Melissa has completed the Epic 5 in Hawaii, 3 Ultraman triathlons, and is now the 1st female to have ever completed the Uberman, which she did in October - she also broke the swim record and smashed the previous course record by approximately 31 hours!
During this episode we learn more about the details from the challenge, the high points, the low points, the support of crew members, what the finish was like and how she is getting back to ‘normal life’.
We have been following Melissa’s journey since February 2019, when Melissa did a Facebook Live for the Tough Girl Tribe - this was then turned into a Tough Girl Podcast EXTRA episode.
Those episodes are linked down below!
More about UberMan….
UberMan is the world's most challenging Ultra Triathlon. The 556 mile course goes from the Mists of Avalon to the Snows of Mount Whitney. Starting on Catalina Island, participants swim 21 miles in the open Pacific Ocean to the shores of Palos Verdes. The 400 mile bike route leaves the city of Angels and climbs 20,000 vertical feet before descending to Badwater basin, at 200 feet below sea level, the lowest point in North America. From Badwater, athletes run 135 miles through Death Valley before ascending 13,000 feet to the trailhead @ Mt Whitney, the highest peak in the Continental United States.
Hear more about UberMan!
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Listen to Mel share more about the planning and preparation for UberMan!!
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The 2017 episode with Melissa - focused on EPIC 5!
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Show notes
Back in Australia
Who is Melissa
More information about her background
What Uberman is and why she wanted to do it
Wanting to be the first female to complete the race
Wanting a different challenge
8 months to train
Wanting to focus on running
Doing 5, 50K runs
Doing a 60K run and a 100k run in training
Overloading on one discipline a week
Building fatigue
Why this training was so hard mentally
Needing to take a break
Dealing with the fatigue and starting to get sick
The lead up to the race
The work that goes on behind the scenes
The start line…
Never thinking about the event as one big thing
Swimming at night for the first time
Starting to feel the cold
Being sick during the swim and not being able to pee
The hardest part of the swim
The importance of having a good support team
Splitting the support team into a day shift and a night shift
The first transition from the swim to the bike
Riding on the roads and the Pacific Coast Highway!!
Feeling angry and being aware of her emotions
Sleeping for 2 hours was the sweet spot
Planning on 5/6 days for the event
Running through Death Valley
Trying to figure out the approach for running over 200K
Having your muscles seize up
Mount Whitney!
Wanting to finish during the day!
Having a few emotional moments towards the end
Reaching the finish!
Not being able to process the achievement!
The documentary!
Adventure blues and transitioning back to normal life
Post race recovery time
What Melissa has learned over the years
A book?!!!
The recovery
Final words of advice and top tips
Learn more about Melissa
Follow her blog - https://rangamel.wordpress.com
"Slightly mental triathlete who is allergic to the sun"
Read the Race report from UberMan - HERE
Twitter - @rangamel
Instagram - @rangamel
Facebook - Melissa Urie - Athlete Page
You can also listen to Melissa on Sparta Chicks Radio - which goes into more detail about the EPIC 5 Race in Hawaii
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