Some bad and good news:

BAD:

My European racing season has come to and end early. I have had a long season, probably not entailing enough rest and too much back to back racing and I have wound up too tired  and  a  bit unwell. Rather than trying to race and not performing to my potential, I have decided it’s best to finish up and enjoy some rest. It tough having to call it quits early…but sometimes I just have to learn the hard way.

GOOD NEWS:

I am flying back home early next week and enjoying my break from training and racing until the end of August, then I will commence some training to start preparation for the Australian domestic season starting with Noosa at the end of October. Noosa is my favourite race and I am really looking forward to the race. Mean while there is some fun to be had over the next few weeks, not having to worry about anything to do with triathlon…apart from getting the bike back home…the worst part about travelling for triathlon is definitely lugging the bike around…it takes travelling and airport experiences to a whole new level!

Pete and I are making some positive changes to the way my season, racing and training is structured so that I can have a really strong domestic season where I will focus on the Australian and some Asian races then head over to Europe for a shorter amount of time. I have come to the realisation that I don’t really like being away for long periods of time and that I would be better off getting more results in Australia and Asia, then  head to Europe to target a few important races only. This will lessen my time away from home and a training environment that works for me. I am excited about this approach and I think I will be able to achieve some great results.

Overall it was a fairly good season for me. My running times have fallen and I am consistently running much faster off the bike…Pete’s running training this year along with the base I developed last year have really paid off and what is exciting is there’s still so much more to come and with our new approach to the structure of my season my running times and races results are sure to go to the next level. Bring on next season!

Now it’s time to enjoy all the dairy containing food I want, as during the season I have to stay off any food with milk products in it, usually all the yummy things, as it gives me asthma, when I am not training I don’t suffer from this problem so bring on the ice cream!

Soph

Not only was I starting to feel like I had been racing every weekend since I arrived in Europe (which I had) but I was also missing my bike when I arrived at Amsterdam airport…it never made it onto the flight! I spend the day before the race racing around Holten trying to find a bike that would fit me that I could ride….after all this my bike did arrive…at 9.30 the night before the race. Feeling worn out from lots of racing and the stress of tracking down my bike the day before the race my energy levels were low and I was lacking the fire in me to race.

I managed to get to the start line in a positive mental state but still lacking the get up I needed to produce a good result. I completed the swim coming out at the back of the 2nd pack…not where I should be. I did 1/2 a lap on the bike, then got a flat! I was disappointed, although I was struggling to hold the wheel of the girls in front of me so I think the flat tyre was meant to be.

I know have 4 weeks until my next race. I can rest up, get some good training done and be ready for a killer race.

Mean while, the football world cup is on tonight and I am sure Europe will be buzzing!

Soph

Well I thought this was going to be a podium race for me for sure! I was feeling great leading into the race, swimming, cycling and running well…but no, a mess up in transition cost me the race.

Coming out of the water I was with the main bunch of girls even after nearly choking on litres of water! Jumping onto my bike the right shoe attached to my bike came off…I ran and got it but meanwhile the bunch had ridden away. I was left with five other girls trying to chase for the next 40km. Three of us in the bunch were working very well together and it was looking like we would catch the leaders. However, the girls up the road were working well too and the gap remained the same for 40km’s.

Off the bike I was in about 35th position, totally out of the top ten and only the top 20 get ranking points to improve their ITU ranking. ..so I had some work to do. Having focused on my run for the past year and inspired by Emma Snowsill’s recent performance in Hy-Vee (where she ran her way though the field to win) I thought I should have a crack at the run and see how many girls I can overtake ( I had also done some  training runs with Emma Snowsill at a training base in Spain, she asked  me if I was a runner, hence I felt I should have a go).

I ran smart, trying to negative split the run. I think in hot conditions like it was on race day the best thing to do its to go out strong but not over the top as other athletes disregard how the heat can catch up with you later on in the run. So I ran a strong 1st 5km then picked up the pace the last 5km and kept overtaking other girls all the time. I ended up finishing 14th! Not a bad result, a 34:50 run split (the course was short so I am guessing a high 36 minute run for 10km)  I received some more points to improve my ranking and turned a negative situation into a positive performance. So overall a good learning experience, but a missed opportunity.

My next race is a world cup in Holten, the Netherlands on the 10th of July in 10 days. I am hoping for an incident free race!

Currently I am enjoying living in a French family’s home in Besancon, France, a town one hour from the border of Switzerland. Summer has arrived in Europe and I am having a great time. Off to swimming now!

Au revoir!

Post race treat, Belgium waffels from the Australian Ice Cream Shop

Well I did take a fair few days to recover from the last race, the overnight bus trip from Pontevedra to Vitoria was a killer! Anyway I am back on top of things now and starting to get some good training/preparation in for my next race this weekend in Brasschaat, Belgium.

Last Saturday the group headed down to a local race on the coast to a town called Lekeitio. It was a massive training day starting with a swim, then we were dropped off 40km before the race start to ride the bike course as it was rather technical with lots of climbs and descents.  The race then kicked off at 4pm…with the boys starting 15 mins later. It was a nice ocean swim followed by a tough bike and a run which was basically 2.5 km up hill then 2.5 down hill. I came 3rd out of the water in good company, I rode well but still wasn’t feeling as strong as I’d like on the bike after being a bit flat earlier on in the week. I was running well only to be struck by a big cramp on the inside of my left leg as I ran up the finishing set of stairs. I ended up finishing in 6th spot, just off the podium. What a day though…

Meanwhile training in Vitoria has been great…lots of training partners, including Emma Snowsill! Fantastic training facilities, pools within 5 min minutes walk, nice quite roads for riding and manicured trails for running…not to mention the recovery centre down the road. Thanks must go out to NSWIS/AIS coach Jamie Turner for organising the hotel and training facilities…they couldn’t be better! As for the weather well…the summer solstice has arrived and the sun came out that same day! Prior to that we were experiencing many 12 degrees days in Summer!

