Liv Presents: How to Become an Iron-woman
How to become an iron-woman
I held a Liv Cycling panel of inspirational Iron-women
In 2017 when I completed Ironman Zurich a mere 12% of competitors were women, which was shocking, but lit a fire inside me wanting to drive more women into the sport. Ironman was one of the hardest, but one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life. It’s not just the Ironman race, it’s the journey towards it. The micro adventures on the bikes, it’s the hurdles along the way that make you feel like you are improving as a human and learning more, becoming wiser to overcome these. It’s the ‘high’ feeling once you feel your body improve and get stronger.
So when discussing withe Liv Cycling about what the next topic of event we’ll next hold, I thought about holding a panel of inspirational iron-women, to do a talk and Q&A to equip women with more knowledge and inspiration to one day do an Ironman themselves one day.
Little did we realise the huge demand for this event, it was the fastest booked out event we’ve ever had, and that is a testament to how many women are pushing their boundaries and wanting to take part in one of the longest endurance events globally.
So who was on the panel?
We wanted to invite a collection of ladies, ranging from super high level competitive, to the UK’s oldest Iron Woman and a lady brave enough to enter an Ironman before she’d even completed a triathlon of shorter distance and championing more diversity into the sport.
Ruth Purbrook :
Coming 1st in her AG at Kona, the Ironman World Championships, Ruth really inspired us on how to juggle a busy full time job in the city with training for Kona.
Eddie Brocklesby
Eddie is the founder of Silverfit and also the UK’s oldest iron-woman on more than one count. She released a book called Iron Gran which is an inspiration to all genders that it’s never too late to enter a triathlon or ironman, regardless of age!
Mara:
Mara champions for more women of varying ethnicities to join in with triathlon and ironman. She overcame a huge phobia of deep water swimming and entered an Ironman as her first triathlon. Talk about throwing yourself in the deep end!
So what are the key takeaways?
It’s never too late to start. With IronGran starting running at 55 then entering a triathlon at 65
Juggling a career with training is possible. Scarifies will need to be made but it’s 100% worth it.
Realise your capabilities. Do things that you never thought you were able to do before. Mara has a phobia of deep water swimming. Through persevering, and dealing with the fear head on she managed to not only get over that fear but
Join a team. Weekly training hours for an ironman can range from anything from 10-20 hours. They can be lonely if you train on your own so training with a triathlon/cycling/swim or run team will keep
Getting a coach will really help structure your training plan, advise on when you are training too hard
Favourite pieces of kit - trisuit for racing in, super comfortable
Ironman have introduced a new ‘lottery’ where ironman athlete’s can enter a draw to get a place at Kona. Just enter an Ironman and you are in the draw for the Kona
A few key pointer from Eddie Brocklesby
‘Try something easier to start with – I started with a sprint in Crystal Palace.’
‘I come first and last in my age group in some of the races I do.’
‘I didn’t do anything until I was 50 – it’s never too late to start.’
‘Quite often having a secondary goal is really great motivation. Mine is running my Silverfit charity and keeping the motivation going here.’
A few key tips from Ruth Purbrook
‘Positives to Kona – it’s incredible being with all the best triathletes in the world.’
‘Before I signed up for one I heard people talking about Ironman and I thought that is crazy!’
‘Anyone can do it – you just need to really want to do it and make it fun.’
‘It’s important to keep thinking – why do I want to do this?’
‘I wanted to see how I could compete at again other athletes at Kona. I wanted to know how hard I could push myself and how much I could keep improving. There’s always areas you can keep improving. How do I get faster?’
A few key tips from Mara
‘After my second marathon I decided I really wanted to push myself so I signed up for a triathlon.’
‘I really wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone.’
‘One of the things that kept me motivated was being able to accomplish my sub goals – being able to do my first open water swim was a huge accomplishment for me.’
A few key tips for yours truly
‘Write down your why and keep referring back to it.’
‘Remember to bring it back to basics – it’s just swimming, cycling and running. Triathlon get complicated so break it down and simplify. Consistency is key to swim, cycle and run regularly’.
Watch out on Liv Cycling’s Facebook group for the next Iron-Women event in March! If you have any budding questions for our Iron-women make sure you sign up ASAP before all the places get booked out.
Alice x