ARE YOU KIDDING?????

Maybe I shouldn’t be writing this straight away but I’m sitting in my hotel room, waiting for my mate to come back from the first race I haven’t finished.  So I really have nothing better to do!

My training had been solid the past 5 weeks with my new start in NSW. I have been loving the training, the coach and the other athletes. So I was feeling great heading down to Canberra, aside from the normal taper week sluggishness, which is always to be expected. Arrived late Friday night and after a great night’s sleep, had an hour ride on the Saturday morning and was done for the day. Registered, racked my bike, attended briefing then smashed an amazing pizza and Mcflurry and hit the sack. A terrible night’s sleep but after a good one on Friday I wasn’t tired getting up this morning, just raring to go!

The forecast was for rain but when we were setting up in transition it looked like the perfect conditions. Off for a longish warm up jog my legs were feeling great. Cutting it fine as I seem to be doing a lot lately, I got down to what I thought was the swim start to find out it was another 200m swim back towards transition and I had 5mins to start time!! Whoops!!!! Made it there with 2minutes to spare!  I wanted to stick with Nicole Ward and Michelle Wu in the swim. Lisa would be out in front with the men no doubt but I came out in front of Michelle at Yeppoon. Unfortunately I lost their feet before the first buoy and was swimming solo the rest of the way. Still only 1min down and could see them running to their bikes as I ran up to transition- that’s okay!!! A bit of friendly banter with my Canberra roomie though…. Was nice to chick a pro male!!! Sorry Adsy, had to add it in ;-)

Out on the bike and I was flying! I haven’t felt that good in the bike leg since probably my first 70.3 back in 2009!!!! Today was going to be the day! I felt it yesterday and it was turning out that way. My goal for the bike leg was to catch Michelle, because Lisa would probably hold her lead off the bike but Wu had potential to run her down for the win. And soon I was ticking them off- I had a feeling I was in about 7^th position. The rain was coming down hard at that stage- so much for the good weather! By about 10/15km I’d caught and passed Nicole and another girl and could see another up ahead. By about the 40km mark I’d collected her too. Great 3^rd place!! Down the sharp/ technical decent and I felt a little wobble but I was going pretty gun hoe and the roads were slippery. After the downhill was a short sharp pinch which I got out of my saddle for and the wobble got worse- FLAT- are you kidding me????? AGAIN????? Yup, sure enough my front tyre was losing pressure. Off the bike and tried the pit stop which lasted about 100m, off again to change the tyre, back on the bike for 10km and then wobble, wobble, flat again. All over red rover! Outta all my tools, pit stop, gas. Game over.

So there’s nothing like 3 flats in 3/6 races since August. And no- it’s not the wheels and tyres, thanks everyone for suggesting the obvious! The first two races with flats were on tubular wheels and so I went back to clinchers (because I KNOW I can change them!) and they were great for the 3 races in the USA, however today they weren’t able to withstand the rubbish that had been washed onto the road from the rainy weather.

I have nothing else to really say about it all. Congrats to Lisa for holding off Michelle for the win and to Nicole for 3^rd place. X-tri: wonderful event as always. I just want to be able to do one of them properly one day! Maybe Singapore in 2012?

So wrapping up a very disappointing 2011. I want to put it behind me and forget it ever happened really. Things that I have learnt:

-          Yes I’m still a hard arsed angry b***h: still finishing two of the races where I had flats (Yeppoon and Japan 70.3)

-          I am having a crack and it’s not easy. Being a pro athlete is not at all glamorous when you are not quite up there (YET!). Sponsorship is NOT that easy to acquire and hearing ‘No’ 50 times a week is a little soul destroying and you question your chosen path. I am pretty much broke right now and scrapping through life, but that’s ok (I think!).

-          I am learning to takes risks- I have left one life behind and all I know, moved interstate to a new place where I knew no-one to start something completely new and different (but am now questioning why I didn’t do it at the start of the year!)

-          That I am blessed to have a mother that is my biggest fan and supporter out there.

-          To have a few sponsors that are taking a chance on someone who isn’t yet one of the big hitters; Mizuno Australia, Enervit, Compressport, Allez Sport Mooloolaba and Cyclezone Mooloolaba. Your support makes life that little bit easier to handle at the tough times.

-          That after today I am on the right track. I would love to have found out where my run legs were at and just how much of a dent I could have made on the second half of the bike but that’s something I’ll have to wait to find out.

-          And lastly: listen to your bodies! No-one knows it better than you! If your body is telling you owie, don’t do a session just because it’s written on your program. Missing one session it’s going to make or break you. Better to miss one afternoon than a whole season!

-          And things could always be worse: I’m attending the opening of Katie’s bench on Mooloolaba hill this Thursday. I still miss her terribly. 12 months ago I bet she never expected NOT to be here.

Merry Christmas to all.

2012 can’t get here fast enough!

Rachie signing out for 2011 xo

New beginings to end the year

Feels like i haven't raced for ages! Well it has been almost 6 weeks. I really underestimated how much 3 half ironmans in 4 weeks would take out of me. After Miami I had a full 10days off, which i think for me is the first time I haven't done a little run or swim during my off-season since 2007! To be honest, I didn't feel like being active at all. However, in saying that, the 10days off consisted of being in Miami for a day after the race (on Halloween!!!), drinking solo and eating whatever I wanted. Then the long-haul home to arrive back in Oz on the the 3rd of November. A quick trip to the Sunny Coast to pick up a few things and catch up with some special people before packing up my essentials and driving about 350km south to Lennox Head in NSW to start a new chapter of life and my sport.

Why the move? Why not? I had nothing keeping me on the Sunshine Coast and I became aware of an opportunity at Lennox before I went to the USA to start training with a new coach and squad. Fortunately everything fell into place with a room available with another triathlete and cyclist in the squad about 50m from the beach and 50m from the coffee shop! After a rough year losing Katie and spending 5months sidelined with the stress fracture and a disappointing return to racing a fresh start was exactly what I needed.

Yes it's been hard. I left all my friends, moved further away from my family and left an awsome swim coach/ squad a block from my house. I left my 60 private physiotherapy clients which was a great little side business that I really took for granted. I have picked up a few clients here and I know it will build as my networks do. The training has been great, different every day, different every week. I don't have to think, it's all posted to me the week before and I just have to show up to the sessions and do the work. It was a shock to the fat, unfit and fatigued systems doing 600km on the bike in the first week back at training! But I am loving it. I am loving the other athletes, the coach (Grant Giles) and not having ANY distractions to my training.

This Friday I will head down to Canberra to race the 70.3 on Sunday. It's been unusally cold for the start of summer and the forecast is for rain and low temperatures. Thankfully it will be a wetsuit swim seeing my speed suit has been thrown in the bin following my bloated USA belly busting out of it mid-swim at Miami! I am really excited about this weekend and even though I have had a short prep I'm feeling pretty ready to go.

