Oct 21st - My Auckland Adventure – ITU Age Group Triathlon World Championships
Well, what I can say about my preparation for the World Championships and the event itself. Following the excitement of qualifying at Deva Triathlon 2012 I set to on my training regime to get myself fit and ready to improve my times, better my hill climbs and practise those transitions. Things were going well and I felt fit and strong and my goals to achieve better times and fulfil my potential were looking good. Work then became very busy and two of my children picked up a virus. I was due to take a weeks holiday, which I did, and typically the minute I stopped my crazy life, I became ill. After a weeks rest I thought I was okay and returned to work and training gently. Unfortunately it was not enough time and my body had other ideas. I had another week planned holiday in which I was supposed to be racing at the Nottingham National Relays with my team mates from Tri2o. I spent the week in bed and feeling awful. I had to pull out of the relays and was completely gutted. I spent the next few weeks going back and forth to the doctors and was pumped full of antibiotics that seemed to be doing nothing to help the situation. Every time I felt okay I tried to return to gentle training and just continued to make myself worse. I began to get very concerned that I was not going to even make it to the World Championships and that I was losing valuable training time with each day.
My mood changed and I began to think about how professional athletes must feel in this situation and how frustrating it would have been if my sport was my only priority. My family and friends were fantastic and had to put up with a very grouchy person every minute of every day that passed that I could not train. I returned to the GP in desperation only to realise that I had pneumonia!!! Great, not what I really wanted to hear. A huge lesson learnt in the importance of rest and relaxation and at the first signs of feeling unwell – do not continue to train!
Two weeks prior to the Worlds I started to feel better so returned again to gentle training. I could not believe how much hard work it was and quite how unfit and lacking in tone I felt. My chest was still bubbling so I knew that I had to be careful. With the guidance of my coach, my husband, my mum, my friends and the GP I started to improve. I made the decision that no matter what, I was going to Auckland to compete but that I would have to change my priorities of the type of race it was. It was no longer my A race but one that would give me experience.
So with a huge list for my mum and our nanny my husband and I set off to Auckland. It took a couple of days to get over the jet lag but then the last bit of training commenced with a couple of my team mates from tri2o. I still felt heavy in the water and my legs struggled when running but at least I was there and was able to do some training. It was an incredible feeling to be part of the GB team and the support was brilliant from the managers and the rest of the team. Auckland was full of athletes adorned in all sorts of different team kit. The weather was wet and very windy and there were concerns over the use of disc wheels and aero helmets on the bike. Thursday came and we all registered to compete on the Monday 22nd October 2012 at 9am. We had done a couple of reccies of the bike and run course. The bike course was quite hilly and challenging and very windy on the way back into transition along the coast. The run course flat but with lots of turns.
Friday we were allowed to do a familiarisation swim in the sea. My first taster of sea swimming. I was actually quite surprised at how good it felt until we reached the end of the pier where it began to get a bit choppy. Having done this I felt a bit less nervous about the race on Monday. Saturday we watched the Women’s elite race where Jodie Stimpson did us proud and placed 5th. The elite women were dropping like flies with various illnesses, food poisoning and punctures. It was only then that I realised you just never know what is going to happen and some things you just can’t control. All I needed to do was keep well for the next three days and I would be okay but that even the best athletes in the world get ill or injured and have to pull out prior to the race and even during the race too. On the Sunday we watched the Men’s elite where Jonathon Brownlee narrowly missed out on gold to Javier Gomez. They had a fantastic finish which resulted in a sprint to the line. The juniors raced after with total carnage due to the wet and steep hills leading into corners which meant many of them lost control of their bikes. At this point we prayed that it would not rain for our race the next day. Sunday night the bikes were racked and we were printed with our numbers on our arms and right calf.
