Amy Regan won her age group at Ironman Coeur D’Alene for the second year in a row, and finished 10th in her age group at the Ironman World Championship.

Karin Bivens won her age group at Ironman Brazil and proceeded to beat her husband in Kona.

Thomas Gerlach was the Rev3 amateur series champion and turned pro at the end of the season.

Angela Naeth won the inaugural Leadman Epic 250 and wrapped her season up with her first 70.3 win in Boulder.

Mark Tripp was 3rd in the highly competitive M30-34 age group at Vineman 70.3 which was also his first half.

Craig Pansing was the overall series winner for the Los Angeles Tri Series.

And Leanda Cave won Wildflower, Miami 70.3, Rev3 Knoxville, Ironman Arizona, and finished 3rd at the Ironman World Championships.

While these accomplishments are all very impressive there is more to being a TriSports.com athlete than winning races. It about living a healthy lifestyle, pushing ourselves beyond what we ever thought we were capable of, sharing the joy of sport with those around us, and our 2011 TriSports.com athlete of the year truly embodies the spirit of the sport.

2011 Athlete of the Year: Craig Sheckler

As a coach, club founder, and accomplished triathlete Craig Sheckler has turned the sport of triathlon into a lifestyle. As founder of the Endurance Multisport club in Pennsylvania he has helped grow the sport of triathlon in his community and inspired others to follow his lead and live an active lifestyle. His club now boast a membership of over 125 members. When Craig isn’t coaching he is busy training. After many years of racing Ironman Craig was ready for a new challenge and this year tackled Ultraman UK: a ridiculous 3 day double Ironman in the horrible weather of England. He then proceeded to do and Ironman 3 weeks after his return from Ultraman. As a 7 year member of Team TriSports I am honored to present the 2011 athlete of the year award to Craig Sheckler.

]]> http://blog.tri-sports.com/2012/03/26/2011-trisports-com-athlete-of-the-year/feed/ 2 http://blog.tri-sports.com/2012/03/06/angela-naeth-gets-second-at-abu-dhabi-international/ http://blog.tri-sports.com/2012/03/06/angela-naeth-gets-second-at-abu-dhabi-international/#comments Tue, 06 Mar 2012 23:24:16 +0000 Jaclyn A. http://blog.tri-sports.com/?p=5549 Congratulations Angela! After a stellar 1st place finish at Panama 70.3 a month ago, she follows it up with a 2nd place finish in Abu Dhabi! Looks like it is shaping up to be a great season! Check out what gear Angela is using in 2012!

Swim faster in a Nineteen Wetsuit.

Angela rides one of the fastest bikes on the market a BH GC Aero, with Shimano Dura Ace Di2 and Dura Ace wheels.

Angela hit the run course and held off the super speedy former steeple chaser Melissa Rollinson in her Pearl Izumi Iso Transition Triathlon shoes.

Look like a pro on the podium with a TriSports.com visor!

Leanda Cave on the run at Ironman 70.3 Panama.

True to fashion, Team TriSports athlete Leanda Cave lead the race out of the water (20:10) in her Blue Seventy PZ3TX and into T2. Hot on her heels was TriSports teammate Angela Naeth who clocked the fasted bike split of the day (2:26:31) on her BH GC Aero. Shortly into the run Angela passed Leanda, never looked back, and added her second 70.3 win to her growing list of accomplishments.

Angela Naeth, the happy champion.

Congratulations to both Angela and Leanda on their excellent showing of early season fitness. We can’t wait to see how the year unfolds!

This past weekend I had a very emotional and rewarding victory at Ironman Arizona – my final race of 2011!  Here is a summary of my 2011 season: 13 races, 3 of which were World Championship events.  Two Ironman races, two long distance triathlons, six half-ironman, two Olympic distance and one duathlon.  I managed five wins, four 2^nd places, two 3^rd places, and two random off the podium finishes of 6^th place.   Pat on the back me!   I’m exhausted!