Then I'm looking forward to a solid summer of training here before starting my 2012 season. Looks to be some pretty interesting things popping up on my agenda at this stage..... But at this stage, stay tuned for Canberra race report!

Rachie xo

3 of 3: Miami 70.3

I arrived to Miami Thursday afternoon after an interesting shuttle ride from the airport. Let’s say I’ll be catching a taxi to the airport tomorrow! I was starving and ate about 3 meals between 5pm and bed time, then tossed and turned til 12am. Next morning I worked out where to ride around downtown Miami and over towards Key Biscayne (island) and how to get to a small public pool about 2km from the hotel- and it was a 25m!!!!! Spoilt!

Jess Meyers, another pro woman, arrived that arvy and I’d offered to share a room with her as I had two beds for just me. I briefly met her the weekend prior where she took out the Austin 70.3, lovely and very interesting girl and I really enjoyed her company…and her recoverypump boots! We went for a little run in the arvy followed by a nice Italian dinner. Next morning consisted of the same thing ride/ run then I went for a swim and we did the registering/ briefing formalities before dinner and ed. The weather was shaping up to be fairly ordinary for race day with heavy showers Saturday afternoon and evening. At least it would cool the temp down.

Race morning we got up at 4:10am as we both liked to eat 3hours before the races- this however meant we were sitting around for an hour and half before heading to transition. Oh well, I had recently acquired True Blood season 4 so I had plenty to keep me occupied. We headed down to transition at 6:10am and the rain started about 15minutes later. Setting up in a saturated transition wasn’t fun and there was no sight of the sun, therefore no sight of the race starting on time at 7:10am. I must admit, my nerves were minimal for this race. I think a combination of not so great results, accumulated fatigue and little confidence didn’t have me in disarray at the start line. I noticed two small holes in my speed suit as we stood on the dock before we started. We jumped off the dock into a dark bay. The men we off about 10minutes late and we followed 2minutes later. I had a great start, in amongst a lot of girls and still with them at the first turning buoy. Then I felt a big rip down my front and realised that my speed suit had completely ripped down the front. Do I stop and tear the rest of it off or keep going? I forgot about it and pushed on. The second half of the swim was where it got hard. Feeling like I was wearing a big drag suit and then having the current pushing me sideways wasn’t what I classify as fun. Still I got out of the water in under 30mins, which was ok considering. Onto the bike and hitting the rain I am a bit of a wuss when it comes to wet roads. I took the first 10km pretty cautiously as there were many narrow roads and multiple turns. Once out onto the open road, I thought I was riding ok, until I got passed and then turned at half way and felt like I was pedalling backwards. Coming off the bike in 10^th was not what I had hoped. I managed to hold off 11^th until the 4mile mark by which time 12^th was way back and 9^th was a long way ahead. Finished the day in 11^th, which was a little disappointing as I was hoping for at least a top 10 finish. Big congrats to Jess for a very decent 4^th place after winning last weekend. If she had another mile or two she would have made podium!

I headed over to south beach last night for my last two nights in the USA. I would have attempted to go out last night but 3 races in 4 weeks have caught up to me and once again it was pouring, so after dinner and some more True Blood I crashed. My bike won’t be put back together until I arrive home, and probably won’t be ridden til next week!

So I will start the long trip home tomorrow. I have had a great 4 weeks with some great experiences, gotten to know some incredible people (the Pak’s , the Brooks’ and Jess) and had some good racing practice. I came away on this trip with fitness to gain and after this year it was great to just be out there racing again. I have definitely hardened my legs up to racing again this past month. I just need my body to now regain the fitness and strength I used to once have. When I get home I will be moving to Lennox Heads, NSW. This is to start with a new coach and try something different. I want to thank Cameron Watt for coaching me the past 2 years. I wouldn’t have converted to long course if it wasn’t for him pushing me and realising this is where my triathlon career could actually work. I don’t know how he’s  managed to put up with a lot of my ‘sports psychology’ issues but I cannot repay him for his tolerance, encouragement and guidance.

On another note a great man and athlete I have known for the past 4years, legendary Brian Barr lost his short battle with cancer yesterday. Barrie, Alexandra Headlands won’t be the same without you walking your dogs up and down the strip. You have given me some invaluable advice and guidance over the years in regards to health, balance, training and racing. You were an icon of the sunshine coast and won’t ever be forgotten. I’m sure you’ll be winning that race in the sky buddy.

But for now, I think a bit of time off racing is required until I get settled in my new life and routine. At this stage Canberra 70.3 will probably be next, and then who knows what in 2012.

Rachie xo

Austin 70.3 and en-route to Miami!

Sunday was Austin 70.3- my 2^nd race in the USA in 2 weeks and 4^th one back since august. Bit a a confiendence lull after the Rev3 in south Carolina, but having trained well for a good 10days with Minsok I was feeling like I had improvement to show. Seeing the sun doesn’t come up here til 7am, I’d been doing a lot of sleeping in, so the 4:10am wake up race morning was a rude shock. After my ritual peanut butter, honey, banana on toast and a good serve of caffine, Minsok, Bliss and myself headed out to Walter E Lake for the race. Another race with two transitions makes careful planning and timing race morning essential. T2 was close to the finish line and T1 was a short bus trip over to the Lake’s edge (which we would later run past 3 times). My bike happened to be positioned under a tree and in pitch black so moved it to a flood light to get prepped which kept me away from the hussel and bussel of the other pro girls, setting up at the last minute in my allocated spot. Then after a short warm up run on pitch black roads and about 4 trips to the porta-loos, I got to the start line a little late and only managed a 2minute swim to warm up. The pro men were off two minutes before us and I nearly soiled myself when the shotgun went off! BOOM!!!! Only in Texas……

Then we were off, frantic sratching, hitting, kicking in the first 100m and then it settles. I found myself swimming with two other girls and on a nice set of feet which I latched onto for the 1.9km swim, came out in 8^th, seconds pack and in 28:40 (which I was happy with), quick transition and only the bike, leaving my swim feet behind me, passing another in the first 1km, catching 2 more by 15miles and then  having one girl repass me around mile 30. Biggest breakthrough during this race was my nutrition. After lengthy talks with Minsok, I realised that taking one maybe 2 gels during the bike IS NOT enough which probably has contributed to my lack luster performance of late. I timed the whole ride and 15min inttervals taking in either electrolyte (or rather my sludge concoction) or a gel. I got off the bike in 6^th with a time a little slower than I’d hoped for. Once again picking up more nutrition than I have ever before for the run leg. The aid stations were plentiful- about 5 per lap of the 3 lap course!!! I got passed in the early part of lap 2 by two girls so back into 8^th, not happy, hang on for top 10 I kept telling myself. Then at the beginning of lap 3 another girl passed me- oh no, 9^th, even more unhappy! Then things began to fall apart in front of me! The leader dropped out with over-heating/ dehydration, so back into 8^th. I could see two girls infront who’d been fading the whole run leg and with 3 miles to go passed both of them in a span of about 2minutes. Okay, I could see 5^th in front, not far. Someone who’d passed me earlier but was now struggling. GOOOO!!! Your legs feel great! At the final aid station she looked over her shoulder and saw me coming- dam! She kicked it up a gear, as did I but too little too late. I managed to close the gap to 5^th by 11seconds at the finish line, but she got me, so had to settle for 6^th. 9^th to 6^th in the last 3miles. I was happy. Still seconds from prize money, but I got a glimpse of what I know I’m capable of.

