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Getting back into the swing of things... was my body ready for it after the lazy days with some days the most exercise being the walk up and down the 20 steps of stairs in my house. I was ready and excited to find out. This month we gradually started to ease back into training focussing mostly just on our aerobic capacity and strength conditioning work.

Earlier this month, we had testing at NSWIS. This involved testing our VO2 max levels on the treadmill but more importantly analysing our running technique to be able to run faster and more efficient. This then helps us to incorporate strength and conditioning work into our everyday environment to get those magic golden glutes! We have a great team at the NSWIS that help us sort out not only our physical issues but also the mental and issues outside the triathlon world like university. I applied for a new degree for next year with distance education as this would allow me to finish a degree earlier and take it away with me overseas. 

As its time to start getting serious again,  I am currently in Falls Creek in altitude just over the border of NSW. It has been fairly fresh up here with it not reaching over 10 degrees yet. Falls Creek especially this camp is not over doing it as being at altitude means you have less oxygen to breathe whilst training. Every morning we have a routine of testing that we must complete to check if we are hydrated, our weight, oxygen levels, haemoglobin and our training diary. This place is like a home away from home. Although we are in isolation from the real world, it’s great to be running on the trails in the fresh air and in such a elite environment.  I enjoy getting out of our house and going to the gym everyday for our session as it is something different to what we usually do and a important component in our sport. The pool at Mt Beauty has been abit chilly so I have been wearing a speed suit for each warmth- it might even make me a tad quicker beating the newbie Grace in our 66m butterfly challenge.

It will be great to go home as 3 days after we do I turn the magic 19 years old and have Christmas to look forward to with the family. My room is also getting a renovation which I am excited about to see when I arrive home  

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 Vancouver, Canada (6 December 2011) - The International Triathlon Union (ITU), in collaboration with its global marketing partner Upsolut Sports, today announced it has rebranded its World Championship Series and modified the sponsorship structure. To create a stronger and cleaner brand, the series will be re-titled the ITU World Triathlon Series. 

 

Much like the IOC's TOP sponsorship programme, the ITU World Triathlon Series will feature two main sponsors, Dextro Energy and Samsung, and four category sponsors including Suunto and SKINS.

 

"This new structure not only gives our premier series a cleaner image, it also gives us greater flexibility to raise the profile of the series and increase its commercial success," said Marisol Casado, ITU President and IOC Member. 

 

The 2012 ITU World Triathlon Series kicks off in April in Sydney, Australia.  With eight events in eight different countries, the 2012 ITU World Champions will be crowned at the Grand Final in Auckland, New Zealand.

 

2012 ITU World Triathlon Series:

April 14-15: Sydney (Australia)

May 12-13: San Diego (USA)

May 26-27: Madrid (Spain)

June 23-24: Kitzbühel (Austria)

July 21-22: Hamburg (Germany)

August 25-26: Lausanne (Switzerland)

September 29-30: Yokohama (Japan)

October 20-22: Grand Final Auckland (New Zealand)

   

In 2011 the series doubled its media figures compared to 2010. The total TV broadcast time was 917 hours; the coverage reached an audience of 207-million worldwide and made 4,592-billion FASPO contacts. The events had more than 1-million spectators while 27,500 participants competed in the age-group races. Christian Toetzke, CEO of Upsolut Sports says: "The popularity of the ITU World Triathlon Series gets bigger and bigger and we're sure there's still huge growth potential. Everybody who ever tried triathlon will do it again."

 

The ITU World Triathlon Series was launched in 2009, expanding the former single-day World Championship race.  Points are accrued throughout the season and athletes who win the overall series are crowned the ITU World Champions. 

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KEY WEST, Fla. -- Aussie Olympic hopeful Chris McCormack has won the men's overall division of the Key West Triathlon.

The two-time Hawaii Ironman world champion finished in front of about 900 other athletes Saturday with a time of 2 hours and 55 seconds. McCormack lives most of the year in Sidney

Lauren Helton scored 2:15:58 to win the women's overall division. She lives in Melbourne, Florida.

The Olympic distance triathlon included a 1.5k swim in Atlantic Ocean waters, 40k bike ride and 10k run.

Second place in the men's division went to Tampa's Jon Noland at 2:06:59. Eric Hogenboom took third with 2:10:09. He is from of Naperville, Ill.

In the women's division, Floridians Catherine McWilliam took second with 2:17:02 and Julie Jerue placed third at 2:20:26.

