I'm
writing my blog this month from Spain! I'm on a
British Triathlon training camp. It’s one of the
biggest camps I've been on, there are almost 25
athletes here ranging from development, Duathlon, long
distance to Olympic distance athletes like myself.
It’s been a great camp so far. I was training really
well at home but is nice to have a change of scenery
and train with some new people. We have been
training really well and getting a lot of bike miles
in, they all seem to be hard miles though!
We did come away for some warmer weather but it
hasn't really happened, it has been cold! But there
has been some sun and it has been dry for the most
part, so I can't really complain. That said
yesterdays ride was probably one of the hardest
hills I have ever climbed, very steep with a massive
headwind/crosswind that left us almost at a
standstill at some points and worst of all, we were
also climbing into clouds and getting rained on and
cold! Everyone got through it though!
After the camp I'm heading home and looking forward
to relaxing a bit and recovering from the camp over
Christmas. Although I think I'll train on Christmas
Day, just a little bit!
Have fun over the festive period,
Helen.
November 2009
It’s been a pretty rainy November, as everyone
knows, but I have loved being at home and training!
It’s always hard work getting back to fitness, you
feel terrible every session and can't believe that a
few weeks off can make you feel so bad! I am now
feeling a lot better and have been getting some good
sessions in. I have been swimming as usual with my
swimming club and competed for them at the Western
League. I only did a couple of relays but we
finished second overall and will hopefully make the
A final for the final round in December. It was good
fun and makes me feel about 14 again being at
swimming competitions! I've also been doing quite a
lot of gym work. At this time of year it’s important
for me to get strong and prevent injuries, so twice
a week I go to the Welsh Institute of Sport in
Cardiff and work the Physios and Strength and
Conditioning coach for a couple of hours. I don't
always enjoy these sessions but they are the ones
that make such a difference to me.
I'm heading out to Spain soon for an eight day camp
with quite a lot of the British team. I'm really
looking forward to it, getting some decent and
hopefully dry riding in, and training with the
British girls.
Helen
October 2009
I
just got back from my trip to the US. I went out
there to do two non drafting races LA and Dallas and
then have a holiday. After the Gold Coast World
champs final I was pretty smashed. It was a tough
race and I didn't recover too well, so just did some
easy training before the American races. I got to LA
and was excited to race a bit of a different format,
it was good fun and a lot more relaxed than the
other races of the season. It was back to an older
style of racing, setting up transition in the dark
at 6.30 and a huge transition area rather than the
normal line of bikes we have.
The swim was crazy, big surf and a bit cold! I
couldn't really see where I was going the whole
swim, then we hit the bike and I managed to stay
with the leaders for a bit but then faded. I came of
the bike in about 8th. It wasn't great, I
expected to be a bit further up, just didn't feel
great and not used to riding like that. The run was
through down town LA and I just went through the
motions and finished up 7th. I enjoyed trying the
non drafting race and would love to go back next
year a bit more prepared for it. I decided after the
race to skip Dallas and start my holiday early!
I
had a great time staying with some friends in LA for
a bit, heading to San Diego and then finishing up in
Las Vegas. I'm now getting over the jet lag and
can't wait to get back into training for next years
season!
Helen
September 2009
The season
is finished! Well almost! I have now competed in the last
race of the triathlon World Championship Series, and I have
two more races left which are a slightly different format to
usual.
The Grand Final of the ITU Series was on the Gold Coast in
Australia. I went into the race knowing I was in good shape,
I had been training with my friend and team mate Kerry Lang
for the few weeks before the race on the Sunshine coast. All
the training had gone really well, no niggles or mishaps! It
was strange going into the race expecting myself to perform
well, normally I have something that has gone wrong, so I
knew I just had to listen to Marc (coach and husband) and
let myself rest up for the race so I could deliver a good
performance.
My race was the last one of the three day long Championship;
the British team did so well with medals in Under23 girls
from Hollie and Jodie , Alistair Brownlee winning the Mens,
and just before our race Jonny Brownlee getting a silver
medal in the Junior Mens, and numerous Age Group medals from
the two days of racing, so the pressure was on for us senior
girls to perform!
