SHREVEPORT – A time for celebration.
Angel Martin will tell you that her 11:18.36 time in the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, was far from perfect.
Her goal was to finish the triathlon in under 11 hours, a goal that she didn’t meet because her 112-mile bike was a little slow, and she said she had to “shuffle” through the marathon (26.2-mile run) because her body didn’t quite feel right.
As she sat in a Hawaiian airport with her husband Loren a couple of days after the Oct. 14 race, she was reading about a female professional athlete that couldn’t finish the event as her body broke down.
Then Angel clicked a link in that triathlete.com story, seeing a picture of herself as the cover photo to an article titled “Finish-Line Feels,” which offers quotes from women minutes after crossing the finish line.
Under Martin’s photo, there was a caption that read, “In 2015, an SUV hit Martin on a training ride just six weeks after giving birth.”
“It’s a couple of days after the race, and I’m recapping it in my head, thinking about what went wrong,” said Martin, who serves as director of student activities and recreational sports at LSUS. “But I shouldn’t be doing that, I should just be proud and excited about my experience.
“And then I see the (Finish-Line Feels), and I’m thinking, ‘Thank you universe for the reminder.’ I got to the finish line not because of my athletic ability or training – the best athletes in the world were there. My journey and my story, the adversity that I’ve overcome, is how I finished that race. It kind of put me back into my place.”
Six weeks after giving birth to her son Lenox in 2015, Martin was riding her bike when she was hit from behind by an SUV.
While not breaking any bones, Martin suffered a nasty road rash and torn shoulder ligaments that required surgery.
She took a break from the sport she started in 2009 to heal and spend more time with her family, but the goal was always to reach this world championship stage on which she competed in Hawaii.
Her 11:18.36 time? She finished in the top 20 percent of the nearly 2,200-woman field and 77th in the 346-competitor field in her 40-44 age group.
The 40-year-old’s path to the world championships has been littered with adversity, and it wouldn’t be an ‘Angel Martin story’ without a little adversity upon arriving in Hawaii.
Martin’s bike suffered a flat tire and bent rim the day before the race when she hit a huge rock, which required a purchase and repair from the bike manufacturer who happened to be present at the event.
“It wasn’t my freshest race because I was running around so much the day before with my heart rate and blood pressure elevated,” said Martin, who noted the stifling Hawaiian heat was also a factor. “The goal is to train really hard, and then rest in the days leading up to a race to create a ‘springboard effect’ for your body – where you feel almost superhuman.
“I didn’t get that bump, but it doesn’t always happen. You’re not always going to have a magical race.”
Martin said she was discouraged throughout the race as she realized she wasn’t going to hit her desired time, but she knew she wasn’t going to let anything keep her from finishing a race she’d dreamed about for more than a decade.
“My joints were hurting, and my pain threshold wasn’t where it should have been … and it felt like I wasn’t going to finish before midnight (16 hours total) at the pace I felt I was going at,” Martin said. “But then I thought, ‘You’re not on the world stage to feel sorry for yourself. You’re capable, and maybe it’s not the best race of your life, but today is the day of the race, and you do what you can do that day.”
Martin has questioned herself at times during her IRONMAN journey, wondering if she really belonged on the stage with the world’s best.
When she saw the list of 16 nominees for the ATHENA awards, which recognizes local leaders, particularly when it comes to impacting women, Martin had similar thoughts.
But ask nominator and friend Leigh Chambers, LSUS’s interim executive director of enrollment management, and there’s not a doubt that Martin has carved her place among the 2023 nominees.
“What sets Angel apart is her unwavering dedication to supporting and nurturing young women leaders,” said Chambers, who has been an ATHENA nominee herself. ”She serves as a role model for balanced success.
“She skillfully navigates her career while also pursuing her family and athletics goals. She encourages the women around her to achieve their goals, but she also emphasizes the importance of balance and self-care.”
The ATHENA Awards Luncheon is Nov. 8 and has honored one leader locally since 1991. On a national and international level, the program has existed since 1982.
Martin has led the charge to create a vibrant college environment on LSUS’s campus.
From the planning and execution of on-campus festivals to being the point person for all student organizations, Martin’s impact is easily felt.
“Do I really belong with these ladies who have done such outstanding things in the community?” Martin said. “Sometimes I kick myself because as a leader, you have to be proud and celebrate your accomplishments – don’t dim your light because you feel like you’re not worthy.
“The hard work of applying and being accepted is over, now it’s just a celebration. I’m not focused on just standing in the spotlight but sharing the spotlight with people around me at LSUS and in my personal life.”
Some of those LSUS accomplishments include building a successful on-campus food pantry that provides nutritious options to hungry students. LSUS earned a hunger-free designation from the Louisiana Board of Regents, which signifies that the university has mechanisms in place to effectively combat student hunger.
Martin also supervises The Ready Rack, which offers dress clothes for students who are going on job interviews.
Catering to a student body in which significant numbers attend classes online, Martin piloted LSUS’s student engagement efforts through the COVID-19 pandemic and kept alive student traditions like Spring Fling and Week of Welcome.
Virtual versions of events like the unveiling of the Homecoming Court were planned and executed.
Because of the necessity of virtual engagement, online students became more involved in campus activities.
Martin seeks to share lessons learned through all types of adversities with those around her.
“You have personal and professional hopes and dreams, and there are times when I stuck my neck out there and it hasn’t paid off,” Martin said. “The universe pushed back … and it’s been really discouraging and can make you want to crawl into a hole.
“Then there are times like now, where everything is going well, but you don’t know if you truly deserve it. There are not always going to be times where you’re celebrating world championships or award ceremonies – but you have to take it all in, learn from it and translate it for others to springboard to their own success.”
