CLUB CHAMPS & TAPER WEEK!
Its finally here & I couldn't be more relieved; the week I have been waiting for since I signed up for Ironman a year ago! There's only 6 more sleeps til the big dance that is Ironman Australia & The Fonginator is fired up & ready to race.
Last Friday, I had a photo shoot for the new Olympics marketing campaign for Sportscraft who are sponsoring the Australian Olympic team for London 2012. I was chosen to be a part of it along with 11 others, including Olympic breastroke champion, Christian Sprenger. We had professional hair & make-up, photos & then an interview asking us why we love the Olympics. It was the most amazing experience & I got some fantastic feedback afterwards, so a huge thank you to my gorgeous friends Brooke Smith & Tansin Naylor for encouraging me to apply. Definitely an experience I will never forget. The video will be available online & in stores around June so watch this space.
This weekend was the Triathlon NSW Club Championship in Forster, 3hrs north of Sydney - a weekend of racing against all other triathlon clubs in NSW. The distance was 1km swim, 30km ride, 8km run. The winning club is determined by a points score system, depending on the position each competitor finishes in their age group. The higher you place, the more points you get for your club. You also get points for volunteers. And for the first time in 20 years, BALMORAL TRIATHLON CLUB TOOK THE TITLE! We have come 3rd for the last few years and to be honest, I had only ever been to one Club Champs before (2011) so I wasn't too concerned about winning. But this year, there was a certain buzz in the air & a few people were saying that we might have a chance. Most were skeptical, myself included. It wasn't until they announced the final two clubs (Warringah & BTC) that it started to sink in. Once Matty Harris, MC for the night, called out Balmoral, our team erupted, stood up from their chairs & screamed with excitement! It was an amazing moment! Congratulations to everyone from BTC who made it such a great weekend. I couldn't be more proud to be a part of such an amazing, supportive, welcome & friendly club. I absolutely adore my BTC family & I am just so happy to have been a part of this amazing weekend.
I had a pretty good race on Saturday & was stoked to have gotten 10th in my age group (out of 41). I was trying not to push too hard as I knew I needed to save some energy for Ironman. The horn went off & I sprinted the first 100m or so in the swim & felt good to get away from all the other arms & legs. Had an ok rest of the swim but decided not to push myself too much. Got out in 18:52, had a pretty quick transition & managed to get on my bike at the mount line without falling off (shoes in the pedals & everything)!
The ride was bumpy but a fast 2 loop course. I got overtaken by a couple of girls in my age group towards the end of the ride (one of them smirked at me everytime she overtook me, which I thought was completely unsportsman-like) & made it my mission to hunt them down on the run, but without killing myself trying. "Save the lungs, save the legs" I had to keep telling myself! Got off the bike in 59:45 & I managed to overtake both girls within the first kilometre. Stoked! There were SO many people from BTC racing & everyone was cheering each other on. It was awesome. I felt really solid on the run & I almost caught my coach, Mel who was suffering badly from illness that day. I wasn't smashing myself but I was going at a decent pace & ended up finishing the 8km leg in 37:32 (7th fastest run in my AG). Huge thank you to all the supporters who cheered for us on the sidelines, including people from other clubs like Balance, Hills & Bondi Fit, just to name a few.
We celebrated hard on Saturday night & I ended up losing my voice from all the singing & screaming, but it was totally worth it. I danced my ass off more than ever before. So much fun!
I am so excited to race this weekend & even more pumped about having so many people come & support the athletes who are racing. So I want to say thank you to my friends, family & BTC members who are taking time out of their weekend to come up & cheer all of us on. My parents have never seen me race before & my little god-daughter who is only 3 will also be there watching me race with her family. I cannot wait to see all of the familiar faces out on the course. Nothing quite compares to the feeling of people calling out your name & cheering for you when you are really struggling. If you don't see me smiling, you have permission to kick my ass.
You can track me online on Sunday 6th May here: www.ironmanlive.com . My bib# is 1316. The race starts at 6.45am Sydney time. I would love to think I could do it in 13.5 hours but I'll be happy just to finish the race with no flat tyres or cramping. And if I'm not already bawling my eyes out, I will be dancing my way over the finish line!
Thank you to everyone who has shown so much support over the last few months or even taken the slightest interest in this whole journey. I am so overwhelmed by all the kind messages. Its going to be the most awesome day ever!
