ITU president Marisol Casado welcomed the news from WADA.

"I'm very excited to share this news with the triathlon family, as we have always believed an anti-doping programme is integral to our organisation's success, as it allows all of our athletes to compete in a fair environment," Casado said.  "I would particularly like to thank ITU staff and Leslie Buchanan, the Director of our anti-doping department for her work in obtaining this official recognition."

Buchanan, also a member of the WADA Education Committee said the WADA ruling showed the ITU is on the right path.

"We feel this validates ITU's commitment to the fight against doping.  We've invested time and resources into this to make sure that triathetes compete on a level playing field and ensure there are policies in place to deter all triathletes from attempting to take advantage of the system," Buchanan said.

"We also know that while it is great our programme complies with the WADA Code, we cannot afford to let our guard down and we will keep working on new initiatives to keep triathlon at the forefront of anti-doping."

The ITU anti-doping department was established with the goal of committing substantial time and resources to curb doping in triathlon.  This year's anti-doping protocols include: intelligent testing for ITU events and athletes that is also more efficient, a commitment from National Federations to test and report their testing, and comprehensive education programme. That includes actively engaging member federations through regular anti-doping content, helping everyone involved in triathlon understand the importance of a clean sport for not only participants' health and fair results, but for the sports legacy. 

ITU is a signatory of the WADA Code and to be an affiliated member of ITU, National Federations must commit to comply with the WADA Code and ITU Anti-doping Rules.

By Michelle Downs

Kate Bevilaqua’s victory at ironman WA last December was special for many reasons; it was in her home state, her first Ironman title and most significantly the end of a horrid run of injuries that had kept her from performing at her best for eighteen months. However, it was her desperate crawl to the finish line which won the hearts of ironman followers everywhere and will ensure she makes the highlights reel for many years to come!

Kate opens her 2011 season next weekend at Ironman New Zealand, the race in which she had her breakthrough performance in 2008 with a second place to Kiwi legend Jo lawn. We caught up with her as she was completing her preparation in Perth.

TT: How did it feel to win your first Ironman title at Ironman WA a few months ago with the support of your home crowd?

KB: It was absolutely amazing!! I have always dreamed of winning an Ironman but for it to happen at home in front of my family and friends, was incredible. There are so many people here in Perth that played a part in that victory. Swimming, biking and running with me for years. It meant a lot to share it with them all.

TT: Tell us about that famous finish of yours where you crawled across the line! What was it like from your perspective?

From my perspective? Actually it was very painful! About 1km out I started to completely loose control of my legs, even walking was becoming a struggle. I was devastated and could think of nothing but getting to that finish line! Down the chute they kept buckling beneath me and I didn’t know if I was going to make it! The last little up hill of the ramp was too much and my legs completely gave way. Lucky for me I was still able to crawl to make sure I was over that line. It wasn’t until I was in the medical tent and starting to feel a little better that a big smile came over my face when I realised I had won!!

TT:You certainly had a big year in 2010 with five Ironman finishes, including Hawaii and your win at Busselton. What were the highlights of the season for you?

Well the biggest highlight has definitely been just being able to race because that is a huge improvement on the previous 18 months.  But my 2^nd in the Busselton Half Ironman then 4^th at Ironman Lake Placid in July in which I qualified for Hawaii would also stand out as being successful races for me. Obviously now winning Ironman Western Australia is the highlight of my career!

TT:You begin your 2011 campaign at Ironman New Zealand next weekend. How have your preparations been? Did you have much of a break after Busselton?

Yes, I had a good break after Busso! I took the rest of the year off then went travelling overseas with my family for some skiing in Whistler and time in Hawaii that didn’t involve an Ironman. My preparations for New Zealand have been a little short compared to what I am used to but I love the race and didn’t want to miss it. 

TT:The women’s professional field lining up for NZ is looking very strong! Who do consider as major threats for the win?

Well, you definitely can’t go past Miranda, World Champion, I know it is early in the season but she runs a sub 3 hour marathon!! Hard to top that! But Jo Lawn know’s how to race hard and win! You don’t come away with 7 victories without being amazing! The dark horse will be Belinda Harper. Stepping up to the Pro ranks her performance in Wanaka shows she already knows what it takes and racing at home will give her that extra lift!

