Syracuse 70.3 Race Report

Today was the final race of my 2011 US season – Syracuse 70.3. I knew backing up from World Champs 70.3 just 7 days ago was going to be tough…but I underestimated just how tough it would actually be!

Mum and I flew from Vegas to Syracuse on Wednesday. It was nice to have a few extra days to chill out in Syracuse before race day on Sunday. We had a great homestay with fellow pro athlete Kristen White and her two children Maggie and Phoebe. I did very little training during the week, just the odd swim, bike and run to keep the muscles moving.

Raced day eventually rolled around. I was feeling pretty good and not too sore from last week. Syracuse was a lot cooler than Vegas…with a 20 degree temp difference on race morning. The field was once again stacked with the likes of Nikki Butterfield, Caroline Steffen and Sam Wariner all racing (who ended up 1, 2, and 3).

I had a great swim exiting the water with the lead girl, and then headed out on to the bike in 1st place. However, that was the highlight of my day. From about 30km into the bike I started to really feel the effects of last week and struggled my way to the finish. I ended up crossing the line in 9th place and was the most exhausted I have been...not my finest hours!



In the past year I’ve done 10 half ironman’s so it is well and truly time for a break. For the next few weeks I’m going to sleep lots, eat lots and do anything that doesn’t involve a pair of bathers, a bike or running shoes!

A huge congrats to my coach Josh Rix for placing a stellar 3rd at Syracuse! Thank you so much to Kristin, Maggie and Phoebe for providing a great homestay. Huge thankyou to my Mum for travelling with me and for her cheering with Jemma Rix. Once again, big thanks to my sponsors Malvern Star, Peak Bike Hub, Giro, Selle SMP and Brooks.

For now it’s off to New York for an end of season trip (with Mum!) and then back to Boulder for a few days, before heading back to Aus to watch Hawthorn in the GF!

World 70.3 Champs Race Report

The goal for the 2011 season was to get on that start line for the World 70.3 Championships. After six months of jammed packed racing across Australia and the US, I achieved that goal and have just completed my first World Champs race as a pro triathlete. I had no expectations going into this race. Considering I was the youngest in the pro field and hadn't raced a single 70.3 this time last year, I was just stoked to have the opportunity to race against some of the best athletes in the world, and I was looking at gaining as much experience as possible.

We arrived in Vegas on the Friday before the race. Saturday was spent registering, bike racking and general race prep. After a feast of Dads cooking on Saturday night it was time to hit the sack and dream sweet dreams of what Sunday would bring.

Race day kicked off with a 4am wake-up. As we drove down to race site, a few drops of rain began to fall. However, that would be all the rain that we'd see for the day, which saw the temps creep up into the high 30's. After setting up transition and checking my bike about 50 times over, it was time to head down to the start of the 1.9km swim. At 6.30am the cannon sounded for the pro men, and 2 minutes later 28 of us girls were sent on our way.



The swim was a fairly simple out and back in Lake Las Vegas. It was great for spectators since we got to swim under the main pedestrian bridge. I had on of my best swims to date. I managed to find some feet to sit on and felt in control for the most part of it, exiting the water in about 11th place. After an epic 500m run into transition, I found my bike and was on my way, ready to tackle one of the toughest bike courses going around.

80km of the 90km bike course is either up or down...no flat. I felt great for the first 50-60km. I was attacking the downhills and hitting the uphills hard. I was holding my position and feeling strong. However at about 60km I started to really feel it. The light-headiness started to kick in and I felt like I was going backward. I had just learnt one of the biggest lessons of the day...pacing and nutrition. I had probably gone out a little to hard for such a tough course and hadn't got enough gels in early on. As such, I paid for it for the next 2 hours for the race. However the final 10km of the ride is pretty awesome with speccy views of the Vegas Strip, so that took the mind off the hurt for a bit! I ended up getting off the bike in about 19th place.



The 21.2km run continued on with the theme of the day of hills. 2 mile up hill, 2 mile down hill. It was great to see Mum, Dad and Sam on the side lines cheering me on, and it gave me that little bit of extra energy to get to that finish line. It was tough, but still fun! It was also awesome to see fellow Aussie Mel Rollison smashing the course and running herself into 1st place. Thoroughly deserved!!

After a long, tough, fun day I crossed the line in 17th place pro female. I was so happy to finish and get a top 20 placing in my first year as a 70.3 athlete. I have learnt so many valuable lessons this season...the biggest being that I have to be patient. I'm the youngest out there by far. As long as I stay focused and injury free and keep improving, my time will come. One day I will win that race!

