News flash – Kim is on a roll!
Kim is a coach’s dream. She not only works her butt off, she also communicates well, listens, and constantly provides feedback. I feel like we’ve “clicked” from day one and her race results prove it. One aspect where she particularly shines (that is often very tough to coach) is dealing with obstacles and adversity – in life, training, and racing. Kim is great at improvising when things don’t go as planned and this past weekend’s race was an excellent example.
Getting in those long indoor training rides can be very boring, but Kim finds ways to make it fun. 🙂
Race day:
Due to her hectic family/life schedule, Kim traveled to this race alone. Being a tune-up race for IM Texas and still finishing a big block of Ironman training, her taper for Ocala was significantly shortened. We set very limited expectations for this race other than finishing healthy, staying within herself, and practicing nutrition/pacing for her big race in a month.
Kim and her husband are both Ironman athletes and set great examples for their daughters (and family and friends) living a healthy, balanced lifestyle.
Kim exceeded my expectations and more!
She faced adversity very early on. This race consisted of a mass swim start and Kim started in the front pack of swimmers. Although I believe this is exactly where she belongs (she is a great swimmer with an extensive swimming background) she got clobbered at the first turn buoy causing her to panic. It was the first time ever she had to stop and compose herself in a race. Kim took a deep breath, relaxed, and moved on. Races never go exactly as planned and it’s the way you deal with adversity that will make or break you. Kim recovered well from this small incident, swam strong the rest of the way, and carried on with her day.
Onto the bike, she faced a stiff headwind on the front half of the course. She paid close attention to her power targets and stuck to her plan. While many athletes would hammer this first section and “fight the wind” she remained patient. I see so many athletes treating bike legs like a standalone bike race and their legs are shot by the run. Kim rode very steady throughout, paid very close attention to her nutrition, and averaged a 1.03 VI for the bike leg (very solid!).
The run had many challenges due to its terrain. Much of the half marathon was on sand, technical trail, and tree roots (thankfully she avoided any face plants). Kim stuck the game plan and raced smart, slowly progressing her effort throughout the run and finished strong. She not only set a new personal best for normalized power for a 70.3 bike, she couldn’t believe how well she felt on the run!
Now for the bragging… 2nd OA Female! (including the fastest female swim split, 2nd fastest bike, and 3rd fastest run) As a coach I’m ecstatic with this result. I believe we’ve just started to tap into her full potential, too.
Kim’s hard work and consistency with training is paying off, and I cannot wait to see how she performs on the big stage at Ironman Texas. Kudos on another incredible race Kim!
Elliot Kawaoka 
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