( CNN ) -- Paula Newby-Fraser , widely known as `` the Queen of Kona , '' has won 21 Ironman Triathlon titles and eight Ironman World Championships in Kona , Hawaii -- more than any other athlete , male or female , in the 36-year history of the event . Newby-Faser now serves as a coach , mentoring Super Bowl champion Hines Ward during his journey to Kona in 2013 . She is working with Olympian Apolo Ohno for his trip to the 2014 Ironman World Championship . CNN asked her to offer some tips to the Fit Nation triathletes , who are tackling the Nautica Malibu Triathlon next week . CNN : What are your top tips for newbies ? Paula Newby-Fraser : The first triathlon can be a pretty daunting task because there are three disciplines to master . Here 's what I suggest : . Set up a training program that is grounded in the realities of your daily life . An overambitious plan can undermine mental and physical progress . Set up a plan that focuses on becoming efficient and comfortable at the distances that you want to cover in each discipline . Integrate a support network of family , training partners and tri clubs to keep your program on track . Do n't overthink the equipment part too soon . Getting in consistent swim , bike and run workouts is more important than gadgets and technology . Being a competent swimmer is one of the most critical steps in building confidence , especially since it 's the first leg of a triathlon . Swimming is the most `` challenging '' discipline to learn as a newbie and also very important from a safety perspective . When you do get into an event , always stay in the moment and do exactly what you have done in training . Nothing much different happens in a race than happens in all those workouts you have logged , except that you have a lot of like-minded people around to cheer you on . CNN : Explain the physical and mental training it takes to be a professional endurance athlete . Newby-Fraser : Being a professional athlete is much like being at the top of your game in anything . The commitment becomes part of the fabric of your identity . It is a fundamental aspect of daily life and how you interact with the world . Each and every day is an assessment of your body and the training that needs to be done and all that goes with it : recovery , diet , lifestyle choices , and symbiotically , your mind has to embrace and adapt to that . As with anything , there are great days that have filled me with such joy and confidence , and there are the days that are a brutal struggle . Being conscious of this ongoing engagement and partnership between mind and body is perhaps the greatest key to successful training as an endurance athlete . CNN : How do you know if you are ready to tackle your first triathlon ? Newby-Fraser : From personal experience , I feel that the only way to find out is to get out there and do it ! Even when armed with the mental knowledge and physical process of consistently executing a training program , only lining up and participating in an event will answer that question . So go do it ! CNN : What was your first triathlon ? Newby-Fraser : My first triathlon was an Olympic distance event held in South Africa . Even coming from a swimming background , it was still nerve-wracking to see the distance laid out before me in the lake . My greatest anxiety came from doing an event that was going to last over two hours . Despite all the years of being an athlete growing up , I was nervous about putting it all together for the first time . The event was successful despite `` blowing up '' on the run . The emotion and excitement of the start gun had me going out way too hard , and my legs were dead by the time I got to the run . It was a tough but rewarding experience to cross the finish line after how my legs felt when I got off the bike . I could not believe how tired they were and wondered how I was ever going to be able to `` run '' six miles . Overcoming this mental hurdle marked the start of a great journey athletically and personally . CNN : How have your feelings about competing changed through the years ? Does the `` Queen of Kona '' get race-day jitters ? Newby-Fraser : Years of experience have taught me how to keep perspective about competing . I fully understand that doing events is a celebration of hard work . Knowing that not every day can be my best has made my experience less emotional . There are still a few butterflies at the start of an event , because who does n't want to have a `` good '' day versus a struggle ? I still get moments of anxiousness about not wanting to struggle through . Then I remind myself that even if I do , I know how to handle it .
Paula Newby - Fraser has won 21 Ironman Triathlon titles , 12 world championships . Safety in workouts is more important than training and equipment , she says . Newby - Fraser : A safety network will keep you going through tough training days .