<![CDATA[Eimear Mullan Professional Triathlete

<![CDATA[Eimear Mullan Professional Triathlete - Blog]]>Thu, 03 May 2012 01:36:12 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[Tristar Mallorca 2012 ]]>Thu, 26 Apr 2012 08:56:28 -0800http://www.eimearmullan.com/1/post/2012/04/tristar-mallorca-2012.htmlI decided quite early on that I would make Tristar Mallorca my first race of the season. I had won it last year in my first Pro race and decided to go back this year; it’s a great course with a fair bit of climbing.

When I raced there last year I knew I was in good shape. I had already raced a few times with some great results including winning the British National Duathlon Championships so I was fit, flying and up for it. This year it's been quite a different story, I had been suffering from planter fasciitis since late November right up until early March so had missed out on a lot of the winter training I had planned. On top of this I suffered from various bouts of illness and fatigue in the early parts of the year, leaving me unable to get any consistent training in for quite some time. I began to get things back on track when I went to Lanzarote at the beginning of March, starting with some very easy short runs. I had managed to get two quality faster sessions in before Mallorca and one of those sessions was the Mid Ulster Duathlon the weekend before (which I won). All of a sudden my legs which had been feeling like lumps of lead felt a little faster and lighter. It gave me some confidence that I'd be able to get round the 10k in Mallorca.

Race day arrived and the morning was dry without too much wind, almost every race I did last year had some kind of extreme weather conditions so I wasn't too surprised when we started to get some horrible wind, rain and hail in the latter parts of race.

The swim was quite good for me, usually when I start the swim or even before I get in the water I have the feeling that I'm the weakest swimmer there and I'll be dropped within 50m. This time I went in with a more positive attitude. I wanted to focus on my own swim, if I found feet to follow then great but of not just keep it together and swim straight! It seemed to help as I was a lot faster than I'd expected and came out of the water further up the field than I had before.

The day before the race was quite stressful and many little things seemed to keep going wrong (getting locked out, getting stuck in a lift, cycling down a mountain with the keys of the car which was at the top etc!!). This seemed to continue in to transition. T1 was probably the worst T1 I have ever had. I was slightly thrown by the fact that there were so many bags still hanging up in transition so I couldn’t find my bag. I then forgot to put my wetsuit in to the bag and was called back to do it. Then to top it all off I lifted the wrong bike and started running towards the exit with it. I glanced down at it and nearly died when I saw DI2 shifters, I had lifted my friends Blue bike, luckily I didn’t get too far.

On the bike it took a little while to get going. With just a stopwatch to look at it was a case of riding steady-hard and by the end of the first 50k lap I started to think that I might have gone out too hard. I went thought a bit of a bad patch for much of the second lap, right up until the bottom of the climb, San Salvador, when I took a Gu Roctane gel and from the I was flying and started feeling like I wish I'd felt for the whole race! For the first time all day I felt strong and pushed hard in to transition to make up some of the time I had lost.

In to transition and I was almost the same situation as last year, I was in second behind Tamsin Lewis but this time I had 2 minutes to make up. Last year I came of the bike, and ran hard to catch up, I was tired and every hill felt like a mountain after the strong bike. This year although I didn’t feel as flying fit as last year I felt like a much stronger athlete and paced my run much better running strong (but not hard) for the first 5k. The support on the run was great and I could hear the shouts of how many seconds I was from the lead. I knew I was closing the gap but I wasn't sure if 10k was going to be enough to do it. The lead bike was getting closer and closer and eventually after around 6.5k I caught Tamsin. We spoke briefly and I went on to take the win. She had given me a great race again this year.

For me this was a strong and confidence boosting start to the season. It can be easy to look back upon a race you’ve won as the perfect race but sometimes it's best to ask yourself how you would feel if you didn't win, what things would you change, what did you learn and what do you need to work on for next time. There’s lots of work to be done!!

Thanks to;

Corley Cycles, Body Limits, Fusion, Multisport Distribution, Compressport UK, SWANS, www.Trisportslanza.com

]]><![CDATA[Back on track]]>Mon, 26 Mar 2012 08:20:36 -0800http://www.eimearmullan.com/1/post/2012/03/march-2012.htmlThis winter has not been the smooth training block I had imagined; in fact it has been quite a rough winter. At the time and even now it feels quite worrying as I feel that I am not as strong, fast or fit as I was this time last year. It's been frustrating because I end up thinking to myself what if I've lost it, what if I can't run anymore..... Things seem to be getting back on track now and I think what it will mean for me is that physically and mentally I will be much stronger in the latter part of the season. It's great to get your season off to a good start with some early season races and testers but I'm going to have to be patient as I get back to full fitness and ready to race.