The hugest thank you to Mum, Dad and Sam for providing the greatest support. Not just on race day, but all the time. To my coach Josh...we've come a long way in a few years. To everyone back home (including Laura!), the messages of support means the world. And to my sponsors Malvern Star, Peak Bike Hub, Brooks, Giro and Selle SMP for believing in me. It has been a great ride so far, with plenty more to come!

Gotta love a good roast!

Phew...another week has come and gone just like that!!

Last week I put in the final few big training sessions before backing it off this week for a full week of taper in prep for Vegas. For my past races I only tapered about 4 days out from race day, so it has been nice to start it a little earlier this time around to make sure my body is feeling ready and raring to go come race day on Sunday. I am feeling good and looking forward to racing!

Big news of the week was the arrival of Mum to Boulder. It has been fun showing her around what has been my 'home town' for the past 3 months. I've taken her to the iconic Pearl Street Mall where there are all the Mum kind of shops, as well as the market, all you can eat brunch, and a drive up in the hills. She has also come through with the goods and cooked a rippa roast the other night followed by a curry the next night! It has been good to have some Mum love the week before a big race...prefect timing Penny.

The next few days will be pretty cruisy before heading to Vegas on Friday. The temps seem to have dropped a little which sounds nice. After the race we'll spend a few extra days in Vegas before heading to Syracuse, NY for one final hoorah at the Syracuse 70.3. Then it's onto NYC for a few days of sight seeing, shopping and the like.

The nights are starting to get darker earlier and there is a definite crisp in the air. Summer is on its way out over this side of the world...it's almost time to make the long trek back home to Aus for summer #2!!

Time Flys...

Firstly apologies for the delay of the weekly blog... I actually don't have an excuse, other than the fact that the weeks roll by so quickly and before I know it Sunday is upon me and it's time to blog! However this week Sunday rolled on by and I got a little confused with the days, so anyway here is Tuesday and it is time for the weekly blog.

I signed off last weeks blog post-race from San Fransisco. Monday was one epic day of travel...what should take about 3-4 hours ended up taking 10+ hours due to a few delays and wotnot. This wasn't too much fun when I felt hungover for the entire day (but I actually wasn't, hadn't even had one drop of wine...go figure!). Anyway I think lack of sleep + a little dehydration may be the culprit.

I pulled up pretty sore from Alcatraz Tri...even more sore than what I get from a Half Ironman. Once again not too sure of the reasoning, maybe it was that torturous sand ladder!! So it was Wednesday before I got back into the swing of training. I put in a few great rides as well as some training in the heat of the day to prep for scorching temps at Vegas, and I finished off the week with a very nice solid 20km run on Sunday arvo.

Vegas 70.3 is only about 12 days from now so I will start to wind down the training and get my body fresh and ready to race. I'm looking forward to putting all my hard work to good use come race day...and then hit the pokies afterwards!

Exciting news of the week - Mum arrives in Boulder in 2 more sleeps!! Looking forward to showing her the sights and getting a good feed or two. Might even offer her the novelty of doing my washing if she is feeling super generous!

It is crazy how quickly time has flown over here. Only a handful of weeks and a few races to go and then I'll be on my way back home ready to tackle the Aussie tri season. Happy days :)

Alcatraz Tri - 3rd!

When deciding my race calendar for the 2011 US season I made sure to fit in the Alcatraz Triathlon. This was my 2nd year racing at Alcatraz and it truly is one special race!



Race morning kicked off at 5.30am with a bus trip from transition to the ferry terminal. It was then onto the boat with some 800 other crazy triathletes bound for Alcatraz Island. After about an hour of sitting on the boat trying to keep the nerves calm, stay warm and prepare for plunging into the 15 degree (shark-infested??) water, it was time to go! At 7am the horn sounded and before I knew it we were jumping off the boat into the sea below.



The initial chill of the water doesn't quite hit until about mid-way into the swim once the adrenaline rush starts to wear off. However, there is plenty to take the mind off the cold, like where IS the swim exit?? The distance from the shore combined with the current and chop make sighting in the swim really tough. At times I couldn't see anyone or any boats around me and started to get a little concerned as to where everyone had disappeared to... Although eventually I could make out some flags on the shore, so put my head down in an effort to get out of the freezing water asap! To make it a little more fun, we had to swim a 1/2 mile further than last year (past transition). As such we had a mini 4th leg of the triathlon with an 800m run from swim exit back to the bike. This was actually pretty good as it helped get me warm for the cycle.