Its finally here & I couldn't be more relieved; the week I have been waiting for since I signed up for Ironman a year ago! There's only 6 more sleeps til the big dance that is Ironman Australia & The Fonginator is fired up & ready to race.
Last Friday, I had a photo shoot for the new Olympics marketing campaign for Sportscraft who are sponsoring the Australian Olympic team for London 2012. I was chosen to be a part of it along with 11 others, including Olympic breastroke champion, Christian Sprenger. We had professional hair & make-up, photos & then an interview asking us why we love the Olympics. It was the most amazing experience & I got some fantastic feedback afterwards, so a huge thank you to my gorgeous friends Brooke Smith & Tansin Naylor for encouraging me to apply. Definitely an experience I will never forget. The video will be available online & in stores around June so watch this space.
This weekend was the Triathlon NSW Club Championship in Forster, 3hrs north of Sydney - a weekend of racing against all other triathlon clubs in NSW. The distance was 1km swim, 30km ride, 8km run. The winning club is determined by a points score system, depending on the position each competitor finishes in their age group. The higher you place, the more points you get for your club. You also get points for volunteers. And for the first time in 20 years, BALMORAL TRIATHLON CLUB TOOK THE TITLE! We have come 3rd for the last few years and to be honest, I had only ever been to one Club Champs before (2011) so I wasn't too concerned about winning. But this year, there was a certain buzz in the air & a few people were saying that we might have a chance. Most were skeptical, myself included. It wasn't until they announced the final two clubs (Warringah & BTC) that it started to sink in. Once Matty Harris, MC for the night, called out Balmoral, our team erupted, stood up from their chairs & screamed with excitement! It was an amazing moment! Congratulations to everyone from BTC who made it such a great weekend. I couldn't be more proud to be a part of such an amazing, supportive, welcome & friendly club. I absolutely adore my BTC family & I am just so happy to have been a part of this amazing weekend.
I had a pretty good race on Saturday & was stoked to have gotten 10th in my age group (out of 41). I was trying not to push too hard as I knew I needed to save some energy for Ironman. The horn went off & I sprinted the first 100m or so in the swim & felt good to get away from all the other arms & legs. Had an ok rest of the swim but decided not to push myself too much. Got out in 18:52, had a pretty quick transition & managed to get on my bike at the mount line without falling off (shoes in the pedals & everything)!
The ride was bumpy but a fast 2 loop course. I got overtaken by a couple of girls in my age group towards the end of the ride (one of them smirked at me everytime she overtook me, which I thought was completely unsportsman-like) & made it my mission to hunt them down on the run, but without killing myself trying. "Save the lungs, save the legs" I had to keep telling myself! Got off the bike in 59:45 & I managed to overtake both girls within the first kilometre. Stoked! There were SO many people from BTC racing & everyone was cheering each other on. It was awesome. I felt really solid on the run & I almost caught my coach, Mel who was suffering badly from illness that day. I wasn't smashing myself but I was going at a decent pace & ended up finishing the 8km leg in 37:32 (7th fastest run in my AG). Huge thank you to all the supporters who cheered for us on the sidelines, including people from other clubs like Balance, Hills & Bondi Fit, just to name a few.
We celebrated hard on Saturday night & I ended up losing my voice from all the singing & screaming, but it was totally worth it. I danced my ass off more than ever before. So much fun!
I am so excited to race this weekend & even more pumped about having so many people come & support the athletes who are racing. So I want to say thank you to my friends, family & BTC members who are taking time out of their weekend to come up & cheer all of us on. My parents have never seen me race before & my little god-daughter who is only 3 will also be there watching me race with her family. I cannot wait to see all of the familiar faces out on the course. Nothing quite compares to the feeling of people calling out your name & cheering for you when you are really struggling. If you don't see me smiling, you have permission to kick my ass.
You can track me online on Sunday 6th May here: www.ironmanlive.com . My bib# is 1316. The race starts at 6.45am Sydney time. I would love to think I could do it in 13.5 hours but I'll be happy just to finish the race with no flat tyres or cramping. And if I'm not already bawling my eyes out, I will be dancing my way over the finish line!
Thank you to everyone who has shown so much support over the last few months or even taken the slightest interest in this whole journey. I am so overwhelmed by all the kind messages. Its going to be the most awesome day ever!
This Sunday, The Fonginator WILL be an Ironman!
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