By Rebecca Wiasak
Michelle Wu had her photo in The Canberra Times newspaper for the first time on 22 August 2005. The opening paragraph read, “You could argue that Michelle Wu trains twice as hard as most athletes”. She had just won the ACT duathlon championships and as the journalist that wrote that story, I thought it was pretty impressive that she trained for two sports. In February the following year she was back making headlines after a win in the Canberra Capital Triathlon. Michelle was visibly distressed after the race. I could not quite make out if it was from the strain of the race or because there was a real-life journalist there, shoving a microphone in her face. Either way I gave her some time to collect her thoughts and gain some composure. Ten minutes later she was no better, so I interviewed a very nervous Michelle Wu. Her answers were strained and brief. In the past two weeks Michelle has collected a second place at the Yeppoon Half Ironman with the fastest run split and backed-up last weekend with another podium finish at the ITU Asian Cup in Korea. This week she is back in Canberra and this time when I pulled out the microphone, her answers were polished and very professional.
Name: Michelle Wu
DOB: 3 March 1983
Favourite leg: Run
Favourite piece of kit/equipment: Felt DA
Favourite sporting cliché: Never give up!
Drink of choice at the post-ride coffee stop: Chai Latte
One thing we don’t know about you: I love crossword puzzles
TT: I can remember that I was nervous when I first interviewed you face-to-face, because you were so nervous. Can you believe how far your triathlon career has progressed in the last four years?
MW: I have probably progressed quicker than what I expected. After my first race I had no idea what I’d just done to my body. I think I’ve got that body type which is probably just suited to the sport, so I picked it up really quickly. I grew up as a swimmer and played basketball, and running has always come naturally to me so I just had to learn how to ride. I spent basically the first four years just racing age group and going to a couple of world age-group champs. The past two years I have been racing elite so it has definitely been a steep learning curve all the way. I suppose the Vancouver World Champs in 2008 probably would have been the turning point where I really thought I could do quite well at this sport.
TT: There is no doubt that you’re a high achiever. You were awarded a UAI score of 98.5 and then graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Physics) from the University of Wollongong. Was there any parental pressure to build a successful career rather than pursue a sport where you have no money, no recognition, and no real long-term prospects?
MW: Not really, but I’m sure my parents wished I had picked Golf or Tennis! Because I didn’t start the sport until quite late, it was pretty much all an academic focus until the end of uni. My parents never pushed me into doing anything that I wasn’t comfortable with. Their primary aim is to make sure I’m happy with what I’m doing. As long as I enjoy it and I’m having fun and doing quite well at it, they will continue to support me all the way with whatever I choose. However, they do keep telling me that wherever triathlon takes me, I have to keep my job! They’ve been really good parents. I certainly can’t fault them in any way. They’re always there for me. They’re always behind me and Mum always travels with me to races, so she learns a lot too. They’re definitely my number-one fans.
TT: You are still living at home but I couldn’t imagine my parents putting up with my bad moods after 5-peaks on a Saturday morning and then a 7-8km swim set on Saturday afternoon. Just how important is their support?
MW: With every elite athlete, there is a strong support team behind them and it’s usually parents who are on top of that list. My parents aren’t any different. Mum came to the Gold Coast with me when I moved there to train last year. Having meals cooked and clothing washed is definitely a bonus. Living at home also saves a lot financially, not having to rent. They have definitely played a huge part in my career. They will continue to support me as long as I am doing triathlon.
TT: Would you ever push your children into triathlon?
MW: I’d like to see them active. It doesn’t necessarily have to be triathlon. That would be nice though because then they can experience what I have been through! Living an active lifestyle is definitely a number-one priority for me. That’s what I’ve spent my life doing, even as a kid. I wouldn’t be surprised when I do have kids, they will do some sort of sport.
TT: You have been training with coach Ben Gathercole since 2004. The Tridents Triathlon Club has produced some talented athletes including Olympian Simon Thompson, Jesse Featonby, Jemani Francis and Kat Baker. Do you find you are racing every single session just to keep-up?
