Local triathlete Angie Anderson can summarize her feelings on finishing seventh in her age category at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in one word.

“Unreal,” she said.

Cochrane’s Angie Anderson fights through the pain to finish seventh in her age category at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, Fla. on Nov. 14. (Photos submitted)

“I just want to break into tears every time I think about it. That’s a world championship race and to be seventh at a world championship is beyond anything I ever believed possible. I had a really hard day but I had an amazing day too.”

Coming into the race in Clearwater, Fla., Nov. 14, Anderson believed a Top 10 finish was possible in the female ages 40-44 group if she stayed within herself and executed her race plan perfectly.

“It’s supposed to be a race against yourself,” said Anderson, who shaved 11 minutes off of her personal best time in the half-ironman discipline with a final time of 4:40:07.

“You can never really predict how you will do because you have no way of knowing who else is going to be there, what kind of training they have had and how they will execute. All you can do is go to the race, do your best job and let the placings fall. I did that and when I found out how I did I was so happy.”

Anderson likely wasn’t the only local athlete pleased with how they performed under the hot Florida sun, as Cochrane’s Jamie Roth placed 12th in the men’s 50-54 age group with a time of 4:27:18 and Janice Helle’s time of 5:21:11 was good enough for 17th in the female ages 50-54 group.

Cochranites Anderson, left, Janice Helle and Jaimie Roth all finished in the Top 20 in their respective age categories.

Anderson said that despite reaching her “dream goal,” race day did not come and go without its own trials and tribulations. First, the swimming leg was moved out of the Gulf of Mexico to a nearby harbour because of rough water conditions caused by hurricane Ida.

“It was a smaller area so they changed the start from a mass start to a time trial,” Anderson explained. “The swim was very lonely at times, but it was a gentle swim. We didn’t get beat up at all.”

Out of the water in a solid time of 30 minutes, 10 seconds, Anderson braced herself for the 90-kilometre bike ride ahead on a track widely known for drafting — an illegal practice in age group triathlons where competitors will ride tight to the person in front of them to reduce drag and increase their speed without effort.

“I over-biked. I made a choice to bike really hard and try to stay out of the packs that had formed as best I could,” Anderson said. “I am a huge advocate for not breaking rules while racing and there were times when this race was very emotionally challenging because I was trying to get out of the pack but there was nothing I could do.”

Anderson’s determination to ride a clean race caused her to use more energy on the bike than she originally intended. The 42-year-old posted a split time roughly 13 minutes faster than she had originally intended; an impressive showing, but also extremely dangerous with more than 21 kilometres of running still to come.

“I never ever expected that I could have biked that fast but I really worked hard for it and I suffered on the run,” said Anderson, who slowed to a walk multiple times early on during the final leg.

“I would say that in my entire triathlon career that entire run was probably the closest thing I have ever experienced to a meltdown on the track.”

The veteran triathlete said that every time the thought of quitting crossed her mind she was reminded of the loads of support she received from her husband Ken, her two children and the athletes she trains at home as part of Cochrane’s Team Tri Life.

“All of the emails and the texts and the notes that I got from them meant so much to me and there was no way I was coming home with a (did not finish),” Anderson said.

And now that the world championships are over, the veteran triathlete plans to take some much-needed time off.

“It’s been a long season, I have done four races at that distance this year and, yeah, I am tuckered, need to rest for a bit.”

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