My main goal for Ironman Arizona was to break 3-hours for the marathon.  I also really wanted to win because I hadn’t won an Ironman yet.  At the back of my mind I wasn’t so confident about achieving either goal.  It was a big ask from my body and very ambitious after racing so much since the Ironman World Championship in Kona 6-weeks earlier.  But I had nothing to lose because it was the last race of the season for me.  I had a bloody good reason if I sucked and it was a bonus if I could pull it off.  But in terms of racing itself, I just wanted to be done.  I was looking forward to getting to the finish line more than the process for this race.

On race morning I woke up with one thought in my head: “oh crap, I’m racing an Ironman today”.  The whole idea started to dawn on me.  But it was too late to back out now.  My sister, Melissa, and her boyfriend Tim, had come all the way over from London to watch me race.  I was committed!

Photo by: Hai-Ping Hwang-Twigg

I pumped my tires up, went for a little jog and headed over to the swim start.  The water in the Tempe Lake is a pretty cold 60 degrees this time of year, and we have to swim a bit of a way to the start line, which means hanging out a little too long in the cold water.  I froze.  I’m not good in the cold at the best of times.  I tried to warm up but just felt tight and lethargic.  When the gun went off, I was slow off the mark.  Any hope of hanging on to the feet of the male pros quickly vanished.  I did have a couple of other pro woman around me (we had yellow swim caps, and the males had grey), and they would be my company for the swim.  I come from a swimming background and normally the swim is just getting from A to B and I don’t think much of it.  But it seemed to be taking forever, and just before the last turn buoy my left calf completely cramped and I had to stop.  Then the most sportsmanlike thing happened.  Meredith Kessler, who was swimming on my feet, stopped and asked if I was ok!  Couldn’t believe someone would be so kind to do that.  I waved Meredith on and just thought to myself as I waited for my cramp to ease how amazing and generous some athletes really are.

I exited the water in 4^th place, about 3 minutes down on the leader, Amanda Stevens and a minute down on Meredith Kessler and Kelly Williamson.  The gap wasn’t huge, and I thought I could reel them in over the course of the bike.  But that idea was sidelined when I discovered I had a flat tire right out of the gate.  I ran back into transition to get a spare wheel from the mechanics tent, but they told me all their spares were out on the course about a mile up the road.  So to get me by, they put air in my tire and discovered the valve was loose and I didn’t have a flat after all.  With the valve tightened and air in my tire, I thought I was good to go and started to wind up the gears to get back into the race.  But then my chain started slipping and I couldn’t get into any of the harder gears.  At this point I had gone about half a mile past the spare wheels on the course, but I knew I had to go back as I had no other option.

I was wearing a bracelet on race day in honor of a local triathlete, Sally Meyerhoff, who lost her life earlier this year after a truck hit her on a training ride.  It read: “Be Relentlessly Positive”.  I looked down at it through all this commotion a number of times, and it really flushed away all the doubts and negative thoughts about the situation and it gave me the energy to forge ahead.

Eventually I changed my rear wheel and essentially lost about 6 minutes in doing so!  But I was good to go now and that’s what I did.  Linsey Corbin had caught me and encouraged me to make an effort with her to chase down the girls ahead.  We kept gaining time bringing the initial 8-minute deficit down to 5 minutes after the first lap, then 4 minutes by the start of the 3^rd lap.   By the time I reached transition, Meredith Kessler, Michelle Vesterby and I were 3:30 down on Stevens.  Lindsey was a further 2 minutes back after suffering in the last lap of the bike.

I went out on the run in 4^th.  I set out feeling pretty average.  I’m not sure anyone feels amazing when they get off a 112-mile bike ride!  My transition was pretty slow and I found myself chasing down Versterby in the first 2 miles.  I then had my sights on Kessler, who I caught at about 4 miles.  Meredith hung with me for a few miles, but had to slow a bit to find her own pace.  So now it was just me chasing down Stevens.  By 6 miles the gap had closed to 1 minute and by 7 miles I was in the lead!

