Although this may seem ethereal, we have all experienced something that feels good; a cold beer on a hot day, watching your footy team win, Christmas morning, a good joke, love for our family and friends. Feeling gives texture to our lives.

When asked the question, “how are you?”, when was the last time you said something other than ‘good’? I have made an effort in recent times to respond to others’ questions with a more honest appraisal.  If I am down about something, I say it. This simple recognition of my own sentiments has made me a more content person, and vicariously a better athlete.

I am not a numbers guy. Never have been. They don’t really interest me, which is probably why I am mediocre at fantasy sports. Many people are, they love to look at stats and view the world through that lens. These people usually make great businessmen/women and are highly in first-world corporate life. I have many close friends who are like this. My problem is not that this paradigm exists, but that it tends to hijack our thinking and delineate our understanding purely because it can be measured. It can devalue the place of feeling.

I threw a PB and Olympic A standard throw of 20.63m at a meet in Clemson, South Carolina, on Saturday. This is the culmination of over a decade of my life’s efforts to become an Olympian. I don’t own that throw or the numbers, I can’t take it with me when I die; but I do own the story and the feeling of that throw. Believe me… it felt incredible!

In the weeks leading up to the throw, my training was at an all-time best level. We could tell this because we measured it. On Tuesday last week I hurt my back doing some overhead throws in my warm up. I didn’t train on Tuesday or Wednesday, took just a few throws on Thursday, rested Friday; anyone who has sporting experience would hardly call that an ideal week of preparation. I couldn’t control how my body was, but I could control how I let it impact me. By the time Saturday came there was no way I wasn’t going to throw well, I could feel it.

I hired a car and drove the hour or so up to Clemson. It’s a small meet tailored to collegiate athletes wanting to qualify for their Conference/NCAA championships. This made it a perfect chance to throw well. No call room, perfect warm-ups, helpful officials, supportive environment. I can’t remember much after I started to warm up. One of the things I do recall is that I checked by the time on my phone, comp was due to start at 1pm, I had received a text message. It was from 2-time Olympic medalist, 2005 World Champion and training partner; Adam Nelson.

“Go hard today mate. I know you can do it”

As much as we need coaches, I value the advice of top-level athletes as gold. Fortunately, I have a close relationship with guys like Adam, Reese Hoffa, Scott Martin and Tim Forsyth. All of whom are wonderfully generous and kind men, but espouse the unrivalled intensity and feeling of performing at the highest level.

I am enjoying my last week here in the USA before I return home to Melbourne. Tomorrow I am taking the squad out to lunch to thank them for having me here again, although I may need to liquidate some assets in order to cover the bill for half a dozen world-class throwers and our coach!

2 remaining comps in Arizona this week. One of the biggest challenges after coming off a big PB throw is the mental adjustment. It’s easy to view any comp less than 20m now as sub-par, this can be a touchy period mentally so my focus is just to consolidate some of the good feeling and rhythm that I had on Saturday.

Whatever the result, I am looking forward to coming home after a great few months here. Last year I returned to Australia with a busted elbow that needed surgery, this year I come back with a new PB and chance to show what I can do on the world’s biggest stage- the Olympics.

I feel happy.

Much love,

ds

2^nd place- Champagne Showers!

6 years ago I raced my first ironman triathlon in the beautiful coastal town of Port Macquarie. I was very new to the sport and although I didn’t have a great day, fate had it that I received a roll down spot for Hawaii. From then on I became completely hooked on the sport and realised that long course triathlon really suited me and my hyperactive nature . This was going to be my 13th Ironman distance race and my bib number was 13, so although a little superstitious, I convinced myself that it had to be a good omen… I was really nervous in the lead in to the big day, but for a change managed to get a few hours sleep and felt calm and ready to rip it up come race morning. As a mass start (and after a few previous swim start disasters), I was just hoping to get cleanly through the first lap and then settle into a solid pace. I expected gun swimmer Hillary Biscay to take off fast and try to get a break out of the water, so I was happy to come out just 1 minute behind her, and with fellow Aussie Michelle Mitchell in tow. I focussed on a quick transition and getting swiftly out onto the bike course.

