One of NGL’s own team members, Tracy Fritz, is preparing for her journey to Hawaii for the 2019 Kona IRONMAN on October 12.

Tracy has been participating in triathlons for years and in 2018, she made a goal to break 12 hours for a completion time. With her goal in mind, she put a sticky note on her desk to remind her each day of what she wanted to accomplish. It was a goal Tracy had for more than two years. “Sometimes it takes a while to reach your goals and last year I had an amazing day and crushed my goal. I finished my fifth IRONMAN Wisconsin with a time of 11:37:06,” shared Tracy.

During that race she placed third in her age group which is a podium spot and the opportunity to go the World Championships of IRONMAN in Kona, Hawaii.

Started in 1978, the Kona is a triathlon consisting of 140.6 total miles with 2.4 miles swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run. It is a qualification only race, meaning everyone at the event earned a spot by being top in their age group at an IRONMAN race the year before. The best male athletes will finish in 8 hours, the best female athletes will finish in about 9 hours, and everyone must cross the finish line by midnight (17 hours after start).

“Many people dream and work extremely hard to get a Kona spot. I never had that goal but focused on what I could control – my own time and the opportunity fell into my lap,” said Tracy.

There is one concern Tracy has going into Kona. She won’t be showing up at the start line injury free. In early September, she was working with the Middleton Cross Country team as an assistant coach. Tracy was participating in core activities with the team and pulled or tore an ab muscle. “It hurts a lot to run so I haven’t been running or swimming in hopes that the muscle will heal quickly,” said Tracy.

Tracy is often asked how she prepares for a triathlon. “Well, I swim, bike and run a lot. I also eat a lot!” IRONMAN training is basically broken into different blocks. There are base building weeks, build weeks and recovery weeks. Tracy’s coach adjusts her workouts so she isn’t working too hard or too little. She trains on average 12-13 hours a week with a few days a week having two workouts (one in the morning and one in the afternoon).

As of September 18, Tracy has trained 365.5 hours equaling 3,170 miles of swimming, biking or running.

If you want to track Tracy’s triathlon process, her race number is 1353. Download the IRONMAN app, enter Tracy’s name and race number and you will receive messages as she crosses certain checkpoints. Kona is also televised but they primarily follow the pro athletes.

Click here to learn more about the Kona Ironman.

Good luck, Tracy! NGL is cheering you on.