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PHUKET : Massimo Cigana of Italy successfully defended his Laguna Phuket Triathlon title yesterday to become the first competitor to win the event three times.

Cigana followed up wins in 2008 and last year by finishing in 2hr 32min 51sec. Competitors have to swim 1.8km, bike a further 55km before then running a final 12km.

Compatriot Alberto Cassadei (2:36.56) grabbed second place while Romain Guillaume of France finished third (2:37.08).

"I am really happy to win it again. It is my ideal race," said Cigana."I love the weather conditions here."

Cassadei led the pack in the swimming course before being overtaken by bike specialist Cigana who also extended his lead during the running section.

The win is a big boost for Cigana before the Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship at Laguna Phuket next week.

In the women's event, Radka Vodickova of the Czech Republic upset defending champion Belinda Granger of Australia, who also won in 2008. Vodickova won in 2:54.18 while Granger finished in 2:57.33. Germany's Katja Rabe made it in 2:59.17 for third place.

Vodickova was surprised to win the title because there were many good athletes on display but she was pleased that her training in Malaysia had paid off.

"Actually, I did not expect to win today," said the 27-year-old.

Meanwhile, the 41-year-old Granger was still happy with her result because it proves she can still compete with younger athletes. However, the result would have been different had she done better in biking.

"My biking was a bit sluggish," she said.

Asked if she was confident for next week's Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship, Granger said she believed she was ready to compete but expected a tougher field than she faced in this event.

Jaray Jearani of Phuket was the best local performer and he finished in 2:59.38 to come 28th overall while Nampetch Porntharukchairoen managed 3:57.37 in the women's section.

This year's Laguna Phuket Triathlon was the biggest in its 18-year history as more than 1,000 athletes representing over 40 countries competed.

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Jared is doing up my speed suit as I'm swallowing a caffeine tablet. I didn't sleep too well the last two nights. My mind was going non stop. I don't usually take caffeine before a race but I wanted to be fully alert and ready for a fast start. I was a little nervous before the start of the race and nervous the two days leading into the race. Even though there wasn't any pressure on me for this race, I had a lot from myself. Not only did I want to win, but I really wanted to come out close to the pack after the swim leg. I knew it was still possible to win if I came out a couple of minutes behind but I just really wanted to run out of the water with some girls around me.

I'm swimming to the start line and I notice the water is very shallow. Can I stand up and dolphin dive when it's shallow, I thought. But as we gather in the starting area Macca (Chris McCormack) comments that the rule is if anyone stands up during the swim they'll automatically get disqualified. Damn!

Bang! We take off, I'm feeling great. I'm swimming in the pack. There are 11 girls in the elite start. We head around the first buoy, about 200m from the start...I'm still in the pack...we get to the bridge, now about 300m done...I'm at the back of the pack but I'm still in contact...another 100 or so metres and I find myself now swimming with just two other competitors. I lost contact. I was fairly happy with my swim because I was able to keep up at the start. But why did I drop...zig zagging? fitness? The main trouble I've had is keeping pace with the speed of my competitors, not the endurance. More open water swimming I think is what I need. So I came out of the water in 9th place, 2min 40sec down on the leader, Emma Jackson.
 

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Into T1, speed suit off, running belt on. I fumble around for what seems like minutes trying to clip my running belt on. Rudy Project sunnies and helmet on. I grab my bike and bolt out of there. I hear 3min from a couple of spectators. I was hoping for 2minutes or less. So then I have to decide if I should smash the bike, try and catch everyone in 40km and hope I still have something left for the run leg or do I ride strong, and save a bit for the run? The thought briefly crosses my mind and I decide to ride as hard as I can...I'll deal with the run when I get there. If I can just get close enough to the lead by the end of the bike leg, I'm hoping I can turn it into a running race...that'll help me find anything extra I've got left in the reserves.

Almost 15km done, I'm climbing up the long steady 3km hill. I feel good. I've already caught a lot of my competitors. A spectator runs up the road yelling that I'm less than a minute and a half behind the leader. I keep pushing and by the time I get to the turnaround I'm in third. Emma is leading and Kate McIlroy is in second (Kate is a NZ triathlete who is also an ex steeplechaser that I raced against in the 2006 Commonwealth Games). How did Kate learn how to swim so quick I think to myself.