Minsok my training partner came in a little while later- our overall times only 27seconds difference…..he got me! At least I beat his run time by 2 seconds!!!!!! Bliss came through about half hour after Minsok with a great performance too!

That afternoon consisted of “horrible bosses” movie, a massive steak and 2 great bottles of red wine between the three of us. The next few days were pretty painful though. Monday and Tuesday of some very easy light training and Wednesday saw my only hard day of the week and a big day of bonking. I turned out 2.5hr ride into 3 ¼ hrs by having a tyre come off the rim, throwing a little hissy fit wanting to turn around and then getting a great hunk on metal through my tyre resulting in a flat. After a massive feed of pancakes, crashed hard for 2hours, struggled through a surprisingly good sprint swim set,  watched Hanna then chick a heap of boys at her cross country meet and set herself a new PR for 2miles (sub 15mins for 11year old girl!) and then surprise myself again with a solid 7 mile run (thanks again Minsok for pushing me to my limits!). With Hanna rocking out at a Taylor Swift concert (soooooo jealous) Bliss, Minsok and myself hit the famous Austin Trailer resturanat’s the Odd Duck and Gordough’s for dinner with yet another great drop of red (no wonder I’m not fitting into my jeans at present!!). Crashed hard again after my solid day for this week.

So depressingly left my amazing Austin family. Oh how I will miss my time here. They are trying to con me into doing a ‘real race’ and signing up for Texas IM in May and coming back to stay…..and I’m actually considering it! At the Austin airport now, enroute to Miami for the 70.3 there this Sunday. I have the training, I have some racing in me now and I feel that the best of three will be Sunday. I can’t wait!

Rachie xo

Rollingwood pool all to myself...... all of the time!

No horse playing???? Only in Texas....

View from Hula Hut, dinner at sunset!

Hanna and I

Hanna, Bliss, Minsok..... the bare plot.... in 12months time the mansion!

Austin Awsomeness

I don't usually blog about training etc but this is an exception I feel. After some issues with being 'positive' or so i'm told (yes I'm in need of a good sports psych at present!), life is pretty unreal right about now. It still doesn't feel real!

I left Anderson, SC on Thursday morning after training in a few days of pretty ordinary weather after the race there last weekend. Off to Austin to staying with the incredible Pak family. I had briefly met Bliss, Minsok and their daughter Hanna at a couple races back in 2009 (Putrajaya 70.3 and Laguna Phuket Tri) and they have been so much more than generous to me since before I got here. Opening their home to me for the two weeks I will spend here in Texas. I have been here for 3 days and since arriving I have been to multiple local restaurants, cafes, frozen yoghurt and sporting shops, eaten my body weight in cow last night, cupcakes from a trailer restaurant (local Austin thing!), listened to free live music in a beer garden come park, been to the Austin Symphony oh and I've managed some training too!!! Minsok has been a great training buddy since my arrival, though I am in awe of him as he raced Hawaii last weekend only a week after a minor bike crash Chrisse Wellington style, and yet he still seems to kick my butt up and down the Texan hills and around the running track at the lake, claiming to me his knee is still sore!! What's my excuse?????

So i am on the look out for Lance, his hometown and this weekend is a Livestrong festival where they have a 5km run on Saturday and a 25mile ride today which he apparently leads off! I did see Lyle Lovette at the Mexican place we went to on Friday night so I'm happy I've seen at least one celeb so far.

Austin is a great place to train, although there are 3 lane major roads, the shoulder is huge and the traffic is very tolerant of cyclists. There are some great loops or out and backs that give you some amazing views of the city, the dam and the surrounding areas.... and some nasty little hills if you choose. About 1.5miles from the house you can find Ladybird Lake running trail, where you can do a 3/4/7 mile loop on the trails where it's nicely shaded and there are plenty of water/ toilet stops (very important on my running destinations!). It's probably the most populated running track I've ever encountered (Mooloolaba strip on Australia day eat your heart out!) with joggers, mt bikers, dogs and prams galore! I am still yet to see the famous "Leslie" who apparently rides a cruiser around in nothing but a thong!

Promise I am training! Still getting used to the 25yard pools and converting miles back to kms. So I am really looking forward to Austin 70.3 next weekend. I am on the right track with training at present and will look to have probably another 4 days or so belting it out before a short taper and then a proper taper leading up to Miami 70.3 the following weekend. Bliss is also racing Austin and Minsok tells me if his bike arrives back from Hawaii in time he will probably give it a bash too..... hmmmm the race is on- for not only his bike, but I feel maybe between him and I!

Look out for the Austin 70.3 race report. In the meantime, enjoy the pics from my Austin adventures.

Rachie xo

Running trails at Ladybird Lake

Ladybird Lake

Hey Cupcake!

Hanna eating her cream filled Hey Cupcake!

Bliss and I

Live music in the park/ beer garden in Austin

Austin sky line at night

The Family! Emily (another ring in!), Bliss, Hanna, Minsok & I

Austin Symphony Orchestra

Rev3 South Carolina Race Report

So last Sunday I packed up my life on the Sunshine Coast and left the last 6 years behind me. I left on a rough note having battled the worst case of gastro I've had in years the night before I left after having the best week of training I've had since pre-pelvis. I managed a little easy training the Monday but still felt pretty ordinary with my tummy upset. An early 3:30am start Tuesday morning to get to the airport by 6am I had no problems checking in my 32kg bike through to South Carolina (thanks Dane, best travel agent ever!). Down to Sydney and then on the long haul 19hour trip to LA. I felt pretty good until about the last 4 hours on the plane, when I found myself intermittently running to the toilet for a few more chucks, thank god you pick up a day travelling to the USA and that I left with quite a few days to spare. Crazily enough at the delta terminal at LA I saw a girl run past and thought, gee that looks like Katya Meyers (another triathlete I met a couple of years ago in Malaysia), sure enough she had a helmet on her bag and after she missed her flight she was walking past me and stopped to ask if there was free wi-fi- ‘I know you, you’re Katya!’. Thanks girl for helping pass my nauseous stop over hours at LA.

Back on a plane to Cincinnati, I slept the whole way, had about a 40min stop over, then my final hour flight to Greenville, South Carolina.  I was met at the small airport by Howard, my homestay’s father-in-law and no bike! AGAIN! Sure enough it was still in Cincinnati as it didn’t make it onto the next plane in time. The Delta baggage lady assured me it would arrive the next afternoon. Howard then drove me the 45mins or so to where I was staying in Anderson. A gorgeous lake house about 10km from the race site. I cannot believe how lucky I’ve been with amazing homestays this year. Gina and Scott who own the lakehouse, live in another home about 20miles from here with their 3 beautiful daughters and have spoiled me more than my family does. I cannot thank them enough for driving me over the bike course, taking me to the pool, transporting myself and my bike around the area and stocking the lakehouse with enough food to feed an army!

