About Andrea MacIntosh::

• Age: 33
• Lives in Vancouver, BC
• Holds a BSc in physics and works for a defense electronics company

How did you get into your sport?
I was running a bit and had a friend suggest a sprint triathlon; that was '99. Kept doing more and more and longer and longer races until the Ironman this past November. Now, I'm focused more on running for a while, so I can spend some time with my husband and 23 month old daughter.

Goals:
My next big goals are all running oriented: sub 45min 10k, sub 4hr marathon, and the big one: to complete the Comrades Ultramarathon (90k) in South Africa in June 2007.

Achievements:
Completed over 60 triathlons, and about as many running races, a handful of cycling and swimming races over the last five years. 20th overall female at the Black Diamond half ironman in Washington State in Sept '05. I'm a solid MOP (middle of the pack) competitor -- nothing too outstanding. Ran the Ironman Western Australia (www.ironmanwa.com) in Busselton Western Australia, Nov 27th, 2005. My goal time was 13:30 and I came in at 13:46. It was my first Ironman, so pretty good time overall. I have completed 2 marathons and one ultramarathon (50k). I plan on doing many more ultras.

Inspiration:
Not really sure. I think I find a lot of it from within. Cheesy sounding, I know, but I am a person who constantly pushes herself to seek out and conquer new challenges. I don't need a lot of pushing or motivation from others. I like to push myself to see what I can accomplish.

Anything fun and interesting about yourself?
Hmmmm... most triathletes are pretty boring people - we are a bit OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) about our sport, so there's not much to tell. OK, I like beer, and food, I like food - A LOT. I call myself a FoodSlut (even have a toque with FoodSlut on it to prove it! ha!). I love my daughter (almost 2 yrs old now! holy cow!), and I think she's the cutest kid ever (like all other parents).

Other sports/activities:
Soccer, fly fishing, golf, snowboarding and cross-country skiing. But mostly running, swimming and cycling... sigh...


Regarding the Ironman Western Australia:

What were your goals and how did you feel about your race results?
I was aiming for 13:30 - 1h30 for the swim, 7hr for the bike and 5hr for the run. I came in almost bang on those numbers. I feel great about my time, even though I know I could have gone faster and pushed harder, I'm glad I didn't, because I got the opportunity to enjoy the day! Since I won't be doing another one of these for a while (the training regime is pretty tough on the marital relationship!), I really wanted to have a FUN time. And I did.

What was your training regime and how long did you spend training?
Really started training specifically for this race in March or so, between the beginning of August and the race I was averaging over 20 hours a week in training; half of that time would have been spent cycling, then 20% swimming and 30% running. My biggest week was 25.5 hrs, where I rode close to 500km, ran about 70km and swam about 13000m.

Advice to others:
You can do it but you have to want it... and your partner has to be supportive of your goals too... And just because you aren't "fast" doesn't mean you don't belong. I am not a fast person -- not at all -- but I can do this race, just like all the speedy fast people. You don't have to be a superstar athlete with <10% body fat to be an Ironman. Triathlon can be a very intimidating sport, especially for women. I encourage them to try a sprint tri, maybe even as a relay, or even one of the women's only races around North America.

Read Andy's race "report" for the Ironman Western Australia