Teeth and Triathlons: Australian National and Oceania Duathlon Championship

Racing is pain. That's why you do it. To challenge yourself and the limits of your physical and mental barriers. You don't experience that in an arm chair watching TV. - Mark Allen (6 time Ironman Champion)

Speaking of pain, I am feeling it's never ending burning ache right now as I write to you the events of the past weekend. On Sunday I competed in the Australian National duathlon champs in Adelaide. Which is the host city for the World Duathlon Champs in 2015! In a last minute decision I was brought up from the 16-19 age group into the ITU junior elite category. This was a huge leap for me! My first ever ITU race run by Triathlon Australia!! That leap couldn't have gone any smoother.

Pfft, (insert chuckle), I was lucky enough to be allowed to race let alone come away with a 2nd in Australia, 3rd Oceania for junior elites and 5th overall. Even got some chocolates and prize money!

I had to overcome a series of small problems in order to achieve that result. Firstly, coming from age group to elites I should have read the rules a little better. I did not have an ITU compliant suit. (It's currently in the works and won't arrive until December). The technical officials didn't have a blank suit for me to use. So thankfully, after some lengthy discussions between my coach Cath and the TO's and nervous pacing on my behalf, they allowed me to race in my club suit which is mostly compliant! It is just missing the ITU logo. (They wouldn't let me draw it on).

Secondly, I had a slight problem with the brakes and my race wheels on my bike. So as soon as I got to the apartment I was lucky enough to find an Avanti Bike Store less than 200m down the road.

* if your down in Unley, Adelaide, check them out! They found the time to slot me in and do a quick service. They helped me out so much for a great price! *

Thirdly, my bike still wasn't completely ITU compliant as the seat was a few centimetres forward, similar to a time trial bike. Once again, thankfully Tyler (training partner and Yellow jersey bike mechanic) was able to quickly adjust the seat.

Fourthly and lastly, I had to deal with the heat. The race was set to start at 12pm. The heat of the day!! Adelaide turned up the furnace with blistering 31degree dry and windy conditions!

Although there were hiccups, I'm glad they happened. I'm also glad they happened without my coach present. She would have helped me but being so far away I had to learn to control my emotions, think positively and get the job done. I drew encouragement from it. I could have easily broken down in tears and pulled out. But this race is something I really wanted to do. I want to go to Worlds for elites so I knew I had to suck it up and get moving! You can only control what can be controlled. I couldn't control the weather or my competitors. But I could control how much effort I put in and how I was going to perform on the day.

About the race.

I admit, I was NERVOUS leading up to the start. The girls around me looked fast and fierce. We started off at a hot pace, but our mouth quickly went dry and our breathing turned laboured and coarse. I drank and poured water on myself at both stations. It was a 2 lap run. After a lap I wasn't able to hang onto the top girls and was left on my own in 6th place heading into the 4 lap bike.

After a lap I was caught by 7th female and we worked together. The bike course was bumpy and there was one massive hill. But what goes up must come down and I definitely enjoyed drafting down that hill. 5th female dropped out and we caught 4th female on the last lap. She was cramping bad and as I was heading up that hill for the last time I began cramping in my calves. I tried to drink and stretch while I was on the back of the pack leading into transition.

The last run was between myself and a competitor from WA. It was only 1 lap so I knew I had to try break away early. I tried but she hung on. I tried to surge again and this time my hamstrings started to cramp. I could feel the vomit at the back of my throat. Now was not the time to blow pasta chunks everywhere! I was in medal position for junior elites and I wanted 2nd not 3rd! Unfortunately, she got the gap on me and I finished with 3rd. But don't get me wrong, I am estatic with that result!! 3rd in Australia... (@&#! *Insert happy dance).

This weekend was a valuable experience. Not only did I learn a lot of lessons but it is the first time travelling without family. I am so glad I had my friend Clare to support me. It was a great bonding experience. She competed as well and did amazing!! 4th in the very competitive 25-29 age group for standard distance. 10km run/40km bike/5km run to do that distance is insane! So proud of her! I am also happy for Tyler who worked so hard in the junior elite men. He never gave up and fought on strong. It was a tough field and he did very well. Thankyou Tyler also for helping me out. He is experienced in ITU regulated races so he was patiently able to answer my continuous roll of questions.

A huge thank you to the technical officials who did an amazing job! I got to know them all fairly well while waiting to hear confirmation on my race status.

Also thanks to Cath, Greg and the whole Vision Crew for their wonderful support!

A special thank you to Kelly and Mike Allan who kept a watchful eye over me and their words of encouragement during the tough times. Your support was greatly appreciated!

It just goes to show that if you stay calm, control the controllable and trust in your abilities, then the results will show. I will now get back to ridding my body of this never ending burning ache.

Foam Roller, where you hiding at??

Enjoy the photos!