My plan was to let my heart rate settle and get through the hills quickly but without blowing my legs in preparation for the long day ahead.  I lost my spare tyre and hoped that this wasn’t going to come back to bite me later in the race.  Hitting Lake Cathie straight was when I started to settle in to a good groove.  I felt strong and decided to push the pace to make a move to catch Hillary.  Michelle came with me and we were getting updates to tell us that we were gaining.  It was around the 70km mark that the gap was closed and I was now in the lead.  It was so exciting for me and for all my support crew who received the good news in town!  Not sure whether it was just the excitement but I decided to attack up the always challenging Matthew Flinders hill and tried to make a break through the hills back towards town.  I had the biggest smile on my face when I entered Clarence Street with the ‘lead female’ vehicle beside me.  Michelle came with me again, but Hillary backed off through the hills, which is how I normally race- but today I decided I was not going to hold back- no regrets!  By 110km the three of us were together again.  It was quite hard to keep a good rhythm with a Technical Official riding along beside us the entire race and scrutinising the 12 metre draft rule, but it also ensured clean racing.  Suddenly I noticed something was wrong with my front wheel and I hesitantly pulled over thinking I had a flat tyre.  Thankfully it was just some tape which I removed fairly easily and the wheel was sorted- phew!  I lost some time and had to push the pace to get back up to the girls. The three of us pretty much stayed in touch until 30km to go when Michelle started to drop off the pace.  When I saw she was gone I put the hammer down as I knew with her phenomenal run speed I was going to need some time up my sleeve when I hit the run course.  My legs cramped badly up the arduous Matthew Flinders hill the second time around and I was completely embarrassed when I almost didn’t make it up the final kicker! (I am sure the spectators on the hill had a bit of a laugh though)… I freaked out a bit as I thought I had completely blown my legs so I let Hillary go and spun out the last section back into transition to prepare for the run. 

I hit T2 and had another speedy transition as my plan was to get out in front and go as hard as I could.  I didn’t feel great and maybe I took off a little too fast in hindsight (at 4min/km pace), but I knew I had to get out of sight if I was going to win.  It was an amazing feeling to be leading as normally I am the one doing the chasing on the run!  I led for the first lap when Mitchell caught me.  I wasn’t going to give in without a fight so I dug deep and just tried to hang with her for as long as possible.  Momentarily I regained the lead but shortly my fuse went and I lost touch, but still managed to keep the gap within a few minutes.  Not long after the halfway point of the marathon I hit a really low point and my pace started to drop big time.  I was still doing everything I could to stay focussed as I have learnt from previous races that anything can happen in Ironman racing.  I saw Michelle on the last lap and she was flying so I just focussed on getting myself to the finish line and soaking up the amazing atmosphere along the way.  My feet were killing me with each step and my stomach was sloshing.  With about 6km to go I got a final burst of energy but made the most of enjoying the last few kms to the finish- high fiving and thanking all my fantastic supporters.  I was so elated to see that finish chute.  I always get a little emotional at the end of an ironman and sure enough I felt the tears well up as I put it all on the line today.  I was so exhausted but excited and really savoured that finish line experience.  Port Macquarie has to be one of the best finish chutes and most electric crowd atmospheres that I have experienced in the many races I have done around the world.   I was greeted by a huge bunch of beautiful flowers and an overwhelming media response. The highlight of my day was the celebratory podium finish with champagne showers- not that I was in any state to truly enjoy it!

I have had a fantastic season so far with 5 podium finishes out of my 7 big races, but this has to top it off as one of my greatest races to date.

I am so incredibly grateful to be surrounded by so many remarkable people. My best friend and loving husband Bern, my wonderful family who are always there to support me, my incredibly knowledgeable, inspiring and passionate coaches Christina and Bruce Thomas (EnergyLink), and all my Balmoral Triathlon Club (NSW Club champions wooohoo!) training buddies, who continually enthuse me and make training so much fun!.  As always a huge thanks to my wonderful sponsors who have backed me over the last few years to ensure that I have the best of leading edge products and support – Shimano, Scody, High 5 Sports Nutrition, Blue Seventy, Newton, Oakley, Turramurra Cyclery, Trek, Nashys Pix, Foot Levellers, DTR Sports Management.  There are also so many other supporters that I want to thank for keeping me in tip top shape- Dave Steven (Bay Chiropractic), Paul Collins (The Body Coach), Paul Penna (Focus Performance), Sarah Fletcher (SJF Massage), Clare Walsh (Quay Therapy), my amazing swim coach Narelle Simpson, and my employer Westpac and all my awesome work colleagues who are so supportive of my double life! 

Thanks for taking the time to read my race report.  I am so passionate about Triathlon and showing the world that you can still achieve your dreams by training between 18-25 hours per week, holding down a corporate job and enjoying life.  As Layne Beachley says in her book “If you truly believe you can do it, go out there and give it a go.  The ONLY failure in life is not trying!”

Keep smiling and train safe!

Nic x

Professional Triathlete

Bachelor of Sports Science- Exercise Science

Level 1 Triathlon Coach

www.nicolewardtri.com

Busselton was my first 70.3 since winning Canberra back in December. I was excited to race and was going there with one objective in mind: to win.

That’s of course with respect to the strong pro women also racing, all of whom have been competing the last few months and are in prime race fitness.

Busselton means a lot to me as it was where I had my first ever win as a professional in the half ironman distance back in 2007.

