Triathlon Europe

World 70.3 success!

Hi y'all

Well after an amazing race day followed by a week of ‘rest’ (does traipsing around Walt Disney and Universal Studios count?)   I am still on a high from the race.  My family were with me from week one with my brother accompanying me on my final 10 mile run and my rides.  I couldnt tempt him to get into the sea though!

Ok, pre-race build-up… it was an amazing atmosphere meeting GBR age groupers and others from around the world.  

At the Thursday night pasta party – the Race Directors were still undecided whether it would be a sea swim or in the Harbor....The winds were really strong all week and the sun did not have its hat on for several days (so much for going out early to acclimatise!!)

I racked on Friday afternoon and informed the swim would be moved to the Harbor as a time trial start as the swim start opening was too narrow and the amount of athletes would be chaos.  I was looking forward to a sea swim as well!

Race day dawned dark and early Saturday morning.

The sea was a fairly calm but the winds were still swirling. I made my way to race start , got body marked, and made my way to the swim.

…getting into the water was a calm affair (I have a photo to prove it!) - however the diesel fumes mixed with salt water plus being cracked in the head by men from the waves before and after with sunrise made it all an interesting swim…. We then had to literally go up a gang plank, slipping our way onto the pavement and jostled to get our wetsuits off…. Into T1 and onto the bike.

The first mile was flat into a steep flyover and onto the flat again , I felt sick from drinking the lovely harbor water!  I remembered Fi's words of wisdom and took my time to settle into the bike.  It was an interesting course with flat bits, several climbs, v technical turns and some seriously bad drafting. At one point a fellow GBR Age grouper flew past me wishing me luck and she had 4 girls literally hanging onto her back wheel…. Madness!

I stayed away from trouble and peletons. I tried to keep to 20+mph for as long as I could. This was fine for the first hour or so, then my hamstring cramped up and I had to keep shifting around to get comfy.

into T2 and onto the run.... the heat was building and the sun was shining...I kept myself cool at every aid station with water sponges on my head and ice cubes down my top… ;-)

I got into the turn for the 2nd lap and after climbing the flyover for the 5th time, the sun and heat was zapping anything I had left in the tank. I felt a bit sick, my hamstring was screaming but undeterred (and not wanting to finish last) I mustered up the remaining ounces of energy, had Coach Fi's words in my head,  picked up my legs and went for it.

I crossed the line in 5hrs 30(ish). 

My race day was one of the happiest and proudest days of my triathlon life. To get a PB and at the World Champs is a really great feeling.  Its been a long season for me and Coach Fi has been there through the ups and downs to get me ready for this challenge.

Thanks Fi.

A few treats and some well deserved rest beckons....

Bring on Austria IM next year!

70.3 Worlds prep....

I cant believe its 4 weeks today....!

After the Vit I had a niggle which stopped me from bike training for a few weeks... but that didn't deter me from running ;-)

I had a great run at Peterborough Half Marathon last week with a good sub 1:46.

This week Fi has been building me back up to bike strength and I had a good hard hilly ride today... a reminder of what it was like winter training again!

So with 4 weeks to go, training is cranking up and the stealth and I are becoming well acquainted!

More news soon

Angela's Vitruvian 09 PB

After a PB performance at Cambridge I settled into training for the Vitruvian.  

The Vit was my first middle distance last year and I had quite a few injuries leading up to it.  This year I felt stronger and had a new bike to play with!

I met up with friends on the Friday evening, the night before the competition.  This year was slightly different.  It involved canvas and Calor Gas.  Yep, thanks to Burghley Horse trials on the same weekend, all the accommodation was booked up in May!

I had a discussion about my race time with a friend - he was on for a sub 5. 

After breaking down the elements I hoped for a 5:30 race. I hate predicting my time but it gave me a focus!

So, we pitched the tent, racked our bikes and ate pasta.  I think bedtime loomed around 10pm!

We woke to a cloudy sky (thankfully no rain unlike last year) and chilly temps at 5am.

After grabbing the race essentials, donned wetsuits and make for the porta potties for the last time, we made our way to swim start...all girlies together.

I had Tamsyn for company for about 10 seconds ;-)

The swim was good... the usual knocks to the face, but its all to be expected.

Onto the bike and into the wind.  I chose my Planet X 50 wheel's on the TT bike which was a gamble but I love them!  The first lap was ok, got myself into a rhythm and was off.  The second lap felt much windier, or was that cos I was getting tired ;-)

Then onto the run.  It was an interesting run with sidewinds to keep me company.  I felt ok, the atmosphere was good and I glanced at my watch to judge my speed and overall time.  I got into a rhythm and started to enjoy it!