I forged ahead and kept my sub 3-hour marathon goal in mind.  I was feeling pretty good on the 2^nd lap.  But I knew the worst part of the race for me is yet to come.  This was my 4^th time racing Ironman Arizona, and in the past, I have fallen to bits in the final lap.  I tried to put that in the back of my mind and concentrate on the goal ahead.  My coach Siri was screaming at me about some really fast overall time.  She was saying I was on target to go under 8hrs50min for the race.  I was just thinking there was no way!  I’m just going for my run goal and now to win my first Ironman.  But she was right.   I came down the finish chute in 8:49!!  I also ran a 2:58 marathon!! Wow.  My body amazes me.  After I crossed the finish line, I ran back down the chute to slap hands with the crowd.  I’ve always wanted to do this!  Then of course I did the Blazeman Roll.

My support team is what made this season possible.  A HUGE thank you to the crew at K-Swiss, Accelerade/Endurox R4 (my secret recovery formula), Sandy at Gita Sports and the boys at Pinarello, Blue Seventy, Nuun, my team back home at TriSports, Tri Bike Transport, NOVA Light, Chuck and Jim at Easton/Bell/Giro, SKINS, Oakley, TorHans Aero and Computrainer.

Thanks to my family and friends for all you support throughout 2011.  2012 is going to be even greater!!

Yours in sport,

Leanda Cave

Cave is coming off a strong year of top three results in the most sensational and significant races. Following an impressive 9:03:29 in early October at the Ford Ironman World Triathlon Championships in Kona, Hawaii, good for 3^rd Pro, she showed continued form only 21 days later by winning the Rohto Ironman 70.3 race in Miami, Florida. No less than five days after that she podium-ed again at the ITU Long Distance World Championships in Henderson, Nevada. Despite difficult conditions that mandated a swim cancellation the resilient Cave helped spearhead winner Rachel Joyce’s “British invasion” by coming in second only 200 seconds off the win.

Conditions in Henderson, Nevada for this World Championship were decidedly rotten- but Cave was remarkably fresh given her crowded race calendar. Consider that her last two events had been in the heat of the Kona lava fields and the humidity of the Miami coast, and that Henderson was in freezing temperatures; her collective performances become even more remarkable.

Cave is refreshingly unassuming despite her upward trajectory. Her approach to the sport seems to be one of “Do the work, get the results”. She walks easily between the roles of jolly-good athlete buddy and podium pounding World Champ heir apparent. If you extrapolate Cave’s previous results forward over the next 365 days it suggests big things. She also has an odd penchant for consistency: consistent results, consistent improvement. While Rinnie and Chrissie no doubt feel Leanda nipping at their heels in Kona (OK, 8 minutes to Chrissie), what they may fail to realize is they might not have to falter for Cave to prevail given her current trajectory. She may simply beat them. Straight up, slugfest, beat them.

The same thing that makes Cave so affable may also make her so threatening to her competitors. It is, for Cave, a job to get on the podium, and she does her job quite well with little fanfare. She goes from podium to podium like a longshoreman punching in at the dock. She wins at different distances and in different climates with a brand of versatility previously ascribed to athletes like Macca and Crowie- and look what they did. She simply seems more durable than some of her top competitors. This is particularly significant in Kona since previous champions tend to succumb by attrition. Carfrae and Wellington may be touching their heads on the glass ceiling of their own capabilities. Cave… still has some head room.

Like all athletes Cave has shown some vulnerability. A previous chink in her armor was nutrition/digestive issues in Hawaii. She seems to have shored that up… mostly. She suffered a brief gastric episode in Kona this year that cost her 5 bathroom stops. Do the math; if she hadn’t lost that time…

Cave knows what she has to do to keep winning up the ladder. She has room to grow. Fix the digestive issue. Continue the trajectory. History has shown this long grind of experience has built champions in Kona, and for Cave, it seems like only a matter of time before her “Kona grind” yields the perfect brew.

