Mary Beth Ellis – Iron comet
A year ago, Mary Beth Ellis was burned out and overtrained and wondering if her already excellent triathlon career (two Ironman 70.3 World Championship silver medals) was nearing the end. Now, she is the only American woman at the Ironman World Championship pre race pro press conference – for very good reasons. This summer she won Ironman Regensburg, then set a race record 8:43:32 winning Ironman Austria – which marked her as the third fastest woman Ironman competitor in history. She followed that by breaking the legendary Erin Baker's 21-year-old race record at Ironman Canada and taking 8th overall against the men.
Ladies and gentlemen, Mary Beth Ellis is for real.
Slowtwitch: A year ago did you think you would be here in Kona as one of the favorites?
Mary Beth Ellis: No I’d never imagine that. I had a really tough 2010 and I just struggled all year. I was over trained. The weekend of Hawaii I went to visit my parents and watched the race on the computer all day long. It was such an exciting race and I was hoping one day I would make it here. I didn't think I’d be here this year. It was just one of those years. I trained really hard and just left it all out in the training.
ST: Were you working with Brett Sutton at that point?
Mary Beth: No.
ST: It is a cliché that he is the one who works people into the ground.
Mary Beth: No it’s not true. He's been good. He is the one who held me back. And pushed me when I needed to be pushed. It's been a good bit.
ST: Perhaps your best race of your three Ironman wins this summer was Austria when you finished in 8:43:35 – which made you the third fastest woman Ironman competitor of all time. But maybe your best race was Ironman Canada where you finished in 9:03:13, 8th overall including the men and broke the 21-year-old women;s race record set by the great Erin Baker.
Mary Beth: Those two races were pretty different. I think Austria was one of those races things went very smoothly. The last 10k of the run there really hurt. But that's to be expected. Canada was different. I was very proud of that performance, the bike especially [her 4:54:21 split was 10th fastest including the men] I had a good bike for that course and to run [3:12:10] off that hard a bike was a good test mentally. I had a hard time just trying to get to the finish line. I wasn’t concerned at all about getting the record. It was about getting to the finish line.
ST: Which leg of your triathlon needs more work?
Mary Beth: I think I am quite balanced. I think they all, could use more work. There isn’t one that is really weak. The goal would be to improve them all.
ST: What would be your goal pace Saturday on the swim bike and run?
Mary Beth: I really don’t know. I haven't done a swim without a wetsuit.
ST: The water is very salty and thus very buoyant. So that might help. buoyant?
Mary Beth: My Ironman swim times have ranged from 48 to 53 minutes. So hopefully somewhere in there.
ST: That might put you right in there with Chrissie and just behind Rachel Joyce and Julie Dibens. Then on the bike? Your best bikes times have included a 4:48.
You might ride anywhere from 4:48 up to what?
Mary Beth: I had a flat at Regensburg and that was a 5:17:16 split. In Canada I went 4:54, so on that course I was happy with that.
ST: On the run you've been between 3:00 and 3:12?
Mary Beth: I would hope given good conditions I would be close to 3:00. You never know out there. Especially if you really go for it the first half of the marathon, you could really pay for it at the end.
ST: How do you see yourself in the mix with Chrissie, Julie, Mirinda, Caroline and all the great ones?
Mary Beth: I would just like to have a good swim and being a good position on the bike where I can make my decision if I am feeling good to stay with people who make breaks. I think definitely it will be a strategic race in some way. I want to make the best decisions I can. Hopefully I will go with the breaks if I can.
ST: And on the run, you were an elite marathoner before you took to triathlon. Where do you think you will fit in here?
Mary Beth: It is such a legendary race. So many great people have raced here over the years and I am just happy that I get the chance to race here among so many great athletes. I am very excited and hope this is the first time of many in my career I can come here and race the best.
ST: Did you get enough rest and recovery after Canada?
Mary Beth: I think everybody has issues at this time of year. We were pretty conservative after Canada. Everybody is tired. In some ways, the situation wasn't so bad. I didn’t have to do as many long runs because I had done them in races. So at the same time it is a long day out there.. I think at least mentally I know what to expect in the Ironman,. I've done one just six weeks ago.
ST: Were you worried it was all over in your career last year?
Mary Beth: I think everybody questions their decisions and I was thinking just give it one more shot. And if things go well, I will have a few more good years. But I also realize that there is other stuff outside the triathlon world. So I will enjoy this and live the dream as long as I can. But everything will come to an end at some point. I am just happy to be get a second chance.