On the last lap I suddenly felt tired.  A female runner in front of me was keeping pace so I kinda stuck with her and then she sped off.  As I rounded the final run through the grass I caught her up.  As I carried on I felt ok and thought, I can do this... com'on.  As we both made for the final bend I overtook her, expecting her to claw back.... she didnt...

I turned the last corner up the short (but steep) left bend and headed for the finish. 

I had a huge grin as I crossed the line in sub 5:30.

What a feeling... then Jonathan Hotchkiss placed a medal around my neck and I called myself a Vitruvian for the second time.

Come on the Worlds!

Half Challenge-Barcelona 24th May

After landing in Barcelona early doors Thursday, there was time to register, build bikes and review the swim course.

The sea was full of swell, the sun was shining with a strong coastal wind.  An early wetsuit swim and a bike recce over the next couple of days would sort us out ready for Sunday.....

Sunday 24th May.... race day dawned.

The sun was out and the waves were up. We assembled our bike, run and street gear bags, donned wetsuits and headed for the sand.  The swell was not a nice sight.  You could just about see the yellow/red buoys and a few kayaks.  the first wave went off at 7:30.  I followed closely behind with Jonno at my side (for about 10 lengths!) and we delved into the craziness.

It was all going swimmingly for the first few hundred meters until time to head back to the final buoy.  I got caught in a strong current that pushed me beach side.  Eventually after riding the huge waves (wishing I had a boogie board) it was almost over.

Dragging myself up the beach into T1.  Ok, found bag, changed and onto my bike.  The course looped around several very narrow streets until we finally got onto the closed highway.  Got into my rhythm and was off.  After 2 near misses at feed stations (there were limited if NO feed station signs) and swept up into several pele-tons (and spat out the back) I was finally on my way home into T2.

This is where is went a little wrong.

I met a fellow Tri-Forcer in transition and we headed out onto the run together.  The heat was blistering and I wasn't feeling great.  We kept pace together and we were on for a 1:50.  great I thought.  Give my legs 10mins and I will warm up, all will be good.

Not so.  An hour later and my stomach had cramped, felt dizzy and sick.  My mate, kept with me and made me stop at every station.  Never felt so awful on a run before... even with my run practice at home with no water/gels for 90+mins could have prepared me for heat exhaustion.

Still, after a dizzy 2 hours or so, I finally crossed the line in a total time of just under 6 hours.

Not my best race, but learnt a lot.  Basically, drink, drink, drink on the bike!

Angela survives Lake Taupo

Its been a while since my last confession (i mean blog)......

 

After Geelong, Melbourne and the trip back to Perth, the bike and I have enjoyed time off.  

I flew to Auckland on 8th march and managed to get in some quality hilly runs and rides plus learnt to control my speedy bike at 70kph downhill!

Lake Taupo beckoned and I had to give it a go.... fab but v hard bike leg. I think it was 115k - my speedo went to sleep. I think the hardest bit of NZ ironman has to be the longest transition from swim to bike!! 

Did a bit of cross training and walked 20k across the Tongariro Crossing.... very mountainous but great training!

Core work and steady runs to get myself back into shape whilst am in LA this week..... have 8 weeks to Barcelona so need to get focused again.

 

Early goals this year?  Well, I really want to improve my biking and running as I want to have a faster time at the Vit this year and stave off any more injuries.... and do my best at Clearwater.

 

Am looking forward to a structured programme from April after 2 months off.

Happy training and racing all

Race report IM Geelong 70.3. Clearwater - here I come!

We are in not so sunny Melbourne...so cold had to buy a coat!  The weather over here is barmy, one min hot, hot hot, then next chilly!!
 
Ok, to the race report...
 
After the temps on Saturday reaching over 40 degrees plus and winds of approx 90kph, it was the hottest day on record.  Bats that live in the botanic gardens near the race course were dying and had to be cleaned off the run course....mmm... nice.....that, along with the bush fires burining outta control...it was an interesting and devastating lead up.
 
After cooling off in the nearby shopping mall....attended the race briefing where they announced no wetsuits as the water temp as too warm.....uh-oh..... they also had to change the run and swim course as well. With the bike in transition and tyres deflated, there was nothing left for me to do now except get home, eat and i get some zzzzz's.
 
Race day....
 
Woke up at 4am.  It was freezing cold.
 
As we drove down to race start there was serious amounts of lightning in the sky.  If I wasnt nervous by now.... that helped.
 
Met some yanks at race start hoping to qualify for the worlds.... all made for interesting banter which I just kept quiet!!
 