Really what I needed was another kick start to get me back on track and luckily I had a trip to Lanzarote planned at the beginning of March. My coach was helping out on Liz and Martin Yelling's camp and I went along and joined in with some of their sessions. Some of my training buddies from Team MK were there at the same time so there was always a great group of people to train with. We did some solid sessions on the bike, some great swims and I started to run again. It was slow and easy but at least I was back on my feet with fingers crossed that my foot would hold up... And it did. It felt so good to be running again!

I decided to stay for a second week at the Trisports Lanzarote villa. I felt like I had moved in to luxury accommodation and was spoilt rotten for the week by Debs and Daz. Their offer to stay another week was very tempting but work was calling so I had to return. There was a great group of guys training out there, they were really easy going and it was really refreshing to train with a new group of people. I trained hard but this week it was much easier to relax and chill out which definitely made a lot of difference to my recovery. By the end of my trip I was feeling much stronger and fitter and for the first time in a while I felt really excited about the thought of racing!

I love training hard, pushing myself and hurting myself and I'm beginning to learn that if I want to do that I need to rest and recover properly and include some easy sessions. When I train want to go hard all the time which leaves me feeling tired and means that when it comes to a hard session I am too tired to put the quality in that is needed. I'm now learning that easy sessions are not a waste of time and that I don't need to test myself and hurt myself in every session.

After living the pro life out in Lanza it was definitely a shock to be back but I'm pleased that I'm feeling better, I'm running again and I'm getting back on track. Not long now till my first triathlon of the season. Tristar Mallorca 111 next month :)

A special thanks to Debs and Daz for looking after me at their villa (with a 25m pool!) check out www.trisportslanza.com

]]><![CDATA[January Sun]]>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:27:57 -0800http://www.eimearmullan.com/1/post/2012/01/january-sun.htmlA 12 day training camp was just what I needed to kick start my fitness and Lanzarote was the perfect location for it. Before I left I had just started swimming after my mountain bike crash and had built up to 2.5k of easy swimming. I still wasn't running but had some treatment on my foot at Body Limits (www.body-limits.co.uk) in Milton Keynes when I arrived back after Christmas in Ireland which helped to speed up the healing.

The plan was to get healthy, focus on the bike, swim as much as felt comfortable and start some easy running to gradually build up to an hour by the end of the 12 days. I seemed to be able to build the swimming back up quite quickly and was doing proper sets within 3 days of arriving in Lanzarote. I did an 8 minute run on the first day but was still left with a lot of pain and stiffness afterwards. The following day we swam at a pool where it water overlapped side of the pool. I did a fast tumble turn and smacked the heel of my 'good' foot off the edge of the concrete wall. This left me unable to walk on my heel for about 4 days and I had to tip toe around obviously meaning that my plan to begin running was delayed for a few more days. I think that this was definitely a blessing in disguise. It allowed me to rest my injured foot for much longer than I would have had I not hurt my other heel. It also made me focus more on biking and swimming which might not be such a bad thing. I decided that I should accept that I was injured for a reason and I just wasn't meant to be running yet. When I felt ready I began to run, starting with very slow short runs. I haven't quite made it up to an hour but I am pleased with the progress and I hope it continues. As someone who loves to run it can be very difficult to hold back but I am going to be disciplined this time and not rush it!

For the duration of out camp we stayed at the new Tri-Sports Lanzarote Villa, a new training camp location for triathletes (with its own 25m pool!) and were looked after amazingly well. Debs and Daz renovated the villa themselves and got it finished just in time for our arrival. The four of us were the first guests at the Villa (Lucy Gossage, Tamsin Lewis, Liam Dolan and myself). We were cooked for and tended to for the whole trip which made life so easy for us. We really couldn't believe how lucky we were. Staying in a luxury villa with killer views, getting all our meals provided (the food was absolutely amazing!) and being driven to wherever we needed to go. It was totally perfect and so nice to have each other to train with. Liam kept our morning 'faffing' to a minimum (and the pace up on the bike), Lucy kept us entertained with her ability to chat for England (and her ability to train with a constant smile) and Tamsin made dinner look like an eating competition (and provided some killer swim sets). We trained well, rested well and ate vast amounts of healthy home cooked food prepared by Debs. The trip has definitely helped to get me back on my feet and I now feel like I can get on with some proper training at last!

