HIronman 70.3 Calgary is pleased to announce its official partnership with Canadian agricultural business icon, Viterra Inc. The company will assume the role of title sponsor of the event, now known as Viterra Ironman 70.3 Calgary.

Viterra is a leader in Canadian agriculture and an important player in the global agri-business marketplace. The Ironman brand is synonymous with challenge, hard work and determination, which mirrors Viterra’s commitment to high performance and excellence in its business and growth strategies.

“We are thrilled to have Viterra on board,” said Lisa Bentley, marketing director of Viterra Ironman 70.3 Calgary. “As an international food ingredients supplier, Viterra is committed to performance excellence and being the best at what it does each and every day. Ironman athletes bring that same principle of achievement to their training and their race. We also rely on healthy food choices to help us make it across the finish line, which is another significant link to Viterra and its role in bringing nutritious products to market that ultimately fuel the health and wellbeing of people around the world.”

The inaugural Viterra Ironman 70.3 Calgary will take place August 2, 2009 and will include nearly 2,000 athletes from every province in Canada and from over 20 countries. The race begins with a 1.9 km swim in Ghost Lake with the rural backdrop of the Rocky Mountains in the distance. From there, athletes will ride 90 km from the foothills of the Rockies to the city of Calgary linking the majestic mountains with urban landscape of the city. Then, athletes will run 21.1 km along the scenic paths of the Glenmore Reservoir finishing amidst the beauty of the park.

“Our title sponsorship of Viterra Ironman 70.3 Calgary is a perfect fit for us,” said Mayo Schmidt, President and CEO of Viterra. “Our employees are committed to a healthy approach to life. Many of them are involved in sport and fitness in some way, and work with their communities to support health and wellness initiatives. Already enthusiasm is building, with some employees registered for the race and others looking forward to contributing to the event by volunteering, and fundraising for our chosen charitable initiative.”

In connection to the sponsorship, Viterra will raise funds for the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society (STARS). STARS is a non-profit helicopter emergency medical service that provides emergency communications, patient care and transport, education and research, and fundraising and community partnerships to the people in the communities in which Viterra works and lives.

Tourism Calgary, proud partner and supporter of Viterra Ironman 70.3 Calgary, is pleased to join Viterra, Canada’s agriculture leader, in welcoming athletes from around the world to this exciting event.

About Viterra

Viterra Inc. is Canada’s leading agribusiness, with extensive operations and distribution capabilities across Western Canada, and with operations in the United States, Japan, Singapore and Geneva. The Company is diversified into sales and services of crop inputs and equipment, grain handling and marketing, livestock feed, agri-food processing and financial products. These operations are complemented by value-added businesses and strategic alliances, which allow Viterra to leverage its pivotal position between producers and destination customers. The Company’s common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol VT. For more information visit www.viterra.ca

For more information, contact:

For more details, please visit www.ironmancalgary.com.

Peter Flengeris
Viterra Inc.
Tel: (306) 569-4810
Email: peter.flengeris@viterra.ca

Dan Ouimet
Viterra Ironman 70.3 Calgary

Tel: (403) 400-3743
Email: dan@stridesrunning.com

David Cracknell
Viterra Ironman 70.3 Calgary
Tel: (647) 388-5644
Email: canada2xu@rogers.com

Lisa Bentley
www.lisabentley.com

I guess it took a few months, but I have finally found my stride! Now that my long run is only 90 minutes long and all of my other runs are speed work, my heel feels better than ever and I put together a very solid swim, bike and run to win the Austin 70.3 at the beginning of October.

We had heard such great things about Austin and since Austin is home to football’s University of Texas Longhorns, this was a must-do race according my sport nut husband! The people of Austin were most accommodating and hospitable. We made the pilgrimage to Jack and Adams Bike Shop and we saw why it is the choice of many athletes. Jack was brilliant and he and his staff ensured my Cervelo was lightning fast!

