Over the past few months I've had a lot going on. In May I started to struggle with a hip injury but by the time I realised or admitted that it was a problem it was too late and there was no easy way back from it. As someone who loves to race and train it was very difficult for me and for the first time I was loosing the love for what I do. I felt isolated, wasn't having any fun and was a little down about being Injured. In July I switched back to my old coach Brett Sutton. I am very happy to be back with Brett and the squad and had a great summer training in the beautiful Saint Moritz. Thanks Brett and the Trisutto crew for welcoming me back to the squad!
My injury bothered me for most of the summer. I was on nearly every race startlist as I didn't want to miss the entry deadline if I did happen to be ready to race. Just as things began to improve I stared to get about 4 other injuries to add to the list. At one point it felt like I had a new injury every day.
Eventually I made it to Budapest 70.3 at the end of August and I was so excited just to be racing that I didn't care about my finishing position. All I wanted was to go out and enjoy racing again with no pressure and no expectations.
The swim was non wetsuit for pro athletes and I think I swam quite well. I felt fairly strong on the bike going steadier for the first half and pushing on a little in the second half. I don't usually race on flat courses but I enjoyed this one and was surprised to be first off the bike. I didn't realise that I was in the lead till I reached transition. Vanessa Raw was just behind me off the bike so we set off on the run very close together. Considering that I had been running for less than 2 weeks and hadn't done any proper run sessions I had to change my thinking and tactics for this run. I knew I'd be ok to make it to 10k then after that I wasn't so confident. Usually I go hard from the start and hang on but this time I ran as steady as I could so I could keep gap to Vanessa without pushing too much. Vanessa stayed within 50m for 3 of the 4 laps, I saw her at the end of lap 3 and thought she seemed fairly close. Soon after her coach made me think that she was right behind me. If I had been thinking logically should have known that she wasn't going to have closed the gap that quickly but of course I didn't think I just put my head down and charged forward for the last 5k managing a 1.18 something run split. I loved every minute of the race, I was just so happy to be there and winning with a course record was a massive bonus.
After Budapest the camp in Saint Moritz was coming to an end and less than 2 weeks later we packed up the Volvo and set off for Mallorca but with a stop in France for Gerardmer XL triathlon. A tough and hilly half that I've done twice before.
I wasn't sure about doing the race in Gerardmer as my injury flared up a little after Budapest but Brett thought it would be a good training day so. In his words 'if your leg hurts you will race the rest of the season without run training'. Sounded fair enough to me.
I finished 3rd on the day and was pleased to make the podium after what was a cold, hilly tough day out with a few little problems.
Following Gerardmer we set off for Barcelona for the ferry to Mallorca back to our training location at Ferrer Hotels in Can Picafort. I knew Ironman Mallorca was coming up so I entered it knowing that it would be unlikely that I'd race. A few days after we arrived in Mallorca I decided that I'd like to give it a go but I knew that I wouldn't be able to run much leading in to it. I'm going to be on the start line on Saturday as defending Champion but I have no expectations and once again in happy just to be there. I know I'm going in with a slightly underprepared body but I'm ready to do the best I can on the day.
I have to say a massive thank you to my amazing sponsors Alameda on Triathlon Team, FSG property Ltd, Trisport Arabia And Ferrer Hotels! I don't know what in would have done without your support this year.
Thanks also to Ekoi helmets ,ON running, Fusion (kit) Computrainer,
My injury bothered me for most of the summer. I was on nearly every race startlist as I didn't want to miss the entry deadline if I did happen to be ready to race. Just as things began to improve I stared to get about 4 other injuries to add to the list. At one point it felt like I had a new injury every day.
Eventually I made it to Budapest 70.3 at the end of August and I was so excited just to be racing that I didn't care about my finishing position. All I wanted was to go out and enjoy racing again with no pressure and no expectations.
The swim was non wetsuit for pro athletes and I think I swam quite well. I felt fairly strong on the bike going steadier for the first half and pushing on a little in the second half. I don't usually race on flat courses but I enjoyed this one and was surprised to be first off the bike. I didn't realise that I was in the lead till I reached transition. Vanessa Raw was just behind me off the bike so we set off on the run very close together. Considering that I had been running for less than 2 weeks and hadn't done any proper run sessions I had to change my thinking and tactics for this run. I knew I'd be ok to make it to 10k then after that I wasn't so confident. Usually I go hard from the start and hang on but this time I ran as steady as I could so I could keep gap to Vanessa without pushing too much. Vanessa stayed within 50m for 3 of the 4 laps, I saw her at the end of lap 3 and thought she seemed fairly close. Soon after her coach made me think that she was right behind me. If I had been thinking logically should have known that she wasn't going to have closed the gap that quickly but of course I didn't think I just put my head down and charged forward for the last 5k managing a 1.18 something run split. I loved every minute of the race, I was just so happy to be there and winning with a course record was a massive bonus.
After Budapest the camp in Saint Moritz was coming to an end and less than 2 weeks later we packed up the Volvo and set off for Mallorca but with a stop in France for Gerardmer XL triathlon. A tough and hilly half that I've done twice before.
I wasn't sure about doing the race in Gerardmer as my injury flared up a little after Budapest but Brett thought it would be a good training day so. In his words 'if your leg hurts you will race the rest of the season without run training'. Sounded fair enough to me.
I finished 3rd on the day and was pleased to make the podium after what was a cold, hilly tough day out with a few little problems.
Following Gerardmer we set off for Barcelona for the ferry to Mallorca back to our training location at Ferrer Hotels in Can Picafort. I knew Ironman Mallorca was coming up so I entered it knowing that it would be unlikely that I'd race. A few days after we arrived in Mallorca I decided that I'd like to give it a go but I knew that I wouldn't be able to run much leading in to it. I'm going to be on the start line on Saturday as defending Champion but I have no expectations and once again in happy just to be there. I know I'm going in with a slightly underprepared body but I'm ready to do the best I can on the day.
I have to say a massive thank you to my amazing sponsors Alameda on Triathlon Team, FSG property Ltd, Trisport Arabia And Ferrer Hotels! I don't know what in would have done without your support this year.
Thanks also to Ekoi helmets ,ON running, Fusion (kit) Computrainer,
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