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With her three Ironman wins in 2008, Belinda Granger moved up into the realm of Ironman-distance stars. Her 11 victories at the distance include three Ironman Koreas, two wins at Ironman Malaysia and Ironman Canada, and single triumphs at Ironman China, Ironman Lake Placid and Quelle Challenge Roth. Her bike is deadly, and sports a 4:48:08 Ironman bike split PR to back it up. And, while finishing 4th at Roth last year, she cracked the nine-hour barrier.

But in addition to her triumphs, the 38-year-old Australian star recently displayed that she is as tough as anyone in the sport. After three Ironman wins in 2008, Granger was ready to rumble at Ironman Hawaii but found her right leg going numb and her bike split and overall finish were nowhere near her accustomed level. After three months of diagnostic detective work, doctors discovered that she had a thickening of the wall of the external iliac artery, which restricted blood flow to the leg. Granger opted for surgery, which required doctors to use a part of a vein from her lower leg to repair the artery. But before the surgery, Granger elected to defend her Ironman Malaysia title. Somehow she managed to finish the bike leg 20 minutes ahead of her opposition, with just 25 percent of the usual blood flow in her leg, and set a new course record.

After successful surgery in February, Granger had to completely cease swim, bike and run training. Three months later, she outdueled 2006 Ironman 70.3 World Champion Samantha McGlone to win the Honu Ironman 70.3 in Hawaii. In July, she felt ready to challenge former Team TBB member Chrissie Wellington at Quelle Challenge Roth. But after she got hit by a car, Granger could only struggle to a disappointing 5th place finish.

Back in Boulder to train, Belinda and husband Justin Granger settled into the hard work necessary to try for an Ironman Canada three-peat. This photo gallery contains a week in the life of final training sessions in the triathlon Mecca of Boulder.