While most people were busy preparing their Halloween costumes, this week I got to work making myself into a real-life walking zombie.  I knew I hit the mark when I walked into TriSports on Saturday for the Tinfoilman packet pickup, and the staff actually commented on how much I looked like a zombie.  But that was the plan, and with both the Amica 19.7 Sprint Championship and Ironman Arizona fast approaching, I had little time for rest during my hardest training block ever.

The goal of the Tinfoilman was to get in a fast threshold workout and compare it to a race earlier this year on the same course.  Now to be fair, I had crashed 10 days prior to that race, but I thought it would be a wash with the extra fatigue for this one.

Swim (9:59) The Tinfoilman features an 825 yard swim in the University of Arizona pool. The race features 10 waves, with 30 athletes per wave, and 2 athletes per lane.I embraced the news as I planned for an even tougher threshold workout. My wave was up, the gun fired, and I took off down the lane. Surprisingly I had half a length gap on everyone - that is until I hit the wall - and then I found myself suddenly half a length behind. Now seeing as I don't believe in doing flip turns, and nor do I believe in pushing off the wall, I knew that I would sacrifice some time here. I can only imagine what it looks like from the pool deck, but based on the number of coaches that have watched me swim thru the years, I am pretty sure it is a horrid site - but hey it's Halloween!Bike (28:17) The bike is a relatively flat, 12-mile, 3-loop bike course around the U of A campus. The roads of this urban bike course go from smooth as glass to "hold on for dear life" rough, and they can be quite challenging with cars, dogs, and competitors to watch out for.The bike is where I expected my legs to be most fatigued and sadly they didn't disappoint. Nonetheless, I pedaled as fast as I could as I tried to close the gap on Ben. The power on the smoother sections was good at 330, but I couldn't put out any power on the bumpy sections and with all the turns the final power only came in at 279. In better news, as the laps rolled by the split differential was coming down. After the 1st lap it was at 1 minute, by the second lap it was down to 40 seconds, and when I rolled back into transition it was down to 20. This was all good, but I knew I needed a great run to win.

Run (17:17) I got back to transition, racked my bike, and swiftly put on my run shoes.  I had a GPS watch that I was going to use for data, but it served little purpose in trying to chase down a future Olympian.

I took off on the run with the mindset that I was only 20 seconds down – surprisingly the legs felt pretty good.  It always amazes me how much fresher legs feel after short races than the longer races that I am accustom to.  On the downside, fresh legs means there are no excuses but to run fast.

The run is a flat 2-loop course that offers multiple opportunities to grab splits. That first opportunity came at about 1K and I was roughly 250 meters down.  Ben looked strong, but the gap didn’t seem unreasonable so I pressed hard.  I was flying by other participants from earlier waves but my gap to Ben was growing and the signature smile was fading to a grimace.  I continued down the homestretch and could only muster a faint “on your left” as I flew by participants.  I left it all on the table, but in the end I would finish nearly a minute and a half down.

Overall (55:34) I had my best swim ever swimming 825y in 9:59.  That may not impress many – but it continues to show that my swim work is paying off, and a strong swim is key to my success at the next level.  The bike was lacking today but I knew it would be and the run was on par.  Overall my time was 55:34 and good for second place and was a good minute faster than my race back in May at 56:37.

I raced the Ironman World Championships for the first time in 2009 as an amateur athlete, finishing in 9:09, which was good enough for 3rd in my age group, and 8th overall amateur. I turned pro the following season.

With the new points system in place for the 2011 event, I certainly didn’t “plan” on qualifying, nor did I approach the season intent on doing so. Despite a season of performances that left me less than satisfied, I managed to squeak into the top 50 in the rankings and received an invite to the party this year.

With my move up from the age group ranks to the pro ranks, came a change in the race dynamic. Everyone is faster, and I knew where everyone was. It was less of a race against myself and the clock and more a race against my competitors. Even as a new pro, I had to change my strategy and try to respond to the race.

