Ironman - why don't they add Ironwoman?

MARY LOU AND IRONMAN ATHLETE & COACH ROB DISCUSSING THE UPCOMING RACE

It's almost here, the Hawaii Ironman World Championships. http://ironman.com/worldchampionship A very good friend of mine, Mary Lou Lowrie, leaves for Kona, Hawaii this coming weekend. She is an incredible athlete and someone who is truly inspirational. She is 56 years old and her goal is to win her age group at this year's 2007 Ironman World Championship. This quest is an odd one. First you are an athlete, you might run, or swim or bike. You might not even do any of those, maybe you were once a weight lifter, maybe a rock climber, a surfer, maybe you were a couch potato. But, usually, you did one of the three, swim, bike, run. Then one day, you are an Ironman. I mean, Ironwoman, Ironperson? For starters, here's the distances: 2.4 mi. swim, 112 mi. bike, 26.2 mi. run. Yes, the icing on the cake is a marathon. It began in Hawaii btw. http://www.ironman.com/mediacenter/history/ironman-triathlon-world-championship

I started with cycling. I dabbled in it all, road riding, touring, a few cyclocross races, a few mountain bike races. I was a 'roadie' who thought triathletes were 'tri geeks'. (They do wear small clothing and aren't usually great bike handlers at the amateur level!) I also did rock and ice climbing with my ex-husband. Like many triathletes that go Ironman, or just keep it to the sprint, this is a journey.I met my current husband at the gym. We both taught spin. I remember the day I was converted, I was teaching, he was in my class. I knew who he was and I was intimidated that he was attending. (I'd been slacking a bit, read on.) He is the biggest Ironman supporter around; he convinces people every day to do triathlons and then he gets them to do an Ironman! I think his slogan should be 'Zero to Ironman!' Some people at the gym accuse his supporters (disciples?) of 'drinking his 'Kool-Aid'; it's insane! Anyway, there is a triathlon in the town where I went to high school, Bethel, Maine, the Bethel Tri. It's a great venue and I had thought of doing it since I heard of it, visit my alma mater, do a triathlon. But, I didn't run (hadn't for 17 years) and I certainly hadn't swam since I was a teen ager swimming across lakes on Mt. Desert Island. So, the one in the same guy in my spin class brings it up and I reply, 'I don't swim, but I've wanted to learn'. The next week I had a swim lesson on my calendar! It was February 2004 - I'd been living the Bridgette Jones Diary. My personal life had hit some bumps in the road and I was not taking it well. But, I had made a New Year's Resolution to make a change, and here it was happening, right before my eyes. I showed up at the pool after trying on about 50 bathing suits and getting ear plugs and goggles, plus a nylon swim cap. There he was, in the pool lane...almost naked in that Speedo...wow! I went to get in the lane next to him and he pointed to the one he was in. How was I going to jump in and not touch him by accident? What I was not prepared for was the fact that when I jumped in one of my ear plugs fell out, and I got water up my nose! Ugh.A few dates later I was committing to early spring road rides and even running after spin class. Yes, I was cross training! Our courtship continued...even after I struggled through an April 66 mile hilly road ride with an 11-21 cog...I walked up the last hill, later finding out that it was about an 18% grade and I've seen riders walk it since.Don't forget, I live in Maine. I think it was in the 40's and I needed hot chocolate to keep me going. But, my mind remembered the old me, the one who used to ride! Not the new me, teaching spin 2x a week as my only riding, and consuming more than my fair share of wine!So, it continued. I met other triathletes. I have witnessed and been part of many sub cultures, here was the newest. My new boyfriend was the leader of the pack. I still remember wondering how he did it...he was a commercial pilot, owned a small triathlon shop and had done 7 Ironman Competitions, including Hawaii 2x, he was a personal trainer. Yes, I did tell him he was an over achiever - what's that distance again?! It was May of 2004 and he was going to do a local race, Iron Bear. (A very popular race organized by a friend of ours at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME, whose name has been changed to Polar Bear) Check out this interview with Glenn Close on David Letterman, as she discussed doing the race this year - note how her entry to the pool mimicked mine with the snorkel vs. the ear plugs! www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKZac9yS7HA I give Glenn major kudos for doing the race and being one of us in the locker room, pool and race course, and of course, for being an incredible actress - oh and trekking in an air cast! Maybe she's more of an over achiever than my husband! Now I know all the terms I didn't know then, it's a 'sprint' distance. It is, as Glenn says, a 500 Yard pool swim, a 12 mi. bike and a 5k run in the beginning of May. (There are other sprint distances, but they are similar, but often in open water too.) I was still on the fence about the triathlon thing... So I waved to him in my bathrobe with coffee cup in hand, as he left for the race. Yes, he won overall.