I would definitely recommend having a look at the Tri-Sports Lanzarote website to anyone who is thinking of planning a training camp (www.trisportslanzarote.com). I will be back there soon :)

]]><![CDATA[The right time for a bad time!]]>Fri, 30 Dec 2011 06:03:32 -0800http://www.eimearmullan.com/1/post/2011/12/decemberjanuary.htmlAfter Ironman Florida I had some time off training. The plan was to take a few weeks to recover and chill out then two weeks to build back in to some training with what ever I felt like doing. After that I would start to build back in to some normal training with more of a focus on strength work, technique and fun. I started mountain biking for the first time which was a bit of a love-hate relationship. I couldn't decide whether I loved it or hated it. I definitely loved learning something new, the mud and the adrenaline but I wasn't so sure about the falling off which seemed to happen very regularly. Though it was fun it was short lived and after a little accident I think I'll be sticking to the road from here on!

Things didn’t quite go to plan after my end of season break. As soon as I started trying to come back to some training I got an injury in my foot (plantar facitius). Then on top of this I had quite a spectacular crash on my mountain bike, momentarily knocking myself out, injuring my shoulder and fracturing a rib which combined with my foot injury left me unable to swim or run so I was confined to spinning lightly on the turbo for weeks. Then to top it all off, just as I was thinking of starting to cycle properly again I got a cold which developed in to a chest and ear infection. I was in a pretty bad way when I arrived back to Milton Keynes after spending the Christmas holidays back home in Ireland but its best to get these things out of the way now rather than mid season!

Although it was only December/January I couldn’t help feeling so far behind on all of my winter training. I was missing out on all the base miles and strength work that I felt I should be doing. What made things worse was looking at other athletes tweets, blogs and facebook updates about how well their winter training is going. I decided to stop thinking about what others were doing and to accept that everything happens for a reason and I wasn’t meant to be fit or training properly. In fact when I think back to last year I remember how fit I was in January and to be honest I was far too fit. I was flying in January, February and March especially at some early season Duathlons and by the time it came to July I was pretty tired. This year things are shaping up a little differently and I definitely wont be the one who’s flying in the early part of the season this year!

One thing that kept me going was the thought that I would be going on a training camp in Lanzarote in early January plus the fact that we would be staying at the amazing Tri Sports Lanzarote Villa (http://www.trisportslanzarote.com/). An all inclusive training camp in the sunshine…. Just what I would need to get myself patched up and back in to shape!

]]><![CDATA[Ironman Florida]]>Sun, 27 Nov 2011 13:58:20 -0800http://www.eimearmullan.com/1/post/2011/11/ironman-florida.htmlIt was sometime in the middle of the summer when the thought of doing an Ironman this season popped in to my head. I brought it up with my coach expecting him to suggest that I leave it until next season but he said ‘go for it’. I chose IM Florida as I wanted a race at the very end of the season and the timing suited well, I knew it wouldn’t be my type of course as I prefer the hills but I thought it could be a good race for my first Ironman.

I arrived out in Florida the week before the race and got collected at the airport by my home stay John who was also doing his first Ironman. When I arrived at his house and I was seriously shocked at how amazing it was. I was living in luxury for the week plus he was a great a chef he was which made it easy to eat really well leading up to the race. I spent most of my days worrying about how bad my legs felt and watching Dexter. I got through 2 and a Half series which is a lot of TV time for someone who doesn't usually watch much TV! My legs kind of improved through the week but right up until the day before the race they felt knackered just standing up! I wasn't sure if this was normal or if there was something wrong or what was going on so I just hoped and prayed that they would be ok on the day.

Two days before the race I did an interview for ironman live and then headed to the expo to register. It wasn't until then that I started to feel excited about the race. I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing but I don't tend to suffer much with nerves before big races. I spent some time chatting with Chance from Blue and Dirk Bockel another Blue athlete, they gave me a wooly hat and a blanket to keep warm as I had totally underdressed for the cold winds that day! Both of them had raced IM Florida in the past so were able to give me some info and tips on the course.