The non-wetsuit swim was a bit short – thank goodness – because I had the worst swim of my season missing everyone’s feet in the first 100 meters. I must have been looking for the Longhorn because I was all alone desperately trying to swim as fast as possible. But, my bike ride felt amazing. It was a great course for me – rolling hills and windy – so I rode hard and found some the strength that had been lacking in Muskoka. It was now 6 weeks post Subaru Ironman Canada and my legs were much fresher than in Muskoka and that was a welcomed relief. I managed to only loose 3 minutes to the fast cycling Michellie Jones and Tereza Macel – two athletes who usually gap me by much larger margins.

I started the run about 6 minutes or so behind Tereza and Pip Taylor but I felt like magic. The Ironman fatigue was out of my legs and my painful heel was fully functional and relatively pain-free as I charged into first place at mile 10 of the half marathon. I managed the day’s fastest run and won the race by about 3 minutes over Pip Taylor.

It was a fantastic race day festival with a games for the children, a live Longhorn for photos and a big screen TV showing live football for Dave!

Unfortunately, it is my last race of the season. I say ‘unfortunately’ because I am feeling so fit and healthy at last. My chest infection is gone and my heel feels so good. It was untimely to be sick for Subaru Ironman Canada and to be tired at Subaru Muskoka 70.3 but life is a test of character and integrity and I still feel very proud of my season. My goal was to race without anti-inflammatories and I managed to be kept healthy with Eico Pro Fish Oil which kept the inflammation at bay! I am keeping my eye on perhaps running a marathon in the next few months. For the past two years, I have had to run in modified shoes but for the last two weeks, I have been able to run in proper shoes for the first time! And this makes me excited to run!! The great news is that unlike the last two years, I have not smashed my heel beyond repair which means that my off season can involve strengthening and fun running and revitalization instead of daily physical therapy!

And so I finish 2008 with two victories – Rhode Island 70.3 and Austin 70.3 and top five finishes in all of my other events. This is the first year since 2000 that I have not won an Ironman event. And so I will celebrate my great consistency, my 11 Ironman wins to date and another two Ironman 70.3 victories in 2008. Here is to number 12 in 2009!

My first race in 2009 will be the Pucon 70.3 in Chile, South America. I have won that event 6 times in a row (2002-2007).

Happy off season!

Lisa Bentley
www.lisabentley.com

I am so proud to write that statement – “Craig Alexander – Ironman World Champion”. Before I tell you about my exciting past few weeks, I just first have to comment on the great victory by Crowie!

Dave and I were in Hawaii and we had front row seats as Craig took the highest prize in our triathlon world. I was doing some work for TSN – our Canadian version of ESPN – and I was able to watch the race unfold. At around 15 or 20 km into the bike ride, Craig yelled out to me on the side of the road, “Hey Lisa”. That is typical Crowie – down to earth and very social – even while racing. A bit further along, we were excited to see him right in the thick of things and we cheered for him and he said, “the race hasn’t started yet”. He said with almost a devilish streak as if to say, “don’t cheer yet – we haven’t rolled up our sleeves yet.” About 40 km from the end of the bike ride, Crowie was working hard – yes the race had begun and he was now ‘at the office and doing his job’. Out onto the run, I was so excited to see him running so light on his feet and with an ease which I had seen when we trained together. By 14 km, it wasn’t a question of “if” but “when” he would take the lead. But the realization that our dear Aussie mate had won triathlon’s prized possession did not come until Dave and I saw him cross the finish line. Dave and I were both teary eyed and overwhelmed with a happiness that you feel when someone dear to you has had a wonderful day. Over the past few years, Craig has become our dear friend, my training partner and Dave’s sport fanatic ESPN watching buddy. I was honored to interview Crowie on behalf of TSN – the caring friend in me wanted to give him space but I knew I had to get a comment. I was a blubbering fool – I don’t remember what I even asked him – I didn’t want to ask him about his day because I never like those ambiguous questions – I think I called him ‘beautiful’ about 100 times before I finally asked anything of note.

