This is an excerpt from my “Kona 2018 Rating Report“. You can download your copy here.

Last year Susie raced to her second sixth place in Kona after 2015. She has improved her swim and bike: Her Kona bike split in 2017 was eleven minutes quicker than in 2015, an indication of the level of racing in Kona getting higher and higher.

This year she finished second behind Lucy in South Africa, setting a new run PR barely missing the 3-hour mark. Her summer race at IM Austria left her frustrated as the female Pro race was overshadowed by a drafting controversy.

Susie has been working hard to improve her bike leg and it’s hard to properly balance that with keeping her run strength. If she can manage another five-minute improvement on the bike in Kona, she could ride with a faster bike group and start the run still in touch with the podium spots. If she runs to her potential and is maybe even able to run her first sub-3, she will be in a great position to step up from her previous Kona results.

Photo: Susie on the bike at Kona 2017. 
Credit: Jay Prasuhn

Thorsten: Why have you decided not to race 70.3 Champs even though it’s in your “second home” South Africa?

Susie: The timing and travel aren’t ideal for preparation for Kona. For me, the focus has to be on Kona. I know I can have a better race at Kona and that means a solid build without too much travel and the risk of illness etc that comes with traveling and racing.

T: How do you view last year’s Kona result and your racing in 2018?

S: I was happy to come sixth for the second time! On the other hand I would have loved to improve my position. I do think it was a better performance than 2015 for the same position but that just shows how the standard continues to progress.
To be honest I think IM South Africa in April was my best Ironman to date. I was strong across all three disciplines, seconds away from breaking the 3-hour mark on a relatively tough run course. My decision to focus on a second Ironman that I didn’t need to do was probably the wrong one in hindsight but the timing has allowed me to come back and put in my best training block I’ve ever put together in the run-up to Kona.

T: How fierce is the rivalry between the British women? Sometimes there seem to be parallels to the German males in the 90s when being the first German was almost more important than finishing on the podium in Kona …

S: It’s funny, someone asked me which British women were going to Kona this year. I reeled off a couple of names but because we don’t compete as a team I wasn’t sure I’d covered everyone. The British women are really very strong, but I wouldn’t say I have an ambition to be the best Brit. If that was the case we’d all compete domestically and save the travel to Kona! For me finishing on the podium is a much stronger motivator, but in order to do so, you’ll probably have to be just about top Brit!

T: What’s the goal for this year’s race in Kona? What performance do you think will be needed for a podium in Kona?

S: You won’t make the podium in Kona unless you go sub-9 I would say. On the day you just give your best race, Kona is a race rather than targeting a specific time. But when you get the best women going head to head in the best shape of the year, you’re going to have to find something pretty special to make the podium. I think I’ve got that in me but it also means producing the best Ironman performance I’ve had to date. Everyone says it going into Kona, but I am training faster than I’ve ever done and I’ve had the best block of training I’ve ever done. All I can do is control what I’m capable of, I’m capable of more than I was last year but it depends where the rest of the women are which is something nobody will know until race day.

T: With ten IM finishes you are already one of the more experienced athletes who are racing at the front of the race. Do you have any advice for the Kona rookies?

S: It’s hot and windy! To be honest it’s the same as any Ironman in that it’s just an Ironman. What makes it tough is that you have the best women in the shape of the year on a hot and windy island. It’s when you start changing your prep (because you’re taking 16 different peoples advice) that you get into trouble!

T: With your long list of low-3 marathons (3:03 South Africa 2015, 3:02 in SA 2016, 3:02 in Brasil 2017, 3:00 at SA 2017), when will you be able to finally run a sub-3 marathon?

S: I know, right! If I’d known in SA .. had no idea I was so close! Start running with a better idea of what time I’m running maybe!? I’ve mixed up my run training a lot in this block. I’ve gone back to running training like I was when I was a runner. I’ve been cautious in the past because of injury but I’m more robust now than I’ve ever been. 2017 was about adapting my bike, I’ve been adjusting to that for the last year and now have got to the place that I can absorb that training and also get the run quality in (something that suffered at first when I moved to my bike coach). My run has been on a bit of a plateau because of that, but with some changes I have begun to see a shift in my running so I’m excited to see what that brings.

T: What changes have you made since becoming a full-time athlete?