The swim was a beach start, I had a great start and got to
the first buoys in the top five, so luckily missed a lot of
the fighting which seemed to happen behind. Then we went the
wrong way, we took a sharp left, it felt wrong but it was
hard to see as the sun was low. I had sighted the course in
the warm up so knew we had gone wrong and after a bit I
stopped and got swam into and swam over, but corrected
myself and sprinted off to the right buoy. I made up a bit
of time and eventually came out the swim third. A group of
seven of us formed on the bike and we worked hard together
and put in about 50 seconds to the group behind. It was
windy on the course so it made it quite tough and we had to
keep working because the group behind had some strong riders
in who were not going to let us get away. Then came my worst
transition ever, I just wasn't thinking. I came in at the
back of our group, racked my bike, which promptly fell out
and fell on me, then I couldn't get my feet in my shoes as I
was panicking! A bit of a disaster and it cost me a bit of
time. I felt awful on the first lap of the run, it really
took me awhile to get into it. On the second lap I could see
I was gaining ground on a few girls in front and I caught
the girl in front. At 7.5k I managed to drop her and I was
running in fourth. I could see all the leaders ahead but
they looked quite far away. The support on the course was
fantastic and I could hear people shouting "you’re catching
them", so I put my head down and tried to keep my pace high.
I passed Sarah Haskins with about 500m to go to the finish,
I was so happy to finish in third ! It really hurt though,
the most any race has hurt for a long time ! The swim was
choppy so that was tough, the bike was windy so that was
tough and I think I got everything out of myself on the run.
The World Champion is decided over the series (rather than a
one-off race), so although I finished third in the final, it
was only enough to put me into 5th overall for the World
Championships. I am pretty happy with that though! It means
I was the 5th most consistent athlete this year and I met
all the aims that I set out this year with British
Triathlon.
Next I'm off to race in LA and Dallas. These are both non
drafting races so it will be a change for me to try this
format but I'm looking forward to it. Then it’s holiday time
!!! I'll have a few weeks off before preparing for next
year! I'm looking forward to a bit of a break now, just
having a few weeks without thinking about training will be
lovely!
Helen
August 2009
I'm
currently writing my blog from Australia! It’s great to be
back out here for this time of year, its Winter here but you
wouldn't know it! I was getting a bit hot on my hard run the
other day at 33 degrees. That to me isn't Winter! I'm
getting the last few weeks training in before the World
Champs Final on the Gold Coast.
I'm going into the final ranked 6th in the series! I'm
really pleased with this, the year started slow but has
picked up nicely. I recently came 3rd in the World
Championship Series race in Hyde Park and two weeks prior to
that won The London Triathlon! It’s been a busy month of
racing but enjoyable!
It was great to win The London Tri. I've competed a few
times when I was younger and had some top ten positions
there but to win with the home crowd and support was
fantastic. Myself and three other girls got away on the swim
and we worked really hard and well together on the bike and
came off the bike with about a 90 second gap to the second
pack. I just tried to run my own pace on the run and found
myself out in front. I found it strange running on my own at
the front as I haven't done it that much, I'm usually
thinking about catching someone! It was a tough day and the
four of us who had the breakaway in the swim got the first
four positions which was nice!
Then it was on to Hyde Park. I was pretty nervous for the
race as it was a home race and I felt there should be a
British athlete on the podium so I put myself under quite a
bit of pressure. The swim was non-wetsuits which was great
and suited me well but it was cold before the start though
with the wind blowing on the pontoon! I got a bit bashed up
in the swim but swam through pretty well and came out
second. On to the bike I started trying to work hard with a
few athletes but it was a bit disorganised and we were
quickly caught by a pack behind. Then it became pretty
tactical, there were a lot of good runners and favourites
for the race in the front group, so everyone was looking at
each other and not working! It’s an awkward situation
because you don't want to be caught by athletes behind but
you don't want to drive the pack and work if all the best
runners are sat on your wheel being pulled round by you. So
after a pretty boring ride just cruising round Hyde Park, I
felt good on the run and tried to sit in with the front
girls, and after a lap, 6 of us were together. This wasn't
ideal for me as I didn't want a six way sprint! I tried to
push the pace on a bit after 5k, and the group got smaller.