Monday came and my husband and I were up early at 5 am to make sure I had all my bits into transition and then I sat and ate my rice pudding out of a tin with a spoon on the quayside as I visualised the race. (The perfect race food as advised my good friend Gav.) My ear was throbbing and my glands up on my left side but I was not going to let this stop me racing. I put cotton wool in my ear, put my wetsuit on, my orange swim hat and lined up ready to start the race.
My swim was horrific. I lined up on the right hand to side to avoid being mowed down by the masses and ended up taking a wide approach to the buoys. Up to the end of the pier I felt good and then we reached the end of the pier and the chaos began. The waves were so big I was unable to see the buoys and it began to make me feel very disorientated. I found it difficult to sight and see which direction we were going in. I was not alone in this as I watched many of the other girls being thrown in the waves and several times the girl next to me and I had to stop and do breaststroke and ask the lifeguards which direction we needed to be going. At one point the buoy we were swimming towards did not seem to be getting any closer no matter how hard I swam at it. I finally turned the final buoy and headed for home. I felt battered and exhausted and my time relative to how my pool times compared, demonstrated this clearly. Lesson number 1 – practise sea swimming before racing in the sea! One of the Australians told me afterwards, “You have to learn to sight at the top of the wave”. Not something that crossed my mind at the time.
Out of the water and into the long transition run. Onto my bike and out onto the course. The way out was fast and hilly and several athletes took tumbles on the down ward hills. The way back was windy and much slower but a good bike course never the less. Two laps of the course and it was back into transition for the run. As I set out on the run my legs felt heavy but my main thought was “you have got this far just hang on”. In front of me people were stopping mid way through the run and I felt myself shouting encouragement especially at a couple of the GB athletes who seemed to be struggling. 5km down and it was a case of battling with my head. Half of me was saying “just stop hurting yourself” and the other half telling me “don’t you dare stop”. The latter part won and I continued on to overtake a few athletes before a sprint finish to the line. The relief was enormous. Despite the terrible run up to the Worlds, I had actually finished.
I finished 35th out of 98 and 9th fastest GB athlete in my age group. I was disappointed with my times especially my swim as it is my strongest discipline but could not of expected anything more given what had happened. I must have got by purely on my winter training fitness and my desire not to let myself or anyone else down especially, my family and my coach. Lesson number two – never ever give up, no matter what happens.
A huge thank you to everyone who believed in me and supported me especially in this difficult period, especially my husband who had to put with me! So, what next? Next year I move up an age category to 35 – 39. The plan to is to start back with my winter training and aim to qualify for the World Championships in London 2013.
My mood changed and I began to think about how professional athletes must feel in this situation and how frustrating it would have been if my sport was my only priority. My family and friends were fantastic and had to put up with a very grouchy person every minute of every day that passed that I could not train. I returned to the GP in desperation only to realise that I had pneumonia!!! Great, not what I really wanted to hear. A huge lesson learnt in the importance of rest and relaxation and at the first signs of feeling unwell – do not continue to train!
Two weeks prior to the Worlds I started to feel better so returned again to gentle training. I could not believe how much hard work it was and quite how unfit and lacking in tone I felt. My chest was still bubbling so I knew that I had to be careful. With the guidance of my coach, my husband, my mum, my friends and the GP I started to improve. I made the decision that no matter what, I was going to Auckland to compete but that I would have to change my priorities of the type of race it was. It was no longer my A race but one that would give me experience.
So with a huge list for my mum and our nanny my husband and I set off to Auckland. It took a couple of days to get over the jet lag but then the last bit of training commenced with a couple of my team mates from tri2o. I still felt heavy in the water and my legs struggled when running but at least I was there and was able to do some training. It was an incredible feeling to be part of the GB team and the support was brilliant from the managers and the rest of the team. Auckland was full of athletes adorned in all sorts of different team kit. The weather was wet and very windy and there were concerns over the use of disc wheels and aero helmets on the bike. Thursday came and we all registered to compete on the Monday 22nd October 2012 at 9am. We had done a couple of reccies of the bike and run course. The bike course was quite hilly and challenging and very windy on the way back into transition along the coast. The run course flat but with lots of turns.