The swim started out fairly well for me, I was with a group until around 1k then after a momentary lapse in concentration I lost the feet of the swimmer in front and was left on my own. I did most of the rest of the swim by myself and exited the water in 1.06. Not great but not a complete disaster. Through transition and the gloves went on, I had my arm warmers/ Fusion hot wings on under my wetsuit. It was cold and windy so they were definitely needed. I started the bike really easy and planning to build in to it but as it happened I just stayed very easy through the whole thing. I was told by my coach to undercook the bike but I don't think he meant to go That easy. When I did try to push I felt like I hadn't much power there and I was a little worried about the fact that I had to run further than I had ever ran before off the bike! The bike course was horribly flat and windy and was definitely not one to suit my strengths. It seemed that the whole world was passing me and I honesty was very disappointed with my bike split as it was way off what I am capable of.

In to transition for what felt like the slowest transition ever but actually it wasn't as slow as it seemed. I had forgotten to take my arm warmers off before starting the run and considered dumping them but kept them on for a while, I soon realised that this was a great idea as they were actually the white Fusion Hot Wings and when wet they really helped to keep me cool. When I started running my legs felt pretty good. I went through the first mile in around 6.20 at which point I told myself to back way off!! This was going to be the furthest I had ever ran but I found it hard to hold back in first part and now and again found myself upping the pace without really realising it. I loved the fact that it was a 2 lap run, it seemed to help me deal with the distance and made it very easy to just break it in to four 10ks in my head rather than setting out to do a marathon. Lap one felt good and it was easy to get what I needed from the aid stations. On the second lap there were thousands of people out on the course which made it quite difficult to get things from aid stations and I ended up missing quite a lot of them. I had no idea how I was going to feel on the run and judging by how I felt on the bike I actually thought that it was going to be a disaster however I strangely found it enjoyable and was probably the only athlete out there who was wishing for a longer run. In hind sight I definitely undercooked the whole race as I'm pretty sure I shouldn't feel as good as I felt in the last part of the run and I was able to run hard in the last mile. I finished the race and I'll be honest I was a little disappointed as I felt It was very far from what I am capable of however on reflection it was a solid performance and not a bad one for the first time out. It gives me something to build on for next year and has allowed me to see that this is probably going to be a better distance for me.

The day after the race my legs were sore and judging by the other people hobbling around at the awards banquet I wasn't the only one. Two days after the race my legs surprisingly felt fine.... I lived in Compressport full legs for a few days which really helped plus I think the dancing at the after party must have loosened them up a little ;)

So now it's time for a little break from training and all things triathlon. That means minimal exercise and maximal partying for a couple of weeks! I'm beginning to think about my plans for next year and can't wait to get in to some winter training!

A big thanks to all those who have helped me in my first year as a pro especially my coach Mark Booth without whom I probably wouldn't be doing triathlons at all, Corley Cycles for the lovely Blue Triad SL bike plus all the tech support, the guys at Multisport Distribution who have been supplying me with plenty of kit throughout the season and many the others who have helped along the way.

]]><![CDATA[Monaco 111 ]]>Mon, 10 Oct 2011 11:23:18 -0800http://www.eimearmullan.com/1/post/2011/10/monaco-111.htmlIt’s about time I updated, it’s been a while! I’ve been busy with moving house, Ironman training and trying to get myself organised. Monaco 111 was my last race and it was definitely an amazing location for a race and really unlike anywhere else I have ever raced. I arrived out there on the Wednesday before the race with a group from my triathlon club Team Milton Keynes. On Thursday we planned to do a short ride taking in part of the course. We ended up out for around 6 hours.

The bike course was amazing, beautiful scenery amazing climbs and definitely my kind of course, hilly, hard, technical! I had expected this of the bike course but what I wasn’t expecting was the fairly steep hill on the run that we had to do three times. I hadn’t looked at the run course profile so just presumed that it was a flat run. I was puffing and panting just walking up that hill.

Race day and we woke up to drizzle! A total nightmare on a course like that, it meant the descents were going to be much more dangerous but putting that to the back of my mind I stayed calm and had confidence in my improving ability to descend quite well, (something that has just started to come this year as a result of following my coach Mark Booth down many hills). The start was chaotic, everyone together in a narrow beach start, feet, hands, heads, pushing, pulling, plunging…. The usual. I was a little slower then expected and came out in around 10th. When I got on to the bike and my main instruction was to go easy until mid way through the 3rd climb of 4 and that’s exactly what I did. In hindsight I may have gone a little too easy at the beginning. I tried to keep the effort steady, descend confidently and was getting excited about going for it in the last part. When I picked up the pace I felt good and moved in to second pretty quickly. I was unsure of how I would feel on the run as I haven’t been running particularly well off the bike this season but this time it felt good. I was comfortable, able to float along with a strong pace and the hill wasn’t a problem. I was quickly closing in on first place but 10k just wasn’t enough! I was pleased with my race and happy that I was feeling more like myself again.

