK on race day and if not, he came to terms that if he had to pull out of the race, I would have to take one for team Sumbal and race my heart out for both of us.  

Although I still feel like this is all a dream, I know it's real.

To be able to share my on-paper, near perfect race day performance with Karel is an absolute dream come true.
(behind the scenes, this race was not so perfect for me so stay tuned for more details coming soon)

I am still so in love with Karel after 10 years of us living a highly active lifestyle together and for those who know me well, I love sharing this crazy, roller coaster of emotions, triathlon lifestyle with Karel.

Karel finished 9th AG (out of 500+ in his 40-44 AG) with a 9-min PR and his fastest Ironman swim (1:03) and fastest ever marathon run (3:06.0 - 5 minute PR).
Sadly, with only 5 Kona slots in his age group, he missed a slot by less than 2 minutes.
But that is ok as he is thrilled with his race and how his body miraculously performed here in Austria and it was never his intention to Kona qualify here as he has IMMT in 8 weeks where he hopes to Kona qualify.

While the real race day performance is best told by the athlete talking about his/her execution and what she/he had to overcome to get to the finish line, and not by race times and places, I am incredibly thankful to my body for what it allowed me to do on race day.

I just finished my 11th Ironman event.
I had a 11-min PR with an overall time of 10:06.
I had the fastest overall female swim (57.04) and finally broke an hour in the Ironman swim (it only took 10 years!)
I had an 11-min PR on the bike with a time of 5:18.00 (with the last 60+ minutes in the pouring rain).
And despite some major GI issues to start the run (which lasted for about 10 miles), after five potty stops (1 in T2 and then 4 on the run course), I overcome what I thought was not possible on the run (to keep running) and somehow I still managed to run a respectable marathon time for myself of 3:42:57.

I finished 10th overall female, 4th amateur female, fastest American amateur female and achieved my season goal/dream of placing on the podium at an international Ironman event (2nd AG).

As for going to Kona for the 2016 Ironman World Championship, I was not chasing the one Kona slot in my age group.
I went into this race to be the best athlete that I could be without any goals for what needed to happen to get me somewhere after this race.
All my focus was on this one day.

I went into this race knowing that I gave everything I could to prepare mentally and physically for this race and took risks like I have never taken before during an Ironman race. I did all of this because I will now take a temporary break from Ironman racing so I can focus on shorter distance triathlon races until I am ready to race another 140.6 mile event. As for how long of a break, my body and mind will let me know when it wants to return to this extreme triathlon event.

My body has allowed me to do a lot over the past 10 years and I don't take my good health, my love for pushing my body and my competitiveness for granted.

I often feel I am taking a lot of risks when I train for an Ironman so for my triathlon longevity and health, I'm giving my body a break from training to race for 10+ hours and I can now get my Ironman endorphins from Karel who is chasing his Ironman dreams. 

Thank you for your support and thank you Ironman Austria for making my dream come true in such a spectacular race venue.

      

RESULTS

Karel: 

9th AG (40-44), 68th overall

Swim - 1:03.05

Bike - 4:56.51

Run - 3:06.05

Total - 9:13.10

Marni: 

2nd AG (30-34), 10th female overall

Swim - :57.04

Bike - 5:18.00

Run - 3:42.57

Total - 10:06:54

30-34 men and women AG podium 


A beautiful AG award and a keg.
Euro style. 

Ironman World Championship finishers!

Thank you everyone for the support yesterday. We needed it!

We are so proud to now be 2015 Ironman World Championship finishers!!
It was a very hot, challenging day with a lot to overcome in order for us to get to the finish line. 

With now 10 Ironman races behind me, including 4 Ironman World Championship finishes, I can honestly say that there has never been a race when I felt great from start to finish, everything went perfect or I felt like I was able to execute my plan....and that the thought of never doing another Ironman didn't cross my mind.
When it comes to racing for 140.6 miles, there is always something to challenge us on race day.
THIS is what makes the Ironman so extreme in that you never ever know what race day will bring or what your body will do on race day. 

I never overlook an Ironman finish and every medal is earned - not given.
It was an extremely tough day for both of us (but mostly for me as Karel was able to race so strong from start to finish for his first Kona) but I am incredibly grateful that Karel was on the course with me as it was a very special experience to compete in the Ironman World Championship together. Absolutely, a dream come true for both of us. 

Race results:

Karel
2.4 mile swim: 1:13:47
112 mile bike: 5:06:50
26.2 mile run: 3:27:12
Total: 9:55.29

Marni
2.4 mile swim: 1:08:06
112 mile bike: 5:44:08
26.2 mile run: 4:29:26
(many miles of walking from the energy lab back to town due to pain in my neck, ribs and side - I felt defeated but not hopeless - if I can't run, I can walk). 
Total: 11:30.37

Quick video race recap of my race. 

