June- Working hard to Chase the Endless Summer

Hey Team,

WOW, June, they say time flies when you’re having fun but I can’t believe we’re half way through 2017 already!

 I made the most of my last month in Australia for a while & survived 1 month more of winter than I’ve had in the past 3 years, but I won’t start talking about the weather… because come on how many times do you walk into an 'sort of' friend, elevator trip or are waiting in line & the first port of call seems to always be a nice discussion on how nice, cold or crappy the weather is, haha riveting stuff but luckily for you this is a blog about Triathlon!

For me June fell into a solid training block, nailing down quality work & mileage before heading over to Europe at the start of July to kick off my second block of international racing on the World Triathlon Series! With winter in Australia looked at as the off season for triathlon it was a great chance to enjoy different training & racing environments on offer!

One of my favourites was the Cycling NSW Road Race Championship event, run at West Head, in the Kuringah National Park, my stomping ground when it comes to riding so I was pumped to line up for a 70km race here! There was some heavy fog and moderate rain all morning (race in it, train in it!) and a 7am start meant the sun hadn’t reached up the ridge yet & so it was a tough first half to the race on the difficult conditions! Undulating the whole way & playing with the big boys it was fun to mix it up & stick in till the end!

Winter has provided a perfect oppourtunity to get out for some oceans swim work in my Dare 2 Tri Mach4 suit, a brilliantly designed suit for those looking or all the pluses of a wetsuit, without the restriction felt in the arms & shoulders sometime felt with other wetsuits i have found, as the arms of the Dare 2 Tri Mach4 are only 0.5 mm in thickness. Check them out here- https://www.dare2tri.eu/wetsuits/women/women-s-mach4s-0-5-wetsuit.html

 I’ve also been lucky enough to have access to the latest & greatest swim technology from ACE Performance swimming- there Bodimax sleeves are like compression wear but for your arms & a perfect fit for in the water during training! The sleeves help maximize the bloody circulation through the arms & I have felt a  big difference in our lactic top end work sessions. Also proving beneficial for after we do some dry land swim based strength work and then hop into the pool, the Bodimax sleeves have made a big difference in how “heavy” my arms feel, making it that bit easier to get up & go under muscular fatigue. Check them out online, along with there other great products here- https://aceswimming.com.au/

I love my Saturday Long rides, a routine for a few years now & something I really enjoy, the best way to kick off my weekend & it certainly makes that post ride coffee & brunch all the more sweeter! I wanted to tick off a few of my favourite long rides in the saddle before I headed off to Europe. The best 2 from the Northern Beaches I think are the Ettalong to Palmy ride & the 5 Gorges- The Ettalong ride is about 150km for me, & involves some timing skill as the ferry from Ettalong on the NSW Central Coast back to Palm Beach at the northern end of the Northern Beaches only runs every 90mins! It’s a great ride up out through the Kuringah National Park, Bobbin head, & along the old pacific highway, across the (aussie) Brooklyn Bridge & climbing up through to Wiseman’s ferry, before decending down to Gosford, tracking back south along the water to Ettalong on the central coast, a short 30min ferry ride then takes you to Palm beach where it's a 25km ride home along the coast! EPIC!

The 5 Gorges ride starts off similar, with 5 major climbs and over 2600m of climbing all up which is big for Sydney! Climbing up McCarr’s Creek road to “Top Box”, heading out to Bobbin Head, climbing up Bobbin, then along the old Pacific Highway & up Mt White, back down into Berowa Waters, another ferry ride 5 mins across the waters before climbing up out of Berowa to Arcadia, making your way down to Galston Gorge for continual switchback turns out of Galston before one last climb out of Bobbin head the opposite way heading home ( I guess that makes 6 climbs & some heavy legs!!)

If your around the Sydney area and looking for an epic long ride on 2 wheels check these 2 out!! Go & smash some Strava segments & I might see you for a 21grams coffee in Dee Why when I've returned from Europe!

June was a great oppourtunity to focus in on some key areas of improvement & dial in on some important aspects with the help of all the specialists available to me through the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport) & NSWIS (NSW Institute of Sport) Triathlon Scholarship programs which I am proudly a part of!

One of which was being able to spend a few days down in Canberra working on run skill acquisition & Bio mechanics with Dan Greenwood. These sessions and long days of “work” were challenging more mentally than physically for the majority! It was so valuable to get on the spot feedback & great to be in charge of my learning & running, I was the one saying what felt best, what felt out of order & how I felt I could best implement change, facilitated with the help of Dan! 

