Allison takes lead during bike course, sets personal best time

Lynley Allison has finished just about everywhere in the top six in her nine career Ironmans. She’s been second, third, fourth and sixth in her native New Zealand, fifth in Korea and second in Coeur d’Alene last year.

Everywhere except first.

She ended that drought in impressive fashion Sunday, completing the grueling three-sport, 140.6-mile endurance test in a personal best 9 hours, 31 minutes and 56 seconds to capture the Ironman USA Coeur d’Alene female pro division by nearly 10 minutes over defending champion Heather Gollnick.

“I do feel a little whipped, but it’s almost an unbelievable feeling,” said Allison, who finished in style toting a smile and a large New Zealand flag across the finish line. “I’ve dreamt about it for so long and now it’s arrived.”

It arrived on two wheels. After a so-so swim, the 31-year-old Allison flew through the 112-mile bike course in 5 hours, 16 minutes, 45 seconds — passing swim leader Monica Caplan and eventual third-place finisher Karen Holloway by mile 30.

It was sweet redemption for Allison, who suffered through back pain on the bike last year and lost more than 12 minutes to Gollnick. Allison has been doing pilates to help her back muscles and she added mountain bike training to bolster her cycling.

“I’ve done (mountain biking) recreationally for years,” Allison said. “It just helps with the climbing and the core stability. And pilates, too, has been such a positive factor with my back muscles that have bothered me in the past.”

She took a lead of nearly 7 minutes over Gollnick into the run and added a couple more minutes of cushion.

“She had a great bike and a really good run,” Gollnick said. “She had a great day. I remember winning my first Ironman (in 2002), so I’m very happy for her.”

Gollnick, still sporting some nasty scars on her back from a bike spill nearly three weeks ago, couldn’t generate much pressure on Allison during the marathon.

“It was a really rough day,” said Gollnick, whose time of 9:41:48 was 20 seconds faster than her winning time last year. “I was very proud that I stuck with it.”

Holloway, a 31-year-old from Richmond, Va., took third in 9:53:29 for her best Ironman placing. Caplan, who built a near 3-minute lead over Holloway after the 2.4-mile swim, took fourth place in 9:59:46.

Two-time world champion Lori Bowden was unable to finish an Ironman for the first time in her career.

She was well back after the swim and lost more ground on the bike. She worked her way up to fourth place midway through the run, but she dropped out because of severe foot pain.

“My first DNF (did not finish); it’s kind of disappointing,” Bowden said. “It’s kind of a nerve thing in the front of my foot. My body felt OK, but the bottom of my foot wasn’t going to let me run. It was bothering me right away on the run, but you give it a few miles to see if it’ll go away.

“I tried to pour ice water on my foot at the aid stations and sometimes that works, but it didn’t today.”

The victory came at an opportune time for Allison, who trains in Boulder, Colo., part of the year. She’s a substitute teacher, but Ironman pays the bills. She pocketed $10,000 for Sunday’s win.

“Being a bridesmaid a few times isn’t pleasant,” she said. “In your early years of triathlon, you’re still looking to make money; you’ve got to make money somehow. But coming here and going up against Lori and Heather, who consistently races well in the states, I just wanted to come out and prove myself.”

Finishing in the top three so many times did come in handy in one aspect.

For the second year in a row, the top three placers showered bystanders near the finish line with champagne spray. Last year, Allison took a few tugs from the champagne bottle and nearly paid for it.

“I swigged a lot back because I was pretty thirsty and I had to come back and do an interview and I was pretty woozy,” she said. “I had to sit down. So I’m not doing that again. I don’t mind spraying it though.”