Completing an Ironman triathlon isn't for the faint of heart.
You need fortitude if you intend on running – or hobbling – across the finish line of the marathon run.
A trio of Yellowknife triathletes proved their metal by making the trip to Calgary to take on the Calgary Ironman 70.3 triathlon on July 29. They included Sally Card, who competed at last year's event, Shaun Doherty and Amandine Falette-Galuissi, the latter pair did it for the first time. An Ironman 70.3 refers to the total distance of the race – 70.3 miles – and is half an official Ironman.
Card was in the women's 35-39 division and finished in a very respectable 30th place on a course that was a bit different from the one she faced one year ago, she said.
“They changed things around and added a bit more time for people to complete it,” she said.
It began with a two kilometre swim, which consisted of two laps of a triangular course.
Card said the swim was one of the changes from the year before.
“You'd do one lap, get out of the water to go over the chip timer and then go back in for the second lap,” she said.
Nothing changed on the bike course, which was a 90 kilometre ride, and Card said it went a lot better than last year.
“I managed to cut 14 minutes off my time,” she said. “Same with my transitions – I cut down my bike-to-run transition to three minutes.”
But the final portion of the race was the run, a half-marathon of 21.1 kilometres, and that's where things began to get a bit bogged down for Card. The temperature on race day was 29 C but, “the pavement made it feel even hotter,” she said.
“I was healthy enough to do it but it was almost like the course was taunting me in a way,” said Card. “It makes me want to do it again and that's how I felt when I crossed the finish line. I wanted to go back and try and do better.”
One of the big things Card worked on in preparation for this year's race was her heart rate, which she wanted to keep at an optimal 155 beats per minute.
“That was my race plan and I didn't want to go any faster because that increases your heart rate,” she said. “When you train in our climate, the heat isn't a factor but when you go down to compete, the heat changes all the variables.”
For Doherty, he got inspired to do a major triathlon event for the first time after stumbling onto a YouTube video on New Year's Day.
“I watched a documentary of James Lawrence, who had done 50 Ironman triathlons in 50 days,” he said. “I would never do that but I looked it up and I thought this was something I could do.”
Just one problem – he had never swum laps before, hadn't really biked since he was a kid and didn't run marathons but he had the Calgary event as his eventual goal
“I started training and trying to fit it in within my lifestyle and not sacrifice family time or things like that,” he said.
Doherty said he would go swim at the Ruth Inch Memorial Pool when his children were in bed in the evenings and go out for runs at 5 a.m. before heading to work.
The pool is where he met Card for the first time.
“I saw her wearing the swim cap from Calgary and we connected that way,” he said.
Doherty finished 64th in the men's 35-39 division on what he called a good course for beginner triathletes.
“It's a flat course and they do a great job for newbies,” he said. “All of the new competitors start at the back for the swim I really enjoyed it. It felt like I was in the farmland of rural Quebec, which is where I'm from originally.”
Falette-Galuissi competed in the women's 35-39 division with Card and finished 37th.
Both Card and Doherty are planning on entering more Ironman 70.3 races in the future but for Card, she's looking down the road to the ultimate words any triathlete wants to hear.
“I want to do the full Ironman and hear those words: Congratulations, Sally Card, you are an Ironman,” she said.