It wasn't ideal as I was doing a lot of running into the
headwind so I was working a bit harder than the other girls.
Eventually we ended up with four of us. Nicola Spirig, the
eventual winner, put in a surge and we dropped a girl so it
was left for three of us to sprint it out! My legs were
pretty dead and I couldn't respond to the sprint and ended
up third. I was happy though, my first World Champs series
podium. It’s one of the first times I've been in a group
running like that to the finish so I learnt a lot from it. I
just hope the Gold Coast swim and the bike are a bit more
interesting!
I'm on the Sunshine Coast for another week then off to join
the British Team camp for the week before the race!
Helen
JULY 2009
I can't
believe it’s July already, the season is moving on so fast.
I'm happy with everything so far. My aim was to keep
improving throughout the year and hopefully have my best
performance towards the end of the year in the Worlds
Championship Series Grand Final (September 13th). My race in
Des Moines, the big money race in ITU racing, went ok. It
was so hot! I'm not great in the heat unless I have prepared
for it and done some acclimatization which I hadn't for this
race. Race day was very hot and humid, so I knew it was
going to be a tough day for me. I felt a bit off in the swim
but managed to just make the front pack and we worked really
hard as a group in windy conditions. I felt hot on the bike
so knew I wasn't going to be racing for the top places, so
when I headed out on to the run I took it very steady making
sure I was getting water on meat the aid stations. A few
people past me on the run but I had no response, I was stuck
in one pace. I came 10th overall, but wasn't too
disappointed as I knew it was the conditions that got me.
The next race then was Kitzbuhel World Champs Series. It’s
always strange at this time of year, I'm so used to training
hard and feeling fatigued, then I have quite a lot of racing
at once, so training is much less and I feel fresh! It’s
great to being feeling a lot fresher but then your mind
starts playing tricks, that you've lost fitness because
you’re not training as much. Leading in to Kitzbuhel I was
feeling pretty good. Kitzbuhel is the most beautiful place,
it was amazing to wake up and look out at the mountains. The
men's race was the day before ours, it was great to watch GB
team mate Alistair Brownlee win and motivated me for my
race. Our race wasn't until 4 in the afternoon, much later
than usual. I didn't feel good before the race and had some
stomach pains, I tried to ignore it and focus on my race. I
had an average swim and the bike was easy, everyone came
together so we were just rolling round. I tried one attack
just to see how my legs felt and what would happen, and not
much did! Heading on to the run I felt brilliant. I had a
good transition and had a great first lap. I was running
with two really fast runners and it felt easy. I eventually
tired and I was running on my own for most of the race in
2nd. I got overtaken at 9 km and ended up 5th! It probably
wasn't the most sensible way to run as I completely blew up
at the end of the run but I was really pleased I had the
speed to go out with the fast girls and maybe next time I
can hold the speed for longer and improve my position.
It is not long to go till the Hyde Park race, with the
London Triathlon before that, so I'm back in hard training
again and feeling fatigued!
Helen
JUNE 2009
We're now in
the main part of the season so it’s pretty busy. The World
Champs Series means quite a lot of racing, so its race,
couple of weeks training, then race then train etc! I'm
really enjoying it. I haven't put together a full season for
a few years due to injuries so I'm trying to get used to all
the travelling again too.
I'm writing my blog in Des Moines, Iowa. I just raced
Washington DC World Champs Series. I had a good race and
finished 5th. I was really pleased with my race, I had a
great swim and came out 3rd. We had a small pack away on the
bike, but unfortunately got caught halfway through the bike.
