Sara McLarty

Last year she shocked the Olympic distance world by winning the Lifetime Series. This year, she passed me in the final 200m of the swim at Capital Texas Triathlon when the men all got directed off course. Not only did she pass me, but I had to work hard to say on her feet. This week we have one of the best personalities in the sport, Sara McLarty.

Andrew - You are built, aggressive, passionate, and determined...an ox among a field of thoroughbreds. Genetics dealt you a rock solid frame, this said you are not the fleetest of foot on the run. Talk about the mentality of being the "ox" in a race of thoroughbreds. What do you need to do/work on more of than the others to stay competitive?

Sara - Yep, I'm not going to be a skinny little runner. I have a hard time sacrificing some of the sweet indulgences that I enjoy. One realization I finally came to last year was that the Olympics were never going to be in the picture for me. That was a tough pill to swallow...as I have been dreaming of those rings since I was 7 years old. But, it's a runners race, and I will enjoy cheering on my friends and country teammates as they take on the rest of the world for a gold medal.
I have a swimmers build, and I will continue to use that to my advantage. I know that a race can't be won on the swim, but since it can be lost there...I'll continue to push the pace at the front! The most important thing you should know about my mentality as it applies to my triathlon career: I'm out there because I have fun doing it. Yes, it's fun to win. But it's also fun to travel, meet people, compete in some amazing places, motivate others, etc. As long as I'm having fun, I'll continue to be on the starting line with a smile!

Andrew - You are one of the brightest personalities in the sport. Last year when you won the Toyota Cup and it was a great upset and truly awesome. This year you had a major life crisis mid summer with the passing of your father, but a day after his funeral you came to Chicago Triathlon and finished the race. Where does your determination come from? What keeps you going flat out when you're burned out?

Sara - The news I received on the morning of August 24th was devastating. I had just finished an amazing TT bike workout where I was blowing away my previous course PRs! I realized later that my Dad had been riding at exactly the same time just 60 miles away from me. About 2 months before-hand, I had re-broken my ankle and was seriously considering throwing in the towel on my career. I emailed my family about my mental dilema and received a one-line response from my Dad. I didn't save the email, but I remember what he said: "Hurry up and make up your mind because your family and fans aren't going to wait around much longer." The day after that email came, I re-assessed everything, started coaching myself, set my sights on a great performance at Hy-Vee and proceeded to have 6 of the best training weeks of my life. It should have been 8 weeks...leading right through Chicago and on to Des Moines. Competing at Chicago was just a way to honor my Dad and how much he has motivated and encouraged me in my athletics. I didn't really care how the race went, I just wanted to show him that I had made up my mind and was going to continue racing. Of course, after 21 years of racing, in over 250 triathlons, I got my FIRST flat tire in a race with 6 miles to go! However, nothing was going to stop me from getting to that finish line!

Andrew - Sara, you are an open water shark. I had to work to stay on your feet at Philly tri this summer. Do you feel it plays to your advantage or disadvantage to start the men and women together? I know it helps you because you have somebody to chase, but so do the other women.

Sara - I enjoy starting with the men, I like starting 1-2 minutes behind the men, and I can deal with starting 5 minutes back. However, what I can't handle, is a lack of continuity. One race its together, one race we are 3 minutes back, another we are 5 minutes back. I am looking for a standard time-separation to be enacted by USAT soon!
There are benefits and disadvantages to every scenario. I know that a lot of the men don't like getting passed by me and when we start together or just one minute back, I've been purposefully attacked as I swim by. However, with a 5 minute gap, I don't have anyone up the water/road to keep me motivated through the swim and onto the bike. More often then not, the lead man is given a vehicle or motor bike to follow, but not the same for the women. When I start 5-10 minutes back, and I'm leading on the bike, I've got nothing to chase.

What do you think about the pro men and women starting together? What is your 2 cents on setting a standard for pro waves?

Andrew - It does not really matter to me. I find a line at the start and find Bennett, Reed, or you, if you start with us in the first 400m. I do agree that there does need to be a standard.

How much do you still swim a week? Even though swimming is your strength, do you still work on it to get faster? Are you willing to give up some speed on the swim to work on the bike and run?

Sara - My swimming time/distance varies every week but it's surprisingly high. 4-5 times in the pool with 4-5000 yards each practice (with the local USS team coach by Alec Rukosuev). I've tried giving up some of my swimming in the past, but have found that the loss of easy aerobic has a huge negative effect on my overall fitness. I use my swimming as a way to keep fit with a low chance for injury or over training. When I dropped down to 1/2 that amount of swimming, I still wanted to come out of the water with a :60 second lead but it was zapping all my energy for the remainder of the race. So, I just continue to get my butt kicked by 15 year olds in the pool a couple times a week!

What is your favorite bike training workout? Why do you like it? How does it help you on race day? How often do you do this workout in your schedule?
Andrew - My favorite bike workout, 30 second sprints. I do 30 second sprints at least once a month if not every other week during the season. Every time it is a bit different, varying from 5 to 20 efforts with 30 seconds to 2 minutes recovery. Some are in the aerobars, some in the saddle, some are all out sprints. I like it because it is so easy to let up, just a little bit, but to perfectly execute all of them leaves you hunched over the front of the bike gasping every time. On race day, when I flood my legs with lactic acid, they recover quickly.

Thank you for your time Sara and I look forward to trying not to get passed by you on the swim next season. Have a great winter.

Train Hard,

Andrew