MW: That’s definitely one of the benefits of being in a squad. I actually do quite a bit of training on my own as well. I have probably got a good mixture of half-half with the squad, and on my own. With the squad there is always that bit of competitiveness. If there is someone next to you in the lane swimming and you’re doing a hard set, you want to always keep up – you don’t want to get dropped. It’s the same thing on the bike. So it’s a good thing but it can also be a bad thing as well if you do it too much. A lot of the time I try to stick to my own heart rates and my own intensities rather than trying to kill myself in a training session and not being able to back-up the next day. I consider myself fairly disciplined to hold back when I need to and not race my training partners. When I do need a bit of a shove then Ben is usually there to kick me up the bum!
TT: Many athletes get to a point in their career where they get a bit stale and need a change of scenery. You moved to Queensland last year to escape the debilitating Canberra winter. Would you consider another move to take that next step in your triathlon career?
MW: Funny you ask that because it’s certainly something I have been thinking about recently quite a fair bit. I have been in Canberra pretty much my whole life. I grew up here and have been training in this environment for six years now. Just recently I have been thinking of places which I might want to move to, just for the change of environment, change of scenery, change of running locations, change of riding routes, maybe a beach to swim in. An outdoor 50m pool would be nice. It’s certainly something I might consider for next year. The Gold Coast last year was awesome. I really enjoyed it. It opened my eyes to a lot of new people, new friends, and new training methods. It’s certainly something I would like to do again.
TT: You had a lot of success as an age-group athlete with wins in the Canberra, Hobart and Geelong Olympic distance races in 2006. Every time I called for an interview I must have quizzed you about getting your pro licence. From what I recall your coach Ben kept holding you back. When did you know you were ready to turn pro?
MW: I don’t think it was really Ben holding me back. It was just more myself actually. I wasn’t sure if I was ready yet to make the leap into elite racing, even though I had quite a lot of success racing age group back in 2006 and 2007. Ben certainly did have input. He basically said it’s a big step, a very big step, so you have to think about it quite carefully before you actually make the decision. That was pretty much enough for me to delay things and keep on getting experience racing at the age-group level. I was doing quite well and continued that until 2008 and then I went to Vancouver Worlds and won the age-group race outright there. As I said before, that was a pretty big turning point. I really didn’t have too much more to achieve in age-group racing. I had done everything I could. I had won an Australian title and then a World title. That race in Vancouver told me it was time to step up and start racing elite.
TT: You won the 2007 Canberra Half Ironman at your first attempt. There are two very distinct paths in triathlon. One is the sprint distance format and ITU racing with the potential to compete at the Olympic Games. The other is the Half and Ironman distance which probably has more money and more exposure. How did you decide which path to pursue?
MW: I am pretty much still in the process of deciding. I am still doing both. I am still doing a couple of ITU Asian Cup races and a few more half’s this coming season. There’s probably not a huge difference, especially nowadays as the Half Ironman races are actually getting quite fast and competitive. Training wise there probably isn’t a lot of difference between training for ITU and training for a Half. Perhaps more time on the bike. They are both fairly quick races these days. The girls and guys are just getting faster and faster and it’s getting more competitive. It’s probably the Ironman that is a totally different league because it is such a long, long race and a very long day. But I don’t have any plans of doing one yet. A Half is definitely enough punishment! At this stage I’m just sitting on the Olympic distance and Half fence.
TT: How far do you want to take this sport? We all like to dream about the Olympics but is that realistic? It seems to be a massive step even from where you are now to the times that Emma Snowsill and Emma Moffatt are posting.
MW: It is a whole new level of commitment if you are planning on taking that sort of a path. To try and race with the Emma’s and the ITU girls, they’re in a whole new different league. Realistically I wouldn’t chase that path anymore but I still want to do a few ITU races mainly in Asia because I still enjoy them. But the Olympics is probably off the radar. I’d like to chase that long course path a bit more. As you said before there is more exposure there and more money, so I’ll probably more likely head down that way.
TT: You were invited to train with the National High Performance program, which was in camp at the AIS in January this year. What did you learn from training alongside those top athletes?