I have never raced in such a windy race, it seemed like we
never had a tailwind. I came off the bike and got into a
rhythm on the run quite quickly and ended up 5th! It’s a big
improvement on my last two races so I was happy. I knew my
running had come on a bit lately as I took part in a 5k race
in Swansea Bay a couple of weeks ago. It was a sunny hot
night and around 500 people took part, there was a great
atmosphere, I did a PB and broke the course record! Also my
younger sister Harriet took part in her first ever 5k so it
was fun to do it together.
I have another race this weekend, it is the HyVee Elite
World Cup. Officially the best food after a race ever! The
race is sponsored by a supermarket and the choice of
chocolate brownies is amazing! Lots of healthy stuff too
though.
So just resting and recovery for a few days, then I’m back
to Europe after the race and onto
Kitzbühel,
Austria on July 12th.
Helen
MaY 2009
It’s been a
busy May for me! I have been training hard in preparation
for the rest of the season and also doing a few other
things. I attended the launch of the London leg of the new
World Championship series, which is going to be held in Hyde
Park in August. Something which I can't wait to compete in!
The launch went well and involved me doing a few promotional
photos in Hyde park. I was positioned out on the Serpentine
on a platform just below the water, so it looked like I was
walking on water. The photos came out looking amazing but I
did feel a bit silly stood out in the water in a wetsuit
with my bike! I was getting some people walking past and
pointing.
The following day I had a day doing radio interviews for
Mars Refuel. It was a good day, pretty hard work doing all
the interviews but good fun.
I finished up the month in Madrid for the next round of the
World Champs series. It wasn't my day, I had a really bad
swim and then bad bike then bad run! I trained pretty hard
up to the race, didn't really taper and just had an awful
day. Its hard mentally to have such a bad race but I have to
put it out my head, learn from the mistakes and get ready
for the next race. Washington is in 3 weeks! Hoping to
improve on my Madrid result!
Helen
APRIL/MaY 2009
First race
done! I've just returned from Tongyeong in South Korea. Its
a smallish town next to the sea, very pretty but also smells
like fish everywhere!
The race was ok, I finished 14th. The swim was quite rough,
I didn't have a fantastic start and got caught fighting it
out around the turn buoys Its really frustrating as you just
want to swim and you are being clubbed round the head by a
girl next to you or someone is swimming on your legs! I
stayed pretty relaxed and managed to swim out of it, the
worst thing is if you get stressed and panic because you use
so much energy fighting everyone and not swimming. The bike
was ridiculously easy as all the packs came together and we
cruised round like an easy Sunday spin! I worked hard at a
few points to see if a breakaway could work but my legs
weren't feeling good enough. On to the run I was a bit
anxious as I knew a lot of girls were in good running form.
I felt pretty good for about 7k and was running in a group,
but then I blew really bad and lost about 20 seconds to the
group in a one kilometres I think this is just down to my
lack of racing. I enjoyed being back out there racing, and
I'm looking forward to Madrid which is next. I can't say I'm
overjoyed at the result but after the training I have done
it was to be expected. The last few months have been focused
on building up my base, lots of steady work with a few hard
sessions mixed in. So not real race intensive sessions, so I
felt a little rusty at the weekend! It was my first race
since the Beijing Olympics, its good to get it out the way
and I'm going to be increasing the intensity in training
now.
It was the first race of the new World Championship series,
so every race now counts towards world champs and we
accumulate points through each championship race, then
compete in the Grand Final at the end of the year in
Australia. My plan this year is to hopefully improve
throughout the year to have my best race in the Grand Final.
This was the first stepping stone to Australia.
I've happily settled back home in my new house and I'm
loving being back home training. My days are pretty full of
training, eating and sleeping at the moment, so I haven't
got much else to report!
Helen
March 2009
My time in
Australia is nearly over. It has gone pretty quick and I
think I've gained a lot from coming out here for a couple of
months. My fitness has improved and I feel like I'm now
ready to go for the season. My main aims this year are
towards the end of the year, so my first race in Korea in a
month will be a guide to see how this base training block
has gone.
