Start of Something New!

Nothing Changes if Nothing Changes is my favourite motto.

Nothing more true than when I first started out in this sport. I went from a gym-goer (to lose weight) to becoming a person who is confident in triathlons and now a 2 x Ironman Finisher. I first started out doing mini triathlons, then jumped up to sprint distances and then Olympic distances. I was hesitant about my first Olympic distance race due to the 1.5km swim. It wasn't about speed at the time, it was more about being fit enough to get myself through it. The next step for me was to enter into the world of long course triathlons. I initially signed up for my first half-ironman distance (Shepparton 2012) but during that year of training, I had a spot at Melbourne Ironman (March 2013) and I decided to take the opportunity. I trained consistently throughout the year as I wanted to maximise the training provided even if that meant driving 30km to get to a 6am swim session and then driving another 60min to get to work 3 days a week. I attended the most double session days ever - Tuesday a.m. runs combined with p.m. Ergo and Thursday a.m. runs/ergo with p.m. runs/combo. I attended the most group rides even if it meant started out with them and riding as a group for 10min. I started my long rides leading up to my first Ironman at 3:30am so I can maximise the "alone time" on the roads which meant that I finished my rides around 10-11am and maximised my recovery (naps). I monitored what I ate (regiment)  that I was obsessed about the kg on the scales. I was at my fastest/strongest for my swims, rides and my runs as I was consistent.

Leading up to and after 2014 Ironman Melbourne, I did most of my training sessions by myself. I had done one Ironman and knew the training loads leading up to the event. Training for my 2nd Ironman was significantly different. When it was cold and wet, I stayed in bed. I didn't see the "need" to get out there as mentally, I knew what the race was about and I knew that I could get my arse from A to B.

I stopped going to Northcote for my swims as the squad stopped the sessions there so it meant no coach. I personally could not do p.m. swims (at MSAC) as it would meant that I have to stay back at work for 2 hours, train and get home at 9:30-10pm. I would then have to prepare and eat dinner, pack bags for the next day and get to bed around 11pm. I started to swim on my own closer to home - this meant that if I swam in the morning, I could be at work by 8:30am or if I swam in the afternoon, I could be home by 8pm. Much more civilised. With regards to riding, I was pretty consistent as I enjoyed the windtrainer/ergo sessions but long rides were all done on my own unless I was down as a coach for the long rides in the hills. In 2014, I also had a bad fall which meant that I was not able to ride for a month or so and I went on long service leave for 8 weeks. When I returned to training in mid Sept, I was doing my own training as I was significantly behind in training compared to others.  My running was not as consistent as previous years but I still attended as much as I could during winter until my fall in July. 

I am declaring 2015 as a year of change! I am trying new things, changing the way I train so that I can see changes in my training and fingers crossed - results in events. As I now live and work around Bayside, I want to tailor my training around this schedule. I want to minimise travelling but also maximising the coaching available to me.

Currently, due to my commitments with the beginners triathlon coaching I am doing with Tri Alliance, I will continue to support them until the end of the triathlon season and wait until Ironman Melbourne passes. Once the dust settles, I will start my training for the new year. For now, I am enjoying the "keeping active" side of my off-season - be it swimming just at a comfortable pace, riding my bike when the weather is nice and doing plenty of technique work with my running to be a better and faster runner.