TT:Tell us about your past experiences at Ironman NZ. Why you are back for more and what do you enjoy about this race?

My first race in NZ was a break though for me  in 2008 when I finished 2^nd after running side by side with Jo for 20km of the run. This gave me a lot of confidence and belief I could do it and a victory would not be far away. Unfortunately just after that I was injured for nearly 18 months and I didn’t return until 2010 where I was sick leading up to the race and this took its toll as I finished 7^th. Now, 2011, who knows?? Jane and Janette put on a great race and it is all about the athletes. My entire family love returning because they love holidaying in New Zealand as well.

TT:What are the plans for the rest of the year post New Zealand? Have you finalised your race and travel schedule for 2011?

Schedule is never finalised there is always changes, but now after New Zealand I will be heading back to Perth for Busso 70.3 as a lead up to Ironman Lanzarote which is the end of May. From there it will be across to the States where I am still deciding which races I will do depending on accumulating enough points for Hawaii.

TT: You have had a horror run with injury over the past few years. Are you well on the road to recovery now?

Absolutely!! That is why there has been so much racing this year for me. I have been excited to back at it again and doing what I love.  My run training is still not back to 100% yet. I was advised by my doctor and coach to give it at least at year of just base training, ironman pace running, and anything quicker than that was during a race! I have done that and after New Zealand I am looking forward to getting back into some speed work for the rest of the year.

TT: You are known for a super speedy run leg. Any run training secrets you wish to share with our readers?

Secrets??? No! They are all mine to keep! I can tell you though, I was never a runner! Hated it! Never ran in highschool and was exceptionally slow when I first started triathlon. You have to be patient with it and it will develop over time with consistency!  I will admit that I run on the treadmill A LOT!!!

TT:As always there will be plenty of first timer’s participating in Ironman in the coming few months with New Zealand followed by ironman Australia. What advice can you give the novice competitors?

Nutrition!!! Eat up and have a feast! It is just as important as your swimming, biking and running because you can’t do any of those without fueling the engine!  Patience, one foot in front of the other. Be thankful of the opportunity to be out there, taking part in such an amazing event. I missed it so much when I couldn’t do it, now I get pretty excited every opportunity I  get!!

TT:And finally, what are your specific goals for the race in NZ next weekend?

After the way I finished Ironman Western Australia last year there are a few nutritional goals I have in mind to practice that will hopefully allow me to finish in more of an upright position.  Pacing is also something I am yet to master in the marathon so we will see how it goes!!

We wish Kate the best of luck at Ironman New Zealand and her coming races this season!

I have been in Kona now 10 days and I think the timing is perfect! With 2 more days until the race I feel all settled in, have had plenty of time to adjust to the heat and humidity. Get some training in out on the Queen K, running in the Energy Lab and swimming the course.

For me it has been 3 years since my last visit to the big island and I must admit I did think over that time that I might not make it back again!

With the new rule changes for the Pro’s, coming back from injury, and having made the decision to make 2010 a building year every racing opportunity was a bonus and to find myself on the start line in Kona this year, I am so excited!!

By Monday the surreal feeling of being on the Big Island had quickly changed as Alii Drive became a traffic jam of cars, bikes and triathletes (many of whom were definitely displaying fineable fashion offences!)

That is then the time for me to chill and avoid all the chaos. I have been able to get down early to the pier to get an open water swim in most days with Alice or Luke. Any later than 7.30 am and you are virtually swimming with your head up the entire time to avoid any head on collisions.

Tuesday was low key after an early morning session I joined Perth friends Luke and Renee for some Island sightseeing and snorkeling. Wherever I am racing I still like to get out and about and see some of what the location has to often. It also takes my mind of racing and gets me into a nice and relaxed state. The water was crystal clear and there was so much spectacular fish life to see.

Wednesday was a busy day with sponsors commitments but so much fun! A Pro panel with K-Swiss was the highlight of the day as I found myself sandwiched in between Australian legends in the sport such as Belinda Granger and Miranda Carfrae.

