Posted: Nov 10, 2009 12:32 AM
Updated: Nov 10, 2009 12:42 AM
Thousands of triathletes from spots all over the globe compete to earn slots in Ironman World Championship events. Corpus christi's Dawn English is one of the relative few that can say she's earned a ticket. She's currently preparing for the 2010 World Championships 70.3. Often called a "half-Ironman", the number represents the combined distance of all three legs.
"It's a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and a half-marathon, 13.1-mile run," English said. "The Ironman is double that distance."
English
has covered the 70.3 seven times in her life, recently posting a top-10
finish in her age group at an Austin qualifying event. Lucky number
seven earned her that chance at the world championships in Clearwater,
Florida next November.
"It's pretty exciting because it really is an international field. There's people from all over the world," English said with a smile. "To be with other people in your age group that have such a high standard, it will be a lot of fun and very humbling."
She competes in the 35-39 age group, which is prime time for triathletes.
"When the ages go up, usually the times get faster," English added. "The 30-plus, 40-plus age groups are the most competitive because it takes awhile to develop in all three sports. When you go to a triathlon, they write your age on your calf and generally you're always humbled by somebody with a really big number that just blows right by you."
Given her competitive history, those moments likely just feed her desire to work harder.
"I remember being on the basketball team on the local "Y" and being the only girl out there," she recalled. "I did run cross country in high school. When I discovered triathlon it allowed me to tap into my competitiveness from when I was a kid. When i train now it really is kind of my release and I feel like I'm having fun like a kid again."
