21

My 21st birthday was on Saturday although I started celebrations prematurely the previous weekend with 7 of my girlfriends at Meccabah in Broadbeach. We had the most amazing banquet of Moroccan food and I was so fortunate that they were all able to celebrate with me. They are not athletes themselves but are always so supportive and understanding, organising catch ups around my big training days and races. I ended the night after I won $95 dollars on the roulette at the casino (on number 21), ready to spend an 1hour and 40minutes in the hills of Nerang forest with Emma, Liz and Daniela the next morning. That run was the start of a very big training week. I did a few new things and surprised myself when I was able to consistently back up from solid sessions, definitely not easy but I am satisfied. I’m going to be expecting more of these tough weeks - minus the dumbfounded look I have given Craig a few times recently :) New challenges always await and I’m happy to keep learning. 

The rain pelted down on the morning of my birthday so Emma and I were relegated to the AIS gym with ergo and treadmill the flavor of the morning. A cafe stop and swim later I was able to relax and was totally spoilt. 21 is pretty special and although my plans to Mount Tamborine with Josh were ruined by the rain, I had a great day.

University begins this week, time to get organised! 

 Mother

some lovely friends

21

Thanks Josh

Home-made cards are the best!

Thanks for reading.

Geelong

I am not stupid, I have realistic expectations. I do not expect to break away in the swim behind Teresa Adam and Emma Moffatt but I certainly do expect to be in the main pack. Despite some rough and tumble and arm locking with a couple of other particularly aggressive 'not to be named' athletes, I am not making any excuses for my underwhelming position coming out of the swim....just some extreme frustration and disappointment from within myself. To be completely honest I came to the start line quietly confident in my progressing pool swimming and some new found skills I’m continually learning from my coach Craig Walton, king of swim/bike in his day...which wasn’t that long ago! Due to positive reinforcements in training across all three disciplines, I came home from Geelong particularly disappointed, feeling that my race was not an indicator of how I have been training. I started the year in Geelong last year with a sub-par result and my year got better each race, so let’s hope that happens again. I’ve got my first race of the season out of the way and I already know some things I will do different leading into Devonport- which I will get more rest heading into anyway. Because it’s an Olympic year, I guess everyone gets a little bit more intense (even crazy perhaps ;). People will be continually making judgments about ALL athletes, I am lucky that my Mum, Dad, Craig, Josh, friends and family all believe in me so I’m very grateful and I don’t have to worry about others. I am ready to have a successful and enjoyable season.

Congratulations to Emma Moffatt and Liz Blachford, Gold Coast counterparts, who placed 1st and 3rd respectively, great to see them both on the podium. Despite some of the terrible Geelong weather, flight cancellations, tedious travelling and a not so great race, it was made a whole lot better travelling and rooming with Moffy, one of the best athletes in the sport but always fun for a laugh.

Thank you for reading.

Race Time

At the end of last year I was fortunate enough to gain the support of Milani Cycles, an Italian based bike company. The company origins go back to 1927 when cyclist Natale Milani started creating his first frames. The family history continued in 2005 when Natale's son, Celeste, decided to build the business up and create a modern company. All the frames are handmade in Italy, with a passion behind the business that you don't always see with the massive manufacturers.

Considering the promptness of Celeste Milani, it’s hard to believe he lives thousands of kms away, working away in his Italian factory. When my rear Ambrosio wheel was damaged in transit, Celeste had another shipped to me in under a week, no stress! The bike is now ready to go for my first race of 2012, with my last ITU race being in Lausanne for the WCS....it’s been a while! Emma Moffat and I have been training together under the guidance of Craig Walton and we will all head down to Geelong tomorrow to begin our season. Its finally race time and I’m excited.

Wish me luck; with people like Moffy on the line, you know it’s going to be a very fast race.

Ciao