Stay tuned for my IM Kona 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run blog race recaps later this week. 

Ironman Austria FINISHERS!

 

Preparation

The activity or process of making something ready or of becoming ready for something.

Things that are done to make something ready or to become ready for something.

A state of being prepared. 

We all have our own definitions for being/feeling prepared. For the athlete, it may be following an arbitrary training plan and for others, it may be putting all your trust into a coach to design the perfect plan for you to peak and taper properly and execute on race day. 

I'm sure we can all think of a time when we felt prepared and things didn't go as planned.
And of course, the times when we didn't feel prepared and it showed. 

 But then there are those times when we didn't feel prepared and we surprised ourselves. 

Some say that preparation is key to success. Failing to prepare is like preparing for fail. 

When it comes to carrying the human body for 140.6 miles, preparation is certainly key. There's always that person who can wing it but without preparation comes fears, uncertainties, doubts and negative "what if" thoughts. 

However, how much can one actually prepare for an event that involve 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking and 26.2 miles of running without risking injury, burnout or extreme fatigue as well as balancing life with good nutrition, proper sport nutrition, stretching, quality sleep and everything else that goes into "preparing" for an Ironman

Despite this being my 8th Ironman here in Austria, I went into this Ironman with a mix of emotions, including excitement and nerves. 

I have completed 7 Ironmans so far (three on the big island) and I still woke up on race day morning thinking to myself "can I do this...again?"

I've learned so much about Ironman racing over the past 8 Ironmans, including 3 Ironman World Championship races. 

And one thing that I have learned is that 140.6 miles is a long way to go and even those who feel they are best prepared, still must have the right mindset to start and finish the 8-17 hour journey that lies ahead. There is so much training that goes into a one day event so on top of doing the "work" that you may feel is needed to prepare the human body to perform the demands of swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and running 26.2 miles, that training is no good without the right mental toughness on race day, combined with pure enjoyment for the sport and appreciation for the human body.And of course, the ability to overcome whatever comes in your way while racing for 140.6 miles (no race is ever "perfect", it's just how you overcome situations that will determine if you perfectly executed your day.)

I am proud to say that Ironman Austria was a great success for Karel and me. As for feeling prepared going into this race, we certainly did not follow our "ideal" training plan with everything that has been affecting us in our life over the past few months so I guess you could say that we didn't feel 100% prepared. I am not one for excuses and I find that with Ironman training, it's very rare for a person to give 100% for 6+ months to prepare for an Ironman. Ironman training requires a lot of time, money and dedication and for us age group triathletes, it is a fine line of training for an Ironman and still feeling balanced in life (and being able to still function well in life).

In our case, we had two half Ironmans (HITS Ocala in March and St. Croix 70.3 in May) which included some good "short distance" stress on our body before we started our IM build. 

However, our move in May coupled with the passing of my dad left us with our minds on other important things in our life. Nevertheless, we both have thoroughly enjoyed our new home in beautiful Greenville SC so we applied the most training stress on our body with ample recovery to prepare the best we could for Ironman Austria in just 5 weeks. Of course, we do have years of endurance training under our legs but this should never be a good reason to purposely over or under train. 

This means that we carefully overloaded our body with higher intensity workouts that were of moderate volume (even though we do no believe in large weekly volumes of training or "long" training days on the weekend). We each carefully stuck to our own taper regime (we both have our own 2 week taper routine) and then appreciated our time in Europe and considered this Ironman as a chance to take a few risks and to race among a very high caliber of athletes. Since we both were not racing for Kona slots (we are saving our Kona-qualifying race for IMWI in 9 weeks), we wanted to see what we were capable of with our current level of fitness on this fast, beautiful yet challenging course. 

On June 29th, 2014, we both raced the best that we could considering all circumstances that had affected us over the past few months. 

Every athlete will toss around the thought of feeling as if they could have done more prep work before race day, especially in the taper period and race week that precedes the important race day. 

Because every athlete is going to feel and not feel prepared at certain times in a racing season, it is always important that you follow a few of the following suggestions to ensure a positive racing experience: 

-Race only with your current level of fitness - minimize the risks that you take on race day so that you can finish the race with minimal setbacks.

-Consider your own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to executing your race day plan.

-Be sure you have a race day plan that is flexible. 

-Trust the training that you have done and if applicable, your past fitness/racing experience.
-Don't confuse your concerns/worries about not feeling prepared with hating the racing experience. I promise that even if you don't feel prepared, you are going to figure out a way to get to the finish and enjoy crossing that finish line. 