I had learned a great deal since I began racing pro, but coming back to the big island, and racing Kona as a pro, was a much different experience than as an age grouper. I had some preconceived notions about what the race and the experience as a whole would be, some proved to be close to the truth, others WAY off.

As the 47th “ranked” professional, and by no means a “big name” in the lineup, I came into this race thinking I would feel very little pressure. I was wrong. The energy of Kona during race week is electric, and powerful. It is hard not to get caught up in all that goes on and nearly impossible not to feel some pressure from the pulse of the town. Thursday afternoon I began to realize that notwithstanding my stature amongst the professionals, I was indeed feeling the pressure. Pressure however, is not necessarily a bad thing. It all depends how you handle it. I made a conscious effort to turn the pressure into excitement. To simply let myself be excited to race, not be fearful of what could happen, but simply take the day as it came, race hard, and see where the chips fell.

My thought was that the swim, with only 80 some-odd athletes would be a much more “friendly” event than when I started with 1,800 athletes two years prior. I was again mistaken. I lined up a little left of the middle and for the first 100-150m enjoyed a rather mellow start. I remember thinking how much nicer it was. Then we merged with the bigger group from the right and I was again enlightened. My goal was to make the first chase group and I was in that group, but never before had I been so far into a swim, and found myself still battling for position, absorbing kicks and all sorts of contact. It remained this way all the way out to the turn, where I lost the group in the surge before the buoy. Here too was found yet another morsel of education, even the smallest of gaps in this race, will open and expand in a heartbeat. I needed to stay close and concentrate all the time, or I would be dropped. I failed to do so, and met that fate. While I was glad that the mayhem had died down, I was not happy knowing I had lost that group and any hope of riding with them.

People lay it on the line in this race more than any other. I have heard some people make the observation that many of the professionals are “soft” because they fade back or drop out. This opinion is foolhardy and ignorant at best. As the saying goes, “walk a mile in their shoes…” I will not go so far as to say I have even walked a mile in the shoes of my competitors who gutted it out on the bike, pushing the envelope to a torrid pace, risking it all, only to get off the bike facing down a brutally hot marathon. I rode the vast majority of the bike leg alone. I am not sure if I could have hung on with the leading group even if I had made the swim, but I know the effort was HIGH, and many took big risks in holding that pace. I saw the carnage. I am certain that anyone saying a guy like Marino Vanhoenacker is “soft” because he DNF’d has never pushed themselves to anywhere near the level of suffering he was willing to put himself into that day. Therein lies the greatest difference between racing professional vs. age group.

While the time gaps may not seem all that significant to the observer, the level to which even the most talented of athletes must push themselves in order to finish near the top of the professional ranks is remarkable. Evidence is found in my TriSports.com teammate Leanda Cave. Undoubtedly one of the top performing female triathletes in the world, Leanda has had an amazing couple years and finally reached the podium at Kona this year. She pushed herself to great depths to do so, in her own words, putting herself in the “hurt locker.” She paid the price for it as well, to the tune of four hours in the medical tent and an additional four hours in the Kona emergency room. A price she would be willing to pay time and again to finish so high. I would dare to say there is not a professional in history that has finished on the podium in this race who has not been ready and willing to pay that same price, to risk it all on these hallowed grounds to reach to pinnacle of our sport.

I learned a great deal on Saturday. The most important lesson being that it takes much more than simply great talent and dedication in training in order to perform well at this race. It also demands that you have the courage to go “all in” and hope you come out the other side. Many of the top men and women did so on Saturday. Some found great reward, some met much more sour fates. All of them should be applauded for their willingness to do so.

*One thing Ian didn’t mention here is how he did. Despite being ranked #47 in the field, Ian finished 24th amongst the professionals and put together a solid race in all three disciplines. He proved to himself and his competitors that he can race with the “big names” in the lava fields. Don’t be surprised if you see his name climb in the rankings over the next couple of years. To read more about Ian’s race check out his blog. Congratulations Ian, we are very proud of you!