Winding back through Noosa with less than 4km to go, Paolo from my cycling club yells "30seconds". Sweet!!!! I'm in second and I'm right on her heels... I see Emma dismount, 8seconds later I jump off my 
bike.

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Through T2 and out onto the run. I catch and pass Emma by about 1km. Emma is a strong runner...maybe I ran the first km too quick? I try to relax and back off a little. By 4km she is back along side of me. We're running stride for stride. It's been quite a while since I've actually been in a 'running' race, so at first I panic for a second but then realize, wow, this actually feels good to be running (racing) WITH someone. We start heading up a small incline just before the turn-around. This is my chance to make a break. There's a hill (kind of). If I can push the pace up the hill I might be able to drop her. It worked. I ran back down the other side, now with a small gap. That's all I need, now keep running strong. The last 3km was starting to get painful, I was getting hot and tired. When I finally saw the finish chute I was so excited but maybe a little too relieved. I reached up to grab the banner but then...instead of standing tall with my arms in the air, I'm flat out on my stomach staring at the carpet. My hands and head are over the finish line but my legs are not. I get to my knees and eventually crawl over the line so my timing chip stops the clock. I then turn around and just sit there for a minute thinking... WHAT just happened??? I tripped right before the line. My foot got caught in a roll of the carpet or in a divot in the bumpy grass under the carpet. What a way to win the Noosa Triathlon! 

  

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1st 3:36:02 (no swim)    
     
Bike - 2nd   2:18:06          Run - 1st   1:16:33

I arrive at the beach, the race start for the Steelhead 70.3. It's blowing a gale. 
The temporary fences that are put up for the race are blowing over. The sand off 
the beach is now up in the transition area. The bikes in transition are on the ground. What happened here...? It's cold, windy and the lake looks more like the 
ocean. It's choppy and the waves are big. I had been really hoping that they would NOT cancel the swim. The swim is the part that I need to practice the most. But seeing the water this morning, it is definitely too dangerous to swim in. So the swim is cancelled. We now have a duathlon. But instead of replacing the swim with a run we are doing a time trial. Each athlete heads off on their bike 30 seconds apart.

I head off third last out of the 21 pro women. My warm up was running half a dozen or so laps around our small transition area, incorporating some running drills and bounces along the way. We have spectators and the age groupers all crowded around us in a circle. It was like we were about to perform a show on centre stage.

It's my turn... I take off. I roll down the start still sitting up on my hoods trying to avoid putting myself into lactic straight away. The legs are hardly warmed up so I don't want to smash it right from the word go. It's less then half a mile though before we hit the first hill. The steepest hill on the course. I get to the top...ok, I think I'm warmed up. I get low on my aero bars and start cranking up the pace. It's not long before I start passing the other girls. I count them as I pass by, picking them off one by one. At 55km I have passed 12 girls. Two of my competitors started behind me. So there has to be still 6 up ahead. 

The bike course has rolling hills throughout. The roads are fairly rough but the challenging part was the wind. The wind was blowing in all directions. Sometimes it was a head wind, sometimes a tail wind but for the majority of the race it seemed like it was a cross wind blowing me all over the place.

I hit 60km and Heather Jackson flies by. Heather started one minute behind me. Damn! I try not to let her put too much time into me. I start working even harder. I rack my bike back in transition. There are three bikes there. I'm only really concerned about catching Heather as the other two girls started quite a while before me. I pass one girl not long after I jumped off my bike. Then I see Heather up ahead. I can see I'm making up time. I don't just have to pass her though, I need to put at least one minute into her to get back to even overall. I pass her at mile two. About 600m on, we turn a corner so I take the chance to briefly look over my shoulder. I don't see anyone so I tell myself to relax and not try to make up the whole minute immediately. After a few more miles I pass the last girl and the lead cyclist joins me. I assume this means I am in the lead overall but racing like this...off handicaps...I can't see how you can ever really relax never knowing exactly how you're doing in relation to the rest of the field. There may be someone coming up fast from behind...maybe...you never know. So I wanted to keep the pace on incase.
 
The run course was nice. It also had a few hills. We ran two loops each time passing through 'Whirlpool', one of the major sponsors for the race. We enter through the car park but then head along a windy path through a mini forest. I liked it.

I'm approaching the finish line...what do I do? Have I won? Do I jump up and down? I smile for the camera as I run across the line... But instead of celebrating, it's kinda like...hmmm now we wait. I'm feeling fairly confident I've got the win but we wait...and wait. 5 minutes passes and Heather crosses the line. Then we wait some more. Meanwhile, we're freezing because the wind is still howling. I guess they want to make absolute certain of the places. So we keep waiting. Finally, I get whisked off for drug testing as I'm told I've won the race.

