Associate Professor of Psychology Lauren Paulson will be competing in the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawai’i, on Oct. 14. Being her 10th Ironman in total, Paulson will be heading to Hawai’i to embark on “a 2.4 mile open water swim in Kailua-Kona Bay, a 112 mile bike ride across the Hawaiian lava desert and finally a marathon (26.2 miles) run along the coast of the Big Island,” Paulson said.
This is nothing new for Paulson, as she has been competing in extreme sports challenges since she was eight, when she swam competitively.
Pualson then took a break to begin running and returned to masters swimming in college. Since then, she’s done sprinting combined with multiple half Ironmans.
As for this year’s Ironman Championship, Paulson could not be more excited.
“This race has always been a long-term aspiration and on my life-time bucket list,” Paulson said. “Needless to say, when I grabbed a slot this year, I was over the moon. This is a once in a lifetime experience that I am so very excited to have the opportunity to be a part of this iconic race.”
In preparation for the race, Paulson follows a strict regimen in the months before the race to make sure she’s in the best shape both physically and mentally. Paulson’s training usually includes three weeks straight of running, biking and swimming with one week of rest.
“My longest ride for this race has been 7 hours and longest run has been 20 miles,” Paulson said. “Longest swim was 6,000 yards. I usually train early in the morning before work. I do my long sessions on the weekends.”
For this race, Paulson took an unconventional route to get ready for the hot weather in Hawai’i. Riding through heat hotter than West Pennsylvania will be quite the task, so Paulson employed the usage of hot tubs and saunas to acclimate to Hawai’i temperatures.
“I have had to jump into a very hot tub, 104 degrees or in a sauna directly after a workout, for 20 minutes without drinking any water,” Paulson said. “It might sound lovely, but it is pretty brutal and uncomfortable.”
When discussing the physical strain events such as the Ironman take on her body, Paulson expressed the importance of managing her time with a healthy work-life balance.
“I would say one of the biggest challenges preparing for the race is time. I was just talking to my internship students about work-life balance, and I try to practice what I preach. Admittedly, work- life balance is a challenge and an area that I continue to work on,” Paulson said.
With the Ironman World Championship in particular, running, biking and swimming in the Hawaiian heat is a difficult challenge. For Paulson, this challenge includes mental strain.
“One of the biggest challenges during the race is managing the dark times,” Paulson said. “They always come in a daylong race. It’s best to have a plan when they come and roll with it. This is something that I keep getting better and better at each race. I often break the race into manageable steps — It’s not good to say, ‘Ok I have 111 more miles on the bike,’ so I will break it into manageable chunks such as ‘Let’s get to the next aid station.’ I also have mantras that I repeat to myself.”
For support, Paulson relies on her husband.
“He is my biggest cheerleader and supporter,” Paulson said. “These past two weeks have been really intense with work and training and he has picked up taking care of almost all household responsibilities and just generally encouraging me. Then at the race, it is a long day and he is so amazingly supportive.”
For those interested in participating in an Ironman Triathlon themselves, Paulson stresses the need to never give up training.
“Even if you don’t feel like it, put one foot in front of the other,” Paulson said. “As I say to my senior comp students, We will climb this mountain one step at a time. Another saying I use and is on my comp syllabus is, ‘just keep swimming…’”
During the offseason, Paulson makes sure to utilize self-care to keep herself in shape.
“I love yoga, but I just don’t normally have time to do it during the season,” she said. “It’s not really taking some time off, but I also do some strength training, just working on areas that are weaker for me. I do a lot of self-care during the season, as well. I do lots of stretching and I get a massage when I can.”
With the date of the championship coming closer, Paulson is excited for her newest challenge.
“There are so many lessons that I’ve learned in my training process that can be applied to other domains in my life,” Paulson said. “Finally, as far as having doubts, allow yourself to be surprised.”
