Julie Dibens’ toe hurts
Julie Dibens has aggravated a long term toe injury that led her to drop out of the Ironman 70.3 Worlds in Las Vegas after leading on the bike. But the two-time Abu Dhabi champ, 2009 Ironman 70.3 World Champion and last year's 3rd place Kona finisher thinks she can handle the pain and might as well stop playing it conservative on the bike.
ST: Why did you pull out of Ironman 70.3 Worlds at Las Vegas?
Julie Dibens: I've been dealing with a long term injury to my toe and it flared up again. I dislocated my second toe in 2004 and doctors operated and put a metal plate in it and did some tendon transfers. Since then, I've just been managing it. I can't use that toe at all. So all through this the third toe next to it has been doing all the work. Now it’s bone against bone. I can race but I knew it would be painful in Las Vegas.
ST: It hasn’t been stopping you all this year. You won Abu Dhabi for the second straight year. And you validated your Kona qualification quite handily?
Julie: I won Coeur d'Alene. I was doing great on the bike and the first half of the run. Then it started to hurt a little bit. I think I might have broken the course record. [Dibens combined a 50:36 swim, 4:52:18 bike and a 3:27:09 run for a 9:16:40 finish].
ST: How have you been able to stay as fit as possible?
Julie: I have been able to run and the bike is fine. It's just a few sessions here and there. The one thing I'd wanted to work on since last year was leg durability. But the long runs haven't been as long as I'd like.
ST: Can you go stronger on the bike? It seems as if you were a little conservative last year?
Julie: I feel stronger on the bike. I think I neglected some of the swim leading up to the race last year. I came out of the swim a minute and a half after Rachel Joyce and I think I should have been out with her. I think I was so fearful of running my first marathon. I know there is more on the bike. And with all that has happened, I thought I could be more aggressive and just see what I could do on the run.'
ST: What have you done to help you finish this race off with a good marathon?
Julie: I've been really working on tweaking my orthotics and shoe choice. K-Swiss has been really great about working with me on the shoe and provided me with one that is a bit stiffer. That is definitely helping.
ST: Does this injury takes away some of the pressure?
Julie: I think leading into Vegas and since Vegas I have had some doubts whether I should really be here or not. I pushed back coming out here to a little later. I came out here Sunday so I could get my head together. I wanted to make sure I really wanted to be out here and give it a go. To make sure there were no more doubts about it.
ST: Do you have any doubts about Chrissie's ability to race?
Julie: Chrissie has always had something going on leading to all of her Ironmans. The first year I was in Boulder we hung out a lot and I got to see what she was dealing with going into Roth and going into Kona. That first year I saw she always had something going on. So I don’t think this is going to change anything for her. I think she is going to be out there racing just as hard just as fast. She might be in a little bit of pain from the crash. But she has an amazing ability to forget about it somehow.
