I now have a new website www.gillianbackhouse.com.au!
As of December 2013 all new blog posts will be posted on www.gillianbackhouse.com.au/blog.html
Older posts are available here or on my new site.
Thanks for visiting my blog!
Ciao,
Gillian
Thursday 6 March 2014
Thursday 7 November 2013
Noosa take 5
November 3 marked the end to my 2013 race season which began a long 12 months ago at the very same event, the Noosa triathlon. Noosa is probably the most iconic triathlon in Australia and one I have returned to every year since my first in 2009 (and I'll be back again for my 6th next year!)
Noosa has not always treated me kindly with a crash in 09, and heat exhaustion in '10 and '11, the latter ending in a rather unflattering DNF 100m from the finish... Every year I swore it would be my last, but as the bad memories faded my determination to return and conquer grew. Four turned out to be the magic number and despite some heavy rain on the bike (which probably helped the not over heating cause) I stayed upright and finished the race in a respectable 11th without needing any medical attention post race. Satisfying, but I was far from done with the race. Last years race report
This year I had wanted a top 5 finish, but on learning of the prospective strength of the field quickly changed my goal more simply to "execute the race well, and be in the game (rather than making up the numbers at the back of the field)".
A three week crash course on riding a time-trial bike had me lining up on the start line with TT bike I borrowed rather than my trusty Trek roadie "Mad-One" for the first time. To say I was apprehensive to start with is an understatement but it only took a few rides before I worked out how to change the gears...
By race week I was confident on the bike and to my relief could even mount it with some level of proficiency. I also procured a speedsuit from Huub and was excited to find out what all the hype about these suits is all about.
Race day approached accompanied by nerves only the Noosa Tri could induce. I found myself awaiting the start, promising myself I'd never do it again. The excitement caused by a snake swimming through the start line moments before the hooter went off quelled the nerves and before we knew it we were off, happy to get away from the snake. (It's usually the bull sharks that I'm worried about, and the odd jelly fish but a snake was a bit unexpected!!)
The swim was cleaner than I'd expected and I exited towards the front of the field behind Emma Jackson and Emma Moffatt, with Maddi Allen as usual in a league of her own already up the road. The suit worked a treat and with a good transition had me on to the bike in 5th.
Emma Moffatt and Ashleigh Gentle disappeared up the road never to be seen again for the rest of the race. The rest of the front girls out of the swim stayed fairly close until the start of Gyndier hill 10km in. I hit the bottom of the hill in 4th and was shortly passed by Emma Jackson who had been just behind me. Knowing that it was one of my weaker points and could potentially cost me time I worked the hill, trying to stay in contact with Emma Jackson just ahead. I managed to loose only about 10 seconds to Emma up the hill and put time into the girls behind. We had gained significantly on Liz Blatchford who was in 3rd and on reaching the top she accelerated and Emma went with her. Thinking I would easily catch up once on the flat again I didn't attack the last few hundred meters of the climb as it flattened out. I was then forced to ride my own race watching 3rd and 4th move gradually further up the road as I underestimating the psychological advantage of having someone to pace off just ahead. Rookie error.
Melissa Hauschildt came motoring past me at about the 25km mark from 2 and a half mins down out of the swim but I was well clear of the other girls behind and reached T2 in 6th.
I had a solid run (albeit slightly slower than I'd hoped for) to finish in 6th. It was exciting to feel like I was actually a part of the race, and not too far off that 5th place I'd originally wanted either!
It's been super fun finishing off the season preparing for a non-drafting race - the different training and race tactics to draft legal racing has kept things fresh. It's been a long 12 months of racing and training, switching focus from the Australian season over summer to the international season during the middle of the year. I am currently thoroughly enjoying having a break but will no doubt this time next week be itching to get into some serious off season training and start preparing for next year!
Check out the race coverage on 7mate this Sunday (10th) at 1:30pm
Gillian
 |
| The beautiful Noosa National Park |
Noosa has not always treated me kindly with a crash in 09, and heat exhaustion in '10 and '11, the latter ending in a rather unflattering DNF 100m from the finish... Every year I swore it would be my last, but as the bad memories faded my determination to return and conquer grew. Four turned out to be the magic number and despite some heavy rain on the bike (which probably helped the not over heating cause) I stayed upright and finished the race in a respectable 11th without needing any medical attention post race. Satisfying, but I was far from done with the race. Last years race report
This year I had wanted a top 5 finish, but on learning of the prospective strength of the field quickly changed my goal more simply to "execute the race well, and be in the game (rather than making up the numbers at the back of the field)".
A three week crash course on riding a time-trial bike had me lining up on the start line with TT bike I borrowed rather than my trusty Trek roadie "Mad-One" for the first time. To say I was apprehensive to start with is an understatement but it only took a few rides before I worked out how to change the gears...
By race week I was confident on the bike and to my relief could even mount it with some level of proficiency. I also procured a speedsuit from Huub and was excited to find out what all the hype about these suits is all about.