I had been having a few problems with exhaustion recently and felt like I hadn’t been training properly since UK 70.3 in June. Racing twice soon after that didn’t help much but that’s a long time to be feeling unwell and it was extremely frustrating. In fact right up to the week before Monaco I was still feeling very run down and off form, however after getting over a stomach bug on the week of the race I seemed to feel much better and was just happy to be able to race and feel good. This season has been all about getting stronger, learning lessons and gaining experience and I’m fairly happy with how it’s gone so far.

I have one little ‘experimental’ race left this season. Ironman Florida… Can’t wait!

]]><![CDATA[Alpe d'Huez]]>Sat, 30 Jul 2011 04:14:27 -0800http://www.eimearmullan.com/1/post/2011/07/alpe-dhuez.htmlAlpe d'Huez

After UK 70.3 and before challenge Aarhus I had a little thought in my head about going race Alpe d'Huez. My coach Mark and another Mark were going so I thought I might to go along with them. I seemed to be having a bit of trouble recovering probably because Wimbleball was a tough race and challenge Aarhus was quite soon after, which put me in two minds about whether to make the trip to Alpe d'Huez or not. Eventually I decided to go with the thought that if I was still feeling under the weather I would change to the short course race... Some chance.... As soon as I got out there I knew I'd be doing the long course whether my legs were up for it or not!

We arrived very late on the Thursday evening/Friday morning before the race so we could watch the Tour de France on Alpe d’Huez, as we were driving up the mountain we knew it was going to be one crazy party. There were people everywhere, drinking, partying and painting the road! Being there for the tour was an amazing experience and I would love to go back for that alone.

The race was.... Well a bit of a learning experience. The swim was a bit of a punching match at the start but that was to be expected. I thought it was a one lap swim but they changed it and some of us didn't know. Luckily Tamsin Lewis told me about this just before we got in to the water. I came out of the water roughly where I expected to and having made the decision to only wear my arm warmers on the bike, (and my trisuit J) I had a swift transition and was on the way to our first climb of the day. The bike was a tough course but we all knew it would be, however I was soon regretting my decision not to wear more clothes on the bike as it was raining lots and very cold especially on the descents and it just seemed to get colder and colder. I think this made me descend pretty swiftly as I knew It would be a little warmer in the valley. The bike was going pretty well until I got about half way up Alpe d’Huez and suddenly I felt like I was going backwards, which I kind of was as I slipped from 3rd to 5th on the last part of the climb! I knew then that that 22k tough run was gonna be hard. When I got on to the run it was tough! I started very slowly with the intention of building in to it as I found that this worked at Challenge Aarhus, however it soon became apparent that there would be more hanging in than building in to that run. As the run continued my stomach became worse and worse and there was nothing I could do but stop for some toilet breaks on the way which I knew could cost me some places as I could see Lou Collins was chasing behind though I managed to hold on for 5th place. Although I'm happy with the result I know that I have a lot more to give and I'm already thinking of coming back next year for another go at it. I seriously need to think about my nutrition for the longer races as I don't want to have that experience again! It's been a while since I have done any proper training due to racing quite a lot over the last two months so I'm looking forward to getting back to it and getting set for the rest of the season. I have a little plan in my head for the rest of the season and let's just say my season is far from over!

]]><![CDATA[Ironman UK 70.3 Wimbleball]]>Mon, 27 Jun 2011 11:58:11 -0800http://www.eimearmullan.com/1/post/2011/06/ironman-uk-703-wimbleball.htmlThis time last year I had never done a half ironman (or half marathon) and last weekend I was on the Pro start line of Ironman Uk 70.3! They say it's the toughest in the world... Well it certainly is a tough one but as they say it’s the same for all of us. I was really excited about this race, I had been looking forward to it since Mallorca and couldn't wait to see the course and to race there. On race morning there was a little panic. As they were calling the athletes to the start and just as I was rushing to put my wetsuit on I realised that my number was missing.... And the panic begins, I start running around like a loon looking for help and recruiting some people to help me get a number sorted! (thanks to Jos ex Corley Cycles, and Tim from Compressport!)