Battling a nasty case of jet-lag, having 9 then 5 then 11 then 4 hours sleep as well as taking a while to get my appetite back after being sick, I took it pretty cautiously with the training/ taper week. Tenille Hoogland, a Canadian triathlete, also arrived a couple nights later to keep me company pre-race and before we knew it it was Saturday, the day before the Rev3 South Carolina Half IM. Race morning was fresh, but it was a non-wetty swim for the pros. I found out my helmet is NOT CPSC approved so a big thankyou to Rev3's Eric for finding me an approved helmet race morning. A little warm up and I thought I was good to go. There were about 20pro girls on the start line, the biggest pro field I have ever raced. My plan was to try and stick with Kate Major for the swim, but by the first buoy she was already about 20m in front of me. The swim felt long and I spent 90% of it out on my own. Got out about mid field and 2mins down on where I was hoping to be so not the start I was hoping for. The bike leg was quite technical with multiple sharp 90 degrees turns throughout the first half. About 5km in I caught Kate whislt she was serving a 2min stop/ go penalty so my plan was to pace behind or beside her for the remaining kms. This was my first race that was raced according to the stagger rule- which means as long as you are on the opposite side of the road as far as possible to the person infront you can ride side by side. We caught Nina Kraft around the middle of the bike and then at about the 40mile mark I really started to flat line and Kate broke away from me. 5mile later another girl passed me and I had nothing in me to go with her. Off the bikes I actually felt ok. Got the heads up the 8 girls were in front of me and I could see 8th in front and I was ever so slowly gaining on her. Run was a bunch of little loops and at the begining you could get a good look as to where you were. Two girls behind me were moving fast through the course so I was trying pretty hard to keep the gap. The first one passed me about 6miles and then the next at about 7.5miles. At this point I had caught the girl infront too and we ran together for the next mile. Then it all became undone. I felt my left hammy twitching and took a salt tablet to keep the cramps at bay. I lost the pace of the girl I was running with and I just kept thinking hold on for 10th. Top 10 and a little cash would be a good result today. The last mile I knew there was another girl slowly gaining but I was pushing hard to hold her off just a little longer. Up the carpet to the finish chute and woosh! Another girl i didn't even know was there zoomed past me, taking 10th from me by 2seconds. I was gutted, my heart sinking and dissappointment already overcoming me. Straight to the ART tent to have my hammy and messed up body treated, then to the Recovery pump tent for more TLC for my body. That afternoon consisted of watching Titanic and picking up some mental pieces.

The beautiful Lake house (the kind where slasher flicks are made!)

Fat arse leacing T1

Homestay mum Gina, me and Angie post race

So this is what IM training feels like, Gina- last long ride pre IM Florida-

GOOD LUCK!!!!

I need to recognise that I'm not the athlete I was this time 12months ago having spent 4months injured. Not to mention the severe case of GI upset a week before and the 33 hour travel fresh in my system. I decided to do this trip and 3 races to get fit so I can't expect to be killing it as I just don't have the training or miles in me. The 70.3 points will be nice if I decided that I want to do a world championship race in 2012. But I am my own worse enemy and I need to stop being so focused on results and money, otherwise I'll never get anywhere!

A big congratulations to the lovely Magali Tisseyre for the win and my roomie Tenille Hoogland for leading for about 98% of the race but holding on for 2nd (I know how much you needed this!!).

I have recovered really quickly from the race and had an easy day yesterday followed by a solid day today which has gone 10 times better than expected. I have one more day left here in Anderson before heading to Austin for 2weeks to stay with friends and get prepped for Austin 70.3. 

Rachie xo

And the bad luck keeps on rolling.... Japan 70.3

Since Yeppoon I had started doing some actual run training. After a bit longer than normal recovery following Yeppoon (as it was my first half marathon since April), I got stuck into some running, still with an element of caution. My body reminded me in a couple of different ways that it still wasn’t 100% ready to take the training load I wanted to inflict upon it, however with a good 4 weeks or so under my belt I was really looking forward to Japan 70.3. I figure any performance will be an improvement on Yeppoon following a flat tyre and a return to running at that race! Questionable about the swim though, Yeppoon was a breakthrough day for me and I was hoping it had stuck.

So after half a molar fell out at my stopover at Singapore airport I made it to Nagoya, checked into my hotel, where I then head-butted the basin in the bathroom and got a little ride in amongst sleeping and eating. Great to spend some girlie time with my mentor and idol Belinda Granger and some of the pro men I’ve met at various races. Saturday was just race officialities and a little training. The race is logistical nightmare. You are put up at a hotel on the island where the airport is and all official race procedures occur at the airport, however the entire race is over the bridge which you aren’t allowed to ride or walk over. The only way to get over to the city of Tokoname by either train (and your bike needs to be in a bag/box) or by car/ bus. So the day before the race they bus our bikes over to T1. Early night to bed and was really looking forward to the race.


Race morning saw the swim shortened to 1200m due to some apparent ‘current’ that I never felt- normally I’d be quite happy about this, but now I’m swimming well, and in Asia I’m actually a very good swimmer! Pro women’s field was down to 5 even though there were 8 on the start list. Aside from Belinda and I, 3 Japanese girls made up the remaining field. So once again, just had to finish to get paid, however I was hoping to go one better than my 2nd place from last year. Gun was off and the pro men and women scrambled to the first buoy. Lost feet quickly but by T1 I was only about 20seconds down from Belinda which is another big improvement for me. There was another girl about a minute in front of us though; whom I remembered from last year was a gun swim/runner. Off we took through the multiple 90 degree turns, narrow streets, rough roads and up/ downs of this tricky course. A marginal improvement on last year’s course, but still incredibly dangerous. The format of the ride consists of a large section you ride one way, past T2 to complete a couple of dog legs, back over half the course to turn around and repeat the dog legs again, to then do a shorter second loop back before heading to T2….does that make sense??? Didn’t to us either and briefing didn’t help much either! Belinda and I went over it about 10 times before the race. Things were going ok, sitting in 3rd, Belinda had moved up to 1st and I was putting time into 2nd, it was only a matter of time before I would catch her. Hit 30km mark and over a small crest to descend- piiiiiiiiiiiiissssssssssssstttttttttttttt- NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO not again!! I couldn’t believe it- front tyre completely flat to the rim, nothing pit stop and CO2 could fix this time. No spare (don’t know how to change a tubular) so I was stuffed. Came to a stop where 2 volunteers and 2 security men were stationed as guides. After lots of back and forth actions as English wasn’t an option managed to get in contact with the mechanic on a mobile who assured me he was on his way. 50minutes later he shows up on a PUSH BIKE! By this stage, 1- my race was over 2- was there any point in finishing? 3- what a waste of a trip (and an expensive one at that!). He offered me his front wheel and told him to send a car to get me, this option meant waiting until everyone was off the course! HOURS! So I took his wheel and thought, stuff it, make it a training day. A disappointing one, but get some training done. So back onto the bike course and I was passing everyone! Into T2 and off on the run about an hour behind all the other girls. Felt amazing for the first 10km and at 6km ran past another pro girl walking! It’s not over til the fat lady sings and I’m pretty massive at the moment! Ok, so even when you’re having a bad day, someone out there’s having a day a lot worse than you!