S: I went full time mid-2015, so it seems a lifetime ago now. I suppose it’s all the little things. I have time to go and tweak my bike position, time to allow me to get away in the winter (northern hemisphere athletes will appreciate this is important!). The sleep is a big thing, when I was working I was training at 5 am, working a full day and getting on the bike at 7 or 7:30 pm which at the time I convinced myself was normal but in hindsight I have no idea how I did it!

This is an excerpt from my “Kona 2018 Rating Report“. You can download your copy here.

Thorsten: Last year was the first time you raced in Kona (with a great Rookie result!). What have you learned from that first time in Kona, what has surprised you?

Patrik: Kona last year was a great experience. Far from a perfect race, so of course there is a lot of small things to take with from that race .. I lost a crucial water bottle on the bike, did some “less clever decisions” on the run and so on. All things that could be forgiven in a “normal” Ironman race, but something I had to pay for during the race in Kona.
This year, I will for sure be more aware of the small details during a race and remember to follow the plan: Take that salt, ice, drink, keep cool and so on. I guess Kona is a race where all small decisions also will have another side that will be shown later during the race.

T: How much pressure was there on you for a good race in Frankfurt after the DNFs in early season races?

P: Of course it’s been some disappointing races during the first half of the season. My focus has always been Frankfurt and Kona. So even if the 70.3 races during the first half of the year didn’t go as plan, my shape was still better than ever and the schedule clear.
Teresa [Patrik’s partner and coach] and I did a couple of changes during the start of this year, some good and some less good for short-term performance. They have all developed me as an athlete, but also something we had to find the right level to perform in races. It did for sure have an impact during the first couple of races, but towards Frankfurt Teresa and I found a balance and awere able to show it out on the course.
There was no pressure on me towards Frankfurt. Neither from the team or anyone around .. I had to work with the pressure I put on myself though, but before the race it was under control and I could start for the right reason. Also regarding Kona there was no pressure .. I pretty much just needed to finish the race and should then be qualified.

T: How will you prepare for Kona? Another Texas camp with last year’s group?

P: No camp in Texas this year. I was with the Norwegian short distance team (Blumenfeldt, Iden, Stornes and others) in altitude earlier in August. So the plan towards Kona will be an altitude camp and then off to Kona for the least two weeks before the race.

T: What’s the Kona goal for this year?

P: I think most professional athletes aren’t satisfied to repeat what they did the year before. An eighth place last year was for sure good, but the aim will for sure be a bit higher this year. My “goal” for the race is another thing: It’s usually not based on a pure result (“to win”), but instead based on things I can control (like my feeling on the bike, technique in the swim or stride in the run).

T: Last year you rode most of the bike in a good group with Patrick and David, but then you weren’t “the best runner” in that group. Does this mean that you’ll be more aggressive on the bike this year? Or is the goal to be the best runner in a similar group this year? 

P: I don’t think there is a reason to be more aggressive on the bike, only thinking of the run …  I do know my capacity during the run (maybe not 2h40h in Kona like Patrick, but 2h45?) and would love to start the run in a group together with Patrick and David. Last year I lost a bottle the last 20k on the bike and rode the last 30min without any drink. Getting to T2 I felt like dying and drank everything I could see. After two steps out on the run my stomach said no to that amount of cola, sportdrink and water and that was followed by a toilet stop, then more drinks, another toilet, more drink, another toilet and so on until we got out on Queen K. So this year, I am confident about my run. I also know that my biking is better than last year. So we have to wait and see what kind of fun the race can bring…

T: What are you working on to improve in the long-term, and how “Kona specific” are these goals?

P: My biking has for a long time been my weakest leg during a race which has made it natural for me to work on the bike. Then of course my biggest goal has always been Kona – which again has made it natural again to work on the bike, since the race in Kona usually offers a challenging bike ride.
But my overall working points are to improve the swim a percent or two, improve the bike and stay a good runner. So I guess it also fits pretty well for Kona!

T: Any insights on your teammates? It looks as if the BMC team is well represented in Kona this year!

P: I think everyone can agree that “BMC – Vifit sport pro triathlon team powered by Uplace” is very well represented with seven athletes racing!! Haha and I think everyone will be doing well…. what I have heard everyone’s shape is good and motivation on top! So I look forward to a team championship and combine that with a world championship at the same time.

Photo: Patrik running towards a second place finish in Frankfurt. Credit: James Mitchell