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Ash Bailie made a big splash at the recent ITU World Championships in Beijing, with an outstanding silver medal in the Junior Elite Girls race. This performance capped off a hectic year for the nineteen year-old athlete, who moved from Bunbury, WA to Wollongaong, NSW last January to train under renowned coach Jamie Turner.

While Beijing was the last race Ash will compete in as a junior, we suspect that this is not the last we will hear from Ash Bailie!

Congratulations on your recent silver medal at the World Junior Championships in Beijing! How was your preparation for Beijing? Were you expecting such a spectacular result?

My preparation for Beijing was relatively smooth. In June I flew to Vitoria, Spain where the NSWIS and VIS squad are based. Unfortunately, when I first got to Spain I had a small hip injury and this saw me miss out on three weeks of running. Fortunately the injury cleared and I was back into it in no time.  Spain was a great training environment and along with the other Junior Girls in the team, Europe gave us the perfect weather and races for our preparation.

When asked what I expected from the race, I actually never really went in with a specific goal. I never even looked at the start list to work out who I was racing against. Not that I did not care, it was a simple case of the only person I was racing that day was myself. On the day I wanted to make sure that I had a strong swim, ride and run and whatever the outcome,  I would be happy with it. I have worked so hard for this day and made many sacrifices to get here so I knew that if I put in 100% I would be rewarded. The race turned out perfectly and although I tried so hard to get that gold medal, I am still so happy with my silver and I am never, ever going to forget the journey and the experience of my 2011 Triathlon season. 

You have spent a lot of time travelling and racing overseas this year. Tell us about your experiences abroad. Have you enjoyed it and what have been the key lessons you can take away?

Being overseas has been such a huge journey! It has been so great but it has also been a real mixture of emotions. Being in a foreign country, training has been exciting, with the different cultures, scenery and experiences. It has also been really hard with small things such as food, living outside of a suitcase for many months and the language barriers. I think I have been so lucky though and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I am not going to forget this experience and journey of my first year abroad.

My biggest lesson that I have learnt is that knowing a little bit of Spanish and French goes a long way, always appreciate what people do for you and that being organised is crucial when you are overseas!

You come from an amazingly successful triathlon family, with your brother, sister and mum all having represented Australia in Triathlon. What was it like growing up in family like this? Does it help inspire you in your training to see other members of your family doing so well?

When I am asked why I took up triathlons my answer is simple... You could not be a Bailie and not do triathlons!! Growing up in a family like this was amazing. It was awesome to be amongst a family that is fit and always on the go. One of my biggest inspirations to take triathlons to the elite level was in actual fact my brother, Ryan. I suppose I have always admired him and when he was in Wollongong doing so well, it was hard to be so far away from him. I suppose I am his most adoring fan J It also made the move from WA to NSW a lot easier to know that he would be on the other side to meet me... 

You have moved away from your home town of Bunbury, WA to live in Wollongong and train under a new coach. Was it difficult to move away from home? How are you enjoying the east coast?

I have never struggled with my move from Bunbury to Wollongong. The move was made easy knowing that my brother would be on the other side to meet me. Of course I miss my family and friends back in WA, but this has given me an opportunity to create an independent path of my own and grow up a little bit! Wollongong is absolutely beautiful and the location is amazing because it is so close to everything. Sydney is a little up the road and having to fly to races are not such an epic journey like WA.

What about the transition from competing in local and school sport events to elite juniors? Have you found it a big jump to make?

It was a big jump from local and school sport events to elite juniors. It is a completely different bag of potato chips all together! When I first did elite juniors I was well off the pace and I did not realise how much training and effort that the top juniors put in. I used to train 2 times a day and I thought that was a lot. Now that I am one of those juniors I realise that it is not easy. We train 3 times a day every day and put many hard hours into the sport. The jump may be large, but if you love the sport, it is not impossible.

By medalling at the World Championships, you carried on a grand tradition of Australian Triathlon success. What are goals for the future in the sport?

Beijing was officially my last race as a junior athlete and I am now in U23. This means that I am now racing the big Olympic Distance. My current goal in triathlon is to have a successful transition into this new category and be a tough opponent over this distance. I never look too far ahead... Just one small step at a time....

What’s next for Ash Bailie? Are you heading back to Australia soon and any races on the horizon?

Right now I am in Orlando, Florida, training for the World Cup in Huatulco, Mexico. I am training in Orlando to get used to the heat and humidity.  This race will be my first World Cup and also my last race before I get to head home back to Bunbury after 9 months of living the “Gypsy” life. 

Thanks for chatting to us Ash! We wish you every success for the coming season and look forward to watching your transition to a successful Under 23 athlete.

By Michelle Downs http://www.getsetupinsport.com.au

Name:

Age: 25

Country Representing: AUS

Occupation: Fisheries and Marine Officer

Marital Status/Family: Single

Is this the first time you have been to Kona?

Sure is! I was lucky enough to qualify through my first IM attempt at IMWA. So Kona will be IM # 2 for me.

Where did you qualify for Kona 2011?

IM Busselton was my first (and was meant to be my last) IM. Being my first IM, I wasn’t too sure what I was getting myself into. Based on times I was doing in training, I calculated my race splits to get me across the line in 9 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds. Sub 10 hours was the goal, if that got me to Hawaii, then so be it. I kept within seconds to my race schedule each lap of each leg, except the last lap on the run, which saw me miss the 10 hour mark by 17 seconds. Still, a fairly accurate calculation for a first timer!