MW: I was injured before the camp. It was definitely an experience training with those girls. It was early in the season for them so they weren’t overly concerned about the intensity or racing. For them it was more just a base training camp so it was long km’s. They did a lot of running but because I was injured at the time, I could only do the swimming and riding parts of the camp with them, which was a little frustrating because running is my strength. They are in a different league to what people are aware of. You wouldn’t know that until you see them train.
TT: What would it take for you to be competitive with those girls?
MW: Some legs that would run as fast as Emma Snowsill! I’d definitely need to stop working – there is no doubt about that. I’d also need to somehow find funding to be able to get to all these ITU World Cup races. Just generally need to train full-time and not have any other distractions and be really focused. And not get sick or injured.
TT: You have a reputation for being a ‘sneaky squirrel’ as people often see you out training on your own, but I am guessing those sessions are written into your program.
MW: Definitely not ‘sneaky squirrel’! The sessions I do on my own are written into my program. I usually just follow what the program says and just trust that it works and will get the results. I’m usually too buggered to sneak anything else in!
TT: If you got injured tomorrow, would you be happy walking away from the sport?
MW: Probably not. I’ve still got a lot of goals and a lot of races that I want to do. Ultimately I’d like to do an Ironman one day. If I was injured tomorrow, I would think of it as another mini setback and get on with the rehab and get back on the train as soon as I can.
TT: At what point do you step away from the sport and start living a ‘normal’ life?
MW: Mum always asks me that actually. Perhaps she is wondering how much longer she has to put up with me! To be honest, I don’t see it as a sacrifice. I really enjoy triathlon. I really enjoy the swim, bike and running, the training, the racing, traveling around to various parts of the world. I haven’t really been doing it that long, especially at the elite level, so I still see myself at the beginning of my career, rather than at the end. I guess it depends on the type of person you are. Some people find out pretty quickly that this isn’t for them and they want to be normal. I can’t see myself retiring or quitting any time soon. I guess it’s what you make of it. What you put into it is what you get out.
TT: How hard was it to back-up from the Yeppoon Half to race in oppressive conditions in Seoul a week later?
MW: I didn’t actually find it too bad. I am usually pretty good at recovering after races. It usually only takes me two to three days at the most for my body to come around and feel normal again. So I wasn’t too worried about the turnaround time. Mum might have been, but Ben and I were pretty confident that I would be able to do it just based on what he knows and what I know my body is capable of doing. If Ben wasn’t comfortable with it, he certainly wouldn’t have sent me off to Korea. You have to listen to your body and pay attention to any niggles and just generally stay on top of things with massage, eating well and sleeping lots – which I am pretty good at. I didn’t find it too difficult to race back-to-back weekends.
TT: The week before you left for Korea it was minus 4 in Canberra. On race day it was 38 degrees. That is a 42-degree difference. How did you think your body coped so well with the conditions given that some of your competitors were taken to hospital after the race because their bodies simply shut down?
MW: I am not sure! It was a bit of a funny race. We weren’t going that fast. Even though I was pushing hard at the time, the run splits for everyone in the race were quite slow. I guess mentally being tough is one thing and the other side is the physical aspect of being small and having low body-fat levels. That definitely helped. I don’t know that I handled the heat that well, but I did finish and nabbed another podium so I guess that’s all I can really ask for.
TT: To look at it on paper the race was pretty slow. You finished in 2hrs15min. Are you embarrassed or pleased by that time knowing just how challenging the conditions were?
MW: If you weren’t there and you looked at the results, you would have though ‘she’s not running very well’ but because I was there and I knew what the conditions were like, a 42min run is still pretty decent. While 2:15 might sound pathetic for an Olympic Distance, given the conditions on the day and people not finishing and people ending up on drips…it’s all relative really.
TT: How tough was it?
MW: It was more a mental battle for me. I just had to tell myself to keep going. I was in the position where I was going to get on the podium and I had to finish to get that decent pay cheque so that definitely got me through. It was probably one of the most humid and hottest races I have ever done – and I’ve done quite a few in Asia. We were racing right in the middle of the day and it was just generally a tough day out.