Onto the swim.  They advised water temp still ok for non-wetsuits.  Well, that appeared to fall on deaf ears.  Everyone was in their suits!  If dry land was chilly, we werent taking any chances!
 
So, mass start....with over 1000 people in the swimstart.....it was interesting.  wading through seaweed and sand wasnt fun! It reminded me of the Vit, without the rain!
 
We all went off together with the Pro's leading.  The first buoy was intersting... people couldnt see as the sun was appearing, so those of us heading towards it were met with people coming back straight towards us.  Am glad I was sighting!! Onto the next buoy without a hiccup and I was passing people and swimming on their feet. Felt good.
 
Out of the swim running up the beach (mmm more sand) and into transition.  Grabbed my bike and headed out onto the course.  All going well.  Tackled the first long hill from transition and onto the closed highway.  The sun was out and the wind had picked up but no problems. Headed into transition for the turnaround after 30km and back out for lap 2.  Then the fun really started.  It chucked it down.  It rained so hard I thought it was hail!  The roads becamse really slipperly and I saw more than a few crashes and poorly bikes.  It was really hard-going on the big hill with a headwind and rain.
 
So made it in one piece though lap 2 and onto lap 3.  I needed to pee.  I saw a lonely portapotty on the final leg and bee-lined for it.  Darn, another competitior beat me to it... was counting down the seconds into mins when he finally came out after I shouted at him!! 
 
Final bike lap.....eased around the final turn at almost a standstill as it was so dangerous.
 
Onto the run.  It was hard as my ankle was sore but was ok.. mind over matter and all that!! It was a hilly and windy one but the cheers from the crowds and my mate Gail kept me going!
 
Finished in 5:49 and some secs. That felt soooo good.  The ice cream (yep......) helped to ease my pain!
 
I then went to the roll-down ceremony and awards.  Watching Sam Warriner and Craig Alexander picking up their trophies .... they said how hard the conditions were, so I felt better!!
 
Waited around to see what the roll-down would be..... I was 24th out of 40 women in my age group so I didnt think I would stand a chance....... not so.  Aussies appaprently werent fussed (cost issue) about getting to the worlds so they basically said, hands up who wants to go.... 30 of us did and we got the places.  Slightly bizzare way of doing it but hey..... I am going!!
 
So that folks, is that.  I am resting up in Melbourne taking in the sights before flying back to sunny Perth for a couple of weeks.
 
Hope the snow isnt hampering too much training.
 
See you all soon
 
Love Ange x

Touch down in Perth

I arrived in Perth on Monday... after a week of acclimatising to the heat and jet-lag.... managed to find a local tri club to do some interval training with.  All good fun.  Fremantle tri and full of ironmen, so that kinda made me feel at home (ish!).  Apparently Geelong is a v technical course with some steep turns.....I know Fiona mentioned this to me..... but hearing it again...eek!
 
I ran along the beach for an hour...complete with trainers and x socks... it was a sight... this streak of a white body in black socks....compared to bronzed bodies without trainers at 7am...amusing!
 
Have swum in the sea most mornings in the wetsuit... really hard work, although jellyfish make you swim a lot quicker!
 
Decided at the weekend to pop over to Rottnest Island.. hired a MTB and got halfway around the island... undulating and riding the worst rustbucket I could find (perfect for the last brick sesh!) into a 30min run.  Not so much fun!  Its really hot here and getting hotter.  All in good pre for Melbourne which is sweating out at 40+ degrees!
 
A few more days of short rides and swims in readiness for Geelong and the blue beauty to be packed in her box ready for the flight.
 
Have lots of mixed emotions right now.... but its all good..... just hope my ankle will hold out....
 
Am off to watch Federer and Nadal bash it out in the searing Melbourne heat on a tennis court!
 
A week today.......and its showtime!

Angela

Packing, panic and preparation!

I'm back... After a few of crazy days in the UK. I have wrestled the blue babe into her case for a couple of days, packed, un-packed and packed again.  Packing for 3 climates plays havoc on a gal's wardrobe.  Still, I'm all ready for my adventure down-under.
The last few weeks training have been hard especially out biking in temps at -5 degrees! Luckily for me I have a  few mad triathlete friends who kept me company, even when our hands and feet had frozen after half an hour! 
Fiona has been on the end of the phone when I needed her for a whole host of reasons, the biggest one was buying the new bike to alleviate my back problems! (The excuses we triathletes use to buy something new and shiny;-) ).. thanks Fi...
So how do I feel, people have asked me this for the last couple of weeks.  It wasn't until last nite when I had some friends over for dinner did it dawn on me... today was my big day!!
A whole mixture of emotions are running through me.... one of the scariest being putting the bike together at the other end!!
I have two weeks of race prep and tapering when I get to oz and thankfully it will be a tad warmer than here!  I feel ready, strong and if my right ankle calms down.... all will be just great!
So, I'll post again to let you know how I get on .... in the meantime... ride safe and enjoy the winter sunshine!
Good luck to Rav in the ultra.... tring to town race next week!