Two days before an Ironman for me is a day off! I always plan on sleeping in but it never happens that way. I still woke up at 6am and although I forced myself to try and sleep some more it wasn’t happening. The body clock is set for early mornings so no point in changing the routine now!

I have just returned from the Pro race briefing. Nothing new, just a reminder of the 10m drafting rule and the 6.30am, 30min head start for the Pro’s this year. I think this is a great idea. Especially for the women’s race.

It is now time for legs up, some moving watching, stretching and not much else for the rest of the day.

Tomorrow, first thing in the morning I will do short 15min swim, followed by a 30min cycle then a 15 min run. A little bit of everything! Get the body moving, check all my gear and equipment is good to go before checking it in later in the afternoon.

Then comes race day!

I am feeling relaxed and ready for Saturday. Yes, absolutely like everyone I am going into the race with goals and aspirations, a plan in my head of how I would like the race to go. The biggest thing will be to stick to my race and my plan! It is so easy to be caught up with what is going on around you but there is no doubt Ironman is a race of patience! Especially on this course!

My plan of attack, to swim strong (not the best discipline for me so it is all about limiting the damage as much as possible!)

Begin the cycle steady! Get into the groove, settle in to my pacing and start the nutrition routine. Try and push the pace up Hawi. I love to climb, so I need to take advantage of that!

Hang on for dear life coming down Hawi! If my ride out there last weekend was anything to go by, I was pedaling harder coming down hill than cycling up hill, plus holding on to avoid ending up on the side of the road!

After the turn off back onto the Queen K and the return trip to Kona it is a long hard slog, normally into a head wind and where the mental demons can take over. This is where I want to be tough and try and finish the cycle strong!

Run?? Every Ironman this year I have tried to improve my marathon run time. One minute or 5 minutes, it doesn’t matter, that has been my goal. I am going to try and do that again here in Hawaii by aiming for a more steady paced marathon rather my usual fast first half, hang on or die second half! I think there is a smarter way for me to be running the 42km but like anything else I need to practice it.

Hopefully all of this will lead to my number one goal, me crossing that finish line in Hawaii and completing the Hawaii Ironman 2010!! Everything else that comes with it will be a bonus!

Competition??? If you are on the same page as everyone else in the world, the race on Saturday will all be about 2^nd place! Every now and then there is an exceptional athlete who comes along, a natural, a Michael Jordan, a Lance Armstrong! At the moment, we have a Chrissie Wellington!! 

It is now Thursday and I am finally starting to feel a little bit normal again. There is no denying, the race on the weekend worked me over. But I guess the reality was that was the plan!

It was exciting to be back in Cancun after 8 years! The last time I had been there it was 2002 Age Group world champs where I did okay.....but the highlight of the trip was the amazing people I met and new life long friends I made! One of which is getting maybe next year!

This time I traveled solo but was so lucky that some amazing girls from London, Charlie and Catherine, felt sorry for me :) and I spent some fun times with them leading up to the race including dinner at the Shrimp Bucket and Catherine being proposed to by Louise!

Race morning my alarms were set for 4.30am but I thought considering I was in a hotel I might as well get a wake up call as well. Sunday morning the phone rang and I answered it to hear a friendly voice claiming "this is your wake up call!" I quickly glanced at my clock to see it flashing 3.45am!! What the????

I replied to her with "sorry this is not my wake up call!" and after hanging up I heard the phone ring up stairs and realised she had accidently rang the wrong number. The damage was done though, and I was up! So there was plenty of time for a shower and a good stretch now and I was down in the lobby for the bus transfer to the transition area with plenty of time to spare.

Mentally I was ready to go! Training had been great, tough, tiring, fatiguing, the last month and I was looking forward to putting it all into action. The body unfortunately had different ideas and although coach Jeff had told me you will be tired, you will be fatigued and the goal was to do what I could and finish off a great block of training, I was still hoping for more!

It was a gorgeous start to the morning and after walking down to the swim start with Luke and Amanda and warming up I was ready to go.