I exited the swim in 5th place and soon went about trying to make up some time on the 25 mile bike leg. The bike course took us through the hills surrounding the Golden Gate Bridge, then down onto the Great Hwy for an out and back section, before entering the Presidio for a gradual climb and finally back through the hills. It's a great ride with a bit of everything. It's important to focus on pushing hard the whole way as it's easy to back off on the downhills if the mind wanders. My bike split was 4min faster than last year which is always good to know!





Out onto the 7 mile run, and I was still sitting in 5th so knew I had to put in a strong run if I wanted to improve on last years 5th place. The run begins with a 2km long flat section, followed by a climb up to the Golden Gate Bridge. We then dropped down to the beach for 400m of sand running before coming face to face with the 400 step sand ladder. This is the toughest part of the whole race, with what seems like 400 steps of pure pain. I had managed to run into 3rd place at this stage, however the girl in 4th was starting to make up some ground so I knew as soon as I hit the top of the ladder it was time to get going, not look back and hold on. I made sure I pushed the down hills and finished strong along the final 2km flat section.




I ended up crossing the line in 3rd place with the fastest run split of the day. I was aiming for a podium finish so was stoked to come in 3rd. It's an awesome race and if anyone ever has the opportunity to do it I would definitely recommend!



Massive thanks to Sam and Bos for their awesome cheering! Also to Tri-California for putting on such a great race and looking after us for the weekend.

Big thank you to Malvern Star, Brooks, Selle SMP and Giro for backing me, as well as Josh for continuing to work with me.

Now it's back to Boulder for 3 weeks of training before hitting the World 70.3 Champs in Vegas on Sept 11 followed by one last race of the US season at Syracuse 70.3.

YouTube Funnies

At the moment I'm supposed to be writing an assignment for Uni, but true to form my procastination skills have taken over. Assignment writing and YouTube watching seem to go hand in hand. As such I thought it appropriate to post some of my fav YouTubes for this weeks blog and spread the procastination bug around! Enjoy :)


This one is my all time favoutite!



Pretty cute Panda...



Very American football...but so good!



Best day of my life...



Funny


Not bad for a 12 year old!



This one goes for a while but it is worth it...amazing

Boulder Blog

It feels as though it was only last week that Sam and I arrived in Boulder for 4 months of training and racing, yet 10 weeks have already passed! Since my last race which was in Muncie at the beginning of July, I have put in 4 weeks of tough, consistent training. The key for me in getting fit is consistency - doing the same core sessions week in week out. This gives me a way to gauge my progress and to see which areas need more work. At times it feels like Groundhog Day - wake up, breakfast #1, train, breakfast #2, train, lunch, sleep, train, dinner, repeat.. However I know how lucky I am to have this opportunity and wouldn't have it any other way.

If someone were to create the ideal location to train for triathlon, then Boulder would certainly tick most of the criteria. There is no worrying about what the weather will do tomorrow and whether or not it will affect the planned training session as every morning without fail the sky is blue and filled with sunshine!




Over the past few weeks I have managed to rack up some of my biggest run and ride weeks. My times in training have been getting quicker each week and I am feeling stronger and fitter. One of the most important things for me to remember when training so often and up this high is to focus on recovery and food. Sometimes I get super tired, but it's often because I haven't eaten enough following a session or have missed my miday nap (hard life I know!!) However I am continually learning about my body and how much I can push it before I cross that fine line of over training.




Last week I went on two awesome rides - one to a place called Carter Lake. It's a great view - just like the dam at the top of Falls Creek...ah the serenity. The second ride was up a climb following the Big Thompson River. It was a tough ride, but the views on the way up made it that bit sweeter.




We also did a great run up at a place called Eldorado Canyon. 20km of hills, views, trails and the odd snake or two.




I was also going to race in the local Stroke and Stride event last Wednesday night to get some open water swimming practice in but the swim was cancelled due to lightening which was a bit of a bummer! Maybe this week :)

In about 10 days time Sam and I are off to San Fran for the Alcatraz Triathlon. Behind Falls Creek Tri, Alcatraz would have to be one of my favourites. It is so unpredictable as anything can happen in the swim and on the run with the 100 step stair climb...but that's what makes it fun!!





Following on from Alcatraz I'll have 2 weeks until Vegas World Champs which are on September 11. All is on track for a good race and I can't wait to get out there!