Husky Classic Race Report
It’s been a week since I took on the Husky tri festival Classic distance triathlon (1km swim, 60km bike and 10km run), the longest distance completed since having our mini Matthews boys.
A few mums asked me how I managed to fit in the training and whilst reflecting on the learning from the experience I thought I’d share them more broadly in case these prove useful for others 🙂
Power of having a goal – As I wrote about earlier this year in ‘Setting up 2019 for Success’, I believe there is immense power in writing down goals and then sharing them with accountability buddies. Having this goal in my goal digger journal for 2019 helped to keep me on track with weekly milestones to get there.
Accountability – Having a structured training program written by my husband coach was instrumental in being time efficient with two little ones under 4 and a focused corporate job. I do believe consistency over time is queen when it comes to triathlon performance.
Focusing on the purpose of each session – This is something Coach Waino is passionate about, not just ticking off a session on autopilot but actually thinking about why we’re doing that session in a mindful, focused way. I think that’s helped me improve my bike power on minimal kms.
Being smart with time – Living overseas and having a husband who trains a lot we’ve had to be smart with our time slots to fit in the necessary requirements to race at a longer distance. For me this often involved getting in a session after the daycare drop off before work and using lunchtimes or evenings. This helped minimise the time I was away from the boys and meant that Owain could have the early morning slot which he likes. I have to admit there were a few 8pm turbos which aren’t ideal but I would really look forward to my Wed and weekend turbos to listen to a podcast which felt like a great indulgence – often Oprah’s SuperSoul conversations.
Lifestyle – With the unpredictability of parenthood (3am bedroom wanders, head lice outbreaks, croup episodes to name a few!) I decided I would try and control some lifestyle factors to help keep my recovery and energy high. This included dry Jan and Feb (until the race) which helped with my recovery, also early nights and adopting a vegetarian diet which has helped me wake up more refreshed. A weekly / bi weekly (painful) Chinese massage also helped too and building in a yoga / Pilates / strength set into my schedule. I also found the SIS products really beneficial in refueling me quickly after hard sessions.
Keeping perspective and at time’s conceding – With the race being a key goal, I also found it important to keep perspective. If one of the boys wasn’t well, like when Huw had croup, then mummy cuddles became a priority and I have cut sessions short when Huw especially is pining for mummy. I found having another focus made sure I didn’t take things too seriously.
Enjoying the journey – in line with the quote – “it’s about the journey and not just the destination”, I really enjoyed the training kicking off this race block in Jindabyne. There were some other memorable moments along the way including a couple of brick sets to some great tunes with the Fonginator, our local club race and a couple of Sunday rides with friends. Also the family holiday to Husky that surrounded the race was wonderful. The boys had a blast and Ethan has decided after seeing a camp site that he wants to get a tent and camping gear for his 4th birthday in May. This got us excited about family camping adventures.
Celebrating the achievement – It was lovely to enjoy a chilled corona with the family and friends after the race and I’ve had a great week enjoying less training, some drinks and more social time. I was talking with a mentor this week and we shared it’s easy to quickly move on from one goal to the next but it’s important to stop and celebrate.
So how did the race pan out?
I was pretty happy with my result of 3hours10minutes coming 8th in the 30-39 age group and 15th female overall. A little disappointed not finishing higher in my age group after being inspired by my lovely sprint podium friends the day before. One of my race day mantras however was #focusonyourself and not getting carried away with what others are doing on the course. I was on track with my target times for the bike and run but quite a bit off my prediction on the swim, not helped by choppy condition and a long course but I definitely take ownership of more work to be done.
On reflection, if I want to be competitive in my AG, I need to work harder on my swim. I’m excited to have a swim buddy at work now to help motivate me for some tag team sessions.
So what’s next?
We’re excited to be venturing to beautiful Orange in a couple of weeks for the NSW triathlon champs then I’ll take a break for a work trip to China and UK trip for my cousin’s wedding. Then I would like to target a duathlon and fun run or two in the winter to keep motivated and build to a 70.3 later this year, starting the training after my sister’s wedding. This involves talking to my husband and planning our goals and seasons in conjunction to make sure we don’t both have a big race at the same time. He’s currently gearing to Port Half in May.
On that note, a big thanks to my husband for his support in helping make this achievement happen, the awesome Giant Sydney and Liv Sydney team who set me up on my new TT for the race and the wonderful Balmoral Triathlon Club community who make this sport a real joy to be part of.
To wrap up, at the Huskisson holiday haven where we stayed there was this simple quote which has stuck with me;
Motivation + Dedication = Success
If you want something hard enough and put in the effort you can get the result.
All the best with your 2019 goals.
If you enjoyed this read you may also enjoy:
Road to the Gold Coast Triathlon World Champs as a Mum
The F’s and P’s Learnt of Becoming and Ironwoman
Dani Matthews 