October 14, 2011 – Leanda Cave can now claim another world championship podium finish to an already impressive career.  On Saturday, in Kailua-Kona Hawaii, Cave put together a consistent and relentless attack on the swim, bike and run to finish 3^rd at the Ironman World Championship – finishing just behind the current and former world champions Chrissie Wellington and Mirinda Carfrae.  Cave, who has won both the ITU short course World Championship and Long Course World Championship, can now add a another world championship podium finish to her list of career achievements.

In her own words…

The reality of my 3^rd place at the Ironman World Championships in Kona has still not quite set in.   In fact, over the past few years I knew I had it in me, but for different reasons I could never make it reality.

After a disappointing race at the 70.3 World Championship last month in Las Vegas, I have to admit, I was a little concerned about my fitness going into Kona.  I had put in such a solid block of training in Los Angeles and for some reason, I couldn’t pull of the race in Vegas that I thought I should have had.  But looking back, I hadn’t really tapered for that race, mentally or physically.  I couldn’t take my mind off Kona, so I kept digging deep, training all the way up to a few days before Vegas.

Right after Vegas I flew out to Kona, Hawaii.  This left me with four more weeks before the big day and my “A” race and I made the most of every day and minute.  I had a few days off after Vegas, but my coach  Siri started cracking the whip pretty quickly.  I spent every day out in Kona pushing my body through the tough hot and windy conditions of which the race is renowned for.  I was paying particular attention to my running and nutrition (I had some great advice from Brian Shea, which I wanted to practice).  In the past years I have raced in Kona, my run has always let me down.  I wanted to make sure it didn’t this year.

The day before the race I felt pretty crappy.   Heavy, lethargic, tired and grumpy.  However, all my great races over the years have happened the day after feeling like crap.  All my poor races on the other had have happened the day after feeling awesome (in other words, I peaked one day too early).  I was also full of nervous energy. I often get more nervous if I know I am in great shape, so on a scale of 1 to 10, I was up around 10!

Race morning came around.  I was up at 3am, well before my 4am alarm.  But those pesky little nerves had my heart racing.  I did a little run warm up.  Yeah, I was feeling pretty good.  Swim warm-up confirmed the same thing, and bit of the Black Eyed Peas put my head in the right place (I sang “I Wanna Rock Right Now” the entire race!).

6.30am…………the gun goes off.  Unlike last year, I had a great start and found myself right on the back of the lead pack.  I could see Julie Dibens just to my left.  Exactly where I wanted to be.  Unfortunately we have to start with the male athletes.  I don’t know any other professional World Championship event where the men and women are on the same start line at the same time, but that is an issue for another time.  But this did impact my race.  I’m a strong swimmer, so I was in the mix with a lot of the lead pro men, and they don’t cut a woman any slack.  Right around the halfway mark I had a guy who decided to fight me for the feet in front instead of fighting to stay on the feet in front.  I ended up having to swim over him as he had pushed me out so far that those feet in front were well and truly gone.  I put in a huge effort to catch back up to the lost feet, which I did only to find that guy had lost the feet and the lead pack in front of him.  I was spent, and I could not find that extra energy to bridge the gap.  In the end, I came out 2 minutes behind Julie (who I beat out the water in Vegas) and two other pro woman Lucie Zelenkova and Amanda Stevens).

This didn’t deter me.  I still came out in a pretty decent position along with Rachael Joyce.  We have raced each other quite a lot and have always had similar bike splits, so I was actually excited to be with her on the bike.  Early into the ride Rachael and I started sharing the lead and soon caught Stevens and then Zelenkova.  But at 35miles in we were both overtaken by Caroline Steffen and Julie was setting a pretty good pace out front.  We had a motor bike giving us splits and at Hawi Julie was up by 8mins and Steffen was up by 4mins.  However, the gap between us and the girls in chase was growing and I still felt awesome.  I did have a rough patch as we turned right back onto the Queen K where Rachael created a significant gap over me.  But I refueled and started to feel great again with 26-miles to go, passing Rachael and sitting in 3^rd place for the remainder of the bike.

