Local athlete beats her Ironman Ariz. time
Caroline Sekaquaptewa of Hopi, Ariz., trained seven days a week and beat her time at the 2014 Ironman Arizona competition in Tempe, Ariz. (Courtesy photo)
Caroline Sekaquaptewa of Hopi, Ariz., trained seven days a week and beat her time at the 2014 Ironman Arizona competition in Tempe, Ariz. (Courtesy photo)
FORT DEFIANCE
When Caroline Sekaquaptewa began training for the grueling 2014 Ironman Arizona last May, her main goal was to beat her time from two years ago.
Sekaquaptewa, Hopi from Sipaulovi, Ariz., (Second Mesa) accomplished her goal. She completed the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run in 13 hours, 40 minutes. The total Ironman Arizona distance was 140.6 miles, which began at Tempe Town Lake and ended at Tempe Beach Park. She beat her previous time by 1 hour, 40 minutes.
Sekaquaptewa, competing in her second Ironman Arizona, said she had several goals.
“I beat my time from 2012 and PR,” she said. “Another goal was to run the marathon under four hours. Unfortunately I ran it in 4:05. My final goal was to enjoy the whole day and keep a positive mindset throughout the day, even though there are hard parts of the race. I think I handled the mental side pretty well. I enjoyed the day.”
Sekaquaptewa began training last May after completing the Boston Marathon. She said while training for the Boston Marathon, she continued her swimming and biking training. She trained seven days a week and some days training twice a day.
“I completed simple strength training as well on some of these days,” she said. “Long rides and long runs were completed on weekends, followed by long runs on Mondays. The longest rides was 100 miles. My longest run was 22 miles and my longest swim was 4,250 meters.”
Sekaquaptewa said training with someone makes it more enjoyable. She said her friend, Rachel from Salt River, who also participated, completed many of the bike rides, as well as some of the shorter races.
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