Noosa 2012

Due to missing some early season races with field trips and illness my race season this summer started later than usual with the Noosa Triathlon held on Sunday the 4th November as part of the Noosa Triathlon and Multisport Festival.

The Noosa triathlon has developed into a nemesis for me over the past three years. My previous three experiences at Noosa have been less than pleasant with a crash in 2009, and dehydration and overheating in both 2010 and 2011. Last year I had been determined not to end up in the medical tent attached to a drip after the race as in 2010 and made sure I drank lots the day before the race and during the race. Despite what I thought was much better preparation than the previous year, my race last year ended 150m shy of the finish line when I collapsed. I don't remember anything between about 250m to go and coming back to my senses in the medical tent covered in vomit and cramping like crazy with a very concerned mother and coach looking on. Although there are several amusing stories that came out of that day (including me falling off the wheelchair) the whole experience really scared me and I decided I didn't want to do the Noosa Tri again. Needless to say a few months down the track when the impact had faded a little I decided I had to give it another crack.

Fortunately 2012 was my year and for the first time ever I enjoyed the Noosa Triathlon, an event that is the favourite of many a triathlete, and as I finally can see, with good reason.
Noosa always attracts a good field and this year was no exception with the first seven women across the line all having world championship or world cup victories to their names. After having my pro licence for a year now the novelty of racing with such awesome athletes from around the world has still not worn off!

The swim was fairly uneventful and I got a solid start, exiting the water in 5th position with Ellie Salthouse. I had a good T1, despite my helmet and glasses being accidentally knocked to the ground by Felicity Abram, and worked my way into 4th position by the end of Noosa Parade. About 5 minutes into the cycle it started to rain and by the time I reached the "Noosa hill" it was raining quite heavily. About halfway up the hill I was caught by the likes of Ashleigh Gentle, Felicity Sheedy-Ryan and Caroline Steffen who I had a minute on out of the swim. Those girls sure know how to ride bikes! The majority of the Noosa bike course is straight so not too treacherous in the rain however coming down the hill was a little scary and there was major carnage on the roundabouts coming back into town, particularly in the elite men’s field. Having previously crashed on wet roundabouts in other races I was possibly over cautious but I was not going to fall off my bike, I was finishing this race no matter what!

The run has always been my weakest leg, and was the part of this race I was most nervous about. By the end of T2, however, I knew I was going to have a good run. My legs felt (relatively) good off the bike and I was ready to fire. I made a conscious decision to race hard but also remember to enjoy myself and got a real buzz smiling and waving at everyone I knew as I headed out onto the run.
Ellie and I had maintained about the same pace on the bike and she had 15 seconds on me out of T2. For the first 2km or so I concentrated on my own pace and keeping a high cadence but when I sensed Ellie was slowing a little I focused on trying to catch her, chipping away at the gap slowly but surely. I managed to catch her just before the run turn and put in a surge as I passed her to make sure she didn't come with me. From there on it was back to focusing on my own pace and making it across that finish line fast and strong. The last few hundred meters of a race is always amazing, but this one was particularly special. I was so relieved and so happy to be crossing that finish line and proving to myself that Noosa is no different to any other triathlon I have done.
I finished in 11th position, a result I am happy with given the strength of the field and was awarded the Luke Harrop Memorial Bursary for being the 1st U23 female ranked outside the top 50 in the world.

Heading out of T1

Grinning like a cheshire cat on stage

A big thank you to everyone who supported me and wished me well in the lead up to this race and on the day; it meant a lot to me and helped me get over that mental barrier. Thanks to Greg for hand delivering my pump which I had left at home in Brisbane when he came up for the race, to my awesome coach Cath, who I’m pretty sure was more nervous than I was, and especially to mum and dad who drove up from Armidale the day they arrived back from Scotland to take me to Noosa and watched me race. I’m glad I managed to pull it off for all of you! :)

Gillian

P.S. There’s some exciting news coming soon!