Rachel Ross is the 2 time defending 30-34 Women’s age group champion at the Ironman World Championships in Kona.  In addition to being an outstanding triathlete and a member of the powerful Team Timex squad, she is also a mother of three kids under the age of 8!  Rachel took some time to sit down with us and share her experiences in her quick rise to the top of the podium.

You’re in the water at the 2006 Ironman Hawaii, waiting for the cannon to go off.  You’ve never done this distance and you are surrounded by the best in the world.  What’s going through your mind?

By the time I got to the water, I was done being scared. I had a good cry before I got in when saying goodbye to my husband and my oldest son, Henry, because I was so scared. But once I got out there I let it go and practiced my free diving. I would go as deep as I could and just look up at all the crazy frog-looking people silhouetted against the surface. Then I popped up next to Dick Hoyt and we started chatting. I had finished Boston next to him earlier that year and told him how cool it was to run across the line with the Hoyts. I tend to kill the nerves by socializing pre-race.

You just started training with Lifesport coaching this year.  What have the greatest insights been that they’ve shared with you in regards to training and nutrition?

I started training with Paul Regensburg at Lifesport in February of this year. Prior to that I was with Raul Boca at Boca Hawaii, who helped me get my first bike and totally got me started in the sport. I've learned quite a bit from Paul right off the bat, like that I need to pick up the pace on the bike and in the pool. I knew how to run hard, but am just learning to use power and my heart rate zones to train harder. Race nutrition is so personal, and through trial and error I've learned that it's all Infinit for me on the bike, nothing else, and power gels on the run. I shoot for 300 cals an hour riding, 200 running. Day to day nutrition still needs a lot of work. I spend entirely too much time with a pound bag of peanut butter m&ms next to me.

There is a lot of talk in triathlon about the “machismo” of males in hating to get passed on the bike by a woman.  What’s the funniest thing that’s been said to you by a male age grouper when you’ve ended up passing them on your ride or deep on the run?

I'm tall and I tend to get remarks about the length of my legs. A guy on the course at Kona last year professed his everlasting love on the climb to Hawi as I went by. On my way back down the hill he yelled "Nice ass!" I lost a little respect for him.

What does your everyday nutrition look like during one of your highest volume weeks?  Calories, and overall food choices?

When training big I have to use an online calorie tracker, or else I end up thousands of calories under what I need. I've found that I eat healthier on the really big days if I get adequate cals while on the bike. I go for a Jamba Juice Protein Berry with extra protein as my immediate recovery drink, and then try to eat good food the rest of the day. I really can't get over 3k calories though, so some days I just don't keep up. Oddly, I tend to gain weight training for long stuff instead of losing it, in spite of the deficit. It probably has something to do with the peanut butter m&ms previously mentioned. They find me late at night.

In addition to your overall successes at multiple races, your run splits have been ridiculously fast!  Tell us about your running pedigree and what you attribute your running strength to.

Thanks! I started running daily around age 14. I didn't compete, really. Well, I did one season of XC but hated it and used to cheat on the long 6 mile days by running to 7-11 for a slurpee and walking back. I did love to run and would go out for 3-5 miles everyday on my own. In college I started running longer. My parents had moved to a town just over the Berkeley Hills so I would run the 12 miles home over the mountain some days and beg someone to drive me back. So I guess you could say I have a 17 year base of easy running. In 2006 I trained for a marathon. I wanted to go under 4 hours and ran 3:12, and then ran my second at Boston a few months later in 3:04. Someday I'll give up all this silly cycling and try to break that 3h barrier. I just plain love to run.

What is the most pain you’ve felt in a race and how did you break through?

 A giant advil saved me. I had 102 degree fever at Kona in 2007. I drugged it down race morning, then dropped all my tylenol on the road when I felt the fever coming back just after getting out of Hawi. By the time I hit Waikoloa I was in that eyeballs-burning hallucinating fever state and all I could think of was getting back to T2, finding some shade and watching the leaders finish from the stands. I found a giant 800 mg ibuprofen I'd stashed in my T2 bag, thought of all the time I had put into the training that would be wasted if I didn't at least try the run, and made myself go. The fever disappeared so fast and I PR'd the IM marathon by 10 minutes. So much can change in the long day that is Ironman.

OK.  You get 2 hours to train with anyone in the world of triathlon.  What discipline do you choose and what is the workout?

Can we call Lance "in the world of triathlon"? He started there. I would love to go for a ride with Lance. Up an Alp (a small one). Sure, he would be really really bored, but I need to ask him what he was thinking with that Olson twin??! Seriously, I think he's really interesting and would love to spend two hours with him.

With so much success coming your way in such short time, how do you stay motivated?  Specifically, what are your goals for 2008?

There is so much to do in triathlon it's hard to narrow it down. I've yet to race a 70.3 well, so that's something I would like to do in 2008. I am not off to the best start - I had some cold water issues (read hysterical panic attack) at California 70.3 that led to talking to the lifeguard instead of swimming straight through, and I will not be able to race Hawaii 70.3 due to an IT band injury I've been rehabbing since IM AZ. Hopefully I will get a couple more shots at it this year. The primary goal for 2008 is to arrive at Kona healthy and prepared.

What does a peak week of training look like for you?
I hit my max of 20 hours once or twice training for Ironman Arizona this spring. It's broken down into 4 swims (about 12k total), 3 rides (just under 200 mi/week) and 3-4 runs (30 - 40 mi/wk). I was going to use my 20 hr/week environmental scientist job and three kids as my excuse, but I just looked at your interview with my friend and teammate, med-school student Alex, and saw how much he trains. Whoa.

Here’s one for all the moms who want to be Ironmen out there.  Give your maternal fans the top 3 things to focus on when they pull the trigger and sign up for their first Ironman. 

Sleep - Get to bed early so you can sneak in a workout pre-dawn/kiddos.
Recovery - fit in any extra rest you can. Sometimes I sit and ice with my feet up at baseball practice.
Remember - you're a mom - moms can do anything!

Rachel Ross
Born: October 3, 1976, Sarasota, Florida
Age: 31
First Triathlon: Mountainman Xterra, Kaaawa, HI August 2004 (I have never raced off road again. I'm too much of a sissy.)
Family: Husband - Ramsey; Children - Henry(8), Wyatt(6) & Sky(4)
Lives: Honolulu, Hawaii
Interesting Fact:  Bree Wee and Rachel are both from Sarasota and currently reside in Hawaii

Career at a glance

• 2006 Ironman World Champion W30-34 (first Ironman), 10:05
• 2007 Ironman World Champion W30-34, 9:56
• 2007 Accenture Chicago Triathlon - First Overall, Elite Amateur
• 2007 USAT Nationals - Age Group Champion
• 2007 Strongman Japan Triathlon - First Overall
• 2008 Ironman Arizona - First Amateur, Ninth Overall
  

Thanks a lot, Rachel!  Your story is an inspiration to anyone looking to jump into the sport of triathlon.  Congratulations on your great race at Ironman Arizona and we wish you all the best in your build to Kona.

Interview by Max Wunderle

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