Every year we select a random age grouper on the return flight from Kona, and this year we bumped into Utah resident Dana Bullard. She completed the race and a few days after the event arrived at the airport surrounded by her family and wearing neutral clothing.
Slowtwitch: Thank you for your time.
Dana Bullard: No, Thank you! I am excited to be a part of this.
ST: In the airport in Kona you were not wearing an Ironman shirt, nor were you sporting any other obvious triathlon accessories. Is that how you typically fly?
Dana: I never really thought about it but it is not surprising. Occasionally I will wear an Ironman shirt on the airplane, but I usually don’t. I generally wait until I get home to wear them. I have a few sweatshirts or hats that I wear around town but I usually only wear my shirts when I am training. On an airplane, I am just wearing comfortable clothes. My husband and I joke that you can always tell which people on the plane are going to be racing or are coming home from a race. So many people wear some sort of Ironman clothing, compression socks or something so you can tell that he or she is an athlete.
ST: You and your husband looked athletic even without M-dot apparel or gear.
Dana: Thank you! You made my day! We generally feel pretty athletic until we walk around Ali’i Drive during Kona week. At a normal triathlon, you see athletic people with healthy lifestyles, and in Kona, almost everyone you see is insanely fit. My husband and I talk about how even the spectators have amazing bodies.
ST: Well, have you had a chance to relax after Kona or was it straight back to the daily grind and getting ready for Cozumel?
Dana: I took a week completely off after Kona and then a week slowly getting back into the training routine. But this week I am back into longer training and getting ready for IM Cozumel. It might sound like a short turnaround to go from Kona to another Ironman 7 weeks later. But my coach Scott Iott at Train Bible Coaching has really helped me get stronger over the last few years. With his workouts, he has pushed me farther than I thought I could go and it has really paid off. I never would have tried another race this soon in the past, but I know that I will be ready to race in a few weeks.
ST: I think a co-worker introduced you to a sprint triathlon back in 2004, and you have come a long way since.
Dana: Yes. I had only been doing open road races and my coworker and friend, Nannette, asked me to do a sprint triathlon with her. It was the first triathlon for both of us. I absolutely loved it. The next season, I did every sprint and Olympic distance triathlon I could find. I think I did 15 triathlons that summer, driving all over Texas to find a race every weekend. I realized that I really enjoyed triathlons. It was more fun training for multiple disciplines rather than just running 50-60 miles a week. I found that I got injured less. I was also seeing big improvements in my swim and bike times and success at races, which was fun. I was not a swimmer or biker at all before I did my first triathlon and it was fun and encouraging to be able to see personal bests in those disciplines. I did realize quickly that although I was successful at the shorter distances, I enjoyed the challenge and I’m better equipped for the longer distances. That was when I started completely focusing on 70.3s and full Ironman races.
ST: Is your friend still participating in triathlons?
Dana: Yes. She is still doing sprint and Olympic distance triathlons. As a matter of fact, she is now racing on one of my old tri bikes. She is really fun and adventurous and I am grateful she asked me to try triathlons with her!
ST: The 2015 Hawaii race was your second Kona qualification but it has not come easy. Or better said, you experienced several very narrow misses.
Dana: Yes. It took me 3 years and 8 Ironman races to qualify for Kona the first time in 2012. I was one place away from qualifying at my first Ironman, the 2009 Ironman Cozumel. I was the 4th overall amateur female. However, I was third in my age group and they only had two slots. That is when I realized how hard it is to qualify. In 2010, I was one spot away from qualifying at Honu 70.3 and two places away from the roll down slot at both the 2010 and 2011 Ironman Louisville races. There were a lot of tears and frustration at roll down ceremonies. I finally qualified at the US Championships in New York in 2012 by placing 2nd in my age group, so I didn’t need to worry about the roll down. After competing in Kona in 2012, I immediately started trying to get back. I struggled with injuries in 2013 but pulled it together for the 2013 Ironman Arizona. I had a personal best time by nearly 20 minutes and finished in 10:27, but unfortunately I was one spot away from qualifying again. In June I did the 2014 Honu 70.3 and was one spot away there also. I qualified for this year’s race at the 2014 Ironman Arizona. Working so hard to get to Kona has definitely given me an appreciation for how hard it is to qualify. It is becoming even harder now that there are less and less spots per race. I have finished between 10:27 and 11:22 nine times (and under 11 hours 5 of them), and that has only resulted in two qualifying slots. Knowing how much I have struggled to qualify makes getting to race Kona in 2012 and 2015 so special to me.
