For Kailua-Kona residents Brenda and Sierra Avery, competing against the world’s best in the Hawaii Ironman World Championships was never on their radar, nor a bucket list goal.
All that changed when both mother and daughter won their respective age-group divisions at the 2021 Ironman 70.3 Hawaii, also known as “Honu,” earning coveted slots to compete at this year’s iconic race slated for October 6.
Now with just four weeks until the cannon booms over Kailua Bay, athletes are in the midst of their final big training weeks leading up to the world’s most ferocious one-day sporting event — a 2.4-mile swim in Kailua Bay, 112-mile bike ride to Hawi and back, followed by a sun-scorching 26.2-mile run. The Averys are among them.
I caught up to Brenda and Sierra who shared their thoughts on competing in this year’s “Super Bowl of Triathlons” — the Ironman World Championships.
Q: What made you want to compete in the Ironman World Championships?
Brenda: Ironman has never been a dream or goal of mine. I’m always fearful of racing! However, Sierra said she had two bucket list items: a marathon and a half Ironman. We did the LA marathon and then Covid hit, but we were able to compete in Honu in 2021. We also wanted to compete in our good friend’s memory — Peter Bresciani. He was relentless with me to do Honu, and then qualify for Ironman. He always believed in me and said I would qualify.
We had no goals other than to finish Honu. We trained ourselves and Sierra was also just coming off of a meniscus surgery. To our surprise, we both ended up winning our age groups! We decided this was a fun and rare opportunity to train and compete together in this iconic event. So, we emptied the bank accounts and took the slots!
Q: How did you keep motivated when the Oct. 2021 race and Feb. 2022 race were postponed?
Brenda: That was a tough one, but also a silver lining for me. I had also qualified for Boston from the LA marathon and due to Covid date changes; both races were scheduled for the same week (in October 2021) so I would’ve had to choose. Then Ironman changed dates again, which was such a letdown, but I was happy to be able to do Boston now twice — October 2021 and April 2022. We also hired a great coach and friend, Flo Bögge from Kona Endurance, who helped me with both marathon and Ironman training for the past year and a half.
Sierra: For me, I faced a unique challenge — I had a move planned to Japan following the October Ironman in 2021, then pushed it back when Ironman got postponed. February 2022 then became the big month for Ironman and my Tokyo move. Once Ironman’s second cancellation happened, I knew I couldn’t postpone forever and stuck with my move early February.
Training in Tokyo by myself was hard — I had no one to train with. My training took a big hit those first few months. After taking about four months off, I started back up again with Flo Bögge. Fortunately for me, my coach was understanding and patient. Flo adapted my workouts to fit my schedule and strengths in order to keep me mentally and physically strong when I was in Japan. This extremely individualized plan kept me interested in training and helped with burnout. I was only able to do short rides on the trainer for those six months. I was definitely behind schedule when I got back to Kona in July.
Q: What does an average training day look like?
Brenda and Sierra: Training days are hard, challenging, and sometimes a lot. Most days have at least two sessions, others all three. Training days are also easy days and rest days. We have long days, like an 8-hour bike ride, or the day we did a mock Ironman with a 2-mile swim, Hawi ride, followed by a half marathon. That taught us a lot. It was an 8 to 9-hour day.
Q: With just 4 weeks to go, what are some thoughts and feelings?
Brenda: Anticipation, fear, excitement, and finally a sense of “I’m feeling ready!” I’ve trained and worked so hard for a year and a half. I have learned so much from Flo about the sport and training. I would not have been as ready, if Ironman was held on the original date after Honu 2021, so I’m thankful for that. Part of me is excited to get it over with and the other part is saying, “What’s next?”
Q: Tell me about your athletic background.
Brenda: I have been a swimmer since 5 years old, so I consider myself a swimmer, not a triathlete. Triathlon is new to me. I started “jogging” in college but really learned how to run this year with Flo. I have never been taught how to run until now. I did some biking in the summers in Alaska and competed in a couple stage races, but that was only road biking. The tri-bike has been new to me for about a year and a half. I swore I would never buy one, or ride one, or do a triathlon until Jeni Winegarner sold me her Trek tri-bike for $500. Now it’s all I ride and my road bike is sold.
Sierra: I love being active. I’m curious and can get bored of working out so I’m always changing it up. I was a gymnast when I was young and quit at level six when I was 10, played volleyball through high school, varsity soccer my senior year in high school, won a boxing tournament in college, and was on and off competitive swimming my whole life. I started to run after college and learned how to road bike last year.
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
Brenda: I wouldn’t have been ready if it weren’t for Flo Bögge and the Kona Endurance team for believing in me, teaching me, and for giving me those workouts I never thought I could do. Sierra and I trained almost every day together, even when she was in Japan, so her support as well as, all the local athletes here to train with was invaluable. I feel thankful and lucky to be a part of this event.
Sierra: I’m humbled by the support of the Kona community and overall sense of family and encouragement. You never feel like you’re on your own here. I am thankful for this island and I respect the land and people. I hope that Ironman and all participants are respectful come October.