Ange

How did I get here??

Part I
Hi, I'm Angela and how did I start this crazy sport?  Rather randomly!
I was a ballet dancer until I was about 12 and as I had a horse as well.... my parents gave me a choice, ride or prance about in a tutu.
I loved my horse so there was no contest.  After several years of show jumping and dressage, work and relationships started to take over...... After retiring my horse and settling down, sport took a back seat as I developed my career.  I ran quite a bit and joined my local running club.  One of the coaches was heavily into tri and represented GB....we chatted about it as an alternative to running. 
I thought about it quite a bit (slightly concerned how I was going to do the swim part.......) but as ever the competitive person.... as a challenge with an ex-boyfriend, decided to do a sprint try on a MTB.  So far so good.....
So, I started triathlon about4(ish) years ago..... why the 'ish'...... well after a serious bike accident (my first tri in 04) where I broke my shoulder and collarbone... i had a long recovery!
Undeterred, I decided (after the consultant agreed...finally) to book myself into Blenheim and the London triathlon sprints in 2005... all I had to do was learn to swim front crawl, get back on a bike and run...... easy.
So, I went to a triathlon camp for a week in Majorca with a few other keen triathletes, Olly Freeman was there to name a few!
I learnt to swim front crawl (Glenn Cook had his work cut out) in a wetsuit in the sea and freezing cold pool... I rode my racing bike for only the second time.... met some crazy people and had the best time.....oh, yep, hooked.
The freezing lake of Blenheim and the choppy waters of the London Triathlon.... was where I started my journey..... and it was a tough one.
In 2006 I had to have a ligament replaced as after a sprint women's race in Eton, a friend watching from the bank noticed my right arm was all over the place in the swim!
More physio and major surgery to my right ac joint left me out of the sport for 6 months. It was a frustrating time.......

Part II
4 years on and how have I done?!  Well I moved from sprint triathlons into the Olympic distance race. Taking part in Windsor and London races each year getting quicker each time.......  
In 2007 I set myself a challenge... to run my first marathon.  Easy I thought.  I can do this and train for my triathlons.  Not so easy.  After pushing my mileage too soon, I got back niggles and ITB problems.... give up.... er, no.  So with a bit of rest and a mad running friend we completed the 2008 Edinburgh marathon and I staggered home with a respectable 3hrs 55.  Never again!
It was then I turned back to triathlon.  I wanted to be more focused and get quicker.  After chatting to Tamsyn about personal coaching, I contacted Fiona.  We chatted about my goals and what I had done so far in terms of sport.  Fiona set a training schedule around my work schedule, injury and goal!
The goal, my first long distance race.  The Vitruvian.  With an Olympic as a warm up (Cambridge) where I set a PB of 2hrs 40 it was show-time.
Back injury and sore ITB's made an interesting 12 weeks for me.... aqua jogging was the craziest along with hours and hours on a cross trainer.... I couldn't run more than about 20mins at a time...... Fiona got me through each session and having weekly programmes and updates kept me focused.
Vitruvian race day dawned.  The smell of rubber and portaloos mixed in with a lot of rain and mud at 6am made for fun viewing. It was a race like no other and one I wanted to do again.... especially when I finally crossed the line in 5hrs 40.
Was there another challenge on the horizon....? Naturally.
I decided it was time to visit some friends in Oz and NZ.  After a few clicks on the internet not only had I booked my ticket, signed myself up for a 70.3 in Barcelona, but a warm-up 70.3 race in Geelong, Australia.
Whilst most people were enjoying the off-season, MTB'g, going to the gym and partying... I was out in the freezing cold riding (along with another mad triathlete friend for company) and running to prepare for Australia.
Fiona coached me a through some really tough times when I was so frustrated through injury and used her vast experience to prepare me for the challenging times ahead.
So, bring on Australia, heat and a long holiday......

Aussie bound Angela

I have been working with Angela for about 6 months, and she has made huge inroads in developing her strength and endurance to overcome a few injury woes. I'm happy to say she is heading down under this Saturday to race IM 70.3 Geelong in South Australia in just over 2 weeks' time. 

A long way to go for a race? At this time of year probably one place there will be guaranteed great weather for racing! She'll be checking in here soon to give us the low down on her preparation for this (very) early season race :-)