ST: You qualified for this year’s big dance in Hawaii in Arizona. Is it fair to say that everything went according to plan in Tempe?
Dana: I actually wasn’t planning on doing Arizona because I was focused on racing IM Lake Tahoe a few months earlier. Fires in the area caused the Lake Tahoe race officials to cancel the race as we were heading to the starting line, so I quickly turned my focus towards Arizona. I had a great race in Tempe. The race started out really well. I had my best swim ever and came out of the water in 1:08. Although it was a great swim for me, I came out of the water in 17th place. I felt really good on the bike and moved up from 17th to 9th but the times were slow because of strong crosswinds and I biked 5:42. I started the run and knew I had to be in the top 3 or 4 spots to have a chance at qualifying for Kona. I decided to go out really hard on the run and hang it out there because I didn’t have anything to lose. I caught a few girls in the first 10 miles and ended up moving all the way up to 4th just past 20 miles into the marathon. I was able to gut out the last 6 miles and hold on to 4th place. I ended up having an Ironman run personal best of 3:31, which was the fastest run in my age group by 5 minutes. It was also my second fastest overall time and I finished in 10:29.
There were two slots for my age group so I didn’t go into the roll down ceremony with much hope. When I got there the drama ramped up quickly when the girl who won the age group let us know that she wasn’t taking her slot. Given my history of just missing qualification to Kona by one spot, I immediately thought this meant I was going to be one spot away from qualifying yet again. When the second slot rolled down, the girl who placed third took it. Then Mike Reilly came on and said our age group was going receive another slot from one of the older age groups who didn’t have any finishers and I got really excited. Then he came back a minute later and said, “Never mind, I made a mistake” and my heart just sank. They spent the next three minutes, which felt like an eternity, talking away from the microphone about where the slot should go. Then he came back to the microphone and without any explanation he called my name! I screamed and jumped up and got in line to pay for my slot before they could change their minds. I was beyond thrilled to get to go back to Kona!
ST: But it is a long period of time to wait and get ready for Kona.
Dana: It was. Qualifying 11 months before allowed me to take the longest break from racing I had ever taken, which was nice. For 5 years, I had been racing 2-3 fulls and several 70.3s a year trying to qualify. When I qualified for Kona in 2012, the race was only 8 weeks after I qualified. I didn’t feel fully rested or prepared for Kona and it showed. I was happy to be there but I struggled in that race more than any other race. I ended up finishing 73rd out of 84 women in my age group in 12:29. This time I was able to fully recover from Arizona and take some much needed downtime before jumping back into training. Since I qualified so far in advance, I was also able to cancel the 2 other full ironman races I had entered (IM Texas & IM Boulder) and just concentrate on getting ready for Kona.
ST: Talk about your 2015 Kona race.
Dana: I felt that I had a pretty solid race. I felt great on the swim. I must have not been swimming straight on the way back because my Garmin showed that I swam 2.6 miles, but I was still pleased with my time. I am getting better at the swim but it is definitely not my strength. Once I got on the bike, I felt great. For the first 70 miles, I was going at a great pace and feeling good. I was able to handle the crosswinds and I felt really strong on the climb up to Hawi. I felt strong until we took the turn back onto the Queen K for the last 35 or so miles. When we took that turn we were riding into an unbelievable headwind. I quickly did the math in my head and realized that I was going to be fighting hellacious headwinds for the next 2 hours. The winds were blowing 15-20 mph at either a straight headwind or a cross/headwind, and it really beat me up. If you have never raced in Kona, I would describe it as a 15-20mph hot hairdryer blowing in your face. It was hell, but I got the full Kona “experience”. Once I got on the run, I was able to run close to my goal pace for the first 10 miles but it didn’t feel easy. The hill up Palani to the Queen K zapped my strength a bit and I started running quite a bit slower. I really struggled for a few miles and had to walk through an aid station. I decided to try something new to help give me enough energy to finish. I had not had a Coke in 20 years. However, since so many people swear by it and I was desperate for anything to help me feel better, I gave it a shot at the next two aid stations. I don’t drink coffee, tea or soda so I don’t have much if any caffeine in my diet. I was shocked at how much it helped. It definitely gave me the boost that I needed to run the last 13 miles and finish strong. I had a few goals this year. First, I wanted to finish in the top half of my age group. This race is the most competitive Ironman in the world and brings together all of the fastest girls in the world. I decided that if I could finish in the top half of my age group I would be happy. I finished in 41st place out of 94 women. This may sound trivial, but in 2012 I had to run the last 10 miles with a glow necklace because I was finishing in the dark. My other goal was to finish before dark, and I crossed the finish line in 11:28 as the sun was going down which meant no glow necklace! I met both goals so I was really pleased.
