WHEN Sheila Isaacs crossed the finish line of the
Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on Oct. 16,
she became the first known athlete to complete a triathlon in all 50
states, according to U.S.A. Triathlon, the national governing body for
multisport disciplines. This was her 100th triathlon.
Ms. Isaacs, 67, of Shoreham, finished second among
women in the 65 to 69 age group, completing the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile
bike and 26.2-mile run in 16 hours 54 minutes 55 seconds. She beat the
17-hour cutoff for an official finish despite falling in the 17th mile
of the run, breaking her left pinkie and bruising her left knee and
shoulder.
''My foot went off the edge of the road on the
run,'' Ms. Isaacs said. ''It was pitch dark. I couldn't see a thing.''
Through high school and college, Ms. Isaacs never
participated in athletics. In fact, she received her first bicycle at
age 50.
''If you knew her 20 years ago, I was the athlete
and she did nothing,'' her husband, Hugh, 68, said. ''And now, she rips
me.''
Ms. Isaacs, who began triathlons at 53, said she
completed her first triathlon, the Mighty Montauk, in 1991 after a male
colleague at the Long Island Lighting Company challenged her athletic
ability.
''He said to me, 'Now that you have a bike, let's do
a triathlon,''' she recalled. '''I'll brush up on my swimming, and you
can learn how to run.'''
Her colleague dropped out before the Mighty Montauk
Triathlon. But Ms. Isaacs said the challenge and the expectations of
others had been big motivators during her triathlon training.
''If you keep an aim that you have entirely to yourself, it's very easy to drop out,'' she said.
By the time Ms. Isaacs was 57, she had completed
more than two dozen triathlons. But she wasn't satisfied.
''After doing 15 or 16 states, I wanted to see more
of the country,'' she said. ''I started looking around, and it became a
quest. I wanted to do a triathlon in every state.''
But not every state provided sanctioned triathlons.
Races were organized in West Virginia and Nebraska just for her so that
she could accomplish the record of completing triathlons in all 50
states. Her triathlon tour has also taken her to Australia, Canada,
Mexico, New Zealand and Portugal.
Through her travels, Ms. Isaacs said, she has
finished first in her age group 58 times. And her husband could not be
more proud.
''It's a fantastic accomplishment,'' Mr. Isaacs, a
senior scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory, said. ''It's
tremendous that someone, when they were young, had very little
experience and blossomed in later years. And she managed to do it with a
tremendous amount of ease. She just sparkles. I'm proud of her.''
To prepare for the Hawaii event, Ms. Isaacs swam at
least 5 miles, biked 150 miles and ran 15 miles a week. She also
participated in a weight-training program and did two hours of yoga.
''It's like working a 30-hour week,'' she said.
''But I had a fabulous training program that was very carefully
orchestrated.''
The time was harder to come by before she retired as
a computer systems analyst in 2001. ''That was difficult,'' she said.
''I went to work early and came home early. But my husband was very
supportive all the time.''
Pamela J. Maino, a 41-year-old from Farmingville who
swims with Ms. Isaacs on the East End Masters swim team and also
completed the Ironman, described Ms. Isaacs as her hero.
''She is an incredible woman, very humble,'' said
Ms. Maino, who finished the Ironman four hours ahead of Ms. Isaacs.
''Her athleticism defines her, but not in an obsessive way. She has a
wonderful balance with her family and her sports. She inspires me. I'm
thrilled and proud to be considered one of her friends.''
Ms. Isaacs is still recovering from the punishment
of the Hawaii event but has been using her wind trainer to keep in shape
for cycling. On Nov. 7, she went for her first run since the Ironman,
covering three miles.
''It was fun,'' Ms. Isaacs said. ''You feel good after you've had a three-week rest.''
Though she has no plans to compete in another Ironman, she says she will remain active.
''I'm not going to stop training,'' Ms. Isaacs said. ''I'm going to refocus, and I'll continue to do triathlons."