At around 14km you actually run past the finish line and the massage tents. So me, with 7km to go, look over and see Belinda having a massage, bugger. That’s when the run began to slow considerably, I began to feel every 34 degrees of the sun and more and more negative thoughts were creeping in as well as the temptation to walk. One foot in front of the other, I kept running to the end and then I completely lost it. Overcome by overwhelming emotions of why the hell is this continually happening to me? I was dehydrated and devastated…. And continued to be for the following two hours. Either I’ve done something really horrible in a past life and I’m being punished now or this is a test or maybe someone somewhere is trying to tell me something….


Anyways, 4th pro, with the most horrendous time/ bike time. I though getting a flat in Yeppoon 4 weeks ago, losing about 5minutes fixing it was bad luck, but it can ALWAYS be worse. Still no DNF though and a good training day none the less. I still don’t know what kind of race condition I’m in as I haven’t had an unbroken 90km on the bike and even though I clocked a disappointing run split, it’s hard to push yourself when you are so far behind, not to mention having been burnt to a crisp whilst standing on the side of the road for an hour.


So I'm now back home for another couple of weeks and am peeling off an incredibly massive 3rd degree sunburn. Staight back into training as I have just booked my big trip to USA. Fingers crossed for a little more luck there. Maybe third time lucky?
I will keep you posted


Rachie xo

Getting back on the horse...i mean the legs

Yeppoon 70.3:

I am back racing!!!! No pre-race blog. I was originally scheduled to return to Cam Sur to race the Philippines 70.3 but after my injury in April I didn’t know whether I’d be back racing or not. I was trying to keep this one on the down low as 2 weeks ago Yeppoon 70.3 was going to be a swim/ bike race for me as I still wasn’t running more than a broken 3km. The week leading up I managed a couple 1.5hour runs, though not fast at all. Chatted with my coach about the success of 2 pain free longer runs and we decided that as long as I was pain free that just go and finish the race- try to smash the swim/ bike and run with what I’ve got. No pressure, no expectations, make it a solid training session.

I headed to Yeppoon on Friday. Although this half ironman race had been running for years I had never been up. This was the first year it would be raced as an official 70.3. I knew the pro female field prior to going, it was a aussie- kiwi only line up. I knew most of the girls on the start list and without mechanical issues, knew that 1-2 would be covered by Lisa Maragon and Michelle Wu and remainding spots were fair game. Normally I would aim for a podium, but with my lead up was hoping not to come home with the wooden spoon!

Race morning had seen the pro female field dwindle to only 5- if we all finished, we all got paid. The depth of the field is a little disappointing, however there were 4 other 70.3s to be held the same weekend and with most of the other pro athletes in the USA getting prepped for Vegas or Kona, Oz is a long way for a race. Still doesn’t stop the race: the gun was off and we hit a very choppy 1.9km ocean swim, however fortunately it was current assisted. I was totally wrapped with my swim, we lost Lisa quite quickly however at the half way point she wasn’t too far ahead and I was about a body’s length back from Michelle. This was my aim to get out with her. 2.5months of ONLY swimming had definitely paid off (Col Robson you’re a legend!). Around the final buoy we were to turn 90degrees back to the shore which I did and Michelle kept swimming out to sea! Where’s she going??? I was 2^nd out of the water!!!!! Sub 26mins! 50seconds or so down from Lisa!!! I was dumb founded!!!  Quick transition out onto the bike with 3^rd female Renee Lane. It wasn’t long til Michelle zoomed past me. I was still putting time into 4^th (Renee) but on the 4^th lap of 5 I started to feel very nervous about my bike. For about 15km it felt like the screws were about to fall out and the bike fall apart. Something is wrong, I’m losing speed….I turn to a guy behind me ‘is my back tyre flat?’ ‘Yeah it is’ CRAP! Off the bike- ripping the pit stop off my bike, 4^th rides past me- trying to shove the pit-stop into my tyre, how does this work????? White foam everywhere!!!! HURRY!!!! Had a couple of CO2 canisters taped on my bike so I topped up the tyre a bit- no pockets- shoved the canisters down my tri suit- GOD THAT’S COLD!!!  Back on the bike to finish the last 20kms, please hold together! Managed to pull back 3^rd by transition but too little too late, I have no run in me. Chucking the C02 on the ground, picked up my gear- most importantly my SIJ belt (which I prescribe to pregnant women!) to hold my pelvis together! ‘No pain Paxton, no pain!’ So off I trot, just steady, hold your pace, run the whole way- no pain. One foot in front of the other, let Renee go, you’re not up to it. I said I’d be happy to run at 5min pace to give me a 1:45, but managed a 1:38- so 4:40 pace is great. No pain, just a little ache in the ‘area’ ;-) By the last lap my left Achilles was super tight so I had something else to thing about! I finished 4^th pro (yay not last!) in a 4:47- so far from my best but not important at the moment, but unfortunately 9^th female, so got pipped by a number of age-group females L Cuddos to them, some are pro material!!! I do feel a little guilty about taking the prize money as they probably deserve it more than me….but I’m a broke pro athlete so I will take it thankyou!!!! With a stress fracture AND a flat, I think I deserve a bit of it! AND DID YOU SEE MY SWIM????

Massive thankyou to Ron and Sharon. Long-time friends I grew up with out west who have moved to Yeppoon. I ate them out of home and Sharon and her daughter Keera were my amazing cheer squad out there on Sunday morning. A laugh a minute at their place with their two kids Col and Keera, girlie goss sessions with Rikki and that amazing country hospitality that I miss so much from my past life. I woke on race morning to a beautiful note I now have stuck on my wall at home which was enough motivation and support I needed to get me through and that night Sharon massaged my calves whilst I ate ice-cream and berry pie!! Missing you guys already!

So now back into some serious run training and a little more work on the bike…. If it ever arrives home…didn’t get on the plane….good excuse for a day off tomorrow ;-)

Rachie xo

I'm running!!!

Sharon and I

Kole, Ronny, Sharon, Keera and Lolly-Dot

Turned me into a blubbering mess on race morning!

Not all fun and games for female athletes.....

Well it's now been 3months since I sustained a stress fracture in my pelvis. So many races missed, so many days where I've felt rock bottom, so many times I've questioned myself whether or not giving up my job has been the right decision. On good days, I know it has been......