Swim - Unfortunately another frustrating swim. After nailing it in Lake Placid I couldn't wait to get out there again and swim fast, but as much as I love non wetsuit swims, I realise I do need to work on my beach starts (Nat!!) and be more aggressive at the start. I tried something different in Cancun but obviously it didn't work and my lesson was learnt by not getting myself in the pack about a minute faster than me which is where I should have been.

Onto the bike and I was ready to ride hard! I felt great the first 20-25km but it didn't take long for the fatigue to set in (more than usual anyway!) but the goal was to go hard so I continue to push. I was able to gain some ground and pass a few girls after my slow swim but was looking forward to getting out on the run.

The last 10miles of the ride the wind picked up and pretty soon after the rain came! It bucketed down hard! The roads were beginning to flood as I pulled into transition.

My awesome K-Ruuz were on in a flash and the first mile I felt like I was flying! The rain continued to fall and I was ready to run strong! The next minute the rain, clouds and wind were gone just as quickly as it came and the heat and humidity replaced it! Exactly what I was after I guess...!

Halfway through the run it became a matter of survival and having seen that I was pretty safely in 5th position with 4th over 5 minutes up the road, the mental game began and it was aid station to aid station and loading up on water, gatorade and coke. The aid stations were amazing, one every km was totally needed. The water was give out in little bags that you could rip a corner off and drink some, pouring the rest over yourself. I would grab 2, use one at the aid station and the other half way to the next one.

That finish line could not have come soon enough. I was spent! I had to find someone to help me cross the line to the medical tent where constant wet towels and fluid were helping so much.

After little sleep it was actually a 3.45am wake up call the next morning and 3 flights to get me back to Boise. Since being home there has been lots of sleeping stretching and reflecting.

The reality is, I got out of the race exactly what I was going there to do. Racing in the heat and humidity and finishing off a big block of training with a good hard race hit out. The big picture is Hawaii and an easy week this week followed by a couple of big training days on the weekend then the taper will begin. I am definitely looking forward to that!

For now, I am glad I don't have to unpack because I am off again to Kona in 4 days, so really there is no point!

The immediate big decision I have to make though is who to barrack for this weekend in the AFL Grand Final. Collingwood or St Kilda! I have never really liked Collingwood, but do like Mick Malthouse as a coach, plus his former association with the West Coast Eagles! When it comes to the Saints, knowing that Tony Bence is a die hard supporter, means I may have to just go for Collingwood!!

The purpose for the trip last weekend was to finish my block of training with the annual Payette Lake 30km run which proceeds around the entire lake. From paved roads, to gravel roads and what they called a few rollers, although I will probably disagree with that now. There were definitely some decent climbs!

I had my personal goals for the event and after the week of running before hand knew it was going to be tough. All was good until about mile 11, after getting onto the gravel road and reaching one of the so called “rollers” I commented to Jeff that “this was cruel”! From then on it was a matter of survival. I was relieved to make it through and excited to achieve what I had over the last 10 days. It has been a good 2 years since the body has been pushed though the amount of running.

As an added bonus thanks to Jeff dragging me along I was able to hang on for second place by a mere 30 seconds! Although I can guarantee there was not another 30 seconds in those legs!

After that I was knackered! The recovery plan, a good feed and a trip to some hidden hot springs!

Another gravel road (this time in the car!) and a walk through the bush and mud and all of a sudden in front of us was this:

It was perfect! Exactly what was needed to help those legs recover. A nice warm temperature, not too hot and in the middle of no where!

It didn’t take long before we had company so it was time to go! But there was still one more thing that could be done for recovery.

The countdown is on! 5 weeks to Kona and I can’t wait! After these few easy days it is back into it leading into next weekend’s 70.3 in Cancun! A little hit out to get used to the heat and humidity!

But now time for that much needed massage!!

I’m half English half Kiwi… living in Mainz, Germany (what happened there???) but I also live in Christchurch, New Zealand and a few other places too. I do a bit of Triathlon, a bit of Physiotherapy and a bit of Coaching and a lot of hanging out. Anyway I’ll bore you with stuff about me in a future Blog…

I don’t tend to write standard ‘Race Reports’ or ‘Training Diaries’… you can find this in plenty of other Blogs and Websites.