Heather came second and Jessica Jacobs was third. It was different having a staggered race that's for sure. I finished in a time of 3:36:03. Almost 4minutes ahead of second place. I had the second fastest bike split behind a smoking fast Heather Jackson and I broke the run course record.

This will be my last race before World Champs in Vegas on Sep 11. I'm disappointed I didn't get a swim. I was really looking forward to seeing how my swim is coming along and I also really wanted/needed the practice. This was my last chance in open water before the big one. But these things happen. We can't control the weather. And after seeing the water this morning, I don't think I would have wanted to swim in it after all.

A big thanks once again to all my sponsors, supporters, partner, manager, friends and family. And also to my Homestay hosts Loretta and Mike Holmes for sharing there home with me.

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Buffalo Springs 70.3 was one of the toughest races I've done during my four years in the sport of triathlon. To put it bluntly, it was a race that I'd rather forget, put to the back of my memory bank and not have to re-visit too often! 

The race was held at Buffalo Springs Lake which is positioned in a canyon. Since Texas is essentially flat I was surprised to read that the course was to be so hilly. However, when Josh and I drove the course the day prior to race day I soon found out why when dropped down into a huge canyon. As such, much of the day was spent climbing in and out of the canyon during the cycle and run. 

The week leading into the race my body wasn't feeling 100% and I didn't have my usual bounce of energy, however I was still looking for a solid result in Texas to add to my 4th place at Kansas 70.3 two weeks prior. Race day conditions were brutal; super hot, windy and dry. I have never raced in conditions like it and combined with my body feeling flat, the day was a true battle both mentally and physically. 

Race start was moved forward to accommodate for the predicted high of 44 degrees that would hit at about 3 o'clock. So at 6.27am the gun went off for the 15 Pro Females. I felt pretty good in the swim and exited the water mid pack. Once onto the one lap 90km bike course the winds were picking up. Within the first 5km of the bike I had passed a few of the girls and was sitting in about 5th place and feeling pretty good. However as the ride went on, my energy levels started to drop considerably. The brutal winds combined with the rising temperature took its toll and I ended up exiting the bike in about 7th place. 

Once out onto the run I new it was going to be one tough, long 21.1km. The run consisted of 3 hills, each ranging between 6-9%. The sun was beaming down like nothing I have experienced in a race. I was feeling pretty horrendous and have never felt so low running, but I was determined to get to the finish. I knew that as long as I kept putting one foot in front of the other and focused on getting to the next aid station then I would would make it to the end. Unfortunately I dropped quite a few more places on the run and ended the day in 12th place pro female. 

After having one of my best races at Kansas 70.3 two weeks ago, it is tough to hit a such low in terms of race result at Buffalo Springs. I am really disappointed in myself for putting in such a poor performance, however as I have said before it is these races that I learn the most from. I'm still young, and while the positive in that is that I've got a lot of years to learn the trade and get stronger, I also will inevitably experience many more bad days before the good one's roll in consistently. This is all a part of racing and is a part of the building blocks to becoming a top-level professional athlete. Whilst I may not appreciate it at the moment these types of races will help mature me as an athlete both mentally and physically. With my next race less than two weeks away it is crucial that I put yesterday's performance behind me, get my body feeling 100% again and focus on the positives. 

Thank you to Ruth-Anne, Aubry and Jeff for providing such amazing hospitality and support while in Texas, it was greatly appreciated.

Once again, thank you to all my sponsors and supporters. All is still on track for qualifying for World 70.3 Champs and with Muncie 70.3 as my final qualification race this will hopefully be confirmed with a solid result there.

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Only arriving in Spain a few days before this race, I was unsure how I would race with the affects of jetlag weighing on my shoulders. Race morning, we left early, drove to the top of the decent at Orio and rode the decent into San Sebastian so we could get a brief idea of conditions. Inigo, who is Basque communicated on our behalf with race directors to secure our free entry to the race allowing us an easy race day process. Today was also an opportunity to test out my new bike in race conditions.