Using the AIS resources to get an update on all my medical & physio screenings while I was down there! Confident that I am packing & heading over to Europe fit, healthy & pumped to get over there!!

Okay, I lied, June wasn’t all fun, I had some Uni exams to finish for my Nursing Degree & I have now got these finalised & have finished Uni for the year! With one last unit of study to complete in the 2018 as I’m unable to study abroad for nursing in the second semester of 2017 as the work is too practical based to do online, frustrating as I am SO close but fair enough, I wouldn’t be comfortable with a nurse who had learnt purely from a screen….

As many may have noticed, I do pay regular visits to my favoutite local coffee shop, 21 Grams on South Creek road Dee Why whether it be after a solid morning’s training, a sit in the sun, or to get a uni lecture done, the coffee can’t be beat!! (And the treats are pretty hard to turn away too…) I’m a big fan, so one very exciting event this month for me was the partnership between 21 Grams business & owner John Greco & myself moving forward into the next Olympic cycle! It is such a pleasure to represent such a hard working company & local business. With the desire to support a local athlete, & to help them progress forward in their sporting pursuits to the top, all the while sharing this crazy journey together!! SO I am officially fueled by 21 grams! Check out there page & location!!
http://21grams.com.au

Watch out for the swift new 21 Grams cycle & run kits out & about on the roads which we’ve collaborated with Catfish Designs to create, paired with some cheeky catch phrases..                             “Woops you just got chicked…next time try 21 grams”

And don’t stress, my 21 Grams coffee update posts after training will continue, only in Europe they will be made by yours truly on my new Aeropress.. So don’t expect any fancy coffee art, I’m still learning!

I certainly felt the love this month, with plenty of quality time & fun with friends & family to soak up before I started Packing to head off for the next 3 months away in Europe! Sydney certainly put on some spectacular winter days in the week leading up to departure, showing me what I'm going to miss back home, but what I always love is no matter how far or long I go for, I ALWAYS know I've got a home I love to come back too, with the beautiful northern beaches & everyone there! And you certainly WONT catch me saying ‘goodbyes’ or counting ‘lasts.’ It will always be ‘SEE YOU SOON’ or ‘UNTIL NEXT TIME!!’

Flying over on British Airways via a stop in Hong Kong & London, with 23 hours flying, before the final 2 hour leg down to Bilbao (Spain). This year I added in some extra fun, hiring a little car for myself to drive from Bilbao to Vitoria Gasteiz where I will call home with the rest of the Aussie crew & support staff! Oh to be a fly on the wall watching as I tried to multitask (us women have that skill down pat) driving, on the right side of the road, navigating & staying awake after 30 hours of travel! It made for a great story & laugh!

I will be regularly posting on my Facebook athlete page with updates on what were up to over in Vitoria Gasteiz, training & racing, so be sure to like my page for these- Emma Jeffcoat Professional Triathlete.

The Plan at present for the next few months of International Racing is:

July-

15^th – Hamburg Germany (WTS) World Triathlon Series & the 2^nd Commonwealth Games Automatic selection event ( Must be the first Aussie in the top 10 across the line)

16^th- I will be in Hamburg for the ITU World Relay Championships, where the Aussie team will be decided following the WTS event, made up of 2 men & women completing a full mini triathlon each before tagging the next team member. (This event was recently announced in the program for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games YAHOOOO!!!)

23^rd- Munster German Bundesliga Event (Racing for my German team)

August-

6^th- Montreal Canada WTS Event

20^th- Grimma German Bundesliga Event (Racing for my German Team)

September-

14^th- ITU U/23 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Racing should be available on Foxtel, otherwise all ITU WTS World Triathlon Series racing is available live on the ITU live site, & I will be sure to update on any additional links or channels made available closer to watch the racing live form back home!
https://triathlonlive.tv/

A MASSIVE THANKYOU to my support team around me of family, friends & Brilliant sponsors who made it possible for me to not only get to where I am over the past 6 months, but head off to Europe as prepared as possible, ready to take on the world!!

For now its time to settle into the Euro life & knuckle into some hard work!!

Stay Tuned 😊

Love, Em

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MAY Madness- The real world gig!

Hey guys! 

