How Sharon Koontz, 63, prepared for the grueling Race Across America

Establishing a world record for riding your bike across the United States is quite an accomplishment. Setting it as a woman in your 50s is pretty remarkable. And, deciding to try for the record a decade later as a 60-something grandmother, well, that’s just plain gutsy.

And that’s exactly what Sharon Koontz, 63, from Charlotte, N.C., is going to do this summer. Koontz, along with Celeste Callahan, 64, from Denver; Paula Larsen, 61, from Horicon, Wis.; and Rita Sharp, 58, from Longmont, Colo., make up the first ever female 60-plus team to compete in the Race Across America (RAAM).

RAAM is the longest endurance annual cycling event in the world and involves cycling a total of 3,052 miles in nine days from Oceanside, Calif., to Atlantic City. Competitive riders will most likely be in the saddle around 22 hours a day. Team riders break the ride into shifts, but it remains a grueling cycling ultra marathon.

On June 13, Team Red Helmets will embark on their journey, and Koontz thinks they’re definitely capable of breaking their 50-plus record of 7:17:30 (15.66 miles per hour) — weather permitting. “I would like us to do 17.5 miles per hour. We’re all faster riders, and as a group, I think we’re capable of riding a steadier pace for the entire time.”

The RAAM odyssey for Koontz started in the early 1990s when she formed a bond with the other women in her triathlon age group. “We all met in 1991 doing triathlons,” she recalled. “When you’re our age there aren’t very many women in our age group so…it’s not hard to know everyone."

Last year Callahan called her and griped about needing a new goal to keep her motivated. A new goal like, say, the RAAM again. Koontz was game and they recruited two new riders. “I had to first pass it by my husband, Dave,” Koontz chuckled. Since he did an excellent job crewing the first time, she wanted to see if he would be willing to do it again. “I had to make sure he was on board. Being on a crew is demanding, they don’t get to eat much or shower either,” she noted.

He agreed, and she immediately mapped out her training plan, which included cutting back to a 30-hour work week as a research coordinator. Training for an endurance event is demanding, but the five-time Ironman finisher has more than 20 years of experience to help her through the long months of preparation. “It’s different than Ironman training where you do 80, 90, 100, 110 miles and build,” she said. “With this, I have to constantly ride as many days as possible.” Her training is also more focused than her last RAAM, because it’s six weeks earlier.

This time around her main concern is the potential for inclement weather conditions. Regardless, her training this past winter and spring has been right on schedule. Here’s her regimen for a typical week:

SUNDAY

Koontz likes to take a 90-minute to two-hour run in the morning on the soft trails of McAlpine Greenway Park in Charlotte with her dog Iron, a Bouvier des Flandres. She makes sure she carries her fuel belt with water for Iron. Then, in the afternoon, “I drag my husband out for an easy 35 to 40 miles on the bike,” she said.

MONDAY

She swims 2,000 yards, most of it in freestyle. “Breast stroke hurts my knees,” she explains. She will include 200 to 300 yards of fist drills and a few one-arm drills. She does a little bit of kicking, and she uses paddles for some lengths of pulling, usually at the end of her workout.

Koontz lifts weights twice a week, all year round. The workouts focus on her upper body. “I probably do more specific arms like seated rows. It gets you between the scapula and back and it helps when you’re cycling and going up hill on your aerobars.” She’ll also do seated rows, some with free weights and some with a bar. One of her favorites is a Nautilus triceps machine, similar to the Vasa Trainer, which is popular with many swimmers. These machines are effective for working on stroke technique and building overall endurance.

Biceps curls are on her list and she also emphasizes the importance of doing wrist curls. “These are helpful for cyclists who need to hold on to the handle bars for long time periods and it also helps with my swimming.” For these she uses light weights, five to eight pounds.

Koontz does some work on the deltoids and admits she doesn’t know if it helps a lot, “but it sure makes you look better in a sleeveless top.” On Monday, she also typically runs four to five miles to cap off the day.

TUESDAY

If she didn’t have time to lift on Monday, Koontz will ride twice on Tuesdays. As the old saying goes, “if you don’t train it, you can’t race it,” which is why she tries to do broken rides. Riding more than once in a day simulates her RAAM experience where team riders take on different legs.

WEDNESDAY

Koontz swims 1,800 to 2,000 yards and then takes a 60-mile bike ride.

THURSDAY

Thursday is an easier day. Her weightlifting incorporates “core” work: sit-ups, crunches with and without a stability ball and plenty of bridge workouts. In the late afternoon, she rides her bike with her husband – using a small chain ring.

FRIDAY

She swims 1,800 to 2,000 yards in the morning and rides 30 miles in the afternoon.

SATURDAY

Koontz will take a long ride with a group that includes her husband and members of the Charlotte Track & Triathlon Club for about 40 miles, stop for a food break and then hop back on the bike for another 40 or 50 miles. This is important, because it serves as a dress rehearsal for the RAAM ride.

--Brenda Barrera is the national Web site editor for the Running Network.