Craig Alexander is the Ironman World Champion. He is the most gifted athlete and the most unselfish athlete I have ever met. He usually travels with his wife, Neri and his daughter, Lucy. They are his life and he refuses to prioritize triathlon over his family. He tries to get his training done so that he can spend a large chunk of time with his family in the afternoon. Crowie came to Hawaii with me in 2006, as my Tri Dubai teammate, to help me prepare for the World Championships. Meanwhile, he was preparing for the 70.3 World Championships a month later. Every day, he trained with me and pushed me to get that last 1-2% out of each workout. When we swam, he swam with a band around his ankles so that he could go my speed. When we biked, he would ride with me and then supplement his training with some tough computrainer intervals after the fact. For running speed work, I would get a head start and for long runs, he pushed me to run 4 min/km pace. We would train hard and then by afternoon, he was in the pool with his daughter Lucy and wife Neri. But he gave his time and effort to me for my race even though he had to prepare for his race. That is a special gift that is rare in our sport.

Craig is the most refreshing athlete – he is the honest athlete – he is our best ambassador for Ironman. I am so proud that he has raced in Canada and won both the Subaru Muskoka Chase and the Subaru Ironman Muskoka 70.3. I think that makes him an Aussie Canadian in which case, I think we can say that a little bit of Canada was on the podium in the Hawaii Ironman 2008.

Way to go Crowie – from all of your Canadian fans! And way to go Neri and Lucy. Craig could not have trained and raced and won without you!

Lisa Bentley

www.lisabentley.com

When this year started, I did not even know if I would race an Ironman. I had rehabilitated my heel enough to be able to run, but running a marathon was a big question mark. As the year progressed, I kept getting faster and fitter and Subaru Ironman Canada became a reality. My swimming and biking were both better than ever in my entire career. My run was no longer my ‘weapon’ but I was executing some fast quality workouts and some longer runs that helped to build some confidence. Last year, I “participated” but this year, I was going to “race”.

I did not sleep a wink that night before the race. I was nervously excited – sort of like Christmas morning. I had the swim of my life thanks to the fact that there were about 60 pros and so I had lots of fast feet to draft. There was a big pack of men just a body length ahead of me at about 800 m into it and I tried desperately to grab on. I finally got onto that pack at the turnaround and I finished the swim close enough to Belinda Granger to hear her name on the loud speaker and only 90 seconds behind Andrea Fisher. I was over the moon. Now the plan was to use some of my newly found bike strength to minimize the gap to Granger.

I worked as hard as I could on the bike – I never let up – I pedaled hard up the hills and hard down the hills – but I was still losing huge amounts of time to Granger. It was as if I was on a mountain bike and she was on my Cervelo P3C!

I worked my way past Andrea Fisher on Ritcher’s Pass and began to gap Sarah Gross and some others, but the deficits were growing the harder I pushed. I reminded myself of my little ‘life thoughts’ – anyone can keep going when the going is good, but a true champion keeps going when the going gets tough – well the going was very tough and I maintained my charge toward the end of the bike.

I got off the bike 30 minutes down on Granger – it was as if I had spent the whole season watching T.V. rather than pedaling hard up and down the hills in Caledon. Trust me, I have worked very hard on my cycling to take a bit of pressure off of the running but obviously, Granger’s cycling was approaching Tour de France quality with her new 4:52 course record! Wow!

I headed out onto the run believing that I could run everyone down. Truthfully, I never really felt great on the marathon but I told myself that I would still run fast and get as close as possible. But, my body was saying ‘jog’, my brain was saying ‘race’ and my heart was saying ‘do your best at this single moment’. And so, I ran the best that I could. I stopped looking at my watch because that wasn’t making me happy and my goal is always to race with joy. I was gaining time but that didn’t matter to me. I just wanted to get to the finish line. I could not push any harder. I challenged myself constantly to run faster and I tried so hard, but my effort was far greater than the output. Somewhere in the last hour of the run, my heel started to fail me – I had no spring – my foot was hitting the ground with no toe off. I have run through that feeling so many times before and continued to push trying desperately to get to that finish line and maybe snag 3rd place. But it was like I was trying to run as fast as I could with a leash around my waist and I wasn’t going anywhere. It was so frustrating for me to not be able to race with the speed and intensity that used to just flow so easily. So, I returned to basics – just do the best you can do with what you have. I raced with heart and I finished what I started.

