Les Sables D'Olonne Grand Prix

I landed in Paris Charles de Gaulle airport last Tuesday after a very long two days of travelling and flying. I was exhausted and couldn’t wait to get to my homestay so I could have a rest and recover from the travel. I was greeted at the airport by a very excited Thierry and Martine, members of the Tri SUD 18 Club and the people I would be staying with for the week. We arrived at their home in Bourges after a 4 hour drive from the airport, where the jetlag began to really set in and I could barely keep my eyes open. I was introduced to Thierry and Martine’s children who were lovely and welcomed me into their home with their best English. I literally couldn’t keep my eyes open at this point, as it was midnight in Australia, so I decided to have a small nap for an hour. This turned out to be my worst decision yet as I ended up sleeping for 6 hours, waking up just in time for dinner. As you can imagine, I did not get much sleep that night and suffered the effects of jetlag the following day.

After getting settled into training and the time zone in Bourges, I had a chance to experience the French way of life and even had the opportunity to visit their local festival, Printemps du Bourges. A huge thank you to Thierry, Martine and their family for their hospitality and for being such nice people. I was very fortunate that they spoke exceptional English, and taught me a little more French whilst I was with them.

On Friday afternoon, we headed south to Les Sables D’Olonne for the first of the French Grand Prix triathlons. I was very excited to meet the other four girls in my team and to race with them in such a high-level event.

The other girls were lovely and tried very hard to communicate with me so that I understood exactly what was going to happen across the weekend. Saturday afternoon’s race was possibly one of the most interesting and exciting races of my career so far, a 400m swim/10km bike/3.4km run teams event. Five girls started the event, working together to get the first three girls across the line as quickly as possible.  The weather was very wet and cold so we would have to ensure we stuck to our tactics the best we could, keeping safety as the first priority.

The water was a flat, lake swim at a chilly 13 degrees. In the swim, we planned to have the stronger two swimmers at the front and back, the weakest in the middle and the other two girls on either side to assist with a draft zone. I was at the back of the pack, pushing the feet of the weaker swimmer in front. This was a very new experience and was a lot of fun helping out the other team members. The swim went mostly according to plan and we came out of the water in a solid time.

We completed our transitions together and headed out onto the bike, electing to have 5 girls start the ride (3 vying for positions and 2 for assistance in case of a mechanical issue or flat). The three of us worked well together, with the other two girls dropping off the back but keeping us within sight in case a problem arose and we needed their bikes to finish the race. Everything went very smoothly though and we rode well together for the 10km.

The three of us set out on the run together, setting a solid tempo early on. We were allowed to assist each other in any way possible to get across the finish line, so we decided that we would take turns to push the slowest runner from behind. This was a very strange concept, especially considering we would be racing against each other the next day, but a lot of fun none the less. We ended up having the fifth fastest run as a team, so we were very pleased with our efforts.

Overall, we finished in 11^th position out of the teams, determining our ranking for Sunday’s sprint distance race. Time to rest up and recover for the race the next day.

We woke up on Sunday to the news that the water was below 12 degrees, so the race would be a duathlon. We then got word an hour later that the wind speed had exceeded 75km/h at the race site and the event would be cancelled due to safety concerns. We were all disappointed but pleased with our efforts from Saturday. Our next race will be in Dunkerque on the 20^th May, fingers crossed for some favourable weather.

I am heading to Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain today and will be staying there with Ron Darmon, Luis Arriaga and our coach, Warwick Dalziel. It is the same training base we used last year and is ideal for us. I can’t wait to get over there and settle in.

Ellie xo

Luke Harrop Memorial Triathlon

I was extremely excited leading into the Luke Harrop Memorial triathlon yesterday, especially considering I knew my run form was back in shape after my foot injury in early February. I have been in a run mileage phase to get back my running fitness as quickly as possible in preparation for the upcoming European season.

A training race last weekend proved that each of the three disciplines are at personal best level and that my head is in a strong, tough frame of mind. As they say, competing in sport at an elite level is 80% mental and 20% physical so it is vitally important my head is switched on and focussed at all points in time.

The Luke Harrop Memorial race is my favourite Australian race of the season and I always look forward to getting out there and giving it everything. It is a very special race in my calendar as Loretta Harrop has mentored me for a number of years and has being a role model and inspiration throughout my athletic career. She has given her time to coach multiple swim sessions with me and constantly gives me advice on how to access the best in myself at all times. This year however, was extra special as I had the chance to race against Loretta in the Open Female category. I also had a number of my family and friends, not to mention the always supportive Carina Leagues Triathlon Club members, encouraging me from the sidelines.

The conditions were perfect for racing with the Broadwater being perfectly flat and suitable for a fast swim. The women’s field was relatively small and made for a clean start. As soon as we were underway, I sprinted to the first buoy to ensure myself clear water and an opportunity to jump onto the feet of the faster swimmers. One of the girls, who is a renowned swimmer took the lead early on and managed to get away before anyone could jump on her feet. After the first turn buoy, there was nobody around me so I put my head down and swam as hard and as fast as I could on my own to get away from the rest of the girls pack. I ended up coming out of the water in second position with a convincing margin over the next girls. I could see the lead girl ahead of me and knew that she was well within reach. Immediately, I had set myself up for a good race and put myself into a great position for my bike and run components.

The bike was a non-drafting course consisting of two 10km loops. Coming out of the water very much up the pointy end put me in a great position on the bike. I put the pace down right from the start and knew that I had done numerous time trials and speed sessions to prepare myself for a solid ride leg. I took the lead on the bike within the first 5km of the ride and kept a solid pace to prove to myself what I am capable of and to give myself the biggest possible margin off the bike. However, at the 7km mark of the bike I encountered a hiccup, a 2 minute drafting penalty. This did not deter me though and made me even more determined to ride hard, knowing I had to sit in the penalty box for some time whilst the other girls continued racing. I took the penalty at the end of the second bike lap and dismounted the bike in 3^rd position.

Coming from behind off the bike really fed my determination and gave me a challenge, having to catch up 2 minute on the current race leader.  In the past couple of weeks, I have been working really hard on putting surges intermittently throughout my 5km run. I was very excited to try this new style of racing and knew that I had done it enough in training to execute it perfectly on race day.  I ran out of transition at a solid pace to get my rating high and settle into a comfortable, yet solid tempo, early on. I could see both girls ahead but simply concentrated on my race and surging every 250m. I could see the girl in 2^nd position at the 1500m mark of the run and knew that I was running really well. Still focussing on intermittent surges, I slowly reeled in the leader at the time, catching her at the 4km mark. I ran to the finish line in the lead, having given everything, boosting my confidence for my first French Grand Prix race this weekend.

I not only came away with the race win, but also the Luke Harrop Memorial Bursary. A huge thank you to the Harrop family for all their support, the bursary will go a very long way towards my overseas travel expenses.

Speaking of travel, I decided to put up a couple of travel tips as I head to Europe for three months. Hope they help those of you with upcoming International races.

1.       Always pack lightly to avoid excess luggage charges. Put jumpers and heavy articles in your hand luggage so that you can have as little luggage checked in as possible.

2.       Take noise cancelling headphones on long-haul flights so you can have a good sleep and listen to music and watch movies in peace.

3.       Remember to pack you chargers!! This is probably the most common error and forgetting your phone or laptop charger can pose a huge problem.

Au revoir! I am currently in transit on my way to Paris. I will keep you posted on my adventures and can’t wait to finally meet my French team.

Ellie xo