Tell us about your preparation for Hawaii.

Busselton 70.3 and the Cairns Half Challenge were both incorporated into my Kona prep. It was good to do a race in some warmth with a few hills in it in Cairns, unlike the flat, cool conditions of Busselton. Since Cairns it’s been a matter of spending quality time on the bike in the Perth hills. The temperature of the Perth hills in winter is a far cry from what is to come in Kona, but there isn’t much I can do about that. So far I’m injury free and enjoying the journey, but cannot wait til that cannon fires!

What has a typical training week looked like for you in the lead-up to this event?

At this stage in the program I’m swimming three times a week, running four times a week, on the bike four times a week. Saturdays are a long ride, followed by a run, which is followed by a coma like state for the rest of the afternoon. Oh, and there are three gym/core stability/trigger point sessions mixed in each week too. It’s totally an average of 22 – 25 hours each week.

What excites you the most about competing at an iconic race like the Hawaii Ironman?

Coming down Alii drive and seeing my family, partner, and good friends down that finishing chute. The support these people have given me on this journey has been amazing and to see them all there when it comes to an end means the world to me.

Is there anything about the Ironman in Hawaii that makes you really nervous?

The cross winds on the bike, and the heat. I will be making it up as I go along with both of those factors, which is hard to accept because I like to be prepared!

What are your goals for the race?

Hard to say. I guess that part of the beauty (?) of IM, a lot can go right and a lot can go wrong - it’s a long, unpredictable day. Who knows what the day will bring and what challenges my competition will put to me, but I can’t wait to find out!

What are you doing to relax after the race? Are you planning on a holiday in Hawaii post Ironman?

I am really looking forward to some quality time with my family, partner, and friends who will be making the journey to Kona with me. It’s just as much a long day for them as it will be for me, so we will all head to Honolulu for some R&R post race.

Tell us a little about your background?

I started triathlons in 2004 after my 1500m athletics coach advised me that after 16 years of athletics and an ongoing injury that I needed to take a season off. He told me to ‘keep myself in shape, but he didn’t want to see me at the track until the next season’. It was during my first year off athletics that I thought I would try a triathlon, and the rest is history. I have not been back to the track since. In 2009 I saw my twin sister battle through IM WA in 35 degree heat, and I was in awe. After watching her finish that race, I committed there and then to do IM WA in 2010.

How have you managed to balance the training for Ironman with your other commitments such as work and family?

Ah, not very well! Luckily there is only 7 weeks to go, and that will be it for me in terms of IM. I want my life back J I don’t know how people with children can do this. I struggle to manage work, training, and having some sort of a relationship with my partner. I take my hat off to those who do this with children, that is truly amazing.

Thanks for chatting to us and best of luck for the race!

We look forward to catching up with you on the Big Island :)

 
So I just finished the Eagleman 70.3 in Cambridge, Maryland this past weekend and by “just” I mean “just”… I almost couldn’t make it to the finish line.
 
I came into the race as the defending champion from the past 2 years and after a second place last weekend I thought I was in good shape to defend my title.  
 
After the Rev 3 triathlon last weekend we spent a few days with the Clif Bar team getting some footage for a video piece. We met up with friend and Ironman world champion Chris “Macca” McCormack in New York City, which coincided with his book launch “I’m here to win” and the announcement of the New York City Ironman triathlon in 2012.
 
The temperatures over on the East coast have been super hot and Eagleman is renowned for its Kona like temperatures so this was going to be a good test to see where things were at. We managed to have a few relaxing days to speed up the recovery before we hit it hard again.
 
The race kicked off and I felt good in the swim. Although I wasn’t able to hold the feet of John Kenny the arms felt strong and I led the chase pack. There were a small group of us that came out of the water together and onto the 56mile bike. TJ Tollakson who would later go on to win the race took off at the early stages of the bike and showed his strength. 
 
I felt strong on the bike, the legs were turning over well but the heat was starting to get to me. By the last 10miles on the bike I knew I was in a little trouble.  The watts had started to drop and the body was tightening up. 
 
Fellow Kiwi and training partner James Bowstead after a tough swim managed to bridge back up at the end of the bike and led the group in transition. We were still 4 minutes down on TJ. Off onto the run I tried to keep up with Bowstead and Big Matty Reed, but the legs just didn’t want to turn over. By the 3 mile mark there was nothing, the heat was too much and my body didn’t want to move forward. I couldn’t get enough ice and cold water and the finish couldn’t come quick enough.
 
I am so glad that I stuck it out and made it to the finish, I experienced the most amazing thing ever. Due to the nature of the course we ran 6.5miles out and 6.5miles back along the same route. In doing so I ran past a large number of age-groupers on their way out and the amount of athletes who made the effort to cheer me on and give me encouragement was overwhelming.
 
I ended up finishing in 9th place. Thanks to everyone for the support out there and to the volunteers for doing an amazing job in keeping everyone hydrated.
 
Congratulations to TJ for taking out to win, Richie Cunningham in second, Stanislav Krylov, Matty Reed and James Bowstead for finishing off the top 5 and Mirinda Carfrae, Tyler Stewart and Sam Warriner for the top three girls.

Check out our race video at www.terenzo.com

And some pictures from our trip at www.facebook.com/terenzobozzone 
 

Regards
Terenzo