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Going the distance

When she's not biking, running or swimming, she's studying at USF.

By KELLIE DIXON, Times Staff Writer
Published September 4, 2007

Ashlie Nalls almost could be considered an accidental triathlete.

She didn't grow up running. She wasn't on the cross country or track or swimming teams at Land O'LakesHigh School.

But her focus changed a few years ago when her dad told her he was going to sign them up for the Gasparilla 15K. She kind of doubted him, and she definitely didn't train. On race day, she laced up a pair of regular tennis shoes and pounded out the 9.3 miles.

Her dad and his friends were fine. She laid in pain the next day, but she also started to wonder how she might have done had she actually trained.

So she did. But she didn't just train to run. She swam and biked.

And now at age 24, Nalls has completed 10 races.

Her first triathlon was June 2006.

In May, she met her goal of finishing the half-Ironman in six hours. And most recently she finished first in her age group at the Babes & Bums Tri-Fever Triathlon with a time of 1 hour, 4 minutes and 4 seconds.

"I did one race, and I was hooked," Nalls said. "Absolutely hooked. I'm not a competitive person, but out there it's totally different."

Nalls, a senior marketing major at the University of South Florida, is maintaining as the triathlon season comes to a close.

But when January rolls around, she will be sticking strictly to her day planner and training with her boyfriend for the next half-Ironman.

Their friends won't see them as much, but the sacrifices are worth it. The reward, Nalls said, is seeing how much she has improved in each element of the race, particularly swimming.

Her mantra that she even taped to her bike one time is, "Survive the swim, hammer on the bike and maintain on the run."

She keeps that phrase in mind and her lucky camouflage hat on her head during each race. So far she hasn't been injured while competing.

Her family and friends cheer her on at the races. She even made a T-shirt for her dad that is red and in black letters reads, "My daughter tries harder than yours."

"I love seeing them there," Nalls said. "I love when I go and they get to see what I truly have a passion about."

Her ultimate goal, and one she shared with her boyfriend, is to cross the finish line of the Ironman and hear "Ashlie Nalls, you are an Ironman."

"That gives me goose bumps," Nalls said. "I want to hear that one day. What a thing to accomplish. One day I want to experience what that feels like."

Contact Kellie Dixon at kdixon@sptimes.com or 352 544-9480.

Evolution of a Triathlete

Ashlie Nalls

Age: 24

Born: In Land O'Lakes

Education: Attending USF and plans to graduate with a marketing degree in December.

Graduated from Land O'Lakes High in 2001.

Part-time job: San Antonio Cyclery

What a difference a year makes

After almost a year of training, Nalls shaved more than 25 minutes off her sprint triathlon time. Use her times in the Subaru U.S. Women's sprint triathlon in St. Petersburg (0.75 kilometer distance swim; 20K bike ride; 5K run) for comparison.

June 2006

Overall: 1 hour 37 minutes 53 seconds

Swim: 17 minutes 28 seconds

First transition: 2:26

Bike: 48:55

Second transition: 49 seconds

Run: 28:16

March 2007

Overall: 1 hour 11 minutes 55 seconds

Swim: 13:07

First transition: 1:25

Bike: 32:59

Second transition: 52 seconds

Run: 23:33

Her training schedule

Nalls followed an 18-week training schedule that started in January and took her to the May half-Ironman. She swam three mornings a week; ran four days a week (including a long run on Saturday); biked four days a week (including a long ride on Sunday). In the peak of her training, a long run was 12 miles and a long ride was 60 miles. She finished with an overall time of 5 hours 57 minutes 42 seconds.

[Last modified September 3, 2007, 20:46:49]