My Favorite Things: Caitlin Snow
The Brockton, Mass.-based pro has been the top American woman in Kona the past two years.
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
The Brockton, Mass.-based pro has been the top American woman in Kona the past two years. At the 2011 Ironman World Championship, she ran a 2:53 marathon—only Chrissie Wellington and Mirinda Carfrae ran faster—and finished ninth. A born athlete (she won a crawling race at 6 months old), Snow started running at 13, when she first began doing triathlon. She swam and ran throughout high school and went on to win an NCAA national championship as a college senior. After some success on the ITU circuit, Snow was invited to train and race for USAT’s development team. Knee surgery sidelined her for the 2006 season, but she came back to race her first Ironman in 2007 at Lake Placid, where she finished 13th. A year later she won that race—two days after an impromptu wedding to pro Tim Snow—and decided to leave her job as a high school math teacher to pursue triathlon as a full-time pro. The 30-year-old coach-athlete is ramping up for a busy 2012 season, with her ultimate goal being an even stronger showing in Kona.
Website: Wholekidsfoundation.org
Workout song: “Lose Yourself” by Eminem
Swim workout: “Monster Set” (1000 pull, 9×100 swim, 4×200 with paddles, 7×100 swim, 600 pull, 5×100 swim, 2×200 with paddles, 3×100 swim, 200 pull, 100 swim)
Purchase in the past week: A potato ricer to make homemade sweet-potato gnocchi!
Vacation spot: Lake Placid, N.Y.
Nickname: Cait
Candy: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
Non-tri athlete: Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia
Guilty pleasure: Deep-fried Oreos
Race: Kona
Pre-race meal: Applesauce, banana, PowerBar Perform, whey protein
Post-race meal: Massive ice cream sundae
Race experience: My first time finishing Kona
Words of encouragement: “The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place. It will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me or nobody is going to hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much can you take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!” —Rocky Balboa
Spot to train: Wherever my training buddies are!
Piece of gear: Quintana Roo CD0.1 bike
Books: A Christmas Carol, The Great Gatsby, The Help, Great Expectations, Les Misérables and The Book Thief
Charity: Plymouth Fragment Society
Music: Eagles, Citizen Cope, Adele
Race fuel: Milk Chocolate Brownie PowerBar Performance