Auckland

I wish there were do-over’s in triathlons, the reality is there isn’t. All I can do is learn from my mistakes. I prepped for the 2013 season opener in Auckland better than last year’s World Championship, when I placed 2nd. However, I got to the race and made a mistake. I was cold to begin with, and I did a swim warm up, thinking if I changed suits I would be fine and warm back up. This wasn’t the case. I ended up shaking/very tense for the half hour I was standing, waiting for the race to start. I knew others were cold too, you could see it in their bodies. I didn’t think much of it, as I assumed as soon as I hit the water I would warm up.  I dove in and gave it all I had in that moment and found myself moving backwards and not warming up.  I shifted my focus to processes, however this didn’t seem to help as I exited the water nearly last. I got to my bike and could barely mount. I started pedaling and felt like I was riding a bike I’d never been on before. It was the strangest feeling. At one point in the race, I thought I was going the wrong direction on the course – a bit delusional, perhaps?  I ended up pulling out of the race: I didn’t come to Auckland to participate. I came to race. Many girls struggled in Auckland, and many performed great. It was an interesting start to the season.

I’m excited about my training and I can’t wait for San Diego. I love racing in my home country, especially because there are not many opportunities to do so on the WTS circuit.

Thank you for all of the support. I’m still learning and striving for consistency.

Devonport

This year the Oceana Sprint Championships had me headed to Devonport, Tasmania, Australia.  Previous to this I’d never been to Tasmania, and I was looking forward to the first race of the year in a new location for me.  It’s no secret that I need to work on my front end of triathlon (swim/bike).  I’ve been working hard on my swim with Jamie Turner and the Wollongong crew so I was excited to see how I was progressing. It was a scenic race: Ocean swim, with a bit of a swell, followed by a flat bike course along the Ocean with two 180s.  On paper it was a fairly easy bike course, however the wind added a nice element.  Race day provided a steady 40kph wind, near perfect temperatures and blue skies. The goal for me in Devonport was to execute everything to my best, knowing the results would follow.

There was a surf in the Ocean, causing a very choppy 350m to the first buoy.  However, I was well prepared as two days prior we were swimming in North Wollongong with 2m waves.  I knew the swim would be tough, and entered the water ready to race.  Because of the tough conditions, the swim split up fairly quickly.  There were large gaps between groups as we exited the water.  I ended up being in the first chase pack on the bike.  I should have been in the first bike group,  but I made some mistakes in transition and in the first part of the bike.  As the race went on, the group of three in front gained time, and our group came into T2 about 45 seconds down.  Jodie Stimpson was in the first bike group and held the 45 second gap on me through the finish.  I ended up second for the day.  Congrats to all the competitors, it was a tough day and some fast racing!

Overall it was an extremely fun way to start the season – a fun, fast, race in a beautiful location.  Michael did a wonderful job putting on the triathlon in Devonport.  I hope I get to return to Tasmania. Everyone was extremely welcoming and friendly.

I had an easy weekend outside of racing thanks to my homestay.  They drove me around to race briefings, media appearances, the race, and more.  They also fed me really well, with fresh eggs from their chickens in the morning and delicious meals in the evening.  I didn’t want to leave when the race was over! They had two well-behaved, adorable kids (See picture).  My first weekend in Tasmania was a success and I hope to return.

I will now continue to focus on my front end of the triathlon with Jamie Turner and the crew in Wollongong until Auckland.

Better safe than sorry

fires2

Yesterday we went for an afternoon run around 4pm.  We could see smoke from bush fires less than 15k away.  We were told it was fine, so most of us relaxed and went on with our day.  I returned home to shower and prepare dinner when Jamie Turner knocks on my door.

“You need to be ready to leave in 2 minutes”

“What? Why, Jamie?”

“You need your two minute evacuation plan.  Be prepared to leave in two minutes in case we need to.”

“But what about Pat? He’s not here.”

Jamie didn’t seem to bothered by this, but I was nervous as Pat out for an afternoon spin without his phone (this is why one should always ride with a phone.)  Meanwhile, this is what happened to Pat:

I went out for an evening spin, and to check out where the smoke from nearby fires had traveled to. At the beginning of my ride I bumped into a young junior triathlete who was visiting Falls Creek for the training. We chatted for the next thirty minutes. During our ride back, the kids father came looking for him, “there’s a fire warning”. This was the first I have ever been in a fire warning, and honestly didn’t think much of it. If one were to look in the other 270 degrees you would only see blue skys. However, within my 20 minutes of being home, I was packing my bags.

I finished packing my things, just as Pat arrived.  We remained calm as we were told it was just precautionary measures to pack.  After our things were set, we went upstairs to have dinner.  We were about to eat when Jamie informed us that we needed to pack up the cars and leave.

Two hours later, 12 bikes, 14 people, two dogs, and enough luggage to last a few months were packed into three cars and one van.  We headed to Albury where we stayed last night.

This morning I woke up thankful we were all safe.  I went for a light jog.  The most interesting thing I saw was what looked to be a 50m pool.  Hope we get to cool off in the water later today.