I crossed the finish line with a mixture of disappointment, joy, gratitude and pride. I was disappointed that my racing performance did not reflect my training efforts. I was happy because I was true to myself and I never let my ego in the way of finishing. I was grateful for this incredible gift of sport which has enriched my life with so many blessings and given me a way to touch people’s lives. And I was proud of myself for persevering and finishing what I started when I so desperately wanted to crawl under a tree and cry. I am human. I am not a machine and my race on Sunday was very human.

I would like to say that I will train harder and come back stronger but I think that my body is sending me a very clear message that my foot does not want to run longer than 2 hours at the moment. That sounds so sad but then I remember the absolute joy I had when I did my first pain free 30 min run this year. I said to myself that was all I needed – I just wanted to run. I love smashing out sub 3-hour marathons after 180 km bike rides but my body won’t let me do it right now. And because that it all I know and that is how I race, I declined my spot to race at the Hawaii Ironman this October. I cannot ‘jog’ the marathon. I am a racer and I will be back on the big Island when I am ready and healthy to ‘race’ every inch of that marathon with the same determination I did when I placed 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th there.

The good news is that since I can still run a fast half marathon, I am good to go race Subaru Muskoka 70.3 on September 14th. But for now, it is time for some recovery and some long dog walks with Dave and Brunswick and Madison.

Thank you for cheering. If I could race on good wishes alone, I would win every race in record time.

Lisa Bentley

Published Friday, November 9, 2007

You don’t get to be one of the world’s most successful Ironman athletes if you’re not competitive, if you don’t have an incredible drive to get to the finish line ahead of your competition.

Lisa Bentley has won 10 Ironman races. She finished third at the Ford Ironman World Championship last year, second here in Clearwater just three weeks later. She won Ironman Canada last August, despite an Achilles tendon that most of us would consider kaput …

Bentley finished 15th in Kona. It was a day full of health issues. She’s not a woman who ever quits anything, so finishing was never in question. She walked through much of the marathon in Australia earlier this year. A few years ago she had to be pulled off the course in Kona during the marathon. Turns out she had a ruptured appendix. She wanted to keep going. Sure, you’re saying, anyone can tough out a ruptured appendix for 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of cycling and then 10 or 12 miles of the marathon. While that’s impressive, the fact that Bentley has enjoyed so much success as an endurance athlete is nothing short of a miracle. She has Cystic Fibrosis.

So where is all this going? Yesterday I got to chat with Bentley about her finish in Kona. Despite the difficulties of the day, it is likely a finish she’ll never forget, because waiting for her at the end of the chute was a little boy named Carter.

Carter has a Cystic Fibrosis, too. One day his mother asked him what he would most wish for in the whole world. He told her he’d like to see Lisa Bentley finish the Ford Ironman World Championship. She contacted the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada, who contacted Diana Bertsch (the race director in Kona) and then Carter was there. The deal was simple: as long as Lisa wasn’t involved with a sprint to the finish, Carter would run across the line with his hero.

“I got to cross the finish line with Carter,” Bentley said yesterday. “He’s an incredible little guy and has a beautiful family. That was pretty important to me and it got more important to me as a reason to finish. I certainly had a rough go on the marathon – I was a bit sick and I kept thinking that this is what it’s all about, finishing what you start. Carter gave me great reason to do that, beyond all the normal stuff that you do it for.

“In the last mile of the race there were two women who were passing me – normally I would have fought back, but I thought ‘this isn’t about finishing 13th or 15th, this is coming across the line with Carter and I’m not going to jeopardize that. Priorities really changed out there, but it was an opportunity for me and I didn’t want to pass on that.’”

“Opportunity for me?” How many of the world’s most competitive athletes do you know who manage to find something truly inspirational about every day, no matter what it brings.

Lisa Bentley sure is one of them.

You can reach Kevin Mackinnon at kevin@ironman.com

I finished in 15th place yesterday and that was the best that I could do yesterday. No regrets. No excuses. And no feeling sorry for me. I fulfilled my dream and my life’s goal. I made a difference in the life of one person in this world.

Have a great day today!

