Dude, what happened to your apostrophe and caps buttons?

Barb loses her legs at the end of hard races, I guess I would call that rubber legs. "Jiggle legs" isn't a very flattering sounding nickname as it conjures up visions of cellulite rippling like the surface of a lake in a stiff breeze. Maybe "wobbly" legs would be better, but why call a champion triathlete that?

Reports seem to indicate that Barb has trouble sustaining maximum effort in the heat. Her worst meltdowns have taken place in hot races. Maybe she's got a low tolerance for heat stroke or needs to alter her nutrition strategy.

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American's are definately infekting the world with there English grammer.

First off Barb IS amazing, and is THE best placing triathlete (male or female) the we (the US) has got. None of the US men even come close, and of the women the only that comes to mind is (was) Siri Lindley. Who else reached the podium in 18 of 19 races in 2002!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

I don't think you can attribute this "problem" to one specific thing, rather I think a few things come together that put her in that position.

For one, though she trains in Australia for 4 months of the year, she comes back to Wyoming in Mar/Apr and spends the rest of the summer and fall there. Obviously the weather there is neither hot nor humid. This might not be the best place to adapt to conditions like those in Cancun or other hot/humid race locations.

Barb also tends to give 110%. She races at a faster pace than she should sometimes and leaves herself with nothing in the tank for the finish. Her mental strength takes over her physical strength and sometimes causes the body to just collapse. Not that others don't give there all, just that Barb seems to give even more and go out at a pace that her body just might not be able to handle for the whole entire race.

There is also the fact that Barb was never really a natural runner. Unlike swimming or even riding, running was never a big part of her athletic past. Siri Lindley for example, played lacrosse at Brown, so she at least got to run around while Barb was swimming laps at Stanford. She has made remarkable gains in her run, being able to outrun the best of them, including Michelle Jones and Siri Lindley.

But if you take a look at all her races, all 19 of them, this problem you talk about only happens in one or two races. Not a very high percentage at all. Greg Bennet almost collapsed at Alcatraz and had to walk the last mile or so of the race, but I don't think he has a problem either.

"There is also the fact that Barb was never really a natural runner. Unlike swimming or even riding, running was never a big part of her athletic past. Siri Lindley for example, played lacrosse at Brown, so she at least got to run around while Barb was swimming laps at Stanford. She has made remarkable gains in her run, being able to outrun the best of them, including Michelle Jones and Siri Lindley."

Gee, I wonder what Barb has done in her training to improve her running so much? :-)

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

Dr Day wrote: Gee, I wonder what Barb has done in her training to improve her running so much? :-)


If using PC's cause the side effects mentioned in this thread, just call me Barb and watch my legs wobble! I'll take her speed AND the wobble any day for results like hers!

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

Simple, pretty much the same thing that applies to most pro atheltes:

1. Be extremely gifted (both physically and mentally)

2. Work your butt off consistantly year after year.

3. Take extremely good care of your body.

4. Work with the best coaches in the sport.

5. Be patient (time is of the essence)

6. Enjoy what you do.

7. Set goals.

I guess a bit of luck is always a good thing as well.

I think that her problem is definitely mental ..... in that she is so tough mentally and pushes herself so hard that she just runs out of steam. I love watching people with the guts to race this way. She knows that her swim and bike are awesome so she hammers and lays down the challenge for the run stars. I just wish we'd see more people racing like Barb (especially at Hawaii!)