A busy month it's been this May! A little different to the usual #athletelife of swim, bike, run, gym, eat & sleep. This month it was more like morning Triathlete, evening nurse & coffee addict! 

I'm in the last stages of my Bachelor of Nursing Degree, advanced studies & I am super determined to finish this Degree & get working casually in the hospital as a Registered Nurse, when I can work it in around training blocks, racing & travel. And it will be wonderful to start getting paid for our work because as students in my degree at the University of Sydney we do 1000 hours of clinical placement in different hospital settings to be able to be accredited at the end of the degree. All hours unpaid full time work, in blocks of 2-4 weeks at a time. My last block has been in the Acute Neurosurgical ward at Royal North shore, all things to do with the brain & head! As you can imagine, some pretty impressive scares & stories, meeting plenty of inspirational individuals along the way! 

People always ask me what area of nursing I want to work in, for me, it's tricky as your meant to complete a full time new graduate year working in the hospital where you will move around on a few ward rotations or settings to get a feel for where you may want to apply to permanently work in your second year out of university, for me this isn't possible as I can't commit to full time work, as triathlon takes preference. So I will likely work as a permanent part time staff member sent where staff are needed (which is everywhere for nurses haha) on the days I nominate to work!

Long story short, in the future I would love to get into high dependency care, like the intensive care unit or the emergency scene, maybe considering paramedics! I love the challenge of thinking on your feet, the fast pace & the acute stages of care! 

On my placement I had the enormous pleasure to sit down with the incredible Lauren Parker, a true fighter and a testament to the mental will power of us triathletes! Lauren is a Newcastle girl & an impressive Professional long course Aussie Triathlete. Lauren had an accident 2 weeks out from Ironman OZ in Port Macquarie where she was in the last 2 mins of a 15 minute effort, a normal hard training ride on a road her group used to ride almost daily when both her tyres popped and Lauren hit the guard rail. Sustaining a list of injuries unimaginable to most but which Lauren will live and battle for the rest of her life! Including paraplegia from the belly button down, with no sensation of movement, only pain! A cruel and unjust reality for such a gorgeous human, Lauren, and her family, but she is tough as nails & has some serious resilience everyone can learn from!!

Working hard in rehab and getting out and about outside the hospital now. Lauren has a fundraiser page to help with the medical costs and the growing financial burden, and any small change helps. You can find out more information and how to donate on the link here! 

https://www.gofundme.com/wearewithyouloz

Now I know this is meant to be a blog about sport, so I'll pick up where I left off in April. I finished my last update at the Hong Kong International Qantas lounge on my way home from the World Triathlon Chengdu World Cup in China! Getting in some quality food before the night flight & avoiding that plane food…

Chengdu being a super sprint racing weekend was an exciting format of racing! Backing up over 2 days with some tactics in play to get into the Final of 30 elite Women and Men, hoping to have conserved as much energy as possible on the Saturday over the sprint distance before the super-fast Sunday finale of racing! 

This is exactly how my semi-final sprint event played out! I was in Semi 1, ranked as number 2, with some super fish British ladies of Lucy Hall, Jess Learmont, Sophie Coldwell and Kirsten Kasper from the USA. Us 5 girls got away early in the swim and established a gap on the chasing girls! Heading out onto the bike we worked relatively hard for the first lap of 3 on the 20km course and then backed it off when we had established a lead of over 90 seconds. 

We kept it tempo and communicated between us, riding smart and tidy! It was a nice change for racing & not something to get used to that's for sure! Getting off the bike with a dominant lead the group of us enjoyed a Saturday "stroll" run and were happily chatting and having a laugh between us as we brought it home over the 5km and keeping things very tempo paced to save those legs best we could for Sunday's final!

 I took a sneaky win if you could call it that in this tactical and friendly semi-final. But at this level, a win’s a win!

Heading into the final ranked number 2 again- winner winner, as I didn't have to change my race tattoos or bike stickers for the second day of racing! There was no friendly chat in the final that's for sure, "Ain't nobody got time for that Willis!!" Sunday's super sprint was as it sounds - fast!! Coming in under 30 mins for the 400m swim, 10km ride and 2.5km run. 

Again, the pace was on from the gun for the swim to establish any sort of lead we could up front out of the water- rewarded with some time & space onto the bike and the potential for a smaller group to get away! 