Race day approached accompanied by nerves only the Noosa Tri could induce. I found myself awaiting the start, promising myself I'd never do it again. The excitement caused by a snake swimming through the start line moments before the hooter went off quelled the nerves and before we knew it we were off, happy to get away from the snake. (It's usually the bull sharks that I'm worried about, and the odd jelly fish but a snake was a bit unexpected!!)
The swim was cleaner than I'd expected and I exited towards the front of the field behind Emma Jackson and Emma Moffatt, with Maddi Allen as usual in a league of her own already up the road. The suit worked a treat and with a good transition had me on to the bike in 5th.
 |
| Exiting the swim in my Huub swimskin |
Melissa Hauschildt came motoring past me at about the 25km mark from 2 and a half mins down out of the swim but I was well clear of the other girls behind and reached T2 in 6th.
 |
| Photo courtesy of Triathlon in Pictures |
I had a solid run (albeit slightly slower than I'd hoped for) to finish in 6th. It was exciting to feel like I was actually a part of the race, and not too far off that 5th place I'd originally wanted either!
It's been super fun finishing off the season preparing for a non-drafting race - the different training and race tactics to draft legal racing has kept things fresh. It's been a long 12 months of racing and training, switching focus from the Australian season over summer to the international season during the middle of the year. I am currently thoroughly enjoying having a break but will no doubt this time next week be itching to get into some serious off season training and start preparing for next year!
Check out the race coverage on 7mate this Sunday (10th) at 1:30pm
Gillian
Wednesday 2 October 2013
The Euro experience
It's been 2 and a half weeks since I arrived back in Australia from my 3 month stint racing and training overseas and I'm well over due for a blog update!
While in Europe I was based in Aix-les-Bains, a moderate sized town on le Lac du Bourget in Southern France. Being situated basically in the foot hills of the European Alps, there was no shortage of mountains around, including several that featured in this year's TdF - stunning scenery, hell for the legs!
France may be known for baguettes, croissants and crepes, but for me it is the hottest track around, the seemingly never ending climbs and the marathon swim from the end of the lake that stick in my mind! I knew I was in for a challenge coming to train with the QAS squad, and while it was hard I absolutely loved it. "That was my hardest session yet" fast became a theme for me in the first few weeks and I redefined what I thought it was to train hard. Just when I was starting to wonder if I'd ever stop feeling tired again though the track stopped feeling quite so hot, the climbs became rides not grinds, and the lake didn't seem quite so long. Training with some pretty top class athletes was exciting, inspirational and definitely eye-opening!
The life of a pro triathlete isn't all hard work though, and it definitely has its perks. Some highlights for me were:
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By the end of my trip I was missing everyone back home and I was ready to come home. At the same time it was a little sad to say good bye to Aix which had started to feel like a second home. Looking back over photos I can only marvel at the places I've had the opportunity of visiting this year. It has been an absolutely amazing experience and I'm already looking forward to going back next year!
Salut
Gillian
While in Europe I was based in Aix-les-Bains, a moderate sized town on le Lac du Bourget in Southern France. Being situated basically in the foot hills of the European Alps, there was no shortage of mountains around, including several that featured in this year's TdF - stunning scenery, hell for the legs!
France may be known for baguettes, croissants and crepes, but for me it is the hottest track around, the seemingly never ending climbs and the marathon swim from the end of the lake that stick in my mind! I knew I was in for a challenge coming to train with the QAS squad, and while it was hard I absolutely loved it. "That was my hardest session yet" fast became a theme for me in the first few weeks and I redefined what I thought it was to train hard. Just when I was starting to wonder if I'd ever stop feeling tired again though the track stopped feeling quite so hot, the climbs became rides not grinds, and the lake didn't seem quite so long. Training with some pretty top class athletes was exciting, inspirational and definitely eye-opening!
The life of a pro triathlete isn't all hard work though, and it definitely has its perks. Some highlights for me were:
- The coffee shop rides along the lake to Chanaz
.jpg)
- Seeing my first glacier at Chamonix, Mont Blanc
- Making it to the top of le Revard with my lungs still intact and even getting a view (my first climb up le Revard on my second day in Aix just about killed me, and there wasn't even a view at the top thanks to cloud hugging the mountain top on an otherwise sunny day!)
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| Aix and Lac du Bourget from le Revard |
- Living 400m from the edge of a beautiful lake and being able to just jump in and cool down after a run or on a hot afternoon
- 2 months of almost constant sunshine; we had only 4 rainy days the whole time I was there! Naturally 2 of those days were race days, one the day before I had to fly out...
- Being able to say "Je voudrais ____" with correct enough pronunciation by the time I left that the person serving didn't respond in English. Sadly that's about as far as I got though!
By the end of my trip I was missing everyone back home and I was ready to come home. At the same time it was a little sad to say good bye to Aix which had started to feel like a second home. Looking back over photos I can only marvel at the places I've had the opportunity of visiting this year. It has been an absolutely amazing experience and I'm already looking forward to going back next year!
Salut
Gillian
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