-Never stop loving what you choose to do with your body and with your free time. Your ability to train and race is a gift. 

-Enjoy the race day experience. Maybe you aren't having a good day but someone else is and you can help them out. Don't worry, that favor will be returned when you are rocking your course and others who aren't having a great day, are rooting for you to finish strong. 

-Never stop believing in yourself. 10% undertrained is far better than 1% overtrained. 

The day was not easy for us and after eight Ironman races, I can assure you that I have never felt as if the Ironman day was easy. This is one very important thing that I carry with me as I am racing for 10+ hours...it is NOT suppose to be easy!
The Ironman does not just hand out that medal to anyone, you have to earn it!

Karel and I gave our best effort and left it all out on the course. We love to train smart but we also love to race smart. This means that we are OK to take some risks at times but we also have experience in how to overcome situations when the risks do not work in our favor. We are also ok with our ego's in that if the day does not turn out as we planned, we are still going to fight to get to that finish line. Run, jog, walk, crawl...unless it is medically related, neither one of us our quitters. 

We both respect the Ironman distance. Feeling prepared is great but there are many uncertainties on race day and that is why I feel virgin Ironman athletes should not go into an Ironman with overly ambitious goals. Of course, this statement is coming from someone who wanted to qualify for Kona after her first IM and then I ended up winning the 18-24 age group by almost an hour....but still, I dealt with a lot of "new" things on race day that I somehow was able to overcome. 

The Ironman requires experience, good mental strength (you will realize this when you get to the marathon if you are currently training for your first IM) and the ability to overcome obstacles all day long.

But above all, the Ironman day is to be shared with many people and not just yourself. It requires a lot of people, friends and support to help you start and finish the race. 

I'm incredibly greatly to 110% Play Harder and Oakley Women for helping me race in style but also with quality gear to support my active lifestyle. 

My mom, brother and close family and friends, thank you for supporting this crazy lifestyle that Karel and I enjoy with our free time and disposable income. 

To all the Trimarni fans - thank you so much for your ongoing support. I am so proud to live my life so that I can help others reach personal goals and dreams.
Thank you Gloria for always having the right thing to say at the right time. It's the thoughtful, yet appropriate emails that I get before a race that really make a positive difference in how I approach my race day experience. 

And thank you to the Trimarni coaching and nutrition athletes who inspire me and Karel with your ongoing commitment and dedication to your sport as you balance work, family and life. 

The race reports will be coming soon once I gather the right words to talk about our perfectly executed day with two bodies that didn't feel 100% prepared BUT were super excited to race. 

The Ironman Austria140.6 mile course was filled with lots of cheering spectators, great weather conditions (even with the rain on the bike) and endless spectacular views. 

Ironman Austria, thank you for a perfect day of racing! 

Thanks everyone for your support, we channeled all the positive energy from our amazing friends, family and Trimarni fans!

We would also like to thank my dad, who is not with us, but loved the Ironman day when I raced and we both proudly wore his favorite hats and felt his presence all day (especially when we both needed his strength on the run!).

Final stats:
Karel: (2nd Ironman)
1:07:10 - 2.4 mile swim (PR)
T1: 4:10
4:56:23 - 112 mile bike (PR)
T2: 3:51
3:11:17 - 26.2 mile run (PR,wowzer- 9th fastest AG!!!)
Total: 9:22:51
22nd AG/439 starters, 124th overall
41 minute PR!! So proud of you Karel !!! I just LOVE sharing the excitement and pains of racing an Ironman with you! So sorry that you are way too fast and have to wait for me for almost an hour 

Marni (8th Ironman- thank you body!)
Swim 2.4 mile - 1:00:13 (PR....err, still so close to breaking that hour mark!)
T1: 5:18
Bike 112 miles - 5:29:07 (PR)
T2: 3:48
Run: 3:39:09 (BIG PR... Yay!)
Total: 10:17:35
7th AG/57 starters, 31st female, 18th amateur female
21 minute PR!!

And lastly, thanks to the best furry child ever! 

We love that you approach life with unconditional love and excitement every day!

Every day is a winning day for Campy!

Also a big thank you to INFINIT nutrition for keeping my tummy happy and my body fueled during my training To Trek Bicycles for making safe, speed machines for me to drive with my body. To 110% Play Harder for helping me play hard and recover harder. To Brooks Running for keeping my feet and hips happy and to Oakley Women for knowing how to help a woman in motion look stylish and sporty with quality gear!!!! And to Gloria for helping me stay mentally strong in life and in sport.