Lisa

I want to share with you my special motivation for racing Ironman Hawaii this October. For the past few years, I have received emails from Beth, the mother of Carter, a child with Cystic Fibrosis. Carter is now 6 years old and is a very active child who loves swimming, biking, running and skiing. Unfortunately, Carter has had a tough year both in and out of hospitals treating the complications of CF. One day, Beth asked her son what he wished for. Carter said that he wished that he could cross the finish line with me in Hawaii, that he could breathe under water with the fish, that he could go for a ride in a Zodiac and that he could learn a new language. And so, Beth contacted the Make a Wish Foundation and applied for his wish to be granted. The answer was a big YES – Carter will be in Hawaii this October and staying here at the Hilton – an absolute paradise for children. Unless I am in a finishing sprint, he will cross the finish line together with me! I received this news in the middle of August as I was preparing for Subaru Ironman Canada. At that time, I was just hoping to cross the finish line of IMC. But with that email, I knew that I would have to cross the finish line healthy enough to be able to do it all again on October 13th, with Carter, in the Hawaii Ironman. That was huge motivation for me. As Beth’s mom said to me in a note,

“No pressure, Lisa but you MUST make it to the Worlds! I pray this special wish will give him the mindset to focus always on what he can do not what he can’t. Despite what happens in his life he will always be able to say he crossed the finish line of the Ironman!! It would be incredible to see the two of you together and with all the fundraising we do as a family, you will be able to inspire even that many more children with CF through Carter”.

I feel privileged to be involved in Carter’s life and I will honor this privilege for each minute of the Hawaii Ironman. I have always wanted my sporting career to go beyond sport and I am humbled to know that it has. Please cheer for Carter as he crosses the finish line on October 13th.

Lisa

After spending two and half months off of running, my secret wish during every therapy session was to get on the start line of Subaru Ironman Canada. Once I started running again, I knew that I would have to train smarter, to be flexible with my routine and to maximize every single session. I have always said that success isn’t measured in victory alone but in all the bits and pieces that get you to the start and finish lines. I truly just wanted to be part of the Ironman race environment and crossing the finish line in first place was secondary to the privilege of racing.

Race week was a pretty good test of my ‘I am just happy to race’ mantra. It was a challenge to sit in interviews and press conferences as the ‘favorite’ and as the ‘runner’ wondering if those credentials still fit. It was easier to convince myself to be the best I could be when I was at home and out of the race environment. But, I didn’t give any control to the perceived pressure. There was no pressure. Naming me as a favorite and a good runner was a compliment. I rephrased any expectation to win as good wishes from people who cared about me.

Probably the neatest ‘good wish’ that I received came from Doug Alward, a friend of Terry Fox. Terry is a Canadian hero who ran a marathon each day with the goal of running across Canada to raise money for cancer. He had lost his leg to cancer and was doing this epic run with a prosthetic. His journey was cut short when the cancer invaded his lungs and ended his young life. Doug had listened to my Subaru motivational chat on Thursday and felt moved to inspire me in return. So, prior to taking my seat for the Power Bar pro panel on Friday, Doug gave me an actual photograph of himself and Terry taking the first step of the Marathon of Hope. And Doug quoted Terry on the back of the photo – “One step at a time. One telephone pole at a time. One mile at a time”. This became my theme for what was my little marathon of hope. This photo, quote and gesture had more impact on me and on my race than Doug could ever have imagined.

I did not wake up on Ironman race morning – I was already awake. I did not sleep a wink the night before. Rather than say that I was nervous, I’d like to say that I was anxious and excited to be part of the wonderful day called Ironman.

My race day strategy was to swim and bike aggressively and hopefully run more conservatively than usual. Because of the proximity to the Hawaii Ironman and my limited run training, the marathon would be a long run session in preparation for the World Championships. Besides, I wasn’t sure what sort of marathon I could run and my number one goal was to run every mile not just 13 good ones. I would do my best with what I had – one mile at a time.

The professionals started 15 minutes ahead of the age group athletes which makes for a very clean race start but very few feet to draft. I swam with some other athletes but I never really got those fast feet that I always hope to follow. By the end of the swim, we caught up to the pack ahead of us and I managed to finish up in a pretty good swim position – maybe fourth or fifth about 7 minutes down on swim leader Linda Gallo and about 5 minutes down on Andrea Fisher. As it turned out, Linda exited the water in 2nd place OVERALL – how amazing is that?

