Iron Vikings: A tale of two triathletes, starring Capt. Robbie Frantal

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Darrell Habish
  • 934th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Minneapolis, Minn. --  Ironman. This is a story not about the movie, not about a man, but about two women triathletes from the 934th Airlift Wing. One is a pilot, the other an aeromedical evacuation technician. Both were new to the Ironman Endurance event and both discovered determination of iron. Part I of this two-part series will introduce Capt. Robbie Frantal, a 96th Airlift Squadron pilot. 

Known as one of the most grueling events in sports, The Ironman competition consists of a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike course and ending with a 26.2 mile marathon run. According to the World Triathlon Corporation, the Ironman endurance event was established in 1978 when a group of Navy Seals started an argument about who was the fittest athlete. Navy Commander John Collins suggested that the best way to decide would be to combine the Waikiki Rough Water Swim, the Around Oahu Bike Race and the Honolulu Marathon ... whoever finished would be a real Ironman. It is doubtful those Seals foresaw the ramifications of that argument and how it influenced average people worldwide, more than 80,000 every year, to push themselves to their limit, including two Ironwomen from the 934 AW. 

Captain Frantal, completed the Ironman competition in Louisville, Kentucky, Aug. 31. It began with a swim in the Ohio River, or more correctly, one year earlier.
"It's something I've always wanted to do," she said. Completing the event was a goal since her freshman year in college, when she first saw the event on television.
In 2007, the Chicago native began swimming a couple times per week, biking wherever she could and running mostly on the streets when possible. Captain Frantal soon felt ready to compete in an Ironman 70.3, consisting of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56-mile bike and a 13.1 mile run, which adds up to 70.3 miles of total racing, half the distance of the full endurance event. She knew she had to concentrate on biking; "It's such a long distance," she said. 

Joining more than 3,000 other competitors at the starting line in Louisville, Captain Frantal, a five-year C-130 pilot, decided she could only think of the small victories because "it's too intimidating to think of the entire race." While swimming the river, her thoughts turned to "just making it to the next buoy."
Next up was the 112-mile bike course where she showed up with her beginner road-bike. 

"Lots of people had very fancy bikes and were wearing fancy racing clothes looking very hard-core," she remembered. But along the way, many of those people were on the side of the road passed out in the 94 degree weather, according to Captain Frantal. "Just get to the next town," she thought. Then, "just get to that church," and then, "just get up this hill." 

She was very thankful her bike didn't experience mechanical trouble, although she was experiencing some physical trouble.
"I was really hit by the weather," she said. "When I got off the bike, I wanted to quit. I sat in the changing tent trying to relax my back."
But she didn't quit. She only had 26.2 miles to run to the finish line. 

"At mile three into the run, I didn't think I could go on. I just concentrated on making it to the next water and aid station." 

An obstacle she hadn't trained for were the Kentucky hills. "The hills were constant," she remembered. "I just kept thinking 'When are these going to end?'"
Adding to the challenge was that the most she'd ever run was fifteen miles at one time. At this point in the endurance race "It was more mental than anything physical," Frantal explained. "My body was starting to break down and I knew that once I hit the wall, there was no coming back." 

Captain Frantal completed the race in 13 hours and 12 minutes. Her only regret? That she hadn't trained more.
"I'm a little mad that I didn't push harder to get a better time," she said. "I took it a little easy because my goal was to just finish. I couldn't have finished the race without the huge support of my husband (Capt. Rob Frantal, also a C-130 pilot with the 133rd Airlift Wing).  He was always there to cheer me on and push me out the door to train when I wanted to sleep in or just take a day off.

What did she do when she completed the race? "I stretched, took some pictures and went to bed."
Frantal plans to compete in more half-triathlons and would someday like to participate in another Ironman. "Maybe do the big one in Kona, Hawaii." 

Part II of the series continues next month with the story of Staff Sgt. Mary Wetterling, a 934th aeromedical technician.