Let's Get Back To Work!
Escaping from sharks and starting 2017 from the top
Now that 2016 is finally finished, it is time to concentrate on the New Year and begin to prepare the body for a big season ahead. The past couple of months have mainly consisted of getting back into the swing of things.
The start of December saw myself, Coach Danielle Stefano and training companion Joel Tobin-White in Lorne. The scenery down there is stunning, there is the Great Ocean Road to cycle along, some lovely running trails and the Lorne beach to swim in. Despite the rare spotting of a 4 meter long great white shark from a local fisherman, the camp was a success (knowing that there could be sharks just made for some thrilling swims!). Another highlight of our time in Lorne was having photo legend Mark Dadswell shoot us while out training. Joel and I took turns to strike our best work-out poses for Mark and I think we got some nice results in the process.
December was also the month that I officially finished my university degree. I have been juggling my triathlon and university studies over the past 5 years and I have finally been able to get the degree done. My completed degree is in a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Civil Systems Engineering. I do have the intentions of resuming my studies in the future and completing a Masters in civil engineering. But for now I really want to put my studies aside and concentrate on trying to make a career in triathlon.
For me, the race went well and I won! I had a solid swim exiting the water in 2nd place. Coach Danielle hasn’t prescribed me too much swimming over the past couple of months since we have been focussing more on the cycling and running. So I was pleased with how I swam. Then onto the bike and I was in a small group with about 6 others. We all rode well together and swapped off turns to keep our tempo high. Typically, the bike in these races comes together and we all end up rolling around the course as a big group. This time however, the whole group was committed to swapping turns and keeping a good pace. So it was a nice change to the typical racing and provided for a solid ride.
Onto the run and I tried to work it hard from the start. I wasn’t too sure with how I would manage with the run off the training I had done. The training over the past couple of months has just consisted of longer easy sessions as opposed to faster race specific work which is typical at this time of the year. The sessions will get more race specific as we move closer to the main races. Luckily I had the legs to hang on in the run from my fast start and could make it to the line first. I must admit that it was a huge relief to make it as I was hurting a lot! But once again, another great Gatorade Triathlon put on that I thoroughly enjoyed.
These next couple of months is when the training will start to pick up. My main races begin in March so pretty much I need to be race ready by then. I look forward to what lies ahead in the year. Finishing my Under 23 races last year, I need to step up and into the Elite category. I guess there is the expectation to perform at a higher standard with this step up but at the same time it can open a lot of opportunities to race at higher levels. Nonetheless, I am feeling motivated to enter each day and tick off the sessions as I move closer to getting into some serious racing.
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