Lori Myers once said, “Life’s best coaches are those who believe in you and your potential, sometimes even before you do.”  Dawn Elder is this coach.  She believes in her athletes and pushes them towards their highest potential possible, and she refuses to let them settle for mediocrity.  She believed in me long before I believed in myself in this sport of triathlon, and I have not only become a stronger triathlete under her tutelage, but a stronger person as well.

I went to Coach Dawn in the spring of 2010 for a half ironman plan – I had signed up for Longhorn 70.3, and I had no idea how to train or prepare for it, since it would be my very first half ironman.  I had done many Olympic and sprint triathlons prior to my first 70.3 (I was a collegiate swimmer and started triathlons after college), but just had always been a little apprehensive of going the farther distance since I was uncomfortable on the bike.  I had always dreamed one day of completing an ironman, and to do that I would have to get over my fear of the bike, so the half-ironman was the perfect stepping stone.  Coach Dawn or “Coachie” as we call her, set me up with a plan, and I was off and running, literally.  Not too far into the plan I was a little nervous about the longer rides, and Coachie offered to take me out and show me some things on the bike, so early on in the summer as all of the triathletes gathered at Boerne lake for training, Coachie road with me on the Small Texan route that day, showing me how to shift at the right times, how to read the road while riding, pointing out that I was too low on the bike and needed the seat to be raised, and pretty much anything else you can think of that a newbie needs to know.  She flatted several times that day, and I was in awe of how quickly she fixed the flats, and we were on the road again.  I remember her yelling at me not to give up on the monster hill on the way back, I was in granny gear (yep, I had a bike with a granny gear then), and it took everything I had to keep pedaling so I wouldn’t fall over in the middle of the hill.  Nope, I was not an overnight experienced cyclist after that day, but it was a mini victory, the first of many, and all thanks to Coachie.  Fast forward to the fall, and my first half ironman, which was a success!!  Coachie had gone over all the specifics the week before, all the bags, what to put in them, what I should do the day before for a prerace warmup, etc, etc.  It was the perfect day, and I couldn’t have been happier with the race!  So, I decided to take the next step, and wanted to do a full.  I couldn’t wait to see Coach Dawn’s plan for me, this was a dream I had had for years, and I was finally ready to chase it. 

Coachie instructed me that I would need a couple more halves under my belt before tackling the full, so we picked some races, and it was time to get busy.  Ironman training was an entirely different beast than half-ironman training, and I was so glad to have a coach who knew what it would take to get me to the finish line.  It’s tough trusting someone else with your dreams, but I’m glad I put my trust in Coach Dawn.  And of course there is another memory burned into my mind from ironman training (round one) and of course it’s bike related.  Coachie put together this Austin camp in April, and a group of her athletes were invited to go, including myself.  I was already intimidated when showing up for the ride, the triathletes looked liked they meant serious business and were way out of my league.  I was not sure I belonged there.  Coachie could read me perfectly and assured me that she would not have invited me if she thought I couldn’t hang, so off I went with everyone.  They were so fast, and by mid ride I had mentally shut down, it was windy, I was hot, tired, and frustrated.  I dropped even further back, and Coachie dropped back with me.  She yelled at me, like really yelled – it was the first time she had yelled at me, like she was angry at me for giving up, like she demanded me to believe in myself like she believed in me.  This was a pivotal moment in that first round of ironman training, when I learned that if I just kept pedaling, it would get better, and I would have moments like these all day in an Ironman, and would have to be mentally tough to just keep pushing through.  Once again, Coachie helped me break through another mental barrier, and that confidence in myself helped me to finish my first Ironman – IMTX 2012 – 16:27:01!!

