Coach Dave Williamson suggested I write something to reflect on my triathlon journey so far, and if I want to share it. So here it goes and be warned it is long……
I was into cycling when a guy at work
suggested I join a Saturday ride group as he felt it had the potential to
improve my riding abilities. After much procrastination, I went along- that
first ride in Nov 2013 I had a horrible crash, losing two teeth and ending up
in hospital!
A few weeks later fully recovered I go
back, turns out I am riding with West Lakes Triathlon Club and I slowly get
sucked in. My first run after last running the London marathon in 2004 was
Christmas Day 2013. If I wanted to do
triathlon though I needed to learn to swim freestyle - us Brit's are taught
breaststroke and know freestyle as the 'Australian crawl'!!! After a disastrous
lesson at the local pool I enlisted help from a good friend Cass (fantastic
swimmer who had also taught) at the end of January 2014. I had a go at my first Tin-man' event,
partially freestyling, but mainly doing breaststroke in February 2014 and won
my age group!!
I had a bad experience with a coach at a
beginner triathlon clinic, but knew if I was going to do this triathlon lark I
needed a coach. The triathlon club had arranged a strength session, which is
where I was introduced to Alex, Dave and AP10.
I signed up with Dave and entered my
first Olympic distance at Murrayman November 2014. Fast forward through Olympic distance races (my
best a 3rd in age group State Champs), sprint races a torn hamstring
and achilles injury, I signed up for my first half Ironman in Majorca.
The Easter before Majorca in May proved
difficult, a massive long weekend of training left me ready to give up - after
investigation a rotation in my hips had caused me to rub fat away so could
barely sit on a saddle, nobody had heard of it before!!! I also aggravated my
hamstring so headed in to Majorca with 15km of running in the preceding 6
weeks. I got round though to finish my first 70.3 and have a ball cycling in
the mountains afterwards.
I had watched in awe as guys around me did
the full IM, oh to hear those words as you cross the finish line. I started to
dream and chatted to Dave. He wanted to coach me to the finish line, not the
start line so we set about a strength program before committing. It seemed to
work so after much hard work and many hours of training I lined up at Busselton
in December 2016 with my biggest supporters alongside me, husband Scott and
best friend Dom. Reflecting it was a great day, I still tear-up as I remember
the moment after 12:56hrs, I heard those words…… 'Kay Anderson you are an
Ironman', if you dare to dream it can happen.
What next, the commitment to the full had
taken a toll so I knew I wanted to focus on nailing some 70.3's. On the way to
Busso I had snuck under the 6hr barrier on a very flat Murrayman course. I
wanted to do that again. After Sufferfest Murraybridge, Port Mac 2017 was the
next big target. I went in healthy but fell short at 6:12hrs.
I sat down and chatted with Dave, the run
was where it didn't happen, I blew up at 10km - dehydration and lack of food on
analysis were the reason. Something else happened, a picture taken by an AP10
supporter - I didn't like what I saw, in my eyes I looked way too big for a
triathlete.
Having had gut issues since a gastro bug
got me in September 2016, I was having a colonoscopy so the preparation seemed
like a good time to start eating better. That was 16 May 2017.
A few weeks after a training peaks article
by Rick Kattouf sparked my interest. It was about fuelling your sessions and
the difference between that and 'eating healthy'. I dig deeper and ended up
having a 1:30hr meal planning session with him over the web. My main diet was
not a disaster- just two things I was eating I needed to avoid, be much more
careful with my nut intake and I needed to hydrate more. I could do this - so
eating 6 times a day and a balanced 50% carbs/25% protein and fat. The weight
started dropping off, I was enjoying what I was eating and still eating out
each week.
Dave and I hatched a more performance
orientated approach to sessions and I started hitting his targets. So in the
lead up to Sunshine Coast, my next big target, I '99% executed a race simulation'
and 3 weeks before Sunny hit all the pacing targets in the Adelaide half
marathon to do a 1:53hr, my fastest every half. I had had a great block of
training and during this time bought my first TT bike (my 50th birthday treat) –
a Trek Speed Concept! My body was good so bring on race day.
What only Dave, Scott and physio Shane know
is my tibialis posterior muscle started niggling the day before the race, my
elastic races also snapped and it took three trips to the expo to get
registered the queues were so long. Some advice and fingers into the affected sore
area, I pushed it to the back of my mind, this wasn't going to stop me.
So Sunday dawned, I stood on the start line
in the best shape of my life, 10kg's lighter, 8% less fat in my body and some
great training in me.
The swim conditions were awesome, I loved
the swim and knew I had done ok, turned out to be a 1:44min PB. On to the bike,
I lost a shoe off the pedal as I tried to put my foot in, quickly sorted, it
turned out to be the only stuff up of the day. The Sunshine Coast motorway was
fast with a slight tailwind, turning into the headwind wasn't too bad, my boy
Noah (greyhound) who we lost back in April, was with me giving me wings. On to
the Hinterland loop, I knew what to expect as had cycled this the day before.
The first hill was a bit rude, but soon settled in, the second loop flew past.
I remember looking and the computer said 2:33hrs, I thought 'bummer not going
to get under 3hrs' I thought I had around 20km's to go, but no only 10k! I came
in in 2:53:09, another PB by 5:13mins.
For the first time ever, I was looking
forward to the run and not dreading it. I was excited to see what I could do to
bring it home. The first 6km felt great, was having to keep a lid on it to stay
on the pacing strategy, we were looking for 5:30-5:40 pace. I went through a
tough part around 8-10km but dug in, this wasn't going to escape me, I knew it
would hurt! I remember close to home
hearing the announcer say it was 12 noon, that was good I needed to be in
before 12:35pm to get a PB. Down the finish chute I manage to high five friends
from Brisbane who had come up to see us. I knew I had had a good race, however
the clock was broken, Scott came round to tell me 5:31:47hrs, a 23 min PB and
half marathon PB of 13:35mins (as part of 70.3). I was stoked, hard work had
paid off big time.
One things for sure, this journey is still
to be continued, there is more to come and I am in a great place to keep
improving - anything is possible! Next stop Busso 70.3!
Kay
There are so many people who have had a
hand in this journey to date, too many to mention, however Dave, Scott &
Dom, thank you for being with me every step of the way.