Getting out of the swim behind Jess Learmont leading, I had a strong transition to get out onto the ride in front. Putting my head down and powering away up the road, on the modified course of yesterday's semi-final with 3 shorter and more technical 3.3km loops. We had a lead pack of around 10 women with the big names all there of Stanford, Hall, Learmonth, Kasper, Coldwell, & Lindermann. 

The pack was less organised today & there were athletes racing with different plans of attack for their own race, some wanting to work on the bike, others looking to tuck in, hide & pounce on the run. Frustrating at times, but I was pleased to have the help of Sophie Coldwell up front to keep the pace up. On the last lap it looked like the chase pack would catch, an attach and surge left the chasers just off the back of our pack coming into T2 with the majority of the 30 women field all there for the run race! 

A 2.5km all out "sprint" to the tape! Non stamped her authority early and took a dominate lead over the field! My coach Mick had a chuckle telling me about the look on my face as we all headed out a few 100m into the run, it was a look of "ohhh shit this is going to hurt" and I was right. I need to work on my poker face haha. 

Pushing on that red line for the whole race meant everyone was stinging and it was a battle for who had the critical speed to bring it home. I was really pleased with how I pulled it together to run a strong race home off the back of no specific run training for this style of event. For where I'm at, I was proud of how I executed on process, & skills to give myself the best opportunity throughout that final race to perform!! Running home in 7th position, and my third Top 10 World Cup result, which I'm proud of!! 

Congratulations to the leading ladies who were super strong throughout the weekend- Non on top of the podium (GBR) Linderman in 2nd from German & Kasper 3rd from USA. An awesome weekend of racing and I really loved the short, sharp and furious style of triathlon with the super sprint Format and having to tactically, physically & mentally back up over 2 days!! Bringing to my attention how crucial it is to nail all those 1%er's in your skills out on course because they all add up to valuable seconds and that's the difference between  a win, podium or top 10 for this style of racing! 

Special shout out to Matt Hauser who took out the Elite men event in a super kick on the run, taking the tape & popping bottles in his first World Cup event! Wow! 

Up next, time to finish this Nursing placement into June, which will be my last month in Australia on this side of the world! Time to chase the sun, Yahoo!

Stay tuned for some quality training, & different types of racing that Sydney offers in winter as I get ready to join the Aussies again over in Vitoria Gasteiz, Basque Country! 

Thanks for the time to read legends!

Emma x 

APRIL – My first big dance on the blue carpet!

Hey team,

April, another month building blocks stacked, more tools in the box, a notch in the belt! Coaching analogies aside it was a great quality month of training & some SUPER Racing!!

After selection by the Triathlon Australia Elite Selection Committee last month I was head down, butt up to start the month, getting ready to really “Race” my first World Triathlon Series Event- my first BIG DANCE, a run down the blue carpet with the world’s best! I couldn’t wait to rip in!

I was thrilled to have the oppourtunity to step it up & race proudly apart of the Triathlon Australia Elite Team racing my first WTS on home soil up on the Gold Coast! A race within a race as it doubled as the Comm Games Test Event & the first of two Australian Commonwealth Games Automatic selection events, the second being in the Hamburg World Series Event in mid July. The first Australian across the line in the top 10 would earn the Automatic selection spot on the Team for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in a years’ time over the same course! Super exciting hey!

We arrived up on the Gold Coast with plenty of time to settle in, with some big Triathlon Australia Elite team events to welcome in the “1 year to go” Commonwealth Games celebrations! Arguable the most exciting for all was the revelation of the new Triathlon Australia Elite Team Trisuits and Uniforms designed especially by Scody. These new uniforms are pretty remarkable, showcasing featuring Australia’s rich & dominant history within the sport! Featuring the names of all of our former World Champions, Commonwealth medalists and Olympic Medalists! What a way to inspire us as athletes! Racing with such pride and history- It certainly is my goal to earn my name onto that suit! Well done Triathlon Australia and Scody for our terrific new uniforms!

My preparations in the lead up to the WTS were nothing different, Mick & I working to keep it simple and not get ahead of ourselves! I was feeling comfortable about my race process objectives I wanted to nail & ready to roll come Saturday Race Day!

I was lucky enough to have the best support around me up at the race, with my beautiful Mum and best mates Madi & Tanya flying up to be there to support me, watch, cheer, celebrate & double check my head stays screwed on straight haha. I also had Mick’s family there for the race with his 3 young nephews making the best green & gold “Go Emma” posters I’ve ever seen! Plus so much love & support back home form everyone watching live! And not to mention the whole Triathlon Australia Elite Team of Staff there to help with everything us athletes needed! SO thankyou!