I did do Bethel. And, for some bizarre reason I got 2nd overall. I was beaten by a friend, Kim White (now Kim Nestle) who is a great runner. But, she beat me on the bike and I was pissed! Still in the mental past about my cycling! However, the other thing that happened was that I beat a woman who is a local legend, Erin Brennan, I hadn't heard of her, until after the race. Yes, she had just had a child, I think the week before~! I've never beaten her since, not even close! Apparently she was chasing me in the woods on the trail run. I never look over my shoulder, I might trip and fall. Earlier in the season I did the Unity Tri, (set in the home town of an ex-boyfriend), Kim beat me there too, but I had no expectations then...so getting 2nd got my expectation set up for Bethel. Then I attempted Camden, I flatted on the bike course. The season was over. I got 2nd in the two races that I finished. I was a convert. I had a tri-suit, I had a wetsuit, I bought a tri-bike! Yes, as I have been told, I am a gear head and this sport is great for those of us who are!

It's now October 2004. Robert Smith, the guy of this story, has qualified for Hawaii, again. I don't know how he did Lake Placid, NY Ironman and qualified while I was just doing those sprints, I was so new to the sport, I just didn't quite get it. He invited me to go to Hawaii in August, I said, 'Yes!'. (I'll say, 'Yes' a few more times!) He had a condo already rented in Ku'ai as his gift to himself for doing the Ironman and ending a 20 year marriage. We go, I'm still really a neophyte about all of this. I have my bike shipped so that I can ride with him and ride around to watch the race. We meet his cousin, Janet, the first family member that I've met!We're in a condo with a great pool, just a few miles from the race venue. It's Kona, Hawaii and we're here with all the other Iromman racers. It is exciting, it is really the explosion of a sub culture that I was still getting to know. Ripped bodies parade about, totally tricked out tri-bikes spin by, many different languages are spoken, though mostly white skin and the foreigners were from Europe, a lot of Germans. In fact, a German, Norman Stadler is slated to win (Stormin' Norman) and Natascha Badmann of Switzerland, (Swiss Miss) is the female contender. One day we did a 6 mi. run and it was so hot I stuck my head in a public fountain! I've now learned the race course, the start, the bike course, that includes The Energy Lab where the black lava radiates the hot sun back at you, and the run course. Race day approaches and Rob has been getting ready all week. He shaves his whole body. If he wasn't so hot, I'd really think he was a weirdo! A few days before the race he prepares his bike for T2, numbers on, water bottles on, disc wheel, all of it. We drop that off the day it's due. His cousin and I prepare the race night meal, something simple. But, we have wine, he doesn't. I get up with him at 4:00 a.m. I am sure he didn't sleep. I ride my bike to town in the dark, bringing my cell phone. Rob's cousin drives him and we meet at Java on the Rocks for his pre race coffee. Now, even I'm nervous. But, I still don't get it quite yet. I don't own this world. We move to the race start, the loud speaker, the race start, the energy. Rob's cousin and I watch the racers hit the ocean and then plant ourselves among the crowd on the bike course. The Pro-Racers speed by in their aero bars, the age groupers, I spot Rob! (Heart Throb!) and later, the high tech wheel chair recumbents go by too. I ride to the run course to cheer him on. The pros go by and then again, the age groupers, I wait, and wait, and wait at the run turn around wondering what happened to him. Long story short, Rob was injured since his Camden race, he pulled a very small but important muscle that attaches the achilles to the calf....he didn't finish the Ironman, due to the run. Of course, where would we be without cell phones, Rob's cousin and I have been calling one another trying to spot him. We find out he has been to the medical tent. At this point I have decided all of these people are insane and the last thing in the world that I would ever, ever want to do, is an Ironman. I will make special mention of the athletes that are quadriplegics, amputees, etc. Prior to the race you can read Racer Bios about different athletes. I don't remember her name, but I do remember the amputee athelete who dedicated her race to her gym teacher who in grammar school didn't include her in the activities. That's powerful. http://forum.realityfanforum.com/index.php?topic=9259.0;wap2 Maybe this is the woman? There are a multitude of stories of heroic people that do this sport.

Somewhere in the midst of all of this I meet Mary Lou Lowrie.

I think it was at Crystal Lake in Gray, ME where we do group open water swims. She had a bubbly smile and a partner, Nat Steele with her, they were training for Ironman Couer D'Alene. After I met her she showed up everwhere! At the time I didn't know much about her, but I was soon to become a close friend and training partner....and someone who just can't catch her in a time trial. Oh, yeah in 2006 she set the course record for her age group at Mt. Washington. Maybe, like my husband I'll wear her down due to age! Just note, not only is Mary Lou and incredible cyclist, she is a fantastic cross country skier, an incredible artist and gardner. You can hardly stand her she's so genuinely kind!I have since done 2 Ironman competitions, I'll write more about that later! But, this is about Hawaii, and my friend's impending departure. She qualified in 2006 at Wisconsin, one of the worst weather days in Ironman history, setting a new course record by an 1:15, and she has dedicated her entire being to this upcoming quest. Rob has been her coach and I have been privy to most of it, the challenges and the rewards of training. I know that she is planning it all down to the last detail, what she'll wear, what she'll drink and eat, every minute of the day. It is a journey, not only getting there but crossing the finish line. So, on October 13, 2007 you can log into www.ironmanlive.com and watch for your favorite athletes! Don't forget the time zone change! Beware, just watching could change your life.