TT: You have never had a DNF. What would it take for you to pull out of a race?
MW: Obviously a crash which would require medical assistance and they would cart me off the course. That would probably end my day. Or if I got so bashed up in the swim I couldn’t continue. Other than that, no matter how cold or how hot, or how tough the run is, once I survive the swim and bike and get on the run, I generally get to the end of the race. We train so much, spend too much, and travel too far to record a DNF. Vancouver in 2008 was absolutely freezing and on the other extreme, last weekend in Korea was absolutely boiling. If I am there toeing the start line, I will do everything I can to get to the end. No matter what the result turns out to be, as long as I’ve given it my best shot, I am generally happy.
TT: Before you left for Vancouver the club put on a practice race in Canberra that pretty much replicated the conditions in Canada. It was so cold that day in Canberra, that there was even a bonfire in transition. How important was that acclimatisation and having a coach that prepares you so well for a race that you can go and win a World Championship?
MW: Being from Canberra we had that advantage of being used to the cold and training in the cold. Ben put us through that winter race where we had to mentally and physically deal with the cold there. Having a coach that knows how to train for a race specifically definitely helps. It was just one of those days where I knew I had a good lead-up into Vancouver and there wasn’t too much that was going to stop me from having the race of my life there. Because I had a pretty disastrous Worlds campaign the year before in Hamburg where I had a really good Australian season, pretty much winning every age-group race I did. I had high hopes in 2007 but got sick and had a really bad flu leading into Hamburg so I guess I really wanted to come back in 2008 and show that I am capable of being right up the top.
TT: You have nearly survived another full Canberra winter. Just how crazy are we for training through winter and what motivates you to get out of bed and get it done?
MW: Canberra winter is certainly not ideal! Especially when I raced in 38 degrees last weekend. It’s just one of those things where it is more a mental battle than a physical one. When the alarm goes off you just want to hit it and throw it out the window and just sleep in. But when you know other people are going to be out there training as well, it certainly helps get you out of bed and out the door. It is tough doing it in Canberra when it’s minus 4 and you’re trying to get ready to race in the heat. It’s not ideal but you deal with it.
TT: Your coach has a minus 5 rule where training is called off because of black ice on the roads. Are there mornings where you are secretly hoping it would get that cold so you can sleep in?
MW: There are certainly mornings where I wish it was minus 5 so I don’t have to get out of bed! I guess you get on with it and you just do it. Usually when you finish a session you are generally glad it’s over, even if it was a terrible one. It’s just another session ticked off. For me this winter has been about being consistent and just ticking through each session, each day, each week and pretty much just sucking it up and doing it.
TT: You produce some very entertaining race reports with a full complement of smiley faces. Sometimes every sentence finishes with a smiley. Are you just really happy with your performance?
MW: I have never counted them but I probably should! I think it’s just because I have really enjoyed the race and have been really pleased with the results. I guess the smiley faces reflect that. I try to keep things entertaining when I do write reports, otherwise if it is plain and boring, people just drift off and go ‘oh yeah, it was a swim, it was a bike, it was a run, it was hot, blah, blah, blah.’ I try to keep it lighthearted. It helps keep in touch with my sponsors and they enjoy reading them.
TT: Do you feel like you have made any sacrifices to pursue this lifestyle?
MW: I guess the biggest sacrifice is the financial side. It doesn’t feel like a sacrifice. Sure there are times where I wouldn’t mind staying out late or trying to be normal for a change. At the end of the day, this is my choice, this is what I enjoy doing and this is what I want to do for a little while longer at least.
TT: If you weren’t a triathlete what would you be doing and where in the world would you be?
MW: I would probably just be working full-time in an office job, which sounds boring, but I guess that’s reality. I’d like to be somewhere warm with a beach though!
You can follow Michelle at her websites or on twitter:
http://shellwu.weebly.com
www.shellwu.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/shellwu
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Following on from our interview with the winner of last week’s Calgary 70.3, Kieran Doe, we caught up with the man nipping at Kieran’s heals, another Colorado Springs based athlete, American Brian fleischmann.
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