I like writing about what’s out there and what no body seems to pay attention too… but I think people are far more interesting than ‘Av Power Readings‘.

Thought I’d kick off with my race report of Challenge Copenhagen.

Ah yes Challenge Copenhagen... 3 weeks ago now but here's the official race report... I think this will be quite a Cathartic Experience for me... and I hope an amusing an insightful one for you ;-).

I drove up to Copenhagen from Mainz feeling pretty fit, pretty skinny and looking forward to a fast race... I wouldn't say I was in my best shape… there’s a lot of distractions here in Germany ;-)… but a sub 9 was on the cards. Although the first thing that Coach said to me was that I looked fat compared to him!?? Cheers Coach! Ha Triathletes are messed up man J!

Went to the 'Radisson Blue Hotel' for the Race Briefing, however they told me it wasn't THIS Radisson Blue Hotel but another one 3K away... shit! So I had to do a nice 'Pick-Ups' running session to get to the other hotel in my Jeans and Chucks... Got there sweating quite a bit but happy that my legs felt pretty good and thought that would do as my 'taper' run for the day… hmmm may be I should race in my Converse???

The rest of the time was spent sitting in cafe's watching the folk of Copenhagen go about their business... everyone on bikes... funny seeing people in 'full clubbing gear' cycling to a night out on the town chicks riding in their high heels... Genius!

So onto the race. The start was at 'The Beach' 10K from town... I remember some of the Danish guys telling me it was really nice at The Beach... hmmm??? Well it was grey and wet and a 'Northern Euro Beach'... there was a bit of sand knocking around and salty water but that was about it... heee?!?! It wasn't Mt Maunganui or Noosa anyway L… No Surf and not a Flat White to be found anywhere… what’s up with that???

And of course it was raining... the worse rain and storms that Denmark had ever seen apparently... TOP marks for the Challenge Guys who spent all night dealing with a multitude of problems such as the Transition area flooding out and all the swim buoys getting swept away.

So into the swim... Sweet it was good! Got onto some guys feet and sat there the whole swim... would of been better if there was a bunch of us but the guy lost some feet he was following so it was just me and him. He would of had a hard race swimming into clear water for nearly the whole swim, I felt kind of guilty but he should of 'sat up' if he wanted me to come through?? All I had to do was focus on the bubbles to stay on his feet... this really does help to keep your focus when racing, time flies by AND DRAFTING in the swim is soooooo important for an optimum race... I think a lot of age-groupers are training to be synchronised swimmers rather than triathletes???... It's not about looking pretty in the pool... get ugly, get moving, get on those feet and stay there! Simple!

Finished in 54:45... a PB J Coach was pissed as I put 3 minutes into him... (I told you Coach that Gemmell said I was swimming well!) you need to put some weight on Bro!

Set off on the bike through the rain... The Spanish guy I was drafting in the swim over took me... he was going pretty hard judging by how his shoulders were moving... so I thought yeh! You can have it Bro... I sat in behind him... and 'Legally drafted' his ass J... We then caught Jimmy ('Little Danish‘) Johnson who had just fixed a puncture... and then Coach caught us at about the 30K mark... Serrrrrweeet I thought this is perfect! We formed a nice little pace line and started reeling in people. Yes folks remember Triathlon is a 'Draft Legal' sport... because even the 10 metre rule still gives you a Heart Rate 5 - 10 beats lower... I was keeping my distance even further as I defo didn't want a drafting penalty like Roth last year.

Yep... so it was all sweet until about 90K when I got a flat... Scheeeeisssseeeeeeee!!!! OK Kein Ding I thought... no probs... got my 'Pit Stop' thing and started to mess around with valves and shit and all that messing around you do when trying to fix a flat... tyre seemed to go up J... and then seemed to go down L... OK try again... this time let the tyre spin to let the 'Pit Stop' gunk fix the puncture... wait... wait... be fricking PATIENT Pauli! Just ignore those guy's cycling past you very fast... Wehey!!! I've got it up! A little limp but it'll do ;-)... Off I went feeling very proud of my on road repairs... now to go and catch those bugga's who wouldn't wait for me!

