Through full-time training – an average of 15 to 17 hours per week – and competing in seven or eight triathlons every year, Anderson said she was able to go from just being excited to finish a race at all, to actually setting time goals for herself and getting stronger as a runner and biker, and mostly notably as a swimmer.
“I knew I was swimming faster than before I could feel things coming together in the water,” said Anderson.
“But to swim that well literally put me in tears.”
Anderson also bested her time for the Subaru Ironman Canada, in which she competed only two months prior to the Great Floridian.
She completed the course – the same as that of the Great Floridian – in a time of 12:57:58, taking a couple of weeks off before getting back into training mode.
Since 2004, Anderson has competed in 34 Olympic, Half Iron Man (HIM) and Ironman triathlons, including the Subaru Ironman Canada seven times, the Great White North HIM three times, Ironman Coeur D’Alene, Osoyoos HIM, and other local sprint races such as the Sole Survivor, Elkford Sprint, Lethbridge Olympic and Calgary 70.3.
Anderson said triathlons appeal to her because “you learn so much about yourself.”
“Anything can go wrong, and it’s all in how you deal with it,” she said, adding that any difficulties or mistakes experienced during an extended marathon such as an ironman are only
exaggerated due to the length and intensity of the course.
“If you’re just running a 10 km race it’s not a big deal if something goes wrong, but when you’re running an ironman… any mistake can throw everything off.”
“I get this immense satisfaction when I can push through all the negative crap, and there is a lot of negative crap that comes with it,” she said.
“It’s about proving to myself that I have the strength to overcome myself.”
Anderson said the Great Floridian was her last race for 2011 but that she will soon be back to work training for the many races she plans to take part in 2012.
To read more about some of the races Anderson has taken part in this year, visit her
blog.
