SHREVEPORT – Angel Martin wasn’t counting the miles. She was counting the blessings.
With just 10 miles left in the marathon portion of the IRONMAN Texas triathlon this past April, Martin could feel the energy drain from her body.
“I got through the last 10 miles by dedicating the miles to specific people,” said Martin, the director of student activities and recreational sports at LSUS. “I recapped fond memories and thoughts about that person, and how thankful I was for them. It helped me get through each mile.
“I wasn’t focusing on how much my legs hurt or that my lungs are about to blow.”
Martin finished the 2.4-mile swim, the 112-mile bike and the marathon (26.2-mile run) in 10 hours, 15 minutes and two seconds. The time placed sixth in her female age group and 180th overall (male and female participants).
The event, which is part of the VinFast IRONMAN North America Series, qualified Martin for the 2023 IRONMAN World Championships in Hawaii this October.
“This has been my goal starting triathlons in 2009 – it’s always been the end-all, be-all,” Martin said of the World Championships qualification. “This is the first time I’ve been able to dedicate an entire year to training.
“I finally had the conversation with my husband last year. It’s time.”
Martin describes a “sweet spot” in her life that allowed her to dedicate between 20-30 hours per week to train.
The Bossier City native turned 40 this year, which makes her the youngest in her 40-44 age group.
After backing off the sport in 2015 with the birth of her son Lenox, she’s been able to ramp back up with him being seven this year.
“I have a couple of bucket list items, and this is one of the last two bucket list items to check off,” Martin said. “My son isn’t quite into all the sports and school activities yet, but that’s coming very quickly.
“But he’s also at the point where he can pour his own cereal and bathe himself. When I’m training, my husband Loren takes him out to the hunting lease and things like that.”
An example of a training day would consist of Martin waking at 5 a.m. and running eight miles on the treadmill, finishing around 6:45 a.m. with enough time to take Lenox to summer camp.
Martin eats lunch at her desk and works out on her lunch break.
Weekends consist of bike rides that last 4-6 hours, starting early in the morning to avoid the heat as much as possible.
“(On weekends), I finish around noon, and from then on, it’s family time,” Martin said. “You have to be very intentional with your time.
“You make sure your clothes are set out the night before. This all fits into that Type A lifestyle. Everything is organized, scheduled, outlined and ready to go. It helps you be more efficient in all areas of your life. It’s a lot of time away, but when you get your me time, you’re able to pour more back into your family and come back with a greater appreciation and feeling renewed.”
Martin regularly goes to Edge Physical Therapy to keep her body in working order.
The fact that she is excelling in an endurance event might amuse her younger self.
She competed in cross country and track and field at Bossier High, favoring shorter-distance events.
Her best event was the pole vault, which involves just 80 feet of running and led to a scholarship at Northwestern State.
Then-Angel Villa and teammate Haley Blount rewrote the NSU pole vault record book, which is where Angel met her future husband Loren Martin on the track and field team.
After finishing her track and field career and completing her masters degree (sports administration) in 2006, Martin was looking for an outlet for her competitive juices.
“I wanted to be active again because I was a health and exercise science major – it’s what my life revolved around,” Martin said. “I didn’t have any structure after pole vaulting, so I was looking to maintain whatever shape I was in.
“My cousin (David Cannon) started doing triathlons. I went to a couple of races and thought this is where I want to be. My high school coach (Mike McHalffey) was part of a group of local runners, and we would meet up, run and eat after. These are my people. This is my thing. This was my social and physical outlet all at the same time.”
Martin said the local group supports each other, encouraging to push boundaries.
“We all peer-pressure each other to sign up for these races and try new things,” Martin said. “If somebody is going faster and harder, you want to chase them and be better. This is a Type-A tribe – it makes us happy.”
In triathlons, 30s and 40s are prime ages to compete. A combination of time and income allow individuals to prepare (and pay) for this sport, perhaps better than a 20-something who might be at their physical peak.
Martin, whose 10:15.02 time was 45 minutes off her age group leader and about an hour slower than the typical female professional that day, said nutrition and mental preparedness are the tricks to competing in triathlons.
“You follow a workout and training schedule, but if you just keep moving, you will finish,” Martin said. “One trick is nutrition – you can’t just buffet it before the race because everything slows down. You have to eat enough to keep fueling your body – carb load but the right kind of carbs that’s going to burn clean and digest easy.
“(Mentally), you can go to dark places in your mind and really doubt yourself. But IRONMAN does a great job of building a scene around you with supporters. In this last race, the end of the swim was through a canal, and I can see my family walking with me on the side.”
Martin will have husband Loren cheering her on in person through the barren lava fields and tumultuous ocean route at Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
But when the trail gets tough, Martin will have all of her supporters in her mind as she counts down the miles.