So really all I can blog about, training wise, is that I've been swimming a LOT and after 5 weeks got back on the bike and have been doing some rather big kms. The enforced swimming block has been a blessing in disguise as this has always been my Achilles heel. The biggest thing that has happened though is my return to running. However so slow, I have been building it up over the last 3 weeks and cannot believe how hard it is to start from scratch. Although I'm trying to see the positives; like this being the perfect time to work on my some-what unusual running technique (I’ve seen the photos and footage and it's not pretty!).

This is my second stress fracture I’ve had since starting triathlon in 2007- in 2008 I had the same pelvic stress fracture but on the other side (at time a physio told me it WASN’T as stress fracture and that I’d be ok to race on it, so I did…. Not smart!). My recommendation as an athlete AND a physio is no-one knows your body better than you so if in doubt just go and get a bone scan (CT won’t show it, MRI might not even show it either, bone scan will!), the sooner the better to know what you are dealing with.

Putting this aside I feel it's important to touch on the reason why I broke so easily. I recently read Terenzo Bozzone's blog about his Achilles injury and knowing when to stop, which we are all guilty of NOT doing. However if we stopped every time we felt a niggle, we'd never finish a session! Prevention is far better than recovery or cure. For young women competing at an elite level the female triad can be a triage of symptoms that can manifest into multiple much more serious conditions and/or complications. The 3 conditions that make up the triad can differ in severity. These are:
 - Eating disorder/ low energy available (energy imbalances of those consumed and expended; can include calorie restriction, abnormal body image, high drive for thinness)
- Menstrual disturbances/ Amenorrhea (no menstrual period for more than 3 months)
- Low Bone density/ Osteoporosis (weakened bones increasing susceptibility to fractures)

Amenorrhea can seem somewhat beneficial to an athlete’s life- not dealing with PMS and 'that time of the month' during travelling/ racing and training but this is one of the reasons leading to the low bone density/ osteoporosis. Oestrogen is one of the most important hormones required to take up calcium and vitamin D in order to lay done bones. So if it's not there in the adequate amounts, then this won't happen- so is it really worth having recurrent stress fractures or more frightening 75 year old bones at 40, falling over and fracturing a hip?

It’s a hard one though…. My recommendation to any osteoporotic patient is always to partake in weight bearing activity as this stimulates bone lay down, such as walking. As a triathlete we run, this is weight bearing activity…..damned if you do, damned if you don’t!!!

All triad symptoms are cause by an energy deficient or dietary problem. This issue needs to be addressed first in order to improve your energy balance. If this isn’t the issue, amenorrhea can also be caused by other issues such as a tumour, polycystic ovarian syndrome or even a thyroid problem. Being told by a doctor- “your cycle will return to normal when you stop training/ exercising” is not good enough nor do I think just putting a young female athlete on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is the answer either (knowing its effect on the liver leading to unavoidable weight gain and the long term risks of cancer after prolonged use). You need to find a doctor that will investigate your symptoms fully. Run full bloods: hormone investigation, cortisol levels and check your thyroid function and then individually treat YOUR symptoms and imbalances. And if it is due to a hormone imbalance. there are other options out there rather than HRT or being prescribed the pill (these are all synthetic!), such as bio-identical hormones. These are made from natural substances (such as soy bean or wild yam) and have a molecular structure identical to the body’s own hormones.

Want to know more: http://www.custommedicine.com.au/womens-health/

I have never had a problem with food. Those who know me best are full aware of my detrimental sweet tooth and if you’ve ever seen me at a buffet breakfast at a race there are no signs of an eating disorder! In saying this, I am careful about what I eat. I do love my fresh fruit and vegies and having grown up on a beef production property, love my red meat. Food is all about balance. However if you can’t enjoy the small things like the occasional McFlurry ice-cream, Cadbury bar (whilst training of course!) or cheesecake, life isn’t worth living!

And back to me and my beloved triathlon. When something you love is taken away from you, you realise just how much it means to you. I am more determined than ever to come back to the sport fitter, stronger, faster and more focused to achieve my goals. Unfortunately it might just take a little longer to get there than first anticipated.

Be safe, look after your bodies and eat some yummy food J

Rachie xo

Down and out for a while

Have been putting off writing this one....

After Julia Creek, got straight back into training in prep for couple of Olympic distance tris; Hervey Bay and Noumea. A week out from Hervey Bay things were going great. Sore as heck from smashing out the swimming, biking and running but heading in the right direction. So doing my normal thing on a Friday arvy and began to feel a little niggle in my groin area. But how many times do we feel these thing? If we quit every time we felt a little something we'd never get through a whole session! So finished the treadmill session and whilst walking to the car went from normal strides to short shuffles to having to hold onto something to support me. Praying that it was just something that needed a nights sleep I woke up the next morning with minimal improvement. A week later after pulling out of Hervey Bay, just swimming and biking (and i must admit 2 failed attempts at running) the pain was excruciating after a 2hour bike I needed to know what was going on. So emergency trip to the doc, urgent CT followed up with a bone scan and totally gutted by the presence of a stress fracture in my pelvis (inferior pubic rami). At least there's a good reason for my pain.

3 years ago had the same injury on the right side and it's one of the hardest places to get a stress fracture. Only me!?

So the agenda for the next two months had to be cancelled and a re-write of the training program. Positive is that i can focus on my weakness in swimming, already seeing some big improvements. Re-assessing my race calender and what i'm going to be doing the next couple of months. Unsure as to what will be next in regards to racing as all depends on healing.

Fund-raising for the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation is going well. We are now just over $2500 with about a month to go to reach our goal of $3500. We are hoping to have a memorial on the Sunshine Coast for Katie on the 21st of May, but I will let you all know once it is confirmed.

Watch those niggles.....

Rachie xo

way out west at Dirt'n'Dust

I began writing this on the side of the road about 10km out of some backwards western Queensland town called Homested about 250km from Townsville. I arrived there at about 10:30am on the Sunday morning where I was greeted by a floodway with 80cm of water over it, traffic was at standstill on both sides of the river! 

I flew to Townsville 2 days before, borrowed my brother’s care and drove 650km west to Julia Creek. I was lucky enough to have accommodation with a lovely girl, Sally Eales, who works in the information centre there. I crashed hard Friday night, putting away almost 10hours of sleep. The next morning was the triathlon which I had travelled out for. I went out last year, and finished a disappointing 4^th as it was a surprisingly stacked field. This year my competition would be the young Maddison Allen from the QAS squad. Now focusing on long course, I’d have my work cut out for me racing a sprint tri against a specialist. T2 was located in town and T1 25km west of Julia creek at a dirty waterhole. The bikes are transported out to T1 on a cattle truck whilst we were briefed at the rodeo grounds and then moved onto buses out to the swim start.