The best thing about training here is the weather allows me
to do all my sessions, I have lots of good training partners
around and it allows me to focus on nothing but my training.
The hard things are keeping motivated for a long block of
training. To do this I follow a weekly plan which stays
quite similar but various sessions change to keep things
interesting.
I love the swimming here as its outdoors and swimming with
the sun on your back is always nice! although leaves me with
lots of strange tan lines. I am looking forward to getting
home now and joining back in with my local swim squad as all
the kids I swim with always push me really hard.
The cycling has been fun here too with the local group, the
rides always end up with everyone going flat out for the
last part of the ride and I just have to try to hang on to
the guys for as long as possible. When I get back home my
cycling gets a bit more specific to the races I'm doing.
I'll do more riding at specific speeds and power levels to
make sure I'm improving my weaker areas and i'll get some
cornering practice in to get ready for the more technical
bike courses.
I always miss running at home when I'm away, I love the
running where I live as I have lots of grass to run on, good
cycle paths plus my dog Barney. The running here is great in
the National park in Noosa, running along the coast line has
fantastic views but you have to be careful to dodge the big
lizards and bush turkeys! I was a bit surprised my first
time here to find turkeys running around in the park, not
quite the same as Wales.
I'm looking forward to getting home now and getting ready
for the season! And doing a few miles along the river with
Barney the dog!
Helen
February 2009
Hi,
I'm feeling very lucky today as I'm on the sunshine coast in
Australia and i'm hearing about all the snow at home. Myself
and Marc come away every year to Australia for training and
racing to get away from the cold weather and allow myself to
train well. It has been hard at home the past few months
with the cold! I fell off my bike a couple of times in the
ice so became very nervous and spent a lot of time on the
turbo trainer and also a few days at the velodrome in
Newport, which was great fun.
Its great to be back out here in the sun! I am just here for
training this year, no races, and i'm loving it already. I
have a great bike group to ride with which is mainly
the locals but at this time of year there are a lot of
pro triathletes in the bunch too. The local pools are
fantastic too, the pool in Noosa which we do our squad
sessions is an outdoor 50m with a 25 next to it. It makes
training so much easier to have all these facilities
close by.
The hardest thing about being away is missing my family and
dog! Also the great network of physio support, massage and
strength and conitioning coaches I get at home is missed. So
I have to keep on top of all my rehab exercises and drills
while i'm away to keep me in one piece. Although I do
feel quite silly hopping and skipping up and down the street
doing my exercises.
Its now just gone 8pm and i'm off to bed as its a 5.am start
tomorrow for the bike ride!
Helen
January 2009
Its been
while since my last update, but a lot has changed! My name
being the main one. I'm now Helen Jenkins. It feels a bit
strange and my new signature is rubbish! But I'm getting
used to it.
Married life has been pretty hectic so far. Our wedding and
holiday was great; we had close family and friends there and
it was such a fun day! We got married in the morning at the
Disney Swan and Dolphin Hotel in Florida, then straight
after the wedding we headed to a water park. We had an
afternoon racing on slides and then had a BBQ at the villa
we stayed in that night! The following night we went out for
a nice meal with everyone.
When I got home I headed straight to the Olympic Medical
Institute (OMI) in London. I needed a bit of rehab work on
my Achilles. The staff at the OMI are fantastic, they all
work so closely together to get you back on track and are
very supportive. So now I'm back home and back into the
training! It is great to be back into it, I've never had so
much time off or away from consistent training. It has been
nice having the break but I'm loving starting to do hard
training again.
We have just recently bought a new house too, so have moved
out of our old house and everything is in boxes at the
moment. It is making training sessions a lot longer as it
takes me half an hour to find anything before I even get out
the door, and its very tempting not to go out training and
start painting! But training is coming first, luckily I've
got some very helpful parents and parents in-law. My job is
to provide some nice food to keep them going.
I'm looking forward to about a month’s time when I'll be a
lot fitter (hopefully) and will have unpacked!
Helen