JuLY

JULY

Last month was the Hyde Park World Champs Series race, it was on part of what will be the Olympic Course in 2012. It was one of my big goals for the year and I came Third!

I was really really nervous for the race, I always get nerves before my races but it being a home race I think I added a lot of pressure to myself. The swim was in the Serpentine, it was a no wetsuit swim which I prefer (one less thing to worry about!), but we did have a different problem to contend with! Weeds. We were swimming through huge patches of them, I came out from my warm up with long green weeds all over me. I didn't notice them once we started though. I didn't have the best swim, I got really boxed in on the second lap and struggled to get out of it, my neck was really stiff the next day from all the whacks round the head I had in the swim from the girls next to me!

On to the bike, my aim was to push really hard as I didn't want a huge main pack. About six girls worked really hard while the rest just sat on our wheels! It’s so frustrating as you know it’s easier for the girls sat on your wheel and you are really pushing the pace and they are getting an easy ride! But the work did pay off as we had a 90 second advantage over the chase pack by the second transition.

On the run I wasn't feeling too confident as I had done a lot of work on the bike and a lot of the other athletes hadn't. I got into a good rhythm quite quickly and felt ok so I decided to push the pace on! It worked as the group got down to four girls. This is a really awkward position as there are three podium spots and fourth sucks! On the last lap the Canadian athlete Paula Findlay pushed on and got a small gap. I was left fighting for second and third with two great sprinters. At the time I was thinking, oh no I'm so going to be fourth! I hung on as long as I could and when one of the girls surged I tried to go with her and managed to stay in front of the Kiwi Andrea Hewitt to stay in third! The finish chute seemed like a mile, I don't think I've ever sprinted so hard and I fell over at the finish!

The support on the course was amazing, so many people were shouting for us. On the run there were three British athletes in the front group for a while so the crowd were really supportive. It's exciting to think what it would be like racing there in 2012.

Also this month I managed to go to one of my sponsors events. King Sturge put on the Property Triathlon in Dorney Lake, Eton. I went down to watch and present some prizes. And last minute decided to race it too! It was a sprint distance race, which is half of the distance I usually compete at. It was so much fun! I am so used to doing elite races it was great to go back to where I started from, where people are doing it to finish, to get round the course and enjoy it! It was nice to race and not worry about the overall results. It was a lovely hot day and I had fun meeting lots of the people competing. Its been a fun month of racing.

August and September are going to have some big races too!

Helen

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 June

Wow, it’s been a busy month. I was also away for a lot of it so it’s good to be home!

First off I went to Madrid to race. I was a bit nervous for Madrid this year - I have had great races on the course but also some bad ones. The Madrid course is the toughest one on the circuit with a long hill that just seems to keep on going! The weather was also a factor with temperatures hitting above 30 degrees during our race.

I had a good swim exiting the two lap swim in 5th place. I settled in to a good rhythm on the bike and felt good all the way. It was an 8 lap course so eight hills is pretty tough and as it was hot a lot of the girls were very conservative on the bike due to the heat, so overall the bike was not very exciting until just before the end when there was a big crash. Luckily I avoided it but the sight of about five girls sliding across the road screaming did shake me up a little bit and I didn't have a great second transition. Heading on to the 10km run I felt pretty good! I moved up to the front girls quite easily and the pace increased each lap. I don't have a great sprint finish so tried to push on hard in the last lap of the run but we ended up three girls together in the final 400m. I had spent everything by then and didn't have a good sprint so finished up third! I’m really pleased though with my result!

I then flew on to Des Moines in Iowa for the 'money race'. The race is run by a supermarket chain in America. The CEO loves triathlon and puts up the biggest prize purse in our sport. I was feeling a bit tired from my efforts in Madrid but came away with a third place again! It’s probably the best I have ever run in a triathlon, I ended up in a sprint finish (another one!) with Olympic Bronze Medallist Emma Moffatt and lost the sprint again! Happy again to be on the podium though as I didn't expect it after back to back races !

I was then home for a few easy days and then headed over to Portugal for a British Triathlon training camp. It was good fun to do my training with a strong group of girls - we really pushed each other and got some great race specific sessions in. Lots of open water swimming, swim to bike sessions and hard group riding. The weather was also nice and hot so that always makes training a bit easier. I'm back home now putting in the training for my next race which is Hyde Park World Champs Series.

Helen

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 May

I can't believe May has gone already! I competed in my second World series event in Seoul, Korea. One of the best things about triathlon is all the amazing places we get to travel to and compete and it can also venoms of the worst things dealing with time differences and jet lag when racing!