I felt good on the bike – content but prepared to race hard. There were a few other women in my swim group who I tried to drop on the flats out to Ritcher’s Pass, but I just couldn’t shake them. Then, the road goes up! Going up Ritcher’s Pass, I was totally in my element. I love long, steady climbs especially into a headwind like we had on race day. It was there that I put time into the women behind me and gained time on Andrea and Linda. By the top of the Pass, I had caught Andrea and was about 4 minutes down on Linda.

Andrea did re-pass me on the long descent but we managed to have a pretty good battle out on the hilly rollers that follow Ritcher’s Pass. It was very windy on this section and it definitely took some energy trying to keep upright through the wind gusts.

Once we hit the flatter road and the out-and-back, I had found a good rhythm and was now in 2nd place behind Linda. During this section, I could see my time gaps to my competitors and knew that I was having a great ride. By the end of the ride, I had slipped to 3rd during the 15 km descent into Penticton but I was still pleased with my ride. It was my slowest ride ever at IMC, but it was probably my best ride on a very windy day.

I started the marathon in 3rd place about 6 minutes down to Linda. I really did not want to hear any splits because I was intent on running happy and focusing on ‘one step at a time, one telephone pole at a time, one mile at a time’. I was pretty darn sore and tired when I started the marathon which was a good thing because my sore heel became just one of my ailments instead of THE pain!! I repeated to myself over and over again how happy I was to be there and how it was my choice. During my re-hab months, I had spent a total of 60 hours lying in a hyperbaric chamber wishing I was running. I had grimaced in pain as Dr. Galea injected my heel weekly still wishing I was running. I would lay with my eyes and fists closed while Dr. Scappattici stuck acupuncture needles up, down and around my calf and my heel wishing I was running. I had done so many heel raises, stability exercises and plyometrics with Steve Hill wishing I was running. And here I was, at Subaru Ironman Canada with the opportunity to do what I had wished for. So every time I wanted it to be over, I’d probe deeper into my subconscious – ‘are you sure?’ No, I wanted to race – pain and all – I wanted to be here running and I was. In fact, I was winning. I passed Linda at about 10 miles into the marathon. I was leading the 25th anniversary of Subaru Ironman Canada – my first Ironman 10 years ago in 1997.

As I approached the finish line, I was ecstatic. I had got to the start and finish line of Subaru Ironman Canada and I had won!!! This is my most satisfying victory to date – not because of some extraordinary effort or record breaking time – but because I won that race on heart and determination. It was a team effort – Dave, Galea, Scap, Steve Hill, Lance, family – it was not a solo effort. The odds were stacked up but we smashed them down with wholehearted desire.

Now it is onward to the Hawaii Ironman World Championships. I am in Hawaii right now preparing for the race with Craig Alexander, the 70.3 World Champion. I feel well recovered from Subaru Ironman Canada and ready to push on through the lava fields. I have a very special reason to be racing in Hawaii this year aside from my usual goal of personal excellence – but I’ll save that news for another note.

Thank you so much for your support, encouragement and loyalty.

Lisa

As everyone knows – I love Australia and I love racing here. And so, I could not pass up the opportunity to race at Ironman Australia. After I finished the 2006 season, I had a few injuries which I dealt to very diligently over the winter and I was completely pain free for the Pucon Half Ironman. But then, Ironman training began and I was constantly plagued my chronic heel injury which has been on again, off again for a few years now. So I nailed all of my key sessions on the road and everything else was done water running in the pool. Then, for the past month, in an effort to get completely healthy for IM Australia, I alternated one week water running and one week land running. To be honest, it was feeling amazing the week prior to Ironman Australia. But a marathon is not a walk in the park and after 18 years in the sport, I am still learning lessons. I have no regrets – I thought I would be fine – maybe a bit off pace – but I didn’t think that I could not perform at all.

My swim was quite good. I got out nice and fast and felt really long and smooth. Apparently, I swam 52 minutes and change which is my best swim ever! I had really worked on my swim over the winter and sought out training partners whenever possible; that is the key for me to keeping my swim training honest and on task.

