Keen to hit water, crocs or not

A CROC sighting before the Cairns Ironman could force the swim leg to be cancelled but Tablelands competitor Megan Hendry says she’d be tempted to jump in the water anyway.

The Yungaburra barista missed out on hitting the water at the Busselton Ironman last December when a 2.5m shark was spotted close to shore.

But Hendry, 28, said the dis- appointment of missing out on her strongest leg had forced her to look more closely at her weaker disciplines.

“If I had to jump in with the crocs, I probably would,” she said, laughing, yesterday.

“The shark sighting in Busselton really hit me because I’m a strong swimmer.

“It made me realise I need to work hard on the bike and the run.

“Competing at Kona in the World Championships for my age group is the ultimate for me. I really need a sub 10 hours and 30 minute time to have a chance.

“If it’s this year, that’d be awesome. If not, there’s always next year.”

An auxiliary firefighter in her spare time, Hendry said she regularly trained up to 27 hours a week when preparing for an Ironman.

“That’s around work and trying to fit in a life,” she said.

“At the moment ... it’s pretty flat out.”

Managing your body during a race was the hardest aspect of Ironman, Hendry said.

“It’s definitely hard to figure out,” she said.

“As the body gains endurance, what you can handle changes too. For me, it’s about making sure there’s enough left in the tank to run a marathon after the bike and swim.

“I monitor my heart rate a little bit and that helps.

“Come race day, if we have a headwind on the ride, I won’t push it and bury my legs for the run.”