Racing kicked off at Southport for the Elite Women at 2.06pm. The Gold Coast produced some great racing weather- sunshine & blue skies, crazy to think that Tropical cyclone Debbie had only ripped through the same area a week prior! I was starting as number 23 and was bouncing around pre race ready to rock and roll, who doesn’t love those pre race nerves… Its what we live for after all!

 

Running down to the line I was pumped to rip in & step it up, time to see where I sit today among the Worlds Best! I got off to a clear start and was fortunate to have some quick swimmers around me, leading us out into clear water and space! Sitting happily in third avoiding the chaos around those swim buoys as we turned for home into the choppy water. Exiting the water towards the pointy end of the field, I could already hear my friends and mum screaming yahoo!

Getting out onto the bike where the chasing field was quick to work there way onto us 4 up front! Numbers quickly doubles & then doubles again! Before long the chasing 2 packs had used the incentives and worked hard to catch us up front and by the middle of the 20km 4 lap cycle leg there were about 35 of us Elite Women sitting together! Now a jostling game & challenge to avoid the 2 wheeled tricks some athletes pull out on course haha. A little disorganized at times with no one really willing to put down the hard work once packs came together so it was a race of sticking in!

I was pleased with how I rode out there on course, but as always there is plenty to learn from & improve at! But as I got off the bike up front into transition I was ready to battle it out on the run!

 It was awesome, I loved every minute of that run, I stuck & felt great out there! A real boost as I pushed myself to bring it home strong, even coming out on top sprinting down the blue carpet!! It could certainly look prettier but on that day it did the job, I got my big dance!! Thrilled to cross the line in 11^th after a closely contested race!

A giant bear hug & kiss from mum across barrier, cheers and celebrations with my friends & some great feedback from coach Mick! And of course, a cheeky thumbs up to the TV Camera! Safe to say I was really stoked with myself in my execution of my first World Triathlon Series Race, the first of many years of Top level international racing to come I hope!

A huge Congratulations to Ash Gentle, who crossed the line in 2^nd behind the inspiring Andrea Hewitt to take a well fought Automatic Selection Spot on the 2018 Commonwealth Games team!! And in the men’s Jake Birtwhistle gained the male Automatic Selection spot on the team finishing in 5^th just behind the World’s Best men! Very happy for both of my fellow athletes!

Heading home one very happy athlete!! I unfortunately missed the Triathlon Australia Awards night on that Sunday but had a Monday Morning final Uni Exam to return for, the joys..

Finishing off my mid semester exams I was lucky enough to have my family time in a perfect few days getaway to our second home up at Sugarloaf Lighthouse in Seal Rocks! One of my most favourite places in the world & I love being able to head up here, pretty hidden away from everything for some quality family time, sun, surf, water, relaxation & adventures!

Enjoying a great Easter break & plenty of chocolate… my favourite! Not that I need an excuse, but Easter gives no judgement when having eggs for breakfast, Cadbury eggs! Haha.

Finishing off the month settled back into some quality miles & training, with Mick and I drawing from Gold Coast to work on plenty of areas of improvement!!

Next up was Chengdu World Cup in China. After a lengthy 3 hour wait at the Chinese Consulate I got my Visa and headed over! I’d never been to China before & was excited to see what was in store here! Safe to say the phrase “Only in China” became common place & it was certainly an interesting week here before some awesome 2 day racing!

The racing kicked off on Saturday in a very unique format where we competed in a Sprint event on Saturday in 2 heats over 750m/20km/5km racing to finish in the top end of the field to earn a spot on the start line for the “A” Final on Sunday. Where we then raced over the super sprint distance- 400m/10km/2.5km. It was some awesome racing, a super exciting format, FUN & QUICK! But more on Chengdu World Cup in next month’s update!

 I’m currently halfway through a movie, “Hidden Figures” on an overnight flight on route to Sydney from Hong Kong (after leaving Chengdu). Enjoying the peace & down time now because when I land its straight to University for my final ever practical exam! Let’s hope I won’t have to use the jet lag excuse & get the green light, one step closer in the final stage of earning my Bachelor of Nursing! The joys, No rest for the wicked!

Thanks for all the support legends!

Em 😊

X