Mirinda Carfrae finished a great 2007 season with the Ironman 70.3 World Championship title in Clearwater, Florida and started her 08 account with a win at 70.3 in Geelong, Australia. She kindly talked to us.
ST: Mirinda, you had a fantastic year capped by the 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater. Could your year have gone any better?
Mirinda: Yeah! The World Championship win was certainly the highlight of the year. That was my main goal for the season - all my other races were secondary. I did have some very good results throughout the year though, but got a little frustrated with all the 2nd place finishes. I raced six 70.3’s including worlds and got four 2nd’s. I did put together some pretty good races and even broke a couple of course records (Eagleman & Buffalo Springs) unfortunately this was still not enough to win with Natasha Badmann beating me to the line in both the above races. I filled in gaps between my 70.3’s with the LTF series and didn’t finish worse than 7th all year. So I guess overall a pretty good year but there is definitely room for improvement.
ST: You also started 2008 with a win in Geelong, what is going to be next?
Mirinda: Geelong was a big surprise for me. I only went down there because I wanted to support the first Aussie 70.3 event. I was still in off-season base training. My coach told me I was only to race if I could view it as a training race. Which I did until I stepped on the start line. I had a really good swim, which gave me a bit of a jump on my main competition. I spent the whole bike racing scared and found myself with a nice cushion going into the run. I am still not really sure how I held it together so well??? It was great fun to be able to have a win at home though ☺.
ST: What else is on schedule for you in 2008?
Mirinda: 2008 will look very similar to last year, with as many 70.3 races as I can handle and the LTF series thrown in there for fun. The main goal of the year will be trying to defend my 70.3 world title in November.
ST: Can you describe a mid season training week?
Mirinda: A normal week will consist of 4 bike rides, 5 sometimes 6 (but only if Siri makes me) swims, and 5 or 6 runs oh and about 15 seconds of stretching… I do get regular massage though.
ST: Do you consider yourself a disciplined in terms of training and nutrition?
Mirinda: Yeah I am pretty disciplined, but I think anyone at this level in this sport has to be. My coach and I make sure we are doing everything we could possibly do in order to get faster each year. One thing I am not so disciplined on is my nutrition, I do eat pretty healthy but if I want an ice cream or treat then will go straight down the shop to get one. I don’t worry too much about my weight unless I am preparing for a big race, and then I just have to make sure I am at race weight and if not then it usually doesn’t take much to get there.
ST: Can you tell us how you arrived at your bike fit?
Mirinda: My original bike fit was done by Brian McLean, a biomechanist from the AIS (Australian Insitiute of Sport). But it was done for ITU drafting events. Now that I only race non drafting races we… well Loretta Harrop and my coach Siri Lindley decided I needed to move forward… so we just shoved my seat forward… Not very scientific but effective!
ST: How do you typically spend the off-season?
Mirinda: I take 2 to 3 weeks off, and when I say that I mean no physical activity. I just spend my time hangin’ out at the beach, visiting friends or just sitting on the couch eating all the yummy but bad Aussie foods that I miss when I am in the US. There could also be some late nights out in town running amuck with my best pal Bella (Luxford).
ST: What is your favorite race and why?
Mirinda: I have two favorites. Number 1 is Nice, France, when it was the long course distance – such a cool place to visit and the course is amazing.
Number 2 is St Croix – love the atmosphere of the islands. It’s also a great course with the bike and run both quite challenging!
ST: What is going on for you in terms of sponsorships?
Mirinda: Sponsors help take the stress out of racing, I no longer have to win the race so that I can keep playing this sport… I am proudly sponsored by Cannondale, Cerasport, Oakley, Profile/Design and have just signed up with Zipp and also Zoot which I am very excited about.
ST: Do you follow any other sports?
Mirinda: I love watching most sports – my favorites are Basketball and Cricket. But I don’t really follow any.
ST: What sports did you take part when you grew up?
Mirinda: I played Basketball for about 11 years and grew up dreaming of one day playing in the WNBA, that is until I realized I was never going to actually grow up (I’m only 5’ 3”)! I also played touch football and did Gymnastics and Kung Fu.
ST: What is your favorite and least favorite food?
Mirinda: I love pizza, sushi, any fresh fruit, ice cream and chocolate. There isn’t much I will not eat – I don’t do coffee though and am not a big fan of pasta, I only eat it if I have to.
ST: What about music, what do you like?
Mirinda: All sorts, some of my favorites include – The Killers, Sneaky Sound System and Timberland.
ST: What was the last book you read?
Mirinda: I am currently reading ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ by Khaled Hosseini.
ST: Where do you think you’ll be in 5 years?
Mirinda: Preparing to race the big one in Hawaii and it will not be my first time!
ST: Is there anything else we should know about you?
Mirinda: I am one of six kids and grew up on a farm – I was a bit of a tomboy, always trying to keep up with my big brothers and I have the scars to prove it!!!