The swim is 800m in a freshwater creek, T1 in a dusty creek bed where the gruelling 25km bike leg starts. 25km east into a strong headwind on a slight incline and then a very rough road over the final kms, I think it’s the hardest sprint race in Australia. I exited the water about 1.5mins down from Maddy and knew that the bike leg would make or break my race. I caught her with about 3km to spare and put about 20seconds into her….was it enough? I struggled with my right shoe in transition and she was hot on my heels, catching me about 1km into the 5km run (however I think it’s about 5.5km!). I thought it was over however watching her take the lead, her legs appeared to be struggling already. Sticking together for about another 2km I knew I had to make a break cause if it came down to a sprint I feel young legs would win. On the 3^rd and final loop I’d broken away by about 7m and began to put the hammer down. At the final turn all I could think about was Katie. Rachael it’s 4mins of your life, not much of a fight compared to her 6months- run for her. With about 100m to go I knew I had it, increasing the gap to about 50m/ 16 seconds. 1^st place and a lovely $2500 which will make the next 2months a lot easier…… needless to say I now need it to pay for another plane ticket home tomorrow.

I haven’t raced that hard in ages, my calves are the sorest they’ve been in years post-race. Big, big shock to the remaining fast twitch fibres I have left in this ageing body! However, the added bonus of a chopper flight over Julia Creek, landing at the races in style, free red-claw luncheon at the races and VIP entry at the rodeo that night are all nice perks of the Julia Creek win. How can a little outback race have an incredible prize purse and so many added perks whilst only having about 300 entrants??? I think a lot of other triathlons around Australia have a lot to answer for in comparison to the Dirt'n'Dust Triathlon!!!! 

So left JC at 5:15am Sunday  to get back to Townsville before lunch to speed some time with my brother before heading home at 5pm….. However at 3:10pm I was still hours away from Townsville, in a 3km line of parked cars, waiting for the water to subside & writing this blog…

The best thing of the week though- we are now at $2380 for the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation, having raised over $2000 in 4 days. I now think that aiming to double the original target is not unrealistic. I will be in contact with the foundation over the coming week to learn more about their current research and just how close they are from trialling a vaccine against the disease. Thank you to all who have donated. I intended to thank you all personally by with such an overwhelming response to the call of support I am afraid I won’t be able to do this. Katie was laid to rest on the 15^th at 2:15 in Newcastle, at which time I was on the road in western QLD, crying for the loss of my friend.

Finally got home last night around 7pm to pretty miserable weather, but it's so nice to be home. What an adventure: 1300km driving, a nice country cop just giving me a warning for speeding, country triathlon, chopper ride, horse races, rodeo, hitting a fox in my bro's ute, 10hours on the side of the road, missing a flight, riding to top of Castle hill with my bro, someone screeming repeatedly on the plane in turbulance and finally getting home 24hours after i was supposed to....will i go back next year???? Definately :-)

Rachie xo

Middle of nowhere grinding away!

5km of hurt to go!

RIP Katie Sutter

I never imagined that I would ever have to write this blog... through tears I am determined to do something in memory of my amazing friend.

I first met Katie in mid 2007, only a few months after starting triathlon. She was doing her honours in Sport and Exercise Science at the University of the Sunshine Coast looking at triathletes. I volunteered to be one of her subjects. After 3 sessions where she put me through the ringer, coaxed me through some grueling testing on a bike and a treadmill where she was wiping spit off my face and the floor (from the O2 mask I had to wear) & taking my blood- lets just say we were way past small talk after the first 5minutes of meeting!

She became my most reliable coffee date. Only living about 3kms away we were regulars at our favourtie coffee shop Nude in Cotton Tree, for Saturday morning coffees and muffins. Talking about all things 20-something year old chicks do; gossip, boys, work, boys, training, boys, plans for the future and boys! Giving eachother advice on boys, life, training and boys.... She was one of the few people I could be totally honest with, trust with my darkest of secrets and reassured that I would always feel so much better after spending time with her smile, laugh and conversation.

Katie was someone who was the maker of her own destiny and happiness. I saw her make a big decision to give in a project that was making her unhappy to reclaim joys in her life. This is something most people are too frightened to do....Katie was not, a trait that I admired and have now worked hard on to engrain into myself.

It broke my heart when her and her fiance at the time relocated to townsville in far north QLD in May 2010.

Something was going on though....she had been complaining of intermittent lower back pain for sometime. After some testing/ scans which didn't prove to show anything, she put it down to musculoskeletal. In September 2010 she was admitted with severe abdominal pain and over the following days the source was found to be a large mass pressing on her urters and sacral plexus stemming from a cervical cancer. Over the coming months thing got worse. In October her kidneys decided to shut down and drains had to be inserted. Around this time she relocated back to her parent's in Newcastle to continue with her treatment. At this time she stopped answering phone calls and would sporadically send the occasional text message. In Decmeber the cancer had spread to her abdominal lymph nodes and she said to me:
'I'm still positive i'll beat this but god it's a hard mental game'

That was the last time I directly heard from her. Amongst our mutual friends we kept eachother updated as best we could with what information we could get from her parents. Last week I was told that she was going off to a health retreat for her birthday and then she was going to come back up to the sunshine coast for a visit in the next few weeks....

Then I got the phone call I never, ever thought I would.... she had passed away after collapsing at the health retreat from a kidney infection. She hung on until the morning of her 28th birthday and then slipped away from our world leaving us left behind shattered and empty. Words cannot describe the hole I have inside and how much I will miss my loving and loyal friend.

My next race is China 70.3. I am doing this race in memory of Katie Sutter and coincidently am fundraising for the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation. Please donate to this amazing cause so that we can help prevent, treat and ensure that we don't lose any more young women to this devesating disease.

Please click on the link below and give what you can to this cause: whether it's $1 or $100- every cent will go to the foundation and to this worthy cause.
http://www.everydayhero.com.au/rachael_paxton

I will be blogging frequently to keep everyone updated in regards to fundraising and China 70.3 prep/ race.

Rachie xo

Stunning Sutter

Her 1st Olympic Distance Triathlon, Mooloolaba 2010

My 25th Birthday

Adam, Charlie and Katie at my birthday

Home sweet home

Home! What a trip- been away for 13 days, 2 countries, 2 homestays, 2 races and minimal training between the two, so in a funny way I'm feeling a bit lazy!

Singapore 70.3 was yesterday. I pretty much lost all confidence last weekend so went into Singapore 70.3 with very very low expectations. I need to stop studying start lists and working myself into a frenzy with trying to guess the best possible placing I could get come race day. Top 10 was probably realistic but I'd have to give it all that was left in my tank.