There were many punctures that day... Denmark has lots of 'Flint Stones' on the road which are as sharp as glass and when it rains they all come up to the surface. I had my bestest tyres on for puncture resistance... and I have never punctured on them before... first time for everything?? Seeing other people on the side of the road raised some mixed emotions in me from 'Poor Bleeder' to 'Ha! One more Loser less to worry about...' heeee ;-)

Then after 10K I got my second flat... front tyre completely shredded! I was going to throw in the towel there and then but... I had another spare (I came prepared as I knew what Danish Roads were like) and I knew people around the World would be watching and I didn't want to let the folks in NZ and OZ go to bed yet…!

So I pulled into a big crowd of spectators... thought they can help me... but Danish people are very reserved. They sort of surrounded me as if I was an alien that had crash landed and just stood and stared... some of them gazing and poking at my spacecraft / bike which I had fallen to earth on.

Changing the tubbie was a bit of a struggle... I like to glue them on HARD! There was a 'Gasp' from the crowd as I finally summoned up all my inner strength and ripped that bad boy off... throwing the dead tyre to the floor like a triumphant Gladiator...

This one chick had a Track Pump... Sweet! Get pumping I told her... 'Am I allowed to help??'... she replied? 'YES...! because I said so... I'm like a triathlete and from New Zealand and shit...' I told her... now pump... PUMP like the wind! little Danish woman... she did but she was Rubbish L?? so I told her to go away and got a lad to take over... he was much better J By now everyone was helping and they sent me off on my bike with a cheer and round of applause... Oooo loverly Danish folk J...

But now I had lost another 10+ minutes... and worse I had to do the rest on my own. Loosing the plot a little and with the added adrenalin I was just going for it... Passed Ain Ahar like he was going nowhere (though I think he was having a tough day too) thought hmm... I could pay for this... I'm not following any of my advice I would give to people about 'Optimum Ironman Performance' but I had to risk it I wanted to go under 9 hours.

Finally got off the bike in 04:55... pretty fast giving 15 - 20 minutes worth of puncture time... too fast may be???

But I set off on the run feeling not too bad and feeling fast... waiting for that first K marker to get a split... dam... where is it? I must be going too slow better speed up... no still not there??? There it is 1.5k... WTF?!? Then the next marker was 3.2k or something like that... hmm that was a bit confusing… was I going delirious already?? They said there would be 1k markers... every ermmmm… 1k…? Oh well keep going.

Then I saw the Spanish guy and Bex Keat and others I had been cycling with 6+K ahead of me... this is the most difficult thing to deal with when your mind is playing all those mental games with you... Dam! This could have been soooo much better... but have to stay focused... stop thinking about them... 'Stay on Target... Stay on Target...!'

The first 10K was good though... crowds were awesome and I was keeping up a steady 04:00 km pace... picking my way through the field I think I got up to about 12th place sweet! With a big Pro field this was cool J. Then I thought 'Shit' I need to walk...?? It was too early to start feeling such things... Dam it! Keep going... walked a few aid stations... ran on a bit, breathing was getting far too laboured when I was running... like a car radiator overheating I kept having to walk to cool it down L. Then I started to need a poo... Eeek never had to do that in an IM race before!?!? Stopped at a cafe but there was a cue (being in the middle of the city meant I couldn't just squat down a la Paula Radcliffe (My Hero)... no even I wasn't able to summon up those mighty powers of 'no-shame' not with an audience of 1000 spectators... plus the race organisers said it wasn't allowed). The next aid station was too far off... so I had to go back to the last aid station and find the toilet there... and YES... I needed it.

Feeling 5kg lighter I thought I would carry on and headed off again... but I had no clue now what was going on having messed around trying to find a toilet and had walked backwards along the course… I was in a serious state of delirium… I started to have to walk again and then I decided to DNF. Bugga! I couldn't be bothered with another Challenge Roth as it was virtually the same as happened there, fek! The Finish line looked like such a great party too! L

So what went wrong?

·         Obviously two punctures loosing 15-20 minutes.

·         Loosing the bunch in the bike.

