October Update- NTA & Hong Kong Asian Cup Race

Hi Guys,

Sorry it's been a while. It has been a busy winter for me, head down bum up working towards some big goals!  Some ticked off and a few hopefully around the corner over the next 6-12 months.

One big box ticked was my acceptance last month into the AIS & Triathlon Australia - National Talent Academy (NTA). Something i worked hard to achieve through automatic selection criteria, which involved fulfilling numerous criteria based around: strong swim, bike & run ability, endurance ability, skill sets, mental strength, family and home environment, coach-able & potential to produce "performances" in the near but distant future.

I highlight "Performances" as these are  classified as Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games and ITU World Triathlon Series Podium Positions & Gold Medals, not bad hey. For me that is the ultimate dream down the long path of highs & lows along the way of this adventure.

Ultimately selection comes down to meeting the National performance standards for your age over a 1km swim & 5km run. For me, turning 21 this year these meant meeting a 12:26 swim & 16:52 run time, or in other words 93% of the current World best (100%) standards for Elite Women.
I was over the moon to tick this box & couldn't have done it without the help, guidance and hard work of my home coach Mick Delamotte and my squad coached under Mick, HPT- High Performance Tri. Along with the constant love & backing of my family, friends & sponsors; HPT, University of Sydney SURF Elite Athlete Program, Avantiplus Narrabeen, Catfish Designs, & Le Bent.

This doesn't impact too much for me day to day, but means I will have the support 7 access to top support networks, coaches, facilities, services, and other NTA athletes provided to me by the NTA program & its key sponsors, something i look forward to being a part of into 2016.

http://www.triathlon.org.au/elite/the_national_talent_academy_programme.htm



Last month I also traveled over to Hong Kong with 2 other professional athletes and close friends from HPT. We traveled over to race in the Hong Kong Asian Continental Cup Event.
http://www.triathlon.org/events/event/2015_hong_kong_astc_sprint_triathlon_asian_cup

Having raced here last year i was looking forward to travelling back for another shot, made easier with the hospitable and amazing long time family friends who live over in Hong Kong and were king enough to give me a room for the week, home cooked vego meals, and some cheering support on race day- priceless when away from home racing!

Hong Kong was hot & humid, but arriving with plenty of time to settle in we were lucky enough to get to see some of the top sights HK has to offer!!!

But a few days out i unfortunately caught a nasty bug & came down with  flu like symptoms & a lower chest infection, never ideal, especially going into a race where the competition was going to be hot!! Pushing on with a job to do and nothing more i could do than, rest, sleep, hydrate & eat well i did my best to perform on the day & overall I'm very happy with how i raced & the outcome. Walking away with 4th among competitive World Triathlon Series (WTS) athletes and recent World Cup winners.

http://www.triathlon.org/results/result/2015_hong_kong_astc_sprint_triathlon_asian_cup/272010

The swim pace was there from the start, feeling the most average i felt all day in the water I got knocked about a little more than I'm used to & enjoyed this exposure to a field of stronger swimmers, sharpening up my skills and reminding me that Good is the enemy to Great!! Coming out of the water in second with a look behind to see we would potentially have a solid front pack for the ride. The pace remained on the bike & some of the less experienced/ weaker riders soon dropped off on the hilly & reasonably technical course.

Rolling turns with the usual hustle & bustle for those not taking their fair turn & by the time i knew it we were off the bike and onto the run.

 Feeling confident easing into it i took the lead & started to pull away from our pack of us 4 runners left!

 At this point you always get a little boost, it came & faded the back end of the run & my bug i was carrying along became noticeable as i faded back in the field. With a close finish of 30 seconds separating 1st to 4th (for a Conti Cup). I was pleased and happy to finish in 4th. taking away many development lessons and skills to go away and work on before the next one. Plus some handy World Ranking Points to move me up the ladder and the prize money never goes astray!!

Up next, its back home to recover and kick this nasty bug ( a night flight at the back of the plane never helps) before getting ready to go again the end of this month in the Hamilton Island Triathlon & my last Continental Cup for the year - Pariaman in Indonesia for another Asian Cup.

Thanks again for all the support & congratulatory messages over the last month. Bring on an exciting November!! (did i mention i'm turning 21.... Woohoo!!)

X Em.