Last week at Ironman Melbourne in Australia, Corinne Abraham had the race of her life. She nabbed first place female with a blistering bike split followed by a 2:56:50 marathon. Corinne has rather burst onto the Ironman scene, having started into triathlon just four years ago and now competing as a professional for the last two years.
In the interview that follows, notice a couple of things. First, who gets the credit for Corinne’s sparkling performance in Melbourne? Studies of highly successful people often show that when they succeed, they cite how lucky they are and lavish credit on others, rather than how great they are. But there is another side. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Diligence is the mother of good luck.” Corinne credits the weather, her home stay hosts and all kinds of things for her great day, but it’s certain that winning at Ironman requires a lot of work, dedication, fitness and mental preparation. And we all know that everyone in the race is racing in the same weather.
On the other hand, the things that didn’t go well Corinne pins on herself. Again, a trait of great people is to take the blame for unwanted outcomes. Notice Corinne’s comments about her podium speech.
Athletes all have a persona, how they come across as athletes and as persons. You can tell a lot about the athlete from observing her persona. Two strong elements of an athlete’s persona are how she reacts to success and how she reacts to hardship. Packed into this short interview, in the light of Corinne’s win at Melbourne, are strong clues about the persona of this athlete, new to triathlon, who is achieving great success early in her career.
Q. You had an amazing bike split. What went through your mind when you saw what your bike split time would be?
Corinne: Thank you! It is always good to see a low time, but I’m always conscious that that is a result of the conditions as well as how well the legs work on the day. The forecast was for winds between 10-20mph but due to the linear nature of the course, they were predicted as headwind/tailwind with them shifting direction in early afternoon. I’d considered the conditions and decided to run with a disc/808 set up which worked out well for me. If however I’d been out on the course for longer or the winds had changed direction earlier than predicted, that bike split time may have been very different. If I find myself getting too excited, there is always the thought that you have to run a marathon yet, which usually has a sobering effect!
Q. You also had your best run time. At what mile did you know that you were going to set a PR for the run?
Corinne: To be honest, again the run time is a factor of not only your fitness and ability, but of the race conditions. The Melbourne weather is so unpredictable. Two days before the race I was running along the marathon course into head winds so strong that I was hardly running, the day after the race the sea was like a mill pond and there wasn’t a breath of wind. If the wind had shifted while we were on the course - which was a distinct possibility, the times would have been waaaay slower. On the other hand, if it had been blowing a hoolie tailwind….wooo-hooo! The other thing is that I’m a firm believer that it’s not over until you’ve crossed the line. Your physical state can change so quickly at the end of the marathon that one moment you are ticking over feeling fabulous and the next you feel like you can’t run another step. Or something random might happen like a dog running out onto the path and tripping you up, next moment you are hobbling. It’s not that I’m running in fear, I’m usually pretty happy to when I’m running, but I wasn’t going to start my celebrations or counting my chickens until I’d crossed that finish line.
Q. It can be tough to keep the focus on your pace in such a long race. What did you do to maintain your concentration?
Corinne: I keep myself very busy when I’m out there! Constantly assessing the course, the conditions, how I feel, how the other contenders are progressing; so on and so forth. The obvious ones are when did I last drink, when did I last take on calories, how far or how long until I get to the next feed station, do I need to pick up anything on my way through, do I need to drink my remaining fluids or pour them over my head before I get there, is that rider in front of me going to be a hazard? Ooh, nice wheels… How are the legs feeling, what is my cadence, is my right sock bunching up, do I need to do something about it, when did I last get out of the saddle to keep my back loose; how far to the turn around, how long will it take me, do the math again, take time split of anyone going the other way. I really am very busy! And all will be well so long as I’m asking myself the right questions and making good decisions…
Q.How did you for mental preparation before the race?
Corinne: I think that most of the mental preparation is done in training - I’m asking myself all those same questions in training as well so that I am practiced and I’m not going to forget anything important. I find it helps to sit and think about all of the tough sessions that I’ve done, to think about the quality of my training to date and how even though I may have been nervous or apprehensive before previous races, it has never been detrimental. Also I find it helps to have a healthy dose of perspective, it is sport, it is important but it is not the be all and end all. If I have a bad race for whatever reason, I’m inclined to think that the world will keep turning!
Q. What was the best part of your podium speech?
Corinne: Urgh, I’d rather not answer that as I’m still cringing. I thought that Mike Riley who was presenting the awards would lead with some questions but he just handed the microphone over. Yikes. Lesson learned and I’ll be much more prepared if I’m fortunate enough to be in the position to do another one.
Q. What are your plans between now and Kona in October?
Corinne: More training! I’m confident that there is scope for further improvement in all three disciplines and this is exciting, but I know that the improvements will not happen of their own accord and it will take hard graft to make those gains. I’ve not got a race schedule yet but whatever it is, I will be aiming to get to Kona in the best possible shape.
Q. What was the biggest surprise for you in Melbourne?
Corinne: Probably cycling though the field. I’ve a lot of respect for the other girls who were out on the course and I wasn’t expecting to ride myself to the front. In all of my previous races I’ve made significant gains through the bike leg, but I’ve had the most impact in terms of my finishing position while on the run course. I was just concentrating on my day, controlling what I could control, working within my own parameters and that took me into the race lead. I was confident that I wasn’t over cooking myself and so I wasn’t going to start backing off or questioning my capability just because I found myself in the lead.
Q. Anything else you’d like to talk about?
Corinne: Often prior to a race I’ve been able to stay with someone local to the event and sometimes they have hosted me for a number of weeks. This I know has a significant impact on the quality of my training and the build-up to the race as well as making it financially viable to race around the world until I get a stronger athlete profile and sponsorship base. I quite simply could not afford to do it otherwise. The kindness, the generosity and the trust that they show in opening up their homes to me is humbling. Often there is little or nothing expected by way of return and the notion of ‘paying it forward’ or offering their support simply because they are in a position to do so is their philosophy. There are many, many people who support me and make it possible for me to do what I do, to pursue my ambitions and see how good I can be at long distance triathlon. It is difficult to convey what a huge influence this has, just to know that your friends want to see you do well and your family supports your dreams and people that you don’t even know yet are willing you to do well, is hugely enabling.
My thanks and expressions of gratitude always seem so trivial and are often waved away as if their actions were nothing, but to me, they have been life changing.
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