Off onto the bike, I felt awesome. I was happy with my cornering skills and my aggression – something that was lacking when I raced here in 2006. We had a major headwind on the way out for 30 km and then a fantastic tailwind on the return leg of the 3-lap, 60 km course. I was a few minutes behind Belinda out of the swim and also behind Melissa Ashton and Rebecca Keat. On the outbound leg, I could gauge where I was and I must admit to being a bit discouraged that I was already losing time. But I reminded myself of all of my great bike rides in preparation for this race and to have faith in my cycling strength. I also reminded myself that while I could not control their cycling, I could control my own spirit and my own attitude. Personally, I race best when I am happy and good to myself – so my focus returned to myself to ensure that I was being my own biggest fan.

I did continue to lose time over the remainder of the ride, but I can honestly say, that I rode very well and very legal! There was a lot of drafting out there and I did cross the line knowing that I did, in fact, ride the bike course myself and earned my bike time myself and on my own. I suppose you could say that I did not play by the rules of the day – that I should have tucked in and drafted – but to me, there is no difference between drafting (cheating) and taking drugs (cheating) – and those are two things that I will never do!

I felt fantastic on the final lap of the bike and I really dug in there to try to minimize the time gap to the leaders. I felt as if I could run 20 minutes out of the leaders if I had to. The running I had been doing in my preparation had been fast and so I started the run feeling happy and thinking positive.

After the first hour, I was on pace for a 3 hour marathon but I was not taking much time out of the leaders. I did not pay much attention to my time deficit. I stayed internal and focused on having the best run that I could possibly have. To be honest, my heel was hurting from the start of the marathon, but no different than it had hurt throughout my training. But after the first hour, I started to limp and then part of my leg started to compensate and that was when the trouble started. I had a huge internal battle with myself – I believe that it is important to take what you get on the day and yet, I also have to think about my professional career. And most importantly, I want to be running forever. I had to start walking – the pain was too great and the risk of worsening the injury was too much. I started a little walk with 16 km to go, but I just could not believe how slow I was going. So I managed a little shuffle for another 4 km until I saw Dave and he saw my little limping leg and he made me walk. And so the 12 km walk without dogs began.

Today was a great day. I did the best I could do. I knew I would have some pain on the run, but I didn’t think it would be as brutal as it was. Some may say I was stupid to start the race, but I honestly believed that I had rehabilitated it enough to allow for a good performance without risk. We never know what we are going to get when we do an Ironman. Sometimes, we have the races of our lives and we win and sometimes we have the races of our lives and we walk and we still win. I am very proud of my performance. Finishing today’s race was one of the hardest things I have ever done. But finishing any task is what we all learned from our moms and dads.

Now it is time for some serious non running time and healing. I have no doubt that I will there in Kona – healthy and running fast!

Thanks for cheering.

Lisa

Welcome to race season 2007!!! Please enjoy these photos from the Pucon Half Ironman in Chile, South America. You may notice a few new things – I am still sponsored by my very faithful sponsors Subaru, Saucony and Powerbar and I am still being supported by the Human Interest Group (Tri Dubai). Cervelo remains my bike machine complemented by Zipp wheels, Continental tires, FSA bars and cranks, SRM for power (that is a new one!!!), Time pedals and shoes and Giro helmets. My running is still fueled by Fuelbelt, time is kept by Timex and my cool sunnies remain Oakley. When it is too cold to ride outside, my computrainer remains king and when it is hot, chances are I am staying at the Hilton at Waikoloa Village in Hawaii!! And when I am traveling all over the world, I keep in touch on my Dell XPS laptop with mobile broadband access (seriously, I can connect while driving my Subaru down I75 to Florida – as a passenger, of course!) The new kid on the block is 2XU – which is called ’2 times U’. This is my wetsuit sponsor for 2007 and 2XU will also customize my race apparel. In Pucon, I just wore a swimsuit but look out for some groovy sublimated racing suits in the future. You may also notice the logo “Spirit and Sport” on my suit. This is not a new sponsor. It is a new line of jewelry and accessories being designed in my name and will be launched in 2007. Every item will have a theme based on my racing and training thoughts. A portion of the sale of each item will be donated to my two choice charities – Cops 4 Cancer and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Stay tuned for more!!!

Happy training and stay well!!

Lisa