Friday we were allowed to do a familiarisation swim in the sea. My first taster of sea swimming. I was actually quite surprised at how good it felt until we reached the end of the pier where it began to get a bit choppy. Having done this I felt a bit less nervous about the race on Monday. Saturday we watched the Women’s elite race where Jodie Stimpson did us proud and placed 5th. The elite women were dropping like flies with various illnesses, food poisoning and punctures. It was only then that I realised you just never know what is going to happen and some things you just can’t control. All I needed to do was keep well for the next three days and I would be okay but that even the best athletes in the world get ill or injured and have to pull out prior to the race and even during the race too. On the Sunday we watched the Men’s elite where Jonathon Brownlee narrowly missed out on gold to Javier Gomez. They had a fantastic finish which resulted in a sprint to the line. The juniors raced after with total carnage due to the wet and steep hills leading into corners which meant many of them lost control of their bikes. At this point we prayed that it would not rain for our race the next day. Sunday night the bikes were racked and we were printed with our numbers on our arms and right calf.
Monday came and my husband and I were up early at 5 am to make sure I had all my bits into transition and then I sat and ate my rice pudding out of a tin with a spoon on the quayside as I visualised the race. (The perfect race food as advised my good friend Gav.) My ear was throbbing and my glands up on my left side but I was not going to let this stop me racing. I put cotton wool in my ear, put my wetsuit on, my orange swim hat and lined up ready to start the race.
My swim was horrific. I lined up on the right hand to side to avoid being mowed down by the masses and ended up taking a wide approach to the buoys. Up to the end of the pier I felt good and then we reached the end of the pier and the chaos began. The waves were so big I was unable to see the buoys and it began to make me feel very disorientated. I found it difficult to sight and see which direction we were going in. I was not alone in this as I watched many of the other girls being thrown in the waves and several times the girl next to me and I had to stop and do breaststroke and ask the lifeguards which direction we needed to be going. At one point the buoy we were swimming towards did not seem to be getting any closer no matter how hard I swam at it. I finally turned the final buoy and headed for home. I felt battered and exhausted and my time relative to how my pool times compared, demonstrated this clearly. Lesson number 1 – practise sea swimming before racing in the sea! One of the Australians told me afterwards, “You have to learn to sight at the top of the wave”. Not something that crossed my mind at the time.
Out of the water and into the long transition run. Onto my bike and out onto the course. The way out was fast and hilly and several athletes took tumbles on the down ward hills. The way back was windy and much slower but a good bike course never the less. Two laps of the course and it was back into transition for the run. As I set out on the run my legs felt heavy but my main thought was “you have got this far just hang on”. In front of me people were stopping mid way through the run and I felt myself shouting encouragement especially at a couple of the GB athletes who seemed to be struggling. 5km down and it was a case of battling with my head. Half of me was saying “just stop hurting yourself” and the other half telling me “don’t you dare stop”. The latter part won and I continued on to overtake a few athletes before a sprint finish to the line. The relief was enormous. Despite the terrible run up to the Worlds, I had actually finished.
I finished 35th out of 98 and 9th fastest GB athlete in my age group. I was disappointed with my times especially my swim as it is my strongest discipline but could not of expected anything more given what had happened. I must have got by purely on my winter training fitness and my desire not to let myself or anyone else down especially, my family and my coach. Lesson number two – never ever give up, no matter what happens.
A huge thank you to everyone who believed in me and supported me especially in this difficult period, especially my husband who had to put with me! So, what next? Next year I move up an age category to 35 – 39. The plan to is to start back with my winter training and aim to qualify for the World Championships in London 2013.
19th July 2012
GB Kit arrives!
18th July 2012
My article "Give it a Tri" has been published on the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists website and will be sent out nationally in their journal "Frontline"