WOW, March
2017, what a month it’s been! My best month as professional Triathlete ever,
with some awesome racing experience, big lessons learnt & a leap in the
right direction. Time to reflect..
What did I
say last update, exciting things were on the cards for this month & I
didn’t disappoint myself as March kicked off on a flying high as I got the news
from the Triathlon Australia Elite Selection Committee that I had been selected
to Compete in my first WTS Event on the Gold Coast on April 8th. The
WTS or World Triathlon Series is the pinnacle of racing in our sport, the best
of the best triathletes in the ITU World Rankings putting it all on the line,
it doesn’t get any better! Its fast, its furious, & it is time to get
amongst it because the bar just raised!
The WTS
consists of generally 9 races across the globe, starting in March in Abu Dhabi
before heading through the season to; Gold Coast, Yokohama, Leeds, Hamburg,
Edmonton, Montreal & Stockholm, finishing with the Grand Final & World
Championships in Rotterdam.
I am so
thrilled to have earnt my oppourtunity to race at the top, since first starting
in Triathlon back 4 years ago, it has always been high on my list of dream
goals to race as a professional athlete on the World Series. It’s safe to say I
can’t wait & I’ll be out there to give my best swim, bike & run, but I’ll
have a little smile on my face as I enjoy soaking up the first WTS race of my
dreams!
This WTS race on the Gold Coast also doubles as the first of
two automatic qualifying races for us Australians to earn our spot on the
Commonwealth Games team for 2018, which will be a 6 person male & female
team, (3 & 3) racing at home on this same course over the sprint distance
(750m/20km/5km) come April next year. I am so thrilled to be given the
oppourtunity among the other super strong female & male athletes lining up
to have their shot at earning a spot to represent their country in the Green
& Gold at a major games!!
This time around I’ll be lucky enough to have my Mum &
some of my closest friends up on the Gold Coast to support & enjoy this
experience with me! Without the amazing support of my close family &
friends I have around me I certainly wouldn’t have got to this point as “sane”
as I am now so I’m thrilled that they can be there to watch & cheer me
through the next step!
Mick & I have been working hard at planning through March
to have the best lead up into the Gold Coast race possible, through a month of
hard training & racing in March I’m confident in the work I’ve done to this
point as we head into April!
But enough about that, can’t get too ahead of yourself, time
to reflect on March!
I had 2 big target events this month; Mooloolaba World Cup
& Devonport Olympic Oceania & Australian Elite Championships. Both
events doubling as Automatic Selection events for the Australian U/23 World
Championship team in Rotterdam in September this year. Mooloolaba World Cup was
first up on the Sunshine Coast of QLD, providing just that- warmth &
sunshine!
This was my 4th trip up to Mooloolaba, and only last year
this event was my first World Cup race & it was really exciting to be going
back as a better athlete & to tackle the Olympic distance course up there.
Arriving a few days early I had time to settle into some prep
work & get familiar with the course. Feeling excited come race day &
ready to rumble, I was confident in the last 2 months work behind me coming
back into this domestic season & I just wanted to relish this confidence,
focus on my processes & let the rest take care of itself.
Us females kicked off in a relatively small field of under 20
Elite females, at 11.30am. A 1500m surf ocean swim, navigating some swell &
waves on the bank, a 8 lap 40km ride up & over Alexandra Headland twice per
lap, and then a hilly 10km run to top it off, through the crowd packed
promenade of Mooloolaba and up over that hill, only 4 times this time around..
It was certainly hot out on course from the start with the
water temp sitting at about 27 degrees. Coming from a strong surf life saving
background I used these surf skills to my advantage to get an early lead &
hold this exiting the water with a small group of girls just behind on my tail!
Treated to an uphill soft sand run into transition before quickly getting up
& away on the bike! Being a smaller field you have less depth & so
often see bigger splits & divide between packs that wouldn’t usually emerge.
Our front pack of 6 athletes worked hard over the 40km to roll turns &
maintain our lead over the 5 hard working girls of the chasing pack, just
extending this lead in the last few laps out to around 50 secs getting off the
bike & onto the run.
Heading out on the run I felt great early.. a mixture of excitement, lack of experience
& my nature meant I went out off the front on the run early & stuck
here…. I was thrilled to be leading my 4th world cup… up until
around the half way point at 5km when I didn’t stick so well as Emma Jackson was
the first athlete to came past & eventually take the World Cup Win! Until
this 5km hurdle mark I was feeling comfortable & relatively fresh on the
legs, but this was a different story 4km later as I headed into the back end of
this 10km.
Having burnt a few too many matches early I started to fatigue &
it became a game of holding onto form. On the third lap Ash Gentle came past me
having run up from the chasing pack & with one lap to go I was sitting in
third but that last 2.5km really stung. I so wanted to hang on for my first
World Cup podium & I will openly admit I am disappointed in my 4th
place finish here in Mooloolaba having lost my spot on an all Aussie podium in
the last 1km downhill stretch as Rivas from Mexico came up to take over &
finish in bronze behind Emma & Ash Gentle. Finishing I was disappointed
with the back end of my run but I soon looked to the positives gained in this
race, with many lessons to take forward into future racing at this level over a
standard distance.
After a quick call to Mick & my Mum & best friend
Mads I accepted that 4th hurts but was proud of my efforts &
happy that I backed myself out there, taking away my best World Cup finish
& result to date. I also earnt myself the first of 2 Automatic team selection
positions on the Australian team for World Champs, Okay yep… it was a pretty
great day out! But us athletes are always critical of ourselves & that’s what
makes us always strive to be better!
