Xena Reflects on Melbourne

March 29, 2012

Four weeks ago, Caroline Steffen finished third at the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon and was not a bit discouraged losing to Nikki Butterfield and Angela Naeth. When asked if she was feeling down about not performing at her best, she said:

"What do you mean not the best? I ran faster than ever. It’s not about ranking. It’s not about first and second. It’s a question about how you race the race. I had the best swim ever. We had a 40k an hour split over 200ks on the bike. And I ran faster than ever. I had my best race in Abu Dhabi, but two girls ran faster than I. So I am more than happy. I had a really good race and I am back on the podium."

Last weekend, the world saw just what great things Caroline Steffen was capable of as she smashed a tremendous field including 2010 Ironman World Champion Mirinda Carfrae, came within 55 seconds of Chrissie Wellington's WTC Ironman women's world record, and set a women's world best Ironman bike split of 4:35:29.

Steffen explains in an email interview just what this breakthrough performance meant to her, where it came from and where this newfound confidence might take her. At the end of the athlete's interview, her famous coach weighs in on how Steffen's performance was planned and executed.

Slowtwitch: Can you explain how you reached this level – to knock on the door of the women’s WTC Ironman record held by the once incomparable Chrissie Wellington — your 2012 IM Melbourne 8:34:51 just 55 seconds behind Chrissie’s 8:33:56 at Ironman South Africa in 2011?

Caroline Steffen: I trained hard and gave my best at race day. Chrissie`s incomparable performances in the last four years don't mean the rest of us pro women did not train hard as well. In my mind, Chrissie opened a door for all women in triathlon — which means a sub-9 hour Ironman is something self-evident.

ST: Can you explain how you got fairly beaten at Abu Dhabi and said with a smile at the end, "Because I had a perfect race I could not do any better." And then you smashed the field at Melbourne?

Caroline: I call this smart racing. "Perfect race" doesn't mean I have to win. "I could not do any better" doesn't mean I have to kill myself on the race course. It was like I said, it was a perfect race and I could not do any better — because I stuck to my coach's plan. I used the race to get myself ready for Melbourne and not to push myself over the edge.

ST: Which is more amazing to you – your 8:34:51 time or your 4:35:29 bike split?

Caroline: I would say the 8:34:51 looks pretty cool, isn't it?

ST: Did riding among the pro men back markers help or hinder you?

Caroline: The pro men got a 2 minute head start. I rode up to the group after 5 km into the bike leg. First I thought I may better go my own speed but then I saw some good athletes in the group and made the decision to stay and see what happened.

ST: Could you ride any faster with a Cervelo P5, as Rachel Joyce did to ride 4:44:56?

Caroline: It must be. The slogan says "simply faster."

ST: How much better can you be at the Ironman game?

Caroline: I definitely can step up an other level. Chrissie started with the same coach I have now [Brett Sutton], so why I should not be able to get that fast like she did?

ST: How much of a relief is this performance after your troubles – which you dealt with admirably in 2011 — six wins despite your nagging foot troubles which cost you some crucial base run training?

Caroline: I got a bit lost last year and had to deal with unfamiliar and uncomfortable situations. Through IM Melbourne, I got my confidence back, that's for sure.

ST: At Ironman Hawaii last year, you abandoned your coach's plan by charging early on the bike and ended up 5th. Did you stick precisely to coach Brett’s plan this time?

Caroline: I did! I don't make the same mistake twice.

ST: Can you describe the reaction you got from fans on the day at Melbourne and how it made you feel?

Caroline: During the run leg, many people cheered my one with my nickname "Xena," which put a little smile in my face and power in my legs. The welcome at the finish was just overwhelming. Autographs and photos together with age-group athletes who I never saw before but they knew know my name. All the congratulations – that is still somewhat strange to me.

ST: How did it feel to be greeted at the finish by your long time boyfriend David Dellow?

Caroline: Awesome of course. I never expected to see him as fresh he was. We both had a perfect day and it was nice to celebrate at the finish line together.

ST: David Dellow had a fantastic first Ironman and finished 5th in 8:04:19. In your opinion, which of you had the better performance related to Ironman experience?

Caroline: It was his first Ironman race. So the answer is, Dave. His performance was just sensational. He showed a remarkably strong and very smart race. I`m convinced there is way much more to come for him. He just started to like this kind of 8 hour torture race. I'm also impressed how exactly he is planning the days before the race and the race itself. I believe he'll have a big future in this sport.

ST: Can you describe the worldwide reaction to your race – people, friends, media, sponsors?

Caroline: Wow, it is midnight now and I'm still working on this interview. I spend pretty much all day on my laptop (except during training) and worked my way through all the messages on Facebook, Twitter and Hotmail — up to 600 messages since Sunday night. Plus three television interviews, some others for radio and local newspaper, a photo shoot with 2XU, working on my website and writing blogs. The reaction was huge – I guess no one expected this result. Or should I say time?

ST: Have you heard from Chrissie?

Caroline: Yes, she said congratulations by Twitter

ST: What did Doc Sutton tell you afterward?

Caroline: I spoke to him on the phone and he said "Winning doesn't make me proud, courage under fire does. You are back girl. You worked your way back to the top of the tree." Thank you, Coach!!

