ROAD TO KONA JOURNEY

written by Christine Fletcher, September 1, 2006

Those of you who have followed my triathlon career over the past two years know that my dream is to win the Hawaii Ironman World Championship race. The big kahuna. The event that thousands of people from around the globe try to qualify for, just to cross the infamous Alii Drive finish line. I have had the honour of crossing this finish line four times already, twice as an amateur and twice as a professional.

After my June 2006 qualification race in Coeur D’Alene, I am back on the road to Kona, ready for another performance against the world’s best triathletes. Race day is just under two months away. Am I ready? Not yet, but I will be.

Last year, I finished 25th female professional with a personal Hawaii best time of 10:10 (following my 3rd place finish at Ironman Canada just five weeks earlier). This year, I hope to better this result significantly with a podium finish, top-10 placement. What gives me the confidence to believe that I can achieve that goal?

For starters, this is the first year that I have had the opportunity to qualify for Kona in the spring, which allows me time to recover, regroup and build back up to a peak performance in October. Since 2000, I have been racing Ironman Canada in late August, only to turn around and travel to Hawaii a few weeks later to race yet another Ironman. Our bodies are not made to peak twice in six weeks for races as long as an Ironman. In my experience of racing Ironman Canada and Ironman Hawaii back to back, my Kona performance has always been compromised. That being said, in the past I traveled to Hawaii on a reactive basis, meaning I would not set out to qualify but when I did, I would inevitably take my slot.

 This year I have had the entire months of July and August to recover and rebuild. I will use September to log long training hours, and most of October to taper and peak for the race on the 21st of October. 

The next factor influencing my confidence in a strong Kona contention has been prioritizing my mental focus. With invaluable mental coaching from Anne Muscat, sports psychologist and ISCA affiliate, and my previous coach, Brian McDonald, I have learned how to clear my mind, psych my body and hone my thoughts before training sessions, so that the work ahead is my total focus. I integrate cue words of “power – smooth – strong – steady – fast - commit” to channel my energy, maintain form and perform to my potential. I use low-priority races to integrate mind and body processes. With consistent mental practice before, during and after training sessions and in races, I find myself welcoming the Kona start line with confidence and calmness and eagerness to take on the challenge.

 The third influencing factor is a recognition of my own persistence. I am a stubborn sucker and determined to live my life according to what moves me, drives me and makes me smile. I found this quote and thought it worth sharing: “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” Anonymous, as quoted in “The Edge,” by Howard Ferguson.

This quote rings true because, while I have some innate talent, I certainly don’t hold any world records in the pool, on a bike or on the road. I have a good head but am far from a biological genius. And, I am graced with an excellent educational background, but I don’t have a string of letters that trail my name. What I have is unrelenting persistence: I am willing to pay my dues and put in the time. Yes, ability and talent are very important to success. However, without persistence, ability and talent mean nothing. Persistence has gotten me to the Kona’s finish line every year. It will do so again this year, only faster.

Training is certainly an important factor in my success at Kona, but it must be combined with all the other factors. My foundation workouts for Kona are my sessions at Innovative (building strength, balance and stability – injury prevention!), my technical runs (drills and easy tempo pace runs) as well as my long brick workouts, all the while practicing race-day nutrition, hydration and pacing. My long brick days mimic an Ironman day as closely as the body can handle and recover from. This might include a six-hour ride, followed by a one-hour run with major recovery to follow and nap. Later in the day, it might include an easy drill-based swim and stretching. These kinds of days are dawn to dusk—my favourite kind.

 But in all truthfulness, the last but most significant influencing factor will be my attentiveness to the mentorship I am receiving from Peter Reid and my new coach, Paul Cross. Just before starting to train again after Ironman Coeur D’Alene, I emailed Peter for his input. Here is what he had to say:

Some important thoughts:

  1. The training is the minimum—all athletes train hard; but, not all athletes train well or smart.

  2. You need to really know why you are racing—the answer to this question needs to come from your gut—why you have passion to race hard and take your performance to another level

  3. Have the best equipment—it makes the difference. The top contenders never compromise.

  4. Body— there is a time to be lean and a time to train a bit heavy. I always trained heavy and leaned out for my big competitions. It's like training on normal shoes then switching to race flats on race day. You get so much more extra strength from training a bit heavy, then when you lean out you have the added strength and a lighter body. Shazam! Also you can recover a bit better when you are not too lean. Heavy for me was 10 lbs. For someone like you it would be 5-6.

  5. Belief in your training and your coach.

Finally, dream big! Believe BIG! You aim for that top spot and the podium will be a no-brainer. BELIEVE! The top 10 in Kona are pretty much equal physically. The person who wins is the person who right now is on a mission to win the race. You don't just win in Hawaii—you know you can win and you make it happen. Believe in yourself. The belief allows you to go so deep on race day. It is an amazing feeling to cross the finish line and know you dug harder than you ever had in anything in your life. Belief in yourself is how you do it! (Peter Reid’s advice to me July 2006)

I took Peter’s comments very seriously, and responded to him accordingly. He didn’t win Hawaii three times on talent or natural ability. He won it on confidence, belief and persistence. The fact that he shared this insight with me is a gift, and I keep his words in mind each day as I prepare for Kona.

 Two months of hard work and one small race, the Vancouver Triathlon, lie between today and my performance in Kona. I hope you will follow my journey and find some parallels to your own endeavours. As I follow the journeys of the Fitness Fantasy participants, the Seattle to Portland riders, the Single Sock riders and the epic race of Mark Coates and Jeff Thomas in the Trans Rockies event, I am moved and inspired. Each of you motivate me with your unique stories of challenge, determination and success. I hope to do the same for you in Kona.