Seoul was a really cool city and the course was interesting! The bike section was largely in a park next to a river and was very technical and twisty to fit the full bike lap in! I had quite a good race and finished 9th. I feel like this is a step forward from my last race in Sydney but was disappointed not to run with the lead girls all the way. I had an ok swim and then the first few laps on the bike were really fast, as we caught some breakaway swimmers. Then on to the run I ran with the main group for 7k then died! The last lap of the run hurt a lot!

I've put in some good training since Seoul and have been loving the hot weather we have had! I also did a personal best time for 5k running on the road! So hopefully I'm all set for the next race in Madrid!

Also this month I met with some of the kids from my local surf lifesaving club Pen-y-Bont who won a grant from the Mars Refuel Fund! It's great to see how the fund can help clubs who are struggling with funds and equipment.

Helen

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 April

First race in Sydney is done! Didn't really go to plan though!

I had a great winter preparation, great taper but it didn't happen on the day. I felt a bit flat and didn't really have that extra level you need when you race. I was pretty disappointed. I have come back home and started for preparing for the next race of the World Champs Series in Seoul. Training is continuing to go well so hopefully Seoul will be a step in the right direction. I'm really looking forward to the race, now I have started my season I just want to keep racing!

Although the race in Sydney didn't go so well for me it was one of the most amazing courses to race on. The transition area was in front of the Opera House! It was amazing to be swimming in Sydney Harbour. The day before the race I was doing a lap of the swim course, and when swimming open water it is handy to use landmarks to sight off so you don't swim off course, so it was pretty amazing to be using a point of the Sydney Opera House to navigate your way round a swim course!

Since I've been home we have been so lucky with the weather, it has been great, no rain and even riding and running in shorts! It makes training so much easier, especially after the ice and snow of winter. I'm hoping the sun will stay around for the summer! Also this month my Dad competed in London Marathon! It was good to watch him for a change instead of him watching me! He did a great time 3hrs 13 mins!

Helen

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 March

I looked through my last blogs and realized they are all pretty similar at this time of year! Train, eat, sleep! Is not very exciting at the moment. But this is the few months that carries you through the rest of the season, getting all the hard training in before the racing starts! I am glad my training block is coming to an end, my first race is April 11th! I am looking forward to it, I'm always a bit anxious for the first race as you don't know how your winters training has gone but I can line up on the start line knowing I've done everything I can to be ready for the race.

I'm so lucky I've had a great team of people that have helped me get in a good winters training. If I perform well this season its thanks to the people that help me, not just me! First there is my husband and coach Marc, he pretty much writes all my training and organizes it for me, this can be quite tough when you have three sports, plus gym sessions to fit in the week! I go to the Gym twice a week to do sessions with my strength and conditioning coach Martin and see the physio Dan. These sessions have been great this year, I can't say I enjoy the gym that much but I think the sessions do make me strong and hopefully less prone to injury! I also see a sports psychologist Louise every few weeks. All these guys are based at the Welsh Institute of Sport in Cardiff, it’s so handy to have all these people in one centre for me to use. There is all the staff at British triathlon too from head coach, sports scientist, nutritionist and physio. My agent Richard too, who manages all my sponsorship stuff and commitments. It seems like a lot of people but it’s amazing how much each one adds so much to what I'm doing.

I'm grateful for all the help I get of this team of people and hope it all pays off this season now the racing is starting!

Helen

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 February

Another month gone, time seems to be ticking down to the first race quicker and quicker now. My first race is in April, in Sydney Australia. I'm really looking forward to it, we race in the harbour in front of the opera house! It’s exciting to be racing in such an iconic venue. Also I can't wait to race so I can have a break from training! All is going well in training but you get to a certain point of the year and a change and a race would be good!

I went out to Lanzarote for a couple of weeks again in February. The first week we were there was stormy and windy, the wind was pretty scary when riding my bike, I felt like I was going to be blown away in some of the cross winds and the pool was a chilly 21 degrees for a few days too, luckily it didn't last too long and it was back to sunny weather. I now have some very strange tan lines on my back from swimming outside.

I also went to the TCR show this month, it’s a really big expo for everything to do with triathlon. It’s the first time I've been and I was amazed how many people and shops were there. Triathlon seems to be getting bigger and bigger in the UK at the moment, and it was nice to meet lots of triathletes and have a chat.

Lets hope Spring arrives soon,
Helen

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