Panic over and off to the swim start, I felt calm considering and have learned not to panic in the water and to just get on with it. Having a very short space between the pros and age groupers meant that some of us got totally beaten up within about 30 seconds of starting the race and continued to be beaten up until the end of the swim, taking on plenty of water!

Out of the swim and the plan was to have a swift transition and to get settled in on the bike. I started fairly fast but then settled in and after around 20 minutes caught one female then another at around 40 minutes, I knew at that point that I was in 4th so I just tried not to go too hard and kept a nice steady pace, just riding the hills the way I like to! (I do like my hills). Not long in to the second lap I passed Sam Warriner who had punctured, I tried to judge how long she had been there and it looked like she hadn't been there long so I started thinking I might not be too far behind the others.

On to the run and I started fairly steady and controlled, then towards the middle of the second lap I totally got totally over excited. I was gaining ground very quickly and everyone then started shouting and encouraging me which made me go even harder to catch the first two. Suddenly I was with the first two and started pushing on even more. A move I now regret as I feel it could have been what cost me the race. The sensible option would have been to sit behind, breath, control myself, take on some nutrition then make my move but instead the over excitement and my inexperience led to me hammering on. I took the lead as we ran up the very steep section of the course, Emma-Kate then came back behind me and was on my heels before she burst past me. At this point I tried to go with her but I had spent so much getting passed her initially that I was unable to go this time. I'm very happy with 2nd place in my first professional Ironman 70.3 competition and I feel that I have learned a lot from the experience. I loved the bike course there and would love to return next year if it all fits in to my plan. (well done to Lucy who managed to sprint her way in to 3rd In the last 500m)! I'm really excited about the rest of the season and I can't wait to get to my next race, challenge Aarhus on the 3rd of July!

]]><![CDATA[Big Cow Training Camp 2011]]>Wed, 25 May 2011 13:35:49 -0800http://www.eimearmullan.com/1/post/2011/05/big-cow-training-camp-2011.htmlBig Cow Training Camp in Riccione Italy, 10 days of amazing cycling (plus swimming and running). It was my second year on this camp and I absolutely loved it again this year. Mountains are my favourite place to train so I really enjoyed the cycling and we definitely got plenty of climbing in. After that it was back to England and in to Tri Grand Prix where I finished 3rd. I didn’t really get going on the bike as well as I would have liked to, possibly because it was literally the first time I had sat on my new bike but it felt like a good training race in preparation for UK 70.3 next month which I’m really looking forward to! check out the picture of my new Blue bike! A big thanks to Phil Corley Cycles www.philcorleycycles.co.uk

]]><![CDATA[Tristar Mallorca 111]]>Fri, 29 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0800http://www.eimearmullan.com/1/post/2011/04/tristar-mallorca-111.htmlMallorca 111

On the day I arrived I had quite a strange and random experience. I was checking out San Salvador which is the climb on the bike course and I saw a group of cyclists with a van so decided to ask them if they had a pump. They said they would pump my tyres if I would be part of their photo shoot. I actually thought they were joking. I agreed and was handed some lovely clothing and a bike and was told to cycle up and down the hill while they shot photos with me and some Professional German cyclists. One of the cyclists in the shoot was Marcell Wust, ex world champion cyclist! A very random afternoon.

Then Tristar 111, my first race as a pro! I was quite excited about racing especially with the thought that I was standing on the start line with some great legends of the sport (the male pro field was amazing). In the swim I remained calm and stayed steady. Then on the bike I pushed a reasonable pace and enjoyed the big climb going steady up it the first time and pushing a little more second time round. As I was cycling I could see Tamsin at the turn points I was able to judge roughly how far in front of me she was. I started to get excited when I realised that I was closing the gap a little at a time! Coming in to transition and I could see Tamisn leaving, so I tried not to get too excited. My legs felt ok for the first 500m and after that they started to feel the work on the bike but I just told myself to stay steady and not go too hard. The gap was closing and when I passed Tamsin just after the first turn point I just told myself to keep running at the same pace and stay steady. The there it is. I won my first race as a Pro athlete! Amazing, I couldn’t believe it. Tristar was a great experience and I’m looking forward to doing some more of their races in the future.

Looks like I really was enjoying that climb!!

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