Dean of Student Affairs completes Ironman triathlon
Mesa Legend
After one year of training and a lot of self-motivation, Dean Meredith Warner completed her first Ironman Triathlon in November. “I’m not going to tell you it was easy, but I am going to tell you it wasn’t hard,” Warner said. “I just knew what I had to do.” However, what Warner and a couple thousand other triathletes did during that windy day in Tempe might be considered “hard” by a lot of people.
Photo courtesy or Meredith Warner
The high endurance race consists of three events: A 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a full marathon, which is 26.2 miles. A grueling 140.6 miles total. Warner finished the miles, without taking a break, in 15 hours and 28 minutes. But she didn’t get there overnight. Warner said she has been running marathons for the past decade, but that she only started competing in triathlons a little over three years ago with some of her colleagues from MCC.
Warner explained that a few people on her work team were cyclists, and swimmers, and she the runner.“So we all joked one day that maybe we should teach each other, each other’s events,” Warner said.“We all did that together. There were like six or seven of us that did the sprint triathlon, and then it just stuck for me,” Warner said.
Since then, Warner estimated that she has “done a couple dozen” sprint triathlons and half Ironman triathlons.From there, Warner said she gained the confidence to eventually register for the full Ironman. “The more you do it, the more you think, ‘Gosh I can go further and longer,’” Warner said.
According to Warner, making a clear plan and committing to her goals were key to her success. “I think it’s the same lesson you learn from college,” Warner said. “It’s just like doing homework. The training is your homework for the final exam, and whether or not you cross the finish line is whether or not you finish successfully.”
Looking forward, Warner said she plans to go back to school to get her doctorate “I’ve applied to ASU and I hope to be accepted and I will know in February. That’s the next big goal, I actually have to finish my doctorate,” Warner said. “Does that mean I will probably do another Ironman?” Warner asked. “Yeah, probably.”
