winning gold
world aqualthon champion 2021 F45-49
Winning my age group at the 2021 World Triathlon Aquathlon Championships at EL Anillo, Extremadura in Spain was a dream come true. My 20th start with Team GB and my first win since I started competing as part of the age group team, 11 years ago. Determination and persistence have paid off. I’m not the most naturally talented athlete but what I lack in physical ability I make up for with hard-work and dedication. Keeping my body fit and health with a combination of yoga, strength & conditioning, and sports massages. A resilient body and consistent training are fundamental to my success and improvement.
El Anillo was only announced in mid-September, as the original World Aquathlon Championships had been cancelled. I had planned the European Triathlon Championships in Valencia at the end of September to be my last race of the season but as we are so used to now, plans were changed and I entered. Who knew if there would be any races next year!
It was in the middle of nowhere, 3 hours’ drive north-east of Madrid. The field was smaller than usual due to the lack of notice and the difficult location. I used to think that this meant the race didn’t carry so much weight but no longer, “you’re got to be in it to win it” and part of the process is getting yourself to the start line.
The PREP
There was 5 weeks between Valencia and El Anillo to recover, rebuild and refresh. Coaching myself I took more time to recovery from Valencia, a whole week. Listening to my body and only going back to hard run sessions once the legs were fully recovered. I dropped the hard bike sessions and concentrated on race pace training for both the swim and run. A chest infection and cold mid-way through put a spanner in the works, but I didn’t panic took 5 days off and a full 10 days off any hard training to fully recover. Telling myself it was more important to get healthy than rush into hard sessions.
The Plan
My aim was to swim 1.25 100 m pace and run 4.10 km pace, what I’d been doing in training. With several unknown athlete in the line up and a competitive Spaniard that I’d raced at Valencia, I felt if I raced to my plan I had a good chance.
Cooler conditions than Valencia meant it was a non-wetsuit swim and with a mass start it played to my strengths. A mass start gets me fired up and I have a better chance to get on fast feet. The weather conditions had also improved from the forecast of thunder and rain, so it looked good.
THE race
The gun went off. Relishing the frenzy of the mass start I found some fast feet for the first 200 m or so. Only a few competitors were in front, so I focused on sighting, my stroke rhyme and making it hurt. I had a fantastic swim in 14.19 (1.25 average pace) and 2nd lady overall. In fact, only 1 second off the fastest female age group swimmer who was the Spanish competitor I’d earmarked before and who’d beaten me in Valencia by 1 minute 40 seconds!
Now time to climb. Transition was a long steep hill up the bank of the reservoir and into a muddy field. Hideous! I don’t like hills and I don’t like mud. My time was rubbish, but it was clean and safe and then off on the run.
working hard up that hill
The run course was two laps, an undulating gravel path and the rest on road. Uneven terrain isn’t my bag, but I put my head down and worked hard, catching the Spaniard on the first hill out of transition. Now head down and concentrate. Get into your pace and keep pushing. Focus and concentration were key. My pace was on plan, and I finished in 20.45 (4.09/km) to cross the line as WORLD CHAMPION and 4th lady overall. Freakin’ brilliant.
The trip
The whole trip even with the weather and interesting event organisation was so much fun not only because I won but because the GB age group team were brilliant. There is a real sense of community, helping and supporting each other.
TEAM GB
I met lovely new people and our little group of Gail, Konstaint, David, and Brendan who I drove to the swim familiarisation and the race made the experience better than I could have hoped for.
These guys - Konstaint, Brendan, me and Gail
Winning World Champs gives me a deep sense of satisfaction and confidence in my own abilities. It makes all the hard work, sweat and tears worthwhile and ignites my passion to continue to work to be the best athlete I can be.
Now time for two weeks of full rest (i.e., no swim, bike or run) just yoga and paddleboarding. Then I’ll start the process of working towards next years goals of World and European Standard Triathlon and Aquathlon Championships with a new coach, t-club and renewed zeal.