ST: What was your toughest moment on the day?

Caroline: Sounds maybe silly but it was the first 20 minutes in the swim. We started before daylight and I was wearing dark lenses which was a huge mistake. I could not see anything, not even the swimmer right next to me or any buoys.

ST: If you knew you were less than a minute away from Chrissie’s World Triathlon Corporation Ironman record, could you have gone any faster?

Caroline: I might have not had a toilet stop at kilometer 35.

ST: Can you perform relatively as well to the field in the heat of Hawaii? Or was this dominance helped by an innate preference for moderate weather as you found in Melbourne?

Caroline: Who knows!? In the past, I had a lot of very strong performances in heat and humidity like Kona and Phuket in 2010 and Abu Dhabi in 2011. I prefer the heat but I also learned to race in cold weather or even rain. I don't think of the conditions at Melbourne as pretty easy, at least not for me. I had to wear an extra layer of clothing during the bike leg and also I eat a bit more. It took me quite awhile till my legs got warm after the swim

ST: Are you tempted to try to break Chrissie's Ironman distance (Roth 8:18) or WTC Ironman record (8:33.56) – now or ever?

Caroline: Why not? Records are here to get broken, right? But that's not my first priority. There are bigger things to achieve

ST: Do you think you can have as good a day as you had in Melbourne (not time but competitively) in the heat, humidity and wind of Kona?

Caroline: I definitely have to step up another level to be competitive in Hawaii. In the next few months, I'll keep up the good work with Brett and just be the best I can be every single day. But at the moment I'm not worried about Kona — I'm more interested what can I get for breakfast tomorrow morning.

Coach Brett Sutton on Steffen's performance and just how good she can be.

Slowtwitch: Can you explain why Caroline Steffen is knocking on the door of the once incomparable Chrissie with her historic race at Melbourne? And what happened with her 5th place finish at Kona last October after her runner-up placing in 2010?

Brett Sutton: Xena showed last year in Kona she is making the same type of progress Chrissie was. Not being a runner before and having several setbacks last year took the edge off her run. When she decided to go for gold at the 60 km mark of the bike at Kona instead of 160 km because of the non bike rides of Chrissie and Rinny, the solo breakaway took its toll later in the race .

ST: Can you explain how Caroline got fairly beaten at Abu Dhabi and smiled at the end after her 3rd place finish and explained, "Because I had a perfect race — I could not do any better." And then she smashed the field at Melbourne?

Brett: I over raced her. They get over tired and then pop out performances like Melbourne. Also, Xena was trained to be ready for the IM Melbourne and so was not rested at all for Abu Dhabi. She had fantastic race at Abu Dhabi, but we were more looking at the swim and for her to learn to control herself on the bike for Melbourne. The Abu Dhabi distance is also a bit of a joke on the real scene, so we did her best to not have the race [in particular the 200kmn bike] wreck her season.

ST: What do Caroline's fantastic times at Melbourne mean?

Brett: Xena is a very special athlete, but the numbers are quite misleading. I think she had a fantastic race in Melbourne. But I have had many athletes train with me that have won the Frankston 1/2 Ironman held on the very same ground and so have an intimate knowledge of the course. I knew how it would play and thus how best to race it.

ST: Caroline's Melbourne time was within a minute of Chrissie's WTC Ironman record at South Africa last year and her bike smashed all previous women's Ironman splits. How significant were her times?

Brett: I don't want to take any thing away from the 2nd best performance I've ever seen Xena do [Ironman 2010 was her best so far] Xena's running is coming on in leaps and bounds, so while pleased there you can look at the splits [in Melbourne, including Craig Alexander's 2:38 run] and for me they were around 4 minutes faster than normal.

ST: Is there anything else adding to these fast women's times?

Brett: Like most Ironman or Challenge races now, it's time to send the women off 30 minutes before the pro men so we can get a non-controversial race [ so the leading women cannot benefit from riding with the average pro men]. I'm afraid it's time to understand that the women now are totally different than the athletes from yesteryear. The former champs were not strong on all three disciplines. They had one or sometimes two strong legs with one being awful. Then with Karen Smyers and Michellie [Jones] their times show they could do all three but didn't have the stamina needed for the times the ladies do now.

ST: How many women are of the new breed who have topflight talent in all three disciplines of the Ironman?

Brett: While Chrissie led the way, now Xena, Rachel [Joyce] and Leanda [Cave] can do all three things very well and have the endurance needed.

ST: How much better can Caroline be?

Brett: Xena is still improving, and I can see her finding at least 1 minute on the swim. Her bike will improve over the last 20km and we are working towards a sub-3 hour run at Hawaii , most likely next year. It's a process.

ST: It looks as if Caroline, a Swiss citizen, thrived in the mild weather at Melbourne. Can she have an equally stunning result in Hawaii?

Brett: The Hawaii race has lost its bite in October. The moons and the weather patterns have moved on. The real bad weather is now the abnormal — not like 20 years ago. So a bit of humidity is what needs to be combated and Xena is good in the heat, as she proved in 2010 [when she finished 2nd at Kona.]