Hillary Biscay Unplugged - Part V

Hillary Biscay is returning for her fifth race here in Florianopolis, Brazil. The American has become somewhat a young legend due the frequency of the number of Ironman and Ironman distance races she competes in annually.

Last year she ventured into ultra-distance racing, finishing an astounding second at the Hawaii Ultraman in her first attempt.

IronmanLive caught up with Hillary this week for a short Q & A session. So her it is, Hillary Biscay Unplugged – Part V

IronmanLive: A second in Ultraman, first attempt, reflecting on that event, and your success there, you have stepped up your “endurance junkie” rep with Utraman, Leadman; You have 40+ Ironman's under your belt, you are 32, but in Ironman years your about 85! What is it in, first your physical and mental makeup that permits you to go long and often, year in, and year out?


Hillary: Thanks for making me feel old. Brazil will be iron-distance race number 48 and I have indeed been fortunate enough to add some other ultra-distance triathlons and ultra marathons in there, too. I think I have been able to race more miles than most because I have been able to train a lot to make myself physically prepared to do these events and recover from them quickly. A big contributor to all of this is simply loving to do the work and having the discipline to make it happen, and avoiding major injuries, since a hip fracture in 2004; I eat well and a lot, and I believe that keeps my body strong and injury-free.

IronmanLive: I read you were ramping the number of Ironman races down to only three this year - wuss. Why the change, and does it mean we will see you at a variety of other endurance events outside of Ironman?

Hillary: Last year I raced eight Ironmans and I felt like two, maybe three, of them were decent. When I get on the start line of an iron-distance race, I want to be able to race, not just survive. I found myself doing that too many times last season, so I felt like something needed to change.

For five years, I had been trying to train and race the same way. It was incredibly effective at first, but I think sometimes we need to stimulate new systems and change things up in order to make progress again. I have a new coach this year, Derick Williamson at Durata Training. He definitely has some different ideas about training and racing than what I was used to, and I am committed to giving this approach a try.

One of the things he ordered was three iron-distance races this year--or, not starting one of these races without knowing I have a legitimate chance at finishing on the podium. Luckily for me, however, the new Lifetime Fitness Leadman Tri popped up and that allowed me to sneak in a bonus long (11+hours) race. Another new addition to my schedule this year, although this certainly counts as one of my thre, is the Rev-3 Sandusky iron-distance race in September. I am really looking forward to that one.

IronmanLive: Any other ultra-distance events on the schedule for this year?

Hillary: Sadly, no. As much as I love ultra-distance events, I think that doing them frequently takes away from my ironman "speed." Ultraman's run was my third ultramarathon in a year, on top of eight Ironmans, and I have to assume that these ultra-distance runs contributed to the loss of any kind of running speed I once had. While long running adventures are pretty much my favorite thing to do, it is ironman that pays the bills, and I love ironman too. So this year I had to commit to a year or more off of all things ultra-distance. I realized that if I did not, Ironman might not be paying the bills much longer.

IronmanLive: You are returning to Brazil for the umpteenth time, what is the attraction?

Hillary: I love Brazil and this race! The Brazilian people are so friendly, and I feel like I know many people here now; coming to Floripa for ironman feels like coming home. It is my fifth time racing here and I am confident about my abilities on this course.

IronmanLive: Last year after the race, Mike, Amanda, Luke and yourself went to Rio and were hosted by legend Fernanda Keller. What was that like to hang out with Fernanda, in Rio of all places?

Hillary: Yes, we had an amazing visit with Fernanda in Rio, her home, last year. She was an incredible host and truly bent over backwards to make sure we had a great time and got to know the city. The most valuable part of the whole experience for me, though, was just getting to know Fernanda better. I had raced against her many times and she had always been lovely to me, but in spending a few days with her and hearing stories from the old days and tales from her career, I learned a lot about what makes her tick and how she became the Ironman legend that she is. What I concluded is that Fernanda is perhaps one of the most mentally tough-as-nails competitors out there. She inspires me! I am thrilled that she will be racing with us again this Sunday.

Men's Pro Field

2 Ezequiel Morales
3 Santiago Alves Ascenço
4 Eduardo Sturla
5 Oscar Galindez
6 Chris McDonald
7 Antonio Manssur Filho
8 Kelmerson Henri Buck
9 Lucus Cocha
10 Ivan Albano
11 Santiago Amigo
12 Luiz Francisco de Paiva Ferreira
13 Guilherme Valenza Manocchio
14 Mike Schifferle
16 Richard Wygand
17 Frederico Carvalho Zacharias
18 Keegan Williams
19 Mario de Elias
20 Bonieck de Souza Clemente

Welcome to IronmanLive race coverage of the 2011 Ironman Brazil. Jurere international, a community within Florianopolis has that Ironman buzz to it, as they prepare to host 1824 athletes for the 11th edition of this South American Ironman event.

The race, with its humble beginnings, has gradually matured and grown over the years; nevertheless, it has been able to maintain its charm and attractiveness. With regions rich culture, history and the friendliness of the people, it has enlisted loyalty of the athletes and community alike.

Come back for the IronmanLIVE coverage that commences at 7:00 a.m Brazilian Time, 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

Good morning from Florianopolis, Brazil, host of the 2011 Ironman Brazil. It is 6:30a.m., 30 minutes from the start of today’s race.
The temperature is currently 15C, with light winds of 4-5 kph, under clear skies. The weatherman is calling for mostly clear skies, and is expecting the temperatures to climb to 21-22 C.

The ocean has 0 .75m– 1 m (2-3 foot) rollers right now, but nothing that will hamper the swim start here for the 1800+ athletes starting today.

Today, we have TriSport.org boss, Rodrigo Eichler and his crew doing the spotting for IronmanLive, which includes four-time Ultraman World Champion, Alexandre Ribeiro from Brazil.

Age grouper leading the race right now in the swim and heading to the halfway point. He has about 75 m on a lone chaser and a pack of 4-5 pursuing the lead pair another 30-40 m back.

We missed the number of the first female out of the water, however, USA’s Hilary Biscay was on her heels and they re-entered the water.

Correction, Biscay first out of the water, followed by Brazilian Vanessa Giannini appears to be the second woman had spent a few seconds later and Ana Lidia Soledad.

Unconfirmed reports that Lucie Zelenkova is the first women out of the water, followed by Biscay, then Vanessa Giannini 1:40 back to the leading pair

O primeiro atleta da elite masculina, Luiz Francisco de Paiva Ferreira ,acaba de sair da água.

Women - Bike 10 km

While LUCIE ZELENKOVA (#68) currently leads the women, she's being pursued by:
* CLAUDIA TOLLENDAL (#742) at 0:40
* HILLARY BISCAY (#75) at 2:31

We should see Sturla - who holds the bike course record here - and McDonald start working their way towards the front at are next check at 20 km's.

Lucie Zelenkova é sul-africana, Claudia Tollendal é brasileira e Hillary Biscay é americana.

Women - Bike - 40 KM

Age group athlete, CLAUDIA TOLLENDAL (#742) currently leads and is working with LUCIE ZELENKOVA (#68) at 0:02, back.
* AMY MARSH (#67) at 4:00 and * HILLARY BISCAY (#75) at 4:03 are losing time to the leading pair.

Eduardo Sturla está em segundo lugar, logo atrás do líder Luiz Francisco de Paiva Ferreira. Ezequiel Morales, Oscar Galindez e Chris McDonald estão alguns minutos atrás.