February, the last
month of the treasured Aussie summer, how quick did that fly by! This month it
seemed summer peaked late with our fair share of killer heat waves storming
through Sydney! I'm a big lover of the fact that our sport allows us to be
outside in the “office” swimming, cycling & running, and I enjoy spending down
time relaxing outdoors by the beach so hopefully autumn doesn’t bring with it
too much of a change as the days get ‘shorter,’ the mornings cooler & the
ocean temps likely drop under 20.
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| @madison_quinn Photography |
This year our
domestic season of racing is a little more extended, with the familiar “regular”
calendar races on a touch later in the year, so February looked a little
different for me this time around. I could keep working away in a solid block
of training with plenty of quality sessions rather than in a taper/ recovery
mode when racing 3 or 4 back to back weekends with travel in between! None the
less with the Triathlon Australia U/23 World Championship Selection policy
being released it looks like March will be a big month coming up with the first
World Cup of the year in Mooloolaba (Olympic/Standard distance) and Devonport-Tasmania (Australian Olympic Distance Championships) being the 2 automatic U/23 team
qualifying races. These 2 fall within a week of each other & are both
important races from many aspects so it has been nice to be able to stay
settled with my head down working hard throughout February!
I kicked off 2017’s Triathlon
racing & our Domestic/ Oceania season with the Oceania Sprint Elite &
U/23 championships in Kinloch NZ, about 4 hours south of Auckland on the North
island. A lovely town resting on Lake Taupo, with hills & forest surrounding!
I've always been a big fan of NZ and that only grows with each visit back to
this diverse beautiful country with its incredible landscapes & caring,
enthusiastic people & culture!
I headed across the
ditch with fellow triathlete Tamsyn Moana-Veale. We made the drive down to
Kinloch and settled in at a mutual friends holiday place- "AJ", who's
home sits on the run course & one street back from the lake. Yep you
beauty!
I had raced in
Kinloch for my second ever professional ITU race 2 years ago & was eager to
get back on the tough hilly course to see the difference 2 years hard work
makes!
2 years ago I was out
of the water in front but was quickly picked up by the front chasers on the
bike before being dropped on the bike from the front pack, then the second
pack... before managing to hold my own within the third pack! Yep, It was a
tough race!
2 years on & I felt
stronger & worlds more confident as Tammy & I rolled around the course,
swim, bike & run for some pre race work!
Race day rolled
around on the Sunday & we were off first ahead of the men at 12.55pm. It
was funny the Kiwi’s were talking about how hot it was and how they may
struggle out there in the “heat” (mid 20's) lucky our 40 degree heatwave days in
the leadup back home left us shrugging that off! With a water temp of just over
19 it was a freshwater wetsuit swim and the course was a one lap swim, 5 lap
ride (up one steep punchy climb, 5 times) and a 2 lap hilly and fun run course
through the towns streets, over a walkway bridge & through a Marina!
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| Scottie T Photography |
As I am ranked as the
number 1 athlete in the Oceania region I was first to head down to the start
line & pick my position. Always a cool welcome introduction being announced
down as number 1!
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| Scottie T Photography |
We got underway with a clean quick start and it was on!
Pushing the pace, distinct packs formed early & with no ease up on the bike
in those initial km's those athletes just hanging onto our front pack popped
and dropped off or never quite made it on. The bike course doesn’t really ‘give
up’ making it tough on all, with plenty of technical sharp 90 degree turns, U
turns, a steep hill Climb
& descent plus various inclines throughout! I
loved the challenge!
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| Scottie T Photography |
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| Scottie T Photography |
Our front pack
quickly became 3 with Emma Jackson, Nicole Van der Kay & myself pushing the
pace the whole 20km ride, able to pull away from the chasers & giving
ourselves time & space to get into transition & out onto the run. I was
very pleased with the difference 2 years had made, with a dominant race
compared to the struggles of 2014! Hoping off the bike I felt good and tapped
away in the lead until around the half way mark.
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| Scottie T Photography |
Emma Jackson came past &
took the lead in the last lap & showed her experience to take the overall
win & Elite Oceania Title. I was really thrilled with my execution on
processes & the overall outcome in the first race of the season, finishing 2nd,
earning myself an Elite silver Oceania title & U/23 Oceania Championship
title! With Nicole rounding out the podium in third for a great day out in the
office!
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| Scottie T Photography |
Heading for home the
next day, only after a cold early morning run & icy swim in the Lake to
wake us up before the long drive back to Auckland Airport!
A few athlete life
troubles with flights found us on a
new flight home,
heading on Emirates through to Dubai apparently haha. But after one movie and
dinner Tammy & I decided we better disembark in Sydney and get back to
training!
Onto another quality
week down with the High Performance Tri crew before heading back to Sydney for
the Saturday night Athletics NSW Open 5000m championships! (A 9pm race start…
oh my goodness what even is that). I always love the opportunity to stick it
against some elite runners & see how I go! This race was no different &
after a morning long ride with some spikes I was a little nervous my legs might
not treat me so well & I could get spat out the back in the Open Women's A
race final!
Repping my stand out elastic lace tied race flats & not too aero singlet I gave it a solid go & I was really pleased
with how my race played out!!
Holding a steady pace throughout I stuck on the
hip of another runner I knew who would be a good hold! It worked a treat for
the both of us, pushing each other in that last 1600m very well to try & get
the best time for us both, coming down the straight in a battle for the mid
field places of 6th & 7th but in a tidy time of 16:46 for us both, and a
great little PB for me over 5000m! A nice reward to end a solid week, and a a
great indicator to build on! Happy days!
This month also saw a
few big changes & great moments that I shouldn't neglect to mention!! My
SUPA-mum got the all clear to come home from the Rehab hospital after going
through a double hip & knee replacement in late January. She is the rock in
our household so it was wonderful to have her back home, still mostly on bed
rest, but lucky there's endless Netflix shows to watch! Towards the end of this
month I was stoked to be able to take mum down to our backyard ocean pool at
Collaroy beach for some water walking hydro therapy and enjoy a morning in the saltwater
& sunshine! The best type of recovery- Vitamin D & a good chat!!
But as summer flew
by, so does the Uni break! Meaning my little sister Meg headed back to Wagga
Wagga in country NSW to continue her animal science degree, leaving our house a
whole lot quieter haha. I really do miss that support we give each other & her
little sister antics, but it’s so great to watch her as she follows her own
passion!
Next week I too will start
semester back at The University of Sydney, in my Final year of a Bachelor of
Nursing. I hope I remember how to write an essay. Any takers for a pin prick
tester I can use to perfect my injection giving.... Hopefully it's just like
riding a bike after a long 8 months away from Uni studies having been overseas
racing & training!
I'm very much looking
forward to getting stuck into my last few units and using my brain again in
something that's such an interest & passion for me to work in future!
I’m very pleased to announce I will start my
final year of Nursing with the continued support of the University of Sydney Elite
Athlete Program. (EAP) Such an amazing program helping so many talented top
level elite atletes form all sporting pursuits achieve their goals both on
& off the playing/ racing fields. I’m so lucky to have been part of the EAP
since I started in 2013, with financial support, travel grants, helping with
time away from study or rearranging timetables due to training & racing, Dietican,
Strength & conditioning coaches, Physio & Sports Psych staff all on
board! Truly a great program & a credit to the University of Sydney!
For now, back into some
solid work before these next few big races roll around!! It will be a big
exciting month ahead of racing & further opportunities- So stay tuned!!
Thanks for taking the
time to read my Feb update & thoughts.
Enjoy the outdoor warm
sunny training while it's here!
Em. J