I was now hungry, and wanted to get faster on the bike, so Coachie set up a plan for me that summer after IMTX to strictly focus on the bike, and by the fall, I could feel a difference, and had a PR at Longhorn 70.3 that October.  I couldn’t wait to sign up for another Ironman, and had looked at Louisville that next summer, but when  a friend crashed at her first Ironman race, I signed up with her and a couple of other friends for IMTX 2013 instead.  Coachie encouraged us to go to Hillary Biscay’s triathlon camp in Tucson that March, and again, I was a bit apprehensive of going to a camp that was majority bike focused, but Coachie said it was time to “find my balls” so I took the plunge and signed up.  Again, camp was a pivotal moment in my ironman training (round 2) and I would not have been as gung ho to sign up if it wasn’t for Coachie’s belief in me and what I was capable of.  The camp was HARD, and Coachie at several points on the first ride was already yelling at me – to keep riding up Madera, to stay in the pace line, etc.  On the Mount Lemmon ride, she flew by me as I was grinding up the mountain and said “great job!” and told me to keep moving, that I was crushing it!  By the end of camp, she told me I had “found my balls” and she was proud of me…I took that pivotal moment at camp and ran with it, not looking back, going on to crush IMTX, cutting 2.5 hours off of my previous time, coming in at 13:51:34, and I owe that performance to Coachie.  My fear of the bike is almost like a metaphor for my lack of belief in myself in this sport, so Coachie not only helped me “conquer the bike” but more importantly, she gave me the confidence to believe in myself, something I will be forever grateful for.

So, Coach Dawn will definitely make you into a better triathlete, but having her as a coach, you gain so much more than that.  Not only is she an amazing tri coach, but she is an amazing life coach.  While 2013 was an epic year for my Ironman, it was a less than stellar year personally.  I had a miscarriage, a crash, and then a personal family tragedy.  For all of it, she was there for me, listening when I needed an ear, and offering advice and wisdom when I needed it the most.  She had overcome many obstacles of her own, and by sharing her lessons learned from her experiences, it helped me to face mine and come out the other side stronger.  2014 has started off with a blessing, I found out I was expecting, and Coachie has also been there for advice and words of wisdom as I start down that new path towards motherhood.  Coach Dawn Elder is not only an amazing triathlon coach, she is mentor, a mother, a friend, and wants the very best for all of her triathetes.  She changes lives.

Eddie Robinson once said, “Coach each boy as if he were your own son.”  Coach Dawn Elder uses that same philosophy, she even refers to her triathletes as her “kids”, and she wants all of us to be successful not only in Ironman, but in everything that we do in our lives.  She believes in all of us, and inspires us to strive for greatness on a daily basis, to never give in, and when it gets hard to “just keep moving”.   I am not the same person I was that Spring of 2010 when I first sought Coach Dawn out – I am stronger, more driven, more sure of myself.  Thank you for always believing in me.  Love you Coachie!!    