Heading home from Mooloolaba early the next morning with an
epic circle trisuit tan on my back as a reminder haha. It was time to get home
& start my recovery so I could be in the best possible shape to head down
to Devonport Tasmania in a few days time looking to back up with another
performance here.
We Headed down to Devonport Tasmania on Thursday via Melbourne and
then on a little Qantas link plane. It's always the luck of the draw with these
little planes whether your bike will arrive at the other end …. unfortunately
for me my bike was left behind in Melbourne! Fortunately this meant I was treated
to a sunset ride when it finally arrived.
Travelling down to Tasmania with Mick and the High-Performance Tri
& NSW U/23 squad. Last minute my Mum Supa decided to book a ticket down to
Tassie to watch me race and get out of the house, having come so far following
a hip and the replacement only two months ago! I was so thrilled to have Mum
come along for the weekend with some quality mother-daughter time! The joys of
tapering, offers us athletes a lot more time to sit & relax & ... eat.
Friday was a day to get familiar with the course, as well as briefing
and athlete registration at Devonport Surf club! If you ever find yourself down there make sure you go to the cafe below –
“Adrift” it serves some of the yummiest food and I think we found ourselves
becoming quite the regulars over that three days! Best dish on the menu had to
be the fresh calamari & slaw + mayo tacos! Mum’s drink of choice, a corona
in the sun didn't look too bad either ... not that I can comment #AthleteLife!
Straight out of a “From where you’d rather be” Corona commercial!
The body was feeling good post Mooloolaba and I was ready to roll
the next afternoon for the Oceania and Australian Elite and Under 23 Olympic
distance championships!
After watching the spirit of Tasmania wondering into Devonport
race day morning, I was up early for some activation work and food! Legs up and Netflix on before it was time to go down to race
venue! The wind had come up and it was quite a different picture than the day
previous with so much chop Devonport almost had a decent size wave on!
Us Elite women kicked off at 1pm making our way around the rough
swim course over the 1500 m! Taking on some extra fluid in the form of salt
water I was able to again make the most of my surf swim background using the
runners and chop to ride into shore with close to a 50 second lead over the
rest of the girls!
Heading out onto the windy 40 km bike leg knowing that I was going
to have at least a few Hill reps solo. I tucked in and tried to settle into a
solid rhythm! Tapping away it was looking
like Gillian Backhouse, fellow Aussie Elite & last year’s winner, might
catch at about the 20km mark but I managed to hold my ground and increase my
lead up to about 1:20mins by the end of the bike leg heading out onto the 10 km
run!
Heading out onto the run I wasn't sure how my legs would feel
after a tough solo 40 km ride and backing up from last weekend but I got myself
settled into a comfortable rhythm and tapped away! Thankfully I was feeling
pretty good on course and was able to comfortably hold my lead over the rest of
the field to the finish line, where it was my chance to soak it all up!
Grabbing the tape & having that priceless post race hug and kiss off my beautiful
mum who is waiting just across the line! A few tears shed and I was stoked to
be able to claim my first Australian & Oceania Elite title & defend my
U/23 title from 2016.
Also gaining the 2nd Automatic team selection position
for World Champs in Rotterdam. Another terrific day in the office with smiles
all round and this weekend I was able to step up on that podium and pop some
bottles! Yahoo! There's something about being able to spray champagne on your good
friends & competitors that just brings you pure joy and laughter!!
Soak it up I say you've got to enjoy the little wins along the
way!! My first Elite
Oceania & National Championship title- I never would have dreamed I would
achieve this goal 3 years on from when I was first down here in Devonport as an
age grouper Athlete trying to get my professional license to race against “those
elites!”
I headed down the following morning to Hobart to stay with my
friend Emily who had recently moved away from Sydney to complete her Masters Degree
the little genius! Enjoying a day off and a nice stroll around the harbour side
of Hobart I headed back to Sydney mentally refreshed and a little tired
physically!
A week ahead of settling back into Uni work as I progress through
my final year of nursing studies, along with a relatively easy week of training
as I let the body recover well before it's time to start sharpening up ready
for Gold Coast early next month!
I was treated to a brilliant surprise by my amazing sponsors at Avanti
Bikes and Avantiplus Narrabeen who surprised me with a brand new custom 2017
Avanti Corsa DR with Swift full carbon wheels and the new Duraace 9100. I'm
honestly in love with my flash new two wheeled child! Like a little kid in a
candy store I just can't wait to get on and rip into this speedy new bike after
Gold Coast & into the next block of work ahead!! I can't thank the team at
Avanti in Narrabeen who have supported me throughout the last few years and
will continue to make sure I have the best bike & all the top gear for
years to come!!
Not to mention I love the new colour scheme with a little bit of
white on the top tube and more of a baby blue frame then sky blue, with that
pinch of orange haha, you know it's just the little things guys!
I'm excited to announce to that I have partnered with a new
sponsor moving forward, A3 performance! The guys at A3 Performance make sure
I'm fully kitted out in the pool with the best range of goggles to choose from
depending on whether I'm in the pool, surf, racing, training or in the sun or
indoors- it's the little things day to day that make a difference for us as
athletes in terms of comfort and getting the most out of yourself. My favourite
goggles are the Fuse & Avenger Goggles! A3 Performance also have all the
latest research & development in great new swim gear on the market,
maximising my swim training benefits in the pool!! Do yourself a favour- Checkout the guys online at a3performance.com
Now for March, that’s a wrap!
Thanks for the support & taking
the time to read gang!
For any enquires please fill free to
contact my manager by email;
erin@bemanagement.com.au
Bring on an exciting April aheah!!
Em x
