Blog

Amazing Kona

Like many endurance athletes around the world, I spent most of the day yesterday staring at my computer, watching the Universal Sports live coverage of the Ironman World Championship in Kona.

Although the men’s race was a good one, and watching Craig Alexander chase down Chris Lieto on the run to win his second consecutive title was pretty sick, the stories of the day for me were in the women’s race. Coming into the race, I was really excited to see by what margin Chrissie Wellington would crush the rest of the women’s field and whether she could break the 16-year-old course record (which she, of course, did).

But what turned out to be my favorite story of the day started developing about ten miles into the marathon for the top pro women. Chrissie already had a huge lead and was essentially guaranteed the win. The only question was who would come in second. Mirinda Carfrae came off the bike in ninth place among the women – 26 minutes behind Chrissie, 15 minutes behind Tereza Macel in second place and over 12 minutes behind Virginia Berasategui, the third woman off the bike. By running at a 6:32 pace through the first half of the race, Mirinda ran herself into third place and was challenging Virginia for second place. To make a long story short, Mirinda passed Virginia somewhere around mile 20 of the marathon and though it looked for a few minutes like Virginia might stay with her, Mirinda never let up. And in the end, Mirinda ran a friggin 2:56:51 marathon, the fastest ever for a woman at Kona. AND, the SEVENTH FASTEST MARATHON OVERALL OF THE DAY! Only six dudes beat her, and those guys are generally considered the fastest marathoners in triathlon. Oh yeah, this was her first Ironman – not just her first time at Kona, her first time racing this distance at all. To put things into perspective, her time – on a blistering hot day on a tough course after swimming 2.4 miles and cycling 112 – would have still earned her 45th place among the women at the Chicago Marathon today. I am still in awe.

As for me, training is going really well. I ran the Westridge/Mulholland Drive trail yesterday and last Saturday with Rom, which was great. Having company on those stupid long runs makes getting through them so much easier. A 22+ mile run yesterday, with at least two more long runs before the marathon puts me in a great position as I prepare for the Northface Endurance 50. I’ve been kicking up the volume and so far (knock on wood), I’ve been running injury-free.

On a final note, after nearly four weeks without desert, I finally broke down last night. We were at a dinner party and the panna cotta with strawberries just looked too damn good. I also ate about a pound of candied pecans. The “splurge” felt good and, after my 22 mile run, it was well-earned, but there still won’t be any cookies for breakfast anytime soon.

Swim – October 7
Distance: 3,390 yards (3,100 meters)
Time: 1:09

Run – October 7
Distance: 4.3 miles
Time: 32 minutes
Average heart rate: 135
Course: West Hollywood
Conditions: Sunny, mid-60’s

Speedwork – October 8
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 1:02
Main set: 4×800 (90″ rest)

Indoor Bike – October 9
Time: 30 minutes
Average heart rate: 109

Run – October 10
Distance: 22.25 miles
Time: 3:30 minutes
Average heart rate: 130
Course: Westridge/Mulholland
Conditions: Overcast, fog and high 50’s at start, some sun and low 60’s by end

Run – October 11
Distance: 6.75 miles
Time: 52:30
Average heart rate: 132
Course: West Hollywood/Beverly Hills
Conditions: Overcast, low 60’s