While calling any woman "fast" may not always be a compliment, in the case of Mimi Boyle, her race times and race goals suggest otherwise. We caught up with Mimi for her spotlight interview.

Mimi Boyle going aero at Tupper Lake

You're quite athletic. What's your pre-triathlon background?
"Soccer and basketball. I've played soccer since I was 5, I actually told my mom I wanted to quit and that I hated sports. But my brothers called me a wimp and that made me stick it out. I'm glad I did, it paid for my college tuition. If I'd known I'd be racing triathlons I would have run track - I was asked to run in High School and college, but wanted to drink beer instead (not in High School), just college. Now I prefer wine. So you see, I should have run track after all."

When did you first get involved in triathlons?
"Well, emotionally I got involved at the age of 8. My mom and I never missed the Hawaii Ironman on TV, but we'd be watching it while relaxing on the couch, probably eating bon-bons or potato chips. We'd be saying over and over again 'these people are crazy!' Little did I know back then it was Lisa Loprinzo we were talking about! Anyway, I met Tom, Bob and Rich at a Westchester Track Club workout, and they encouraged me to meet them for a ride. That was in May 1999 and I didn't even know how to shift gears on my bike. But they never stopped asking me to come, so I've been following in everyone's footsteps since then - I guess that's why I race ironmans, I'm just a follower."

Did Tom, Rich and Bob tell you about the club?
"Interesting question. I've been calling this motley crew of competitive age-group athletes 'The Group' since 99. Then I left for San Francisco for one year and came back to find 'The Group' has been renamed 'the Westchester Tri Club', fully loaded with a website, organized training plans, and a weekly group email list. So I guess I heard about the club from everyone collectively upon my return from SF. Maybe that's a hint -- I leave for a year and everyone gets organized?"

What's on your race calendar this season?
"I like to refer to it as my vacation calendar. Races are really the only times I get to travel. So I'm racing at St. Croix (why?!), The DeSoto Triple-T in Ohio, Ironman Wisconsin. I'd like to hit the Montauk race in June, maybe Tupper Lake and one other long race before Wisconsin."

And do you have time or place goals for these races?
"Get to the finish line in St. Croix. Have fun with Tom and Barney in Ohio, and maybe take home a prize (and maybe keep our dignity). Finish top 5 in my age group at Wisconsin."

With those goals, are you doing anything new or different in your training?
"Umm, I'm not sure because I've never kept a log or diary and rarely remember what I did the previous week, let alone years. I always go by how I'm feeling. I'm kind of a slacker - I probably do the least mid-week training of anyone, I think that's what I should work on changing. If I had to choose one, it would be masters swimming. Some minor (but probably more valuable) changes have been more sleep, more stretching (yoga) and eating a little red meat."

What about equipment? Anything new there?
"My brain and my ears. My first 2 years in this sport I was listening to what everyone else was doing and I'd copy their workouts. Now I just listen to the way I'm feeling, if I can go hard, I do...if it's not there for me on a given day, I back off. I think it's made me faster, but it could just be a mental thing."

I see. But I was thinking more in terms of new tri-specific equipment, like new bike stuff. Anything new there?
"Oh, tangible equipment??? Silly me, that would have to be a new chain. Oddly enough, I've been riding on the same one for 2 years. Who knew those suckers rarely last that long?. Yesterday, I had it replaced!!! I expect to go sub 10hrs in September [IM Wisconsin]. I'd also like to mention that I bought a general 'bike 101' book. That might be the most useful piece of equipment I ever own."

Shifting gears a bit, why do it? Or as they say, 'What's your motivation?'
"I'll answer the latter first...what motivates me is everyone else in the club. I'd never ride 100 miles on my own, or run 3 hours on my own, and swim on my own...Well, just look at my previous swim times and you'll see how far that strategy has gotten me. I suppose the goal of racing Ironman Hawaii too, that will always motivate me. As far as why I do this, I guess I do it because I'm a competitive person and in my brief racing history, the good experiences greatly outweigh the bad ones. I also like to hear my family tell me what a freak I am...They crack me up with the nicknames they give me. I don't think my sister would let me stop, she has too much fun pointing out how many women beat me every race. She breaks it down by each segment too, it's a real slap in the face when I look at the swim and transition times in ironman races."

Care to share some of the nicknames people have come up with for you?
[ Long pause ]
"I'd rather skip the nicknames, they're too silly. Additionally, my sister has the link to this site. I can't risk the possibility of pain and torture at my next family gathering. Sometimes it's not the name-calling that gets me. It's the disappointed look on their faces when they confirm with me that I consciously choose to consort with a crowd of men who willingly and eagerly wear Speedo bathing suits. They even take it a step further and ask, 'Do these dudes know they could potentially be photographed in those things or worse, put on video?' I simply reply, 'they look forward to it, and often pay whatever it costs for a hard copy.'"

What is it about Speedo bathing suits that your family objects to?
"The small, bikini-like, snug-fitting swimming apparel defies everything they know to be masculine. And since their Saturday morning 6am wake-up call is for a round of golf, perhaps they're thinking of golfers in speedos. That would be a horrifying sight for the most part."

Golfer's in Speedos. That would be horrifying. Let's quickly change topics. How does your work in marketing affect training time?
"Hmmm, this is a tough one. Right now, I'm temporarily not working. So it's difficult to fill all my free time right now. Thank God for training. It gives me something to do while I'm interviewing, tuning out recruiters...etc. But when I was working, I'd do doubles 3 days a week, one hour in the morning and 2 at night. Then big weekend days, with the remaining 2 days a week just light stuff. I've always had a job that's been supportive. So, it's kind of been the opposite for me -- more like 'how do I perform at my job with all the training'? Lots of cat-naps during the day. Incidentally, I wouldn't advise cat-naps for Rich, Chuck or Lisa...their patients would be extremely unhappy."

How do you feel about training in a predominantly male-oriented group day in and day out?
"Well, there are days when all I do is listen to the trash-talk, and the miles just roll by. I love those days. They usually take place on Saturday, during our long rides. Other days, when the ego-thing kicks in (i.e. Thursday night screaming-pace rides), I wish I were with some more women, preferably ones that just had a manicure and want to take it slow as to avoid breaking a nail. But overall, I wouldn't change one number in the ratio of the group, and I think I'm fortunate to train with boys...oops, I mean men."

Men have other differences. For example, how do you feel on rides when the guys can just pull over and easily relieve themselves without fully dismounting their bikes?
"That frustrates and annoys me. I feel alone and deprived. I wish we could design a bike route that covers the miles we need to ride, while passing by everyone's bathroom-equipped house...That way I could relieve myself as many times as the guys can, and not have to worry about poison ivy, attack dogs on Greenwich estates, parking lot perverts, or throwing my body into a state of toxic shock from trying to 'hold-it-in' until I get home."

Have you thought about trying to recruit more women into the group?
"I tried to get my friend Karen to join us, but then she started getting all the attention, and I realized that it just wasn't going to work for me (laughing). No, no...the fact is, every athletic woman I know thinks waking up at 6am on a Saturday morning (or earlier) is about as much fun as root canal. I'll keep trying, but I think we need to produce a calendar of all the healthy, buxom, raw men to lure some more chicks. I'll get Bob Weber on that one."