My 2013 Triathlon season started with, in the back of my mind a huge personal goal. Do ironman WA.
I was excited for the long year ahead as for the first time I had a coach (bonus, I actually have two) Kate Bevilaqua and Guy Crawford and some real triathlon related goals.
I wanted 2013 to be my year and wanted to give it a real crack which meant dedication.
It started off with a simple program to get into the routine of training again and making sure this worked and balanced with everyday life - work, family, new puppy, my house!
Having understanding coaches who work programs around your life and appreciate sometimes triathlon just has to come second was important to me and this balance and understanding proved successful.
I was excited to get my first program.
Kate had me doing some ATTA time trials, something I had never done before and found this intimidating. Surprisingly I actually quite liked these and really started enjoying the bike, especially as the start of the year I found myself with a late Christmas pressie, my new Trek Speed concept, which I LOVE!! WAMC runs also featured in my program and again, I loved these.
My main training group were the boys, Andy, Mark, Jono, Sean and Mark, and of course Kate and Guy. The days spent training with these guys were always more enjoyable and had many laughs.
My early 2013 season consisted of:
01.04.2013 – ATTA 80km TT
21.04.2013 – Goldfields Classic OD
- Karri Valley Long Course
3.21.13 – Swim 27.09 Bike 1.56.15 Run 57-51 1st female 18-24 AG
I celebrated my 24th Birthday with the:
11.05.2013 – Busselton 70.3
4.51.34 – Swim 30.40 Bike 2.35.43 Run 1.41.10 4th female 18-24 AG 27th Female OA
I was really looking forward to Busselton but due to a slight foot injury unfortunately found myself water running 5 weeks out. On race day missed nutrition on the bike caused me to struggle through the run but I was pleased with a PB. I also learnt the importance of getting nutrition right, which was important in IM.
A break after Busselton saw me travel to Cairns to watch Andy finish his second Ironman, Ironman Cairns which inspired me for my own IM in just under 6 months’ time.
When we arrived home after a holiday in Port Douglas winter had hit. Kate and Guy had left for America, Andy had finished his IM and I was doing a lot of training solo. Dark mornings, cold, wet and lonely. But that's IM.
I had further ATTA TT’s and WAMC events in my schedule:
14.07.2013 – ATTA 20km TT Champion Lakes
04.08.2013 – Pancake Run 15km
01.09.2013 – Lake Gwelup 10km
06.10.2013 – Fremantle Half Marathon 21.1km
The Freo Half Marathon was the day I realised I wanted to win. I was so competitive in my head. I wanted to be number one! I ran hard, it was windy and it hurt! I also realised I had gained some mental strength.
I had learnt to push through my body issues with an ongoing injury and not let this stop me anymore as it has done for all my runs so far.
October is still my highlight and from here to this day have been the most exciting months of my life!
Mid Oct I had my usual Thursday 45min run, but today was different. Andy took me to work, picked me up and he decided we would run at South Perth. After a measly 2km he was 'tired' and told me he would meet me back at the car. To my surprise, as I had nearly completed my run and at the car I passed Andy on the foreshore with a little picnic. And a short 10 mins later I was proposed to!! We left the next day to Singapore for a short weekend trip. Don't worry, Kate knew all about it and I still had some short training sessions to do!!
From here Mandurah 70.3 was round the corner.
10.11.2013 – Mandurah 70.3
I also qualified for Kona, Ironman World Championships, which was so exciting, but scary as I had not yet finished, let alone started an ironman! I gained some real, real confidence. I was IM ready, bring it on.
I was a little sick before ironman, and still am a moth after the race.
08.12.2013 – Ironman Western Australia
I achieved my goal at ironman. I finished in 10.00.57 and was 1st female 18-24. I wanted a top 3 split for the swim, bike, run in my age and finished with the 2nd fastest swim and fastest bike and run splits.
I wanted a top 20 female age group place and finished 18th female overall! This also qualified me for Kona but since I took my spot at Mandurah this rolled down to second place.
Lastly, I finished of the year with two age group course records at both Mandurah 70.3 and Ironman WA which is pretty awesome!! The icing on the cake. Speaking of, I ate plenty of this for the following few weeks after IM, regaining some much needed fat on my now super skinny frame. I eat like an elephant so the Christmas period was perfect timing and I ate my way through all sort of awesome food.
After trading my one piece for a bikini, no lycra or a pair of running shoes on since I crossed that finish line the four days after the 26th December found me in some pain! More so than IM!
GKEndurance had organised a small training camp for some athletes including myself, Andy, super Ruth and of course Kate and Guy. This consisted of PAIN! I didn't even train like this for IM.
This was followed with the WAMC New Year’s Eve fun run where I participated in the 4km.
31.12.2013 – New Year’s Eve Run 5km
As I took off I thought I was going to die!! Every single little muscle ached and I thought my quad was going to explode!! But it was fun. Kind off.
I was spent after and 2 weeks later I think I'm still trying to recover!
I am back training now and hope to regain some speed for the next race, Challenge Melbourne in just a few short weeks. 2nd February. Stepping up an age group, mixing it with the big girls!! Bring it on!!!
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