Okay, time for  a traditional Spanish 3 course lunch down in the resturant before I punch out some tough 1 km reps!

Adios!

Run course in Lekeitio

About to cramp..ouch!

Ainhoa Murua and I post race

It’s been over a week and I said I would at least post some news every week…this update is now overdue! My first week in Europe was spent in London, Islington with my good friends Hayley and her partner Peter. It was great to catch up with them and spend some time seeing parts of London while doing some light training to get ready for my first race in Pontevedra, Spain.

Pontevedra is an old town located off the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Portugal. Not having raced since March I was using this race to do well but to also blow the cobwebs out and get into race mode again after being through a big training block back at home. With Pete as my new coach I was excited to see how the training he’d put me through over the past three months was to pay off.

With water temps at 14 degrees I opted for no swim warm up. This made the first lap of the swim a bit difficult but I did warm up into it. The ride I found rather good, not too hard, unfortunately my group wasn’t working well together and 6 girls got away in front and put time into us every lap. I came off the bike feeling okay and was ready for a good run. I was pegging back a few girls every lap of the run until I was handed a 15 sec penalty that was spent standing still while they ran away from me again. Determined not to let it get to me I put in an effort and caught them back up along with 3 others who were in the front bike pack. I finished in 10th spot…in the money and received some good points in order to lift my ranking.

After my race finished I watched the mens race along with at least 20 000 other people who had turned up and lined the streets to watch Gomez win. He managed to lead out of the water and extended his lead on the bike and run to win by 4 minutes.

I am now off to Vitoria, in the Basque region of Spain to train with some of the other NSW athletes for the next two weeks. I will  then race in Belgium.

Also below is a pic of my new swimming cossies compliments of Aquadiva. They are really comfortable to wear with some amazing prints and desings to choose from. There is a link on this page so be sure to check out the new stock that has arrived.

Soph:)

  

Aussie Girls at dinner in Pontevedra post race

 Aquadiva swimwear

Riding the bike course the day before the race

Night out in Pontevedra

I had a good race, however due to all of the hard training I was in there wasn’t much of a spark in my arms or legs and it felt like I was stuck in 2nd gear the whole way. Catching up with all the BTC guys made the weekend very worthwhile and the rain definitlry didn’t damped people’s spirits at the after party!

Thanks goes out to Josh and Jodie for putting on another great club champs for us!

I am training hard at the moment and just finalising my departure date for Europe and the races to come. I am hitting some awesome form in swimming, the best ever! My cycling is strong and my running has also gone to the next level so fingers crossed for some fast racing in Europe!

Soph

Hi,

Talk about a tough day at the office!  The conditions at the Mooloolaba World cup and the course were extremely taxing, around 35 degrees and a hill smack bang in the middle of the course that we had to negotiate 22 times, 14 on the bike and 8 times on the run leg.

My swim start let me down a bit…I need to swim out harder and be with the leaders from the start…otherwise it gets too hard to bridge the gap. I guess having Laura Bennett in the race (who lead the swim out at the Olympics) always sets the race up for a tough swim, I’ll just have to get faster and focus 110% on my swim starts. I came out with some good riders though and we were only 30 sec down coming of the bike onto the run. I didn’t have my best run after such a hard swim/bike but I hung in there and managed to overtake a few girls.

Considering I haven’t started any real speed training yet I had a good solid race and lots of fun which has left me hungry for more!

It was great being a part of the Chocolate Graphics team while in Mooloolaba. John and Sheryl Taylor (the owners of Chocolate Graphics) took the team out for dinner including myself and Pete, Liz Blatchford and her husband Glen and South Africa’s Kate Roberts (who currently trains in Canberra). We also had a Chocolate Graphics photo shoot on the beach the day before the race (photos to come). John Taylor and Pete were great supporters along with other friends and family during the race.

Congratulations to Liz who came 3rd and Kate for her 4th place. I was 24th overall and 4th Aussie. This race doubled as the Australian Champs as well.

Stay tuned,

Soph

Some great news, I am now sponsored by Chocolate Graphics! Chocolate Graphics makes art and design on chocolate and has a women’s triathlon team who race on the ITU circuit. The team can be spotted wearing pink uniforms at races, anyone who knows me knows how much I like wearing anything pink so no doubt the pink uniforms will only make me race faster than ever!

Look out for the pink,

Soph

Well, this was not my best race by any means! I went into this race tired from lots of training as this race is only really training for the World Cup in Mooloolaba in two weeks, however I was still expecting a bit more from myself. From the start of the race I couldn’t get going so I was in for a tough day. After the race I realised my bike seat had dropped, not allowing me to ride easily and run off the bike well. The race turned out to be one tough training sessions and a very cold one to say the least! I ended up 10th the elite category. My preparation is going well for Mooloolaba which I am really looking forward to freshening up for…it’s been a while since my arms and legs have felt good!

Soph

Last weekend I raced the elite triple sprint triathlon in Raby Bay in Brisbane. The format was 250m swim/5km bike/1.6km run three times through with ten minutes rest in between rounds. So needless to say the racing was hard and fast and lots of fun…even if I did feel like being sick after the first round! In all three rounds I swam at the front of the pack coming out of the water 3rd in the final round…not bad considering there were 30 girls, ten of whom were top internationals! My leg speed was lacking on the run but I pushed through giving it everything I had.

Even more exciting than this race is that I have a world cup start in Mooloolaba in three weeks time on the 28th of March. I am preparing as best as I can for this race,  I feel fit enough now after a few small races to have a good crack at it.

Stay tuned for Mooloolaba results ,

Soph