The swim was in the ocean and there was quite a strong current we were (mainly) swimming agianst. A bit of a confusing 2 loop (one small one inside a big one) course, I lost the main pack quite quickly and was left swimming solo for the rest of the leg. Always such a good feeling when I get outta there! Onto the bike i acutally found my legs quickly and wondered how long it would last for. I was quite happy with my bike leg as I know it was a hard, solid, solo effort. It's funny how short the 90km TT on the flat, fast course feels after doing the 200km in Abu Dhabi the weekend before. The run, however took me about 12kms to warm up into. I was a bit worried that the chasers were gaining on me. With about 6km to go I thought I was in about 7th place, 6th at best. At the 17km mark I passed Kirsten Molloy and put the hammer down. I couldn't believe it when Whit called me over the line as 5th place Pro female. Turns out Jodie Swallow had pulled out after the bike... and I had just assumed that she was that far in front that i couldn't even see her! (If she had of completed the course she would have embarrassed a few of the pro men!).

I am more than happy with this result. I was still in the money (even if it's not much, better than nothing!) and to pull out this race one week after feeling like i shouldn't even bother trying to do another triathlon makes the 5th place even more of an achievement.

Kudos to Michelle Wu who worked herself up into 3rd place during the run, her ability to push herself to her limit really came out on the course yesterday!

To my amazing homestay family, the Smiths. Susan- i'm missing your cooking sooooo much already, keep those recipes rolling in please. David- thanks for enduring slaps on the wrists for stealing extra papers with my article in it, my grandparents will be stoked! And Lauren- thanks for the photos, your enthusiasm, encouragement, entertainment with the hamster Kim Chi, taking me out training, showing me around the city, carrying all my crap and putting up with my pre-race nerves. Get onto the swim technique chick, good luck with the SAT's and your training/ racing. I'll be back to stay with you again soon :-) Another special thankyou to Donna for being taxi services, lady with the hook ups and for that memorable ride through singapore city's morning traffic!

Home for a little bit now, next race is the end of April, but more on that closer to date.

Rachie xox

singapore 70.3 pre-view

I arrived in Singapore on Sunday night and was met at the airport by my homestay’s daughter Lauren and another lady (who has a car!) Donna. After a short drive to my homestay’s lovely apartment building with a 30m outdoor pool (about 6 lanes wide too!), I crashed hard.

I have made the most of the 30m pool, running along the river, biking with some locals and the massage lady 3 blocks away. So far have had 3 trips to 3 different bike shops for 3 different problems! Valve, bottom bracket (and then the guy snapped off my back derailer!) and front brakes- so that’s 3 so I’m done J Apart from that I have really been pretty much bed ridden keeping recovery at the highest of priorities. I am actually feeling quite good considering the race I did on Saturday.

So after last weekend’s fiasco I’m even nervier about this race! Normally I would go into a 70.3 full of confidence and excited but this time round I’m worried. I know I’m fit but I’m scared of a repeat of Abu Dhabi- whatever happened there, happening again. So I’m putting it behind me, fresh race fresh head. Lots of impressive girls on the start list for the weekend so will be a good hit out to see where I’m at right now. Then back home the night of the race. Lots of work to do when I get home.

Rachie xo

Lessons learnt in Abu Dhabi

1.       I need to learn how to swim

2.       I need to learn how to bike

3.       I need to learn how to run

4.       I will never EVER do an IM

5.       200km solo in the desert is not fun

6.       I do, however, really believe I have a ‘Never say die’ attitude- there were multiple times yesterday where I could have pulled the pin. For example- just finishing the 2 big loops (ie. 160km) when Julie Dibbens was finishing the 200km. Or when Caroline Steffen was crossing the finish line in 2^nd place when I was coming into T2 and still had 20km to run

7.       Re-assessment: yesterday it went from: aim for top 10……to aim to not come last……to just finish the god-dam race

Still I finished- of the professionals only about 23 males of the 40 that started finished and 16 of the 23 females. It was windy but the heat wasn’t as much as an issue as I initially thought it would be.

Had an absolutely fabulous homestay; with the lovely Sheena Thomson. Nice to have company of another athlete, Amy Marsh, who had a bit of a tougher day out there than me, not being able to complete the run leg. You can imagine it was a sombre feel at home last night.

Body actually feels ok which suggests I just didn’t have the push in me yesterday, so hopefully a quick recovery. The most painful/ uncomfortable thing at the moment is the burnt skin off the soles of my feet from running on the hot concrete into T2. Off to Singapore today to get my head back into line, body recovered and re-focus for the 70.3 on Sunday. Lets just say if I wasn’t an angry b***h, I surely am now.

Rachie xo

Abu Dhabi Preview

Well I’m here so no backing out now! After a last minute stress about my newly printed race suit not showing up the day before I was supposed to leave and a very early trip to the south side of Brisbane to receive it I started the long haul to the UAE. After a brief stopover in Sydney, where I managed to talk my way out of a $200 excess baggage fee (thankyou V-Australia!!!), I quickly nab 3 free seats after take-off and managed about 6hours sleep in between 4 new release movies I’d been meaning to go see. Great trip over J Arriving in Abu Dhabi at about 11pm only myself and about 4 other people weren’t connecting (including Macca and an Aussie guy from TA who was flown over to officiate) I was met by my bubbly homestay lady Sheena who I must thank Justin Rees (the elite co-ordinator for the race) for organising. After a short trip back to her 9^th story apartment I met her 4 cats and she showed me T2 and the finish line, that were literally across the road from her place as well as a conveniently located Baskins and Robbins!

The next day we headed out to Yas Marina where the turn around for the bike course was which is next to Ferrari world, a very quiet part of Abu Dhabi with minimal traffic but great roads for riding. Did some loops here and met up with an Ex-Pat Aussie bloke, Troy, who just happened to be an old Maroochydore High boy!!! Small world!!!! Next stop was back at a local beach where Sheena and her friends do open water swim training. It was a small bay, about 750m across. The water is so salty it’s indescribable. Within minutes I felt like my whole mouth was coated with salt and my taste buds were burnt off! After getting out, my skin felt like it was raw from the salt. But not complaining as the buoyancy is awesome! They’re even querying a wetsuit swim so imagine that!

After a little rest I headed out for a little jog around the run course. The weather was mild and the track was quite busy with walkers/ joggers/ bikers and the occasional other elite athlete….. my nerves continue to grow. A nice healthy dinner and back to bed.

Another athlete, Amy Marsh arrived that night that is also home-staying here too. Her bike however didn’t. They have assured her it will arrive tonight, which I’m sure it will, however I don’t think I’d be handling it as well as she is!!! Sheena gave us a real local taste this morning taking us to the 2^nd largest mosque in the world here in Abu Dhabi. We dressed up in the formal attire for women, which was a bit of a laugh and had a walk through the women’s pray room, the main prayer room and the women’s wash room. The sheer size of it is deceiving from the road, it is massive! Then to rego where I ran into a couple of other athletes I know, my nerves growing more and more…. Time for a kip! Nothing like a recovery day to try and settle the nerves…well kind of!

Tomorrow is a roll over training day, not much at all really. Do the swim course over in the morning, spin the legs a little and maybe jog a wee bit if I feel. Elite brief, rack, eat, TRY TO CALM DOWN and sleep….

Race report to come….if I live through it!

Rachie xo

Coming outta the salty salty water

The crown prince's private yacht