Courage & Energy

I always like to read about other athletes Ironman experiences. It's really compressing a huge day, a huge amount of will, and courage and energy, into a few sentences. Here's Lisa Bentley, a Canadian, sponsored by Cervelo. (In the photo above, that's Tyler Hamilton.)

Lisa Bentley wins Ironman Germany
July 11, 2005
Just a quick note to send back a very happy report � I won Ironman Germany yesterday in 9 hours and 15 minutes. I have now been fortunate enough to have won a total of 9 Ironman competitions, but I can honestly say, that they are not getting any easier.

My training leading into Ironman Germany had been bang on and I was very excited to test myself. In fact, I might have been too excited because I didn�t sleep a wink that night before the race!! Well, thanks to Brian Kelly, head coach of the Dorado Swim Club who has been welcoming me to morning swim team practice over the past few months - I had my best swim ever � around 53 minutes. Thanks to my technical bike coach, Denise Kelly and my training partners who have been pushing me through my 6 hour rides � Tereza, Doug, Matt and Lawrence � I had an excellent bike ride of 5:13. And of course, to Lance, my coach, for programming all of my training and pushing me to my limits � I was able to back up my best ever swim-bike run combination with a 3:04 marathon on a technical run course which featured 18 � 180 degree turnarounds!!!

The race organization was top notch � the finish line cut through the center of the oldest buildings in Frankfurt, with huge bleachers stands loaded to the brim, with a huge video screen above the finish line and church bells ringing in the distance � the setting was surreal � and easily one of the best finish lines in the world. Normann Stadler and I were presented with our winner�s trophies on a balcony of a historic building looking out at the grandstands, finish line and historic square. It was truly the stuff dreams are made of!!!

Thank you so much for your support. I will write a proper report in a few days. Onward to Kona!!!

Lisa Bentley
www.lisabentley.com