Linda Walker

Ironman Texa 2012, 2013

Ironman Texas

By Corwin Pauly

Dawn said pick your line and get in the 2nd or 3d row. I planned to start on the left edge (buoy line) in the 3d row. With 3 min to the gun I realized I was right behind Amy McGrath (10:02). I asked her what her plan was and her expected time and realized if I followed her feet I'd be on track for my 1:08 plan. With 30 sec to go more racers surged into the line and it was almost a fight just staying in position. Gun went off and the washing machine started, but not as bad as expected. I fought to stay in the pack and find feet and within 90 seconds things mellowed out a bit. Realized I was getting near the left edge so I headed back into the pack and tried to find a god swimmer to follow. Eventually I found an "IronMex" green jersey and locked onto him while focusing on long fluid strokes. Worked great. In the draft the swim was less than a moderate effort but when I fell off it was moderate plus to get back into the draft. I was actually surprised when i passed the first 2 small buoys because it didn't feel like we'd been swimming that long. Made it to the u turn and lost my draft for the turn. Took about 90 sec after the turn north to find feet again. At some point on this leg a really big guy with no shirt swam by me (really big dude swimming fast, go figure) so I decided to use him for a bit. I got dropped then caught him and got dropped and caught him again. As we got closer to the canal I found an IMex jersey again and used him for a while until I realized he wasn't taking the short angle to the canal. Split off and noticed a girl almost on the shoreline swimming hard. Tried to catch her but wasn't able. 1/3 the way down the canal the big dude catches me again so I drafted him for about 1/3. Approaching the last turn prior to the stairs 2 girls caught me on the right so I finished swimming with them. Made the short turn to the stairs and aimed for the 2nd set from the left. Exiting the water went fine and I was able o jog/run to the mat, feeling very good with less than moderate exertion. When I saw 1:15 I was happy with the swim but thought it should have been quicker. As I ran thru Bike gear I asked a volunteer if they'd reset the pro clock yet and was ecstatic when he said "no". That meant a 1:05 swim and under goal time..... 126 male out of the water of 1619 All I can say is wow what a ride. The wx was still cool and overcast with light mist for about 40 mi. Went out in zone 2 for first 15 mi then backed into zone 1. First 40 mi went quick but then I noticed the 400 mi shorts were chafing in the front NOT GOOD!!!!!!! Tried to make it work but it was not happening so I decided right there to pick up more Dr Tom at special needs. As I got closer to the 58 mi pickup I started feeling like I needed a porta john for a quick sit down. Rolled up to special needs and tried to open the bag on the roll, not happening. Pulled over at the end of the area took put the tube in the bento box and grabbed the bag of Toms. There were no toilets so I continued to the next rest stop at about 60 mi and was fortunate enough to get an open toilet. Fixed the lube problem and got back on my way. As I pulled over my pace was 21.3 and it fell to 20.6 at that stop, hate it! Things went well up to 77 mi when the TEXDOT guys decided to stop us. When I rolled up I marked the time. the crowd continued to grow and the spectators were hammering the traffic police. Finally they let us go so I pushed really hard to get into a front position. set my legal draft distance and about 20 sec later the peloton blows by me. Got to a legal draft behind them and then passed them again. This leapfrog continued for 5 mi+/- until the officials finally broke it up, very frustrating but also a very fast 5 mi pace (23+mph) As I got closer to the century mark the back and sitbones started complaining a bit. Made the final turn thru the houses and onto Woodlands Pkwy and started getting excited. I didn't have anyone in front of me as I made the final right turn toward transition and made sure the shoes were prepped to exit. I had decided to get my socks off so I could do my normal dismount without worrying about slipping at the line like Jose at Galveston. It's amazing how difficult it is to get a sock off at 15 mph and then figure out where to put it. Had them tucked into my top and then realized that might look like Maca’s "man-cans" so I moved them to the back of my shirt. Dismounted 1 ft prior to the line and headed to the awesome volunteers for the handoff.....Don't forget the Garmin. (BTW successful with 12 bottle handup’ s btwn 15 and 19 mph, awesome and took down 1500-1650 cal) 362d males of 1619 on the bike 276th overall, 243 male, 49 AG after bike.
Wheels started to wobble..... Ran out of T2 feeling awesome. Clouds had lifted in the last 10 mi of the bike so it started feeling a lot hot! For the first 3 mi I tried to slow down and wasn't able to get the HR under control. First lap I took perform and water at every stop, started eating ice as well. First lap complete with a visit to Stacey to tell her "it's going to be as fast as I hoped". 1+23 for the first lap I think based on Stacey's text to Dawn. On the second lap I had real trouble talking my legs into running after the walk in aid stations. on this lap is was more perform, water and 2 cups of ice at every station. somewhere on the back half of this lap I finished my acceleraid (2 scoops) and 2 jels. Also started dumping ice into the shorts to try and stay cooler. it must have worked because I got thru that lap. Dumped the fuel belt with Sarah and pocketed the gps tracker (serious chafe later)prior to grabbing my special needs bag (another bad idea). Ate 6 Pringles but had no water so they didn't go down well. On the third lap it was water, cola, water, and 2-3 cups ice at every stop. Most times the ice lasted me to the next stop but many times I was out and that became painful especially in the market street area. Think the ice in shorts regardless of the shoe slosh decision may have been the best one I made to keep the core temp under control. Hit the maze leading up to the finish shoot and picked up the pace a bit. Making the final turn the crowd was amazingly loud. I had a couple guys in the shoot in front of me and decided to slow down and enjoy the experience. On guy in my age group who had been following me for the entire maze (based on race pics) and who knows how far before ran by and I let him go. Had half the shoot to myself and really enjoyed the finish. Mike either missed me or I missed his call either way not a big deal. Best part of the shoot was seeing how excited Marco and Lorena were to see me finish. Best part overall was seeing the family, in the swim, on the run 6 times and at the finish line. What a great support team I have
282th male of 1619 358th overall, 282nd male, 63d AG after run.  Thank you Stacey and kids for being an amazing support team for 7 months of crazy training. There is no way I could ever take on this challenge without you. I love you tons! Thanks to Dawn, for pushing me when I needed it, reining me in when I needed rest, and encouraging me throughout. Dave thanks for training with me and putting up with my tardiness for rides and never ending questions. Thanks to Marco, Lorena, and the Trisition staff for taking me on and being so generous to the team.