·         Going too hard trying to 'chase a time'. I always tell age-groupers not to worry about aiming for a time. If you are going at the appropriate intensity during an IM race... but your splits are coming in slower than your target times... you can not increase your intensity / speed to make a time... you just blow otherwise and end up walking as I did.

·         Although I was fit enough for the race to go under 9 hours my training hours had been limited to around 15 hours most weeks... not enough to have the reserves to fall back on when something goes wrong like two punctures.

·         The mental energy and adrenalin I had used fixing the flats meant I had little mental strength left to push myself when times got hard on the run... with 10K to go it could have been possible but not with over 20K to go.

·         After the swim the race organisers said that the sea was unfit to swim in... nice, but that couldn't be helped with the weather. Many people had stomach issues. My first poo in an IM race couldn't of helped matters. I need to harden my stomach up to European pollution it's got soft in the clear waters of NZ... may be I need to go and hang out in My Dirty Old Home Town of Birmingham for a bit???

·         Racing 4 seasons in a row... Northern and Southern Hemispheres takes it's toll and I think I was getting tired.

I have to say it was a great race and bigs up to Kim, Felix and the whole of the Challenge Crew for putting it on, it's well worth doing if you're contemplating an Iron Distance race next year... just pack your bestest Tyres!

Great work to all my fellow athletes out there... especially Coach for coming 8th and Jimmy J 6th despite getting 3 punctures (he could of won????).

Sorry to everyone watching... there and on the net for not seeing me finish, it was a shitter... but at the end of the day I'm just grateful to have been there racing in such a great place thanks so much for your support. I'm already looking forward to a fun packed year... and some races too of course!

So it's time for a bit of RandR... what I do best ;-)... time to take it easy and get stronger again.

Sweet as

Westy xxx

It’s fantastic to be asked to blog for you and to keep you up to date on my triathlon adventures!

A brief history:

My background did not predominantly involve swimming, cycling or running! Obviously being Australian we can all swim but my main sport was Netball! That was where I saw my future. I was running for fitness and netball training, and taking part in some local surf events for a bit of fun. My cousin had become involved in Triathlon and suggested I give it a go. I wasn’t hooked straight away and dabbled in it for a few years on and off while I focused on my studies. After securing a full time Physical Education teaching job at the prestigious Christ Church Grammar School in Perth I decided to step up to the Olympic Distance, get a coach and find out what all the fuss was about. A few years later my coach continuously tried to convince me to go long and try Half Ironman and Ironman but I was determined there was no way I was that crazy! Needless to say he eventually convinced me and I dragged my cousin along for the experience. My first Ironman would be considered a success. I finished 3^rd in my age group and qualified for Hawaii. Off I went that October where I completely crashed and burned! I made it through but I was never going to put myself through another Ironman again. No way!

A year later after becoming exceptionally lazy and fat I was back on the phone to the coach for a plan of revenge. Back to Hawaii and I finished 3^rd in my age group and I found myself in a position that I had never even considered. Did I want to go Pro?

Turning pro had never been my intention before getting into the sport, it was all about keeping fit for netball, but eventually I began to listen to people who constantly told me I was “too short”  for netball and realised I had nothing to lose. The rest as they say…is history!

I continued to work and was getting consistent results in Australia but realised if I wanted to take it to the next level something had to give and after 8 years I resigned from my teaching job and headed to the USA!

2008 was to be a breakthrough year with a victory at the Port of Tauranga Half Ironman, 2^nd at Ironman New Zealand and 3^rd on Honu 70.3. But 2009 was the beginning of my nightmare! The first year I spent half of my time in Boise, Idaho and was living the full time dream, but 2 stress fractures and a broken collar bone and I was beginning to doubt the decision I had made.

Thankfully patience, great medical care, and awesome support from family, friends and sponsors and 2010 has been getting better and better!

A 5^th at Ironman Lanzarote and 4^th at Ironman Lake Placid (and a Kona slot!) just recently and I finally feel I am getting stronger and stronger with every training block.

(You can read my race report at www.katebevilaqua.com)

I am now back in Boise, Idaho looking forward to some solid training with some short races in between before traveling to Hawaii.

I look forward to sharing my adventures with you, the good and the bad!

Train safe!!

KT J