We already knew it was going to be a hot day, so hydration was the key. Going down to swim start on the beach, the water was a refreshing 22 degrees, although we were allowed to wear wetsuits. It was an amazing sight to see hundreds of keen athletes on the beach. The men went 10 mins before us and I was happy to see that there as a lot less females on our start line. In the swim on our first loop, I was with about 3 other girls, not really sure of how I was feeling. After getting out of the water onto the beach to start our 2nd loop, I got back in and felt much better. We started running into the back of the mens pack with all the men that did backstroke and walked up the narrow stairs to transition. I was first out of the water into transition out of the ladies and it was time to start our hilly ride.

The ride was unusual to say the least. Just like Subic Bay, we rode on the right hand side of the road but this time I felt that it was a huge crit bike race with about 30 men in a pack with me with some of them making little sprint attacks. I wasn’t sure if we would draft or not but it was just so hard not to. The bike course was a lot of hills, ups and downs which in negative has an effort on your run performance. I felt strong on the bike as I knew that our long Sunday rides has helped me greatly not only for strength but skills going up and down hills.

Coming off the bike, it was so hot!! Our water bottles were hot before we even started our ride and now I had 10km ahead of me. Looking at the temperature signs, that seemed to rise everytime we went past them, a pleasant 37 degrees came flashing up. I felt comfortable in my run and confident in keeping process and the overall aim in my mind. I knew by my final lap that I had a 3 minute lead over the next lady and this was the time I could pull back, and save myself a shorter recovery time for my next race. Crossing the finish line is always a feeling of accomplishment, especially running through the tape and being able to smile to the camera holding up the number 1!

The race was exciting, challenging and a great experience not only for me but for everyone that participated. I am kind of getting used to people talking to me in Spanish and I know a few of the keys words which helps. I am pleased with my performance after my little crash this week off the bike and the unknown presence or shadow that jetlag haunts us with. It was just nice to know that we weren’t racing in the 41 degrees that was brought upon us when we left!

Arriving in Subic Bay, after a long flight and a 6 hour bus trip, it was hotter than expected. 35 degrees during the day and only getting down to lows of 32 overnight. It was definitely a big change from the winter conditions coming into Sydney. Our hotel was nice, shops were close and I was ready to race. Finding some things were difficult at times like pools, restaurants and even people that we knew.

On race day, we had to get up at about 3.30am to go put our stuff in T2. Finding out the day before that we had to ride approx. 16km to race start in the morning. We all rode out as a small pack with minimal street lighting in some places. As we found out in warm up, the water was very warm and we had little visitors of jellyfish and sea lice as many of us were bitten. Lining up on the start line, there was only 9 girls in our race. I had a good start and found myself in clear water for abit until we had to start taking over all the age group competitors infront of us. The second lap was much better as I found I had my own space to get into a good rhythm with only a few age groupers to battle with. Coming out after the two laps, I was in 2nd place with a short run into transition.

The bike course, as we were showed on course familiarisation the day before, was hills!! It had one 30km loop and one 10km loop. It started with a climb that went for about 10km going up hill. Within the first couple of kms I caught Maddi. Thinking that she would come with, she didn’t. Feeling good, I just kept going at my own pace. I didn’t know where the other pack was until the turn around point, when I realised they were about 1minute behind. The bike was a 40km TT for me. In the trees were able to see wild monkeys and hundreds of bats. The clouds were starting to break away and the sun was coming out just in time for the run.

I had a good transition and was on my way into the run. To get onto the run course, you had to run up this little construction bridge that they had created to get over the bike course. It was wobbly and did not feel as stable as I thought. I was just happy I was running over it by myself not in a pack of 20 men like they were the next day. Although I thought for awhile I had this in the bag, a 10km in these hot conditions can have more effects on the body then I thought. The run was 2.5km x 4 laps with every lap feeling hotter and hotter as were in direct sunlight. Finishing 25 seconds in front of the Japanese competitor and having the fastest bike time of the day was a unexpected result.

At the presentation, I got interviewed by many radio and newspapers and even got our national anthem played. The course was safe and well directed and it was interesting riding on the wrong side of the road.

Interesting Facts:

•             They had count down timers at lights which would be great in Australia for riding

•             Very interesting taxis

•             Riding with monkeys and bats in the trees

•             Always feeling like royalty with being called madam

•             Had a 16 slice pizza, unbelievable huge!!

•             Driving around especially in Manilla, it’s driving chaos and I am surprised there isn’t more accidents

After weeks of hard training, not only physically but also mentally, I am happy with my result to the finish of the season. Now it’s time to get ready to go overseas at the end of June.