ST: You brought the whole family to Hawaii. Do they typically come to events and support you?
Dana: We pick and choose the races to bring the kids to. If it is not going to a fun location for them, we leave them at home with our parents and treat it like a business trip. We try to pick races in great destination locations for the kids. The kids love to come to my races and we plan family vacations around them. We have taken them with us to IM Cozumel three times, IM Los Cabos, IM Texas, IM Lake Tahoe, and IM Arizona once. Of course, they have gone with us to IM Kona both times. My husband has been with me every race and my parents have also joined us for all the races that we have brought the kids to. I enjoy having my entire family there with me when I go to races. I love having them there for support but it also doesn’t feel right when they are not there. I think it is good for my kids to be around the sport and grow up active.
ST: I think you have inspired your daughter.
Dana: I hope so! Both of my kids are extremely active. They both started doing triathlons at 3 or 4 years old and they love them as well. We only let them do triathlons that aren’t too long because we want them to enjoy racing. My husband and I are very careful not to push them too hard but they both have amazingly competitive personalities and they push themselves. My son has won his age group in all 9 of the local kid’s triathlons he has done over the last three years, and my daughter has won her age group in the 8 that she has done. After I crossed the finish line at Kona this year and we were walking to the car, my daughter Madeline asked me if I won. I told her that I didn’t win but I was very happy with how I finished. She immediately snapped back and bluntly said, “I am going to come back here when I get older and I am going to win the Ironman World Championship. I haven’t lost a triathlon in a long time and I don’t give up.” I wouldn’t put it past her either. She is one tough little girl. My son has also told me that when he is old enough he wants to do Ironman races. They are both involved in several other sports, but I love that this is a lifestyle activity that they can continue to do forever. It is also really special to be able to share triathlons as a family.
ST: Both you and your husband Coby ran track and cross country at the University of Texas. So would you say that running is your strongest discipline?
Dana: I would definitely say that running is my strongest discipline. I knew how to swim but had never swum laps until I was 28 years old. It was the same with biking. Running comes pretty easily for me, but I really have to work at swimming and biking. In triathlons, I generally come out of the water pretty far back, pass several people on the bike, but then pass the majority of people on the run. I generally have one of the top run splits in my age group. I have started to get much better at swimming and biking though, so that has helped take some of the pressure off of my run split.
ST: How much does Coby dabble in triathlon?
Dana: Coby started doing triathlons not long after I started. He loves them too. It is harder for him to train for the longer distances because of his significant work and family commitments, but he loves to do sprint and Olympic distance triathlons and he is really successful at them also. He has done a few 70.3s as well and competed in the 70.3 World Championship a few years ago. I expect that he will do more long distance racing as the kids get older.
ST: You now reside in Utah. Why Utah and how much of a triathlon community do you have around you?
Dana: We moved to Utah from Texas 3.5 years ago. Coby got a job offer in the Salt Lake City area and we decided to take the opportunity. The job was a great opportunity for Coby and we viewed living in the mountains as an adventure. We are able to live on a mountain at 6,400 ft with incredible views and several ski resorts close by. It is a great area from a training perspective. It has hundreds of miles of paved and dirt trails and plenty of mountains to climb. It is so beautiful here and we have really enjoyed it. There is a pretty big triathlon community here and a lot of really fast girls to train with if I want. I generally train alone though because I need to do the majority of my training while the kids are at school. After school and on weekends, I am always at my kids’ practices or games. I don’t mind training alone and I am used to it.
ST: How much longer do you think you will be chasing that Kona dream?
Dana: I don’t know but I don’t see an end in sight. I am only 37 and I’m still setting personal bests. So as long as I feel good and am able to race, I think I will keep trying to get there. I feel that Kona is the pinnacle of this sport and it is an honor to be able to race against the best in the world in arguably the hardest conditions. I am also lucky to have an understanding husband who gives me all the support that I need to have the time needed to train. He is constantly doing research to make sure that I have the best swimming, biking and running equipment available. He fully believes in me and is always looking for ways to help me pursue my dreams.
ST: Is there anything else we should know?
Dana: I don’t think so. Thank you!
