Strathmore is home to Ironman competitor

Times Reporter

 

As of Aug. 26 Strathmore resident Tera Mills, 31, is able to proudly say she is an Ironman. 

She competed in, and completed, the 2012 Subaru Ironman Canada held in Penticton, B.C. Ironman Canada competitions are one of the toughest events in the world of sports. 

Athletes had 17 hours to complete the event, beginning at 7 a.m. and going through until 12 midnight. There was a 3.8 km swim, a 180 km bike ride and a 42.2 km run. Mills finished her race in 14:54:43 after battling through the heat and the elements.

“When I finished I was on such a high on becoming an Ironman and completing what I had been working for, for the last year that it was an amazing experience. It was so exciting to be done,” said Mills. 

During maternity leave Mills was looking for something to do for herself, while getting back into shape. A few of her friends had been competing in triathlons and marathons and she decided to give to a try.  Because it is a lot of cross training, Mills said it is also a good way to train with minimal injury.   

Last September after finishing her first half marathon, is when Mills decided she wanted to compete in an Ironman competition. 

For a year she followed a basic training program of swimming, running and biking lots and doing yoga. Mills said it took a lot of mental preparation to be able to get through a long day like that. At the beginning she would spend about 10 hours per week training. In the summer those numbers went up and she was spending 17 to 20 hours per week training. 

“My longer training rides would push me upwards of six and a half hours, and training runs of three and a half hours that I would do one day a week, while still balancing full time work, and a parent to a little one,” said Mills. 

Having the support of her husband and working shift work were just two ways of helping the dream come true.