By Cameron Elford
Oct. 12, 2007 -- Sam McGlone will be racing her first Ironman on Saturday. McGlone, who represented Canada at the 2004 Athens Olympics, made the jump to the 70.3/half-Ironman distance in 2005, winning both Wildflower and Oceanside that year. Then, in November of 2006, she topped the field at the Ford Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Clearwater, Fla., earning a Kona slot in the process.
Prior to her Clearwater win, McGlone had been equivocal about jumping up in distance to long-course triathlon, concerned that by doing so she would jeopardize the Canadian funding she received to train and race on the ITU circuit. After Clearwater, however -- where McGlone qualified for a Kona slot with her win -- she recognized that the opportunity to race the 2007 Ford Ironman World Championship was simply too good to pass up, while leaving the door open to make a return to the Olympic distance based on the outcome of Saturday's race.
Triathlete was able to catch up with McGlone as she counted down the final hours before starting her first Ironman -- and her first Kona, no less.
Triathlete: How are you feeling heading into your first Ironman on Saturday?
Sam McGlone: For me I think the hardest part was the last three months, just getting out there and getting used to the new distances. I'm prepared for a really long, tough day. I think . . . it'll be the hardest thing I'm ever going to do. But I think I'm prepared for it -- I've done as much as I can; I'm feeling good. You have a self-doubt period when you first get here and you see everyone else training . . . but I think I'm going to have a good day.
Triathlete: What's been the biggest challenge in changing it up from short course to Ironman?
Sam McGlone: The long rides are the biggest change I've noticed. The runs aren't that much longer; the swims are almost the same. Just getting out there for those long days - this really is a full-time job. It's no longer go out and hit it then rest. It takes a lot more planning. You can't roll out of bed, grab a coffee and hit the road. It's being a lot more detail-oriented.
Triathlete: What ultimately made you decide to have a go at Ironman?
Sam McGlone: I knew I wanted to do it, and I thought about doing it 2005-2006, but I figured I'd be patient, and I wanted to win the 70.3 worlds, so when I accomplished that that was one goal out of the way and the next logical step was Ironman. And since I got my Kona slot in Clearwater I couldn't pass it up.
Triathlete: You didn't want to race another early-season Ironman such as New Zealand or Australia to get a feel for the distance?
Sam McGlone: It probably would've been a good idea, but I wanted my first one to be at Kona . . . there're only a few of us that can do that with the Clearwater spots now, so I thought it would be kind of special to be my first one. These are long, hard events, and you can only do so many of them in your lifetime -- I figure I might as well make the first one count.
Triathlete: In a best-case scenario, what would you like to accomplish on Saturday?
Sam McGlone: I want to go out and have the best race that I can do, manage any problems that will arise and just execute my race plan. If I do all those things I think I could have a good day, and I think I could definitely be a factor.
Triathlete: You've been training in Colorado for much of your Hawaii build. Did you do any special training camps?
Sam McGlone: I did three weeks in Tucson [Arizona] just before I came to Hawaii to get used to the heat and get some good, hard training in.
Triathlete: What are your thoughts on going head to head with legends of the sport like Michellie Jones and Natascha Badmann?
Sam McGlone: Well, I've raced them both before at the 70.3 distance, and I've had success there . . . Ironman is a totally different story, and I look forward to going head to head with the best on the day. I think that's part of the reason why I chose Kona; you might as well test yourself against the legends. It's a whole different beast, so we'll see. I feel comfortable with the heat - it was very hot in Tucson -- not as humid as it is here but I think I got an overdose of the heat, and I've had 10 days here to get used to the humidity. We're staying in kind of a rustic house -- no air-conditioning. It's where Peter [Reid] stays every year, so I figure if it's good enough for Peter it's good enough for us.
Triathlete: So you're fit and feeling positive?
Sam McGlone: Yeah, I'm fit, I've trained hard. I think we've taken care of everything we can take care of, and I'm going to make it to the start line, which is half the battle.
Triathlete: Have you thought at all about your plans post-Kona? Could a run at the Beijing Olympic team be a possibility?
Sam McGlone: I'm going to try and do Clearwater. I don't know how I'll feel after this, but definitely that's in the cards, and then we'll think about it in the off-season, but I think it's going to depend on how Saturday goes. The Ironman and Olympic distance are just getting further and further apart in terms of what skill sets you need, so if this Ironman thing clicks for me, then I might just stick with that for now.