Quotes From The 2012 Ironman Arizona Press Conference

Published November 16, 2012 05:18PM

Professional triathletes Meredith Kessler (USA), Linsey Corbin (USA), Leanda Cave (GBR), Paul Amey (GBR), TJ Tollakson (USA) and Mathias Hecht (SUI) gathered at Tempe Beach Park in Tempe, Ariz. on the Friday before Ironman Arizona to answer questions from the media and fans. Here are a few quotes from the press conference.

The Women

Meredith Kessler on recovering from Ironman Florida in time to race at Arizona:

“I think recovery is very important. I do a lot of recovery boot and a lot of Arctic Ease, which is a cold compression. I drink a lot of coconut water and a lot of chocolate milk goes into my system. Two weeks is not a lot of time to recover and parlay that race into another Ironman. Hopefully I’m warm enough and recovered enough and ready to go.”

“I think it depends on the time of the year. If it’s early in the year then I put a little bit more focus into my training. But coming off of Hawaii it’s a lot of listening to my body. I’ve slept in through a few swim workouts when I was feeling tired and I’ve also added a few extra miles to my bike workouts when I was feeling good. I keep my body moving and try not to read too much into how I’m feeling in between races. I’ve never felt great coming off of Hawaii, but then on race day my body always seems to know how to respond.”

“I really like to celebrate. I’ve probably put that pretty high on the priority list and training quite low on the priority list lately.”

“It’s called validation. I’m not racing, I’m validating. I’m enjoying everyone else’s victories and performances out there on the weekend and just having fun for a change as opposed to having it all serious which nine months of the year it is.”

“For me it’s one of the draws and the appeals to this course. I was saying earlier today that if I could define this race with one word it would be ‘community.’ I think it’s a real pleasure to be sharing the course with age groupers, as well as the other professionals. A highlight for me on the run course is to be able to run with the other amateur athletes… I enjoy being able to say ‘good job’ and ‘good luck’ to people. There’s a lot of energy with this course. My family is here and I think I’ll see them maybe 16 times on race day. When you’re in a rough patch it’s easy to look forward to seeing your family and lots of cheers. The other thing I love about this course is the aid stations. I think they’re just as competitive as the athletes.”

“I’ve done this race every time it’s been offered. Even when it was done twice in one year, I did it both times. I continue to come back. I think it’s the best course on the circuit. The three loops on the bike and the run. It gives you a lot to do and a lot to think about. I love seeing a lot of the athletes I coach and training partners. Like Linsey said, we’ve counted and 16-18 times you’ll see people. Community and camaraderie is what I think of when I think of Tempe.”

“I have an interesting track record here. I’ve been second the last three years and every year I’ve gone 10 minutes faster than I did the year before. My marathon times are a 3:04, a 3:03 and a 3:02, so I’ve got some goals and a little bit of pressure. I think we all want it equally. I’m not buying Leanda’s act. I think she has her poker face on. And I think Meredith is hungry to add another Ironman title. She’s been really close to the nine-hour mark. I think if anything I’d like to see some fast times. I think we’re set up for fast conditions and I’d like to see all three of us going after nine hours.”

The Men

“I’ve done a few races in Arizona. The weather is always good and it’s a good course. It’s always a good atmosphere and a good crowd. I thought I’d come back and get some points for Kona for next year.”

“I stopped training about six weeks ago so I’m already in the off-season. I’m going over to France to have a little bit of training and then I’m looking at the Abu Dhabi race next year. “

“The plan this year was to race Ironman New York City and get enough points to qualify for Kona. I fell just a little bit short. I think Axel Zeebroek was the last man in and I was about 40 points short. I had a little change to my schedule. That was fine. I told myself I didn’t want to chase points. I wanted to have two quality Ironman races for the year and I raced New York and if I wasn’t going to race Kona I knew this would be the race on my schedule.”

“To be honest, I’m not 100 percent ready. I’ve had a few issues with my hamstrings, which started with Ironman New York where I had to pull out… It’s coming back. It’s not 100 percent, but I’m hoping to have a good race and get some points.”