Due to past runs off the bike in Kona, I felt very nervous about setting out on the run.  But within the first mile I felt amazingly strong.  So I didn’t look at my watch and just went for it.  I had Julie 16 minutes and Caroline over 4 minutes ahead of me.  According to spectators, I was gaining on both.  At mile 6, I passed Julie and I had gained 90 seconds on Steffen.  I stayed in my groove, concentrating on my nutrition.  Some big names were in chase, like Chrissie Wellington (3 time former winner) and Mirinda Carfrae (last years winner and one time runner up).  But I had to stay dialed in with my own race and not bury myself early on.  I held off Chrissie till mile 16.  I was still gaining on Steffen, but not as dramatically as earlier on.  But as we entered the Energy Lab, I could feel my gut gurgling.  This was where my race and gut fell apart in the past and I was concerned.  But I can’t do much about it.  I ploughed on and took 5 toilet stops between mile 17 and mile 21.  Somewhere in there while I was in the porta-loo, Mirinda passed me.  I was now in 4^th.  I heard news that Caroline was now walking through the aid stations.  I was feeling pretty rough, but I was still running.  I knew that if I just kept on running I would pass here.   Sure enough, at mile 22, I ran past Caroline.  Now in 3^rd, I didn’t want to be caught.  I just kept digging.

Running the last mile felt so exhilarating.  The crowd was phenomenal and I started crying because I was in 3^rd and no one was behind me.  I enjoyed every moment and I still remember it vividly.  I crossed the line.  Still on the high, I managed to get down and do the Blazeman Roll.  But once I got back up, the lights went out for a few seconds.  I briefly saw and congratulated Chrissie and Mirinda, but the fatigue hit me like a ton of bricks.  I saw my coach Siri and my friend/manager Chris McCrary, but I had to make a b-line for the medical tent.  That is where I remained for the next 4 hours.  My vitals kept going south and I was either on the toilet or throwing up the whole time.  I was administered 3 IVs, but the head doctor saw no signs of improvement, so he sent me off to the hospital, no questions asked.  I tried to resist.  But upon nearly fainting, I agreed.

There I met Torsten who stayed with me for another few hours.   I was given another IV along with some anti-nausea medication and potassium.  Eventually, I was out and all I wanted to eat was a burger.  So Torsten and I made a drive-thru trip to McDonalds.  It’s probably the first visit to McDonalds in a year, so I didn’t feel that bad about it and the French-fries tasted sooooooooo good!

I am so happy with my race.  With my 3^rd place, I have now won a World Championship medal in every triathlon distance event (ITU Olympic, ITU Long Course and 70.3).  I was also quicker than the many previous winners of the race and I shaved an amazing 24 minutes off my last years time.  And the most exciting thing about that is, I think I can shave off another 5 to 10 minutes!!  So my dream of winning one day is by no means unrealistic.

I want to thank all my wonderful and supportive sponsors.  This is a dream result for me and I hope you are all as proud of my result as I am.  I’m not quite done for the year just yet.  I don’t like to waste all this fitness that I have worked so hard for.  So I will be lining up next Miami 70.3 (30 October), ITU Long Distance World Championship (5 November and this will be my 3^rd World Championship event in 3 months!), and finally Ironman Arizona (20 November).

Yours in sport,

Leanda Cave

There are a few words that come to mind when I think about Leanda Cave’s 3^rd place Ironman World Championship performance: consistent, inspiring, and relentlessly strong.  Leanda turned professional in 2000 and has raced on the big island 5 times now. Her highest ranking was 8^th place in 2007 during her Kona debut.  Since then she has humbly surrendered to the island gods, suffering from GI issues, DNFs and island fatigue.

a strong and consistent cyclist, Leanda entered T2 in 3rd place.

