Runners from all over the world have gathered to compete Saturday, June 8, in the Ironman competition.
Andrea Fisher is one of the top runners in the women's division.
Fisher has competed in Ironman races since 1997, she got her first taste for the endurance race at a Speedo sponsored triathlon in Chicago.
She was designated by Speedo, whom she worked for, to represent the company.
"I brought along my bike that I'd had since I was like 12 years old and entered the race," she said. "It was my opening experience to triathlon, with the worlds largest triathlon with 6,000 competitors. I had no idea it was that big but that is how I got into the sport."
The next year, she watched the Ironman Hawaii on Televison and set a goal to qualify to race in 1997. She qualified and won the race on her first try.
"I realized I had maybe a little talent for the sport, so that's how I got hooked," she said.
From there she competed in The Ironman World Championship-Kona in Hawaii and placed 13th place with a time of 10:27:26.
Fisher came from a competitive swimming background; she was an All-American swimmer at The University of Texas. She ended her college career with a shoulder injury, which stopped her from pursuing an Olympic career.
"It wasn't exactly the most positive career ending experience because I had relly focused on making the Olympic team," Fisher said.
She was strongest at sprints, the 50-yard, 100-yard sprint and 200-yard freestyle.
The swimming section of the Ironman is an endurance race, of 2.4 miles. For sprinters, it's a whole new ball game.
"I have a lot of initial speed at the beginning so its different for me to try and sustain through the swim. It's a different animal long distant swimming," she said.
In order for her to conquer the beast, Fisher has had to do rigorous training to get out of the sprinters mind set.
"My first few years I just spent basically doing long, long everything, long bike, long run, long swim and I've just recently, in the last couple years, started to incorporate speed work back in," she said.
Fisher has had to adjust her body to the different aspects of the race.
"Running is my thing I'm still trying to work on, I still don't have a runners body, but I am becoming a more efficient runner," she said.
Fisher's training consists of an attitude of less is more, with more volume and less quality during her base training.
"My highest week is about 25-26 hours. But going into the straight I don't do more than 20 hours," she said.
Fisher, and her husband, Jamie Cleveland have been married since December and both are avid triathlon competitors. Andrea said she couldn't give up Ironman so easily, but when they were ready they would work children in around the races.
Her top performances have been at Ironman Florida-Panama City Beach in 2000, where she finished second with a time of 9:38:24. Only earlier that year she broke the 10-hour mark for the first time at the Ironman Cananda, with a fourth place finish of 9:59:59.
Copyright Brigham Young University 6 Jun 2002