Leanda is always a consistent swimmer/biker, so it was no surprise when she exited the water amongst the top women with a 53:54 swim. On the bike she spent the day working and pacing with fellow Brit Rachel Joyce and gained a spot as she entered transition in 3^rd place.  Heading onto the run course Leanda was looking strong, and her run form was noticeably different from years past, she was flying! Shortly into the run she passed Julie Dibens, who led the race for the swim and bike portions, but unfortunately Dibens DNF’d due to a foot injury that has been bothering her since June. Now in second place with World Champions Chrissie Wellington and Mirinda Carfrae hot on her heels, she was still looking and running strong. As Wellington made her stoic pass, Leanda placed a friendly hand on her back congratulating Wellington on her good form. Unlike most passed by Wellington, she did not crumble and quickly fall behind; instead, Leanda stayed strong running on her heels, letting Wellington know that she was not going to win as easily as she had in the past. She was later passed by marathon course record holder Carfrae, but made a pass of her own, running by last year’s second place finisher, Caroline Steffen. This secured her 3^rd place finish before heading down Ali’i Drive with a 14 minute marathon PR.

Leanda Cave makes her way to the finish shoot with a 14 minute marathon PR.

In the past few years, we have not seen much of a race amongst the women for first place as Wellington and Carfrae have run away with the title, usually with no competition in sight. This year we saw the greats suffer, struggle, and fight as the top 5 women were only separated by a mere 12 minutes. What an incredible day of racing by the women of the Ironman World Championship!

A huge congratulation to our girl, Leanda Cave! We have enjoyed working with you over the years and are beyond proud of you for your inspiring race, determination, and example of sportsmanship. Now hurry back to Tucson so we can celebrate properly!

Congratulations Leanda!

]]> http://blog.tri-sports.com/2011/10/10/leanda-cave-3rd-place-ironman-world-championships/feed/ 2 http://blog.tri-sports.com/2011/10/07/good-luck-team-trisports/ http://blog.tri-sports.com/2011/10/07/good-luck-team-trisports/#comments Fri, 07 Oct 2011 17:10:09 +0000 Jaclyn A. http://blog.tri-sports.com/?p=5104 It’s Kona time and we are more than a little excited to tune into Ironman Live tomorrow to watch Team TriSports athletes compete in the most sought after race in triathlon, the Ford Ironman World Championship. Triathletes around the World have devoted years to qualifying and chasing Kona slots, and somehow our athletes make it look easy. Best of luck to all athletes racing this weekend and we wish you light winds, calm waters, and the race of a lifetime!

Leanda Cave has held one of the top positions in the Kona Pro Rankings all year, which is a testament to her determination, consistency and love of racing. A couple months ago I was talking with Leanda and she said “I want to win one of these (Ironmans)”. I hope tomorrow is your day!

Torsten is hot off his second place finish at Ironman Canada and scooped up one of the final professional slots. His consistency across all three sports and laid back attitude will be an asset on race day.

In 2009 Ian Mikelson was the top ranked American amateur at the Ironman World Championships and is making his professional Kona debut tomorrow. Welcome to big leagues Ian!

Fondly named “Kona Karin,” Karin Bivens is returning to the Island’s for her 5th time. Karin has enjoyed a year of racing and training in Prague, France, and Brazil where she and her husband, Roger, earned their tickets to Kona.

New Mexico legend, Amy Regan, defended her F45-49 age group title at Ironman Coeur d’Alene earlier this year and booked her tickets to Kona before she even left Idaho! Amy has enjoyed racing in California, Colorado, and New Mexico this year all while making sure her 2 sons make it to hockey, soccer, and scouts.

Elizabeth “IronMom” Waterstraat is no stranger to the World Championships, but something this year is a little different. 14 months ago she was pregnant. After much work, and determination Liz won her age group at 70.3 Eagleman. When asked what she’s looking forward to most about this race, “The conditions reward patience, endurance and heat tolerance. I’d like to think that spending 10 months over 35 pounds heavier while pregnant, with the biggest of those months in the heat of a Midwestern July, were secret training putting me at an advantage for Hawaii. Also, if I had to compare mile 22 of the run with the pain of labor, labor wins.”