We had horrible weather the day before the race and it was predicted to rain on race day. And at 2am on Saturday morning there was a lightning and thunder storm in progress. But by 5.30am the skies had cleared and looked like it was going to be a spectacular day.

Arriving at transition, however, it was clear that the wind had stuck around. There also was a swell in the water and it was black. It was the worse swim conditions that I’ve had seen here. Still, I was happy because the conditions overall worked to my strengths.

The women started 1 min after the men and I knew I had to get to the first buoy in front. Once I achieved that, I knew I would have to stay in front.

The swell made it a bit of a challenge. It was very hard to navigate. I did catch a few pro men, and yet I had no idea where I was going. I was feeling so strong and swam fast. I finally found where the exit was and was the first woman out of the water.

Not unexpectedly, my time for the distance was very slow. I think I may have swum an extra 500m or so (: But time of course is relative and nothing something to dwell on. My bike awaited me.

I got out onto the bike course and within the first 5min dropped my front aero bottle. Not a good move. It contained my water. I did know that at 10km there was a drink station so I rode with what I had until then.

I was feeling so strong and fast on the bike not knowing where the other girls were — and not wanting them to catch me.

At the first turn around point I saw Belinda Granger and Kate Bevilaqua working together behind me.

It was quite windy on the bike and I wasn’t sure which way the wind was coming from – everywhere! I did the first loop in around 1hr and 13min and then really started to push hard. I started to get cramps in my quads at around the 55km mark, and immediately increased my fluids.  

By the 75km mark I was feeling unreal!! I finished very strong and was still out in front. It was a great way to start the run.

I made sure to pace myself carefully early in the run especially as I hadn’t run 21km since December. At each turn around point I saw Kate closing in on me. I picked my pace up at the 10km mark, feeling really strong, but by 14km the pace caught up to I and I developed a stitch. As a result, I slowed a bit and that’s when Kate, then Felicity passed me. I ran through my stitch to cross the line in 3rd place.

More than anything Busselton gave me a report card on my current fitness. I know how a better idea where I need to focus as I prepare to head for the ’summer’ season in the US.

The last few weeks have been quite busy, as I have started to prepare for leaving. I will again be based in Vitoria, in the Basque region of Spain. Just as Wollongong does, Vitoria is beginning to feel like home. This will be the 3rd year in Vitoria, and I know it well, although I’m sure there is still plenty to discover there. We are really lucky to have such a comfortable and perfect training environment in our ‘home away from home’.

It’s been a little quieter in Wollongong since Sydney WTS. All of our international visitors left and other athletes have been travelling to races. It has been nice to have some solo thinking time whilst training though, and I’ve been very fortunate that the weather is still great! Hopefully it stays that way for my last week.

I’ll be in touch after Dunkerque. I have been working hard on some new skills, and I am looking forward to trying them out there!

Thanks for all your support,

Charlotte

First the formalities, I had 2 competitions last weekend in San Diego. These were the last of my preparation comps before I start my peak leading in to Tucson Elite competitions on 17^th & 19^th May. I threw 19.48 in the Thursday comp after arriving late Wednesday. All of my throws have been ultra-consistent of late; I have been working on a bit of a revised technical approach that is designed to allow me to go bigger in the coming weeks. Saturday was a bit better, 19.85m. This is my equal 6^th best ever distance which was encouraging coming off that phase of training.

It was also great to catch up with fellow Aussies Kim Mulhall, Damian Birkinhead, Julian Wruck and good mate Scott Martin. After living in the Deep South for a month or so it was nice to hear a familiar accent. If you weren’t aware, Scotty threw his discus A standard and PB of 65.6 in Hawaii (Maui) this week. In 2009/10 Scott and his now wife, Seona, invited me to live with them. For the last 3 years he has been a mentor, training partner and friend; needless to say I was overjoyed in hearing the news of his throw. I won’t bang on about it any more, but for a guy who’s experienced the highs and lows of the sport for over a decade this is a thoroughly deserved result and is testament to his perseverance and self-belief. Well done mate.

Continuing the big news for Aussie throws, Benn Harradine also wurfed a lazy 67.63m to break the national Discus record in Townsville this week. Not much needs to be said here. Anyone who follows Track & Field knows that Benn is a truly world class athlete and another top bloke. It was only a matter of time until he broke his own record, I doubt that anyone would be surprised if he does it again in the near future. Between Scott, Benn and Wrucky; look for the Aussies to put up one hell of a fight in London.

Meanwhile, back in Georgia, this has been a great week of training with lots of high intensity throwing sessions. If this week goes as well as last, I will compete on Saturday at Clemson University in Sth Carolina. I don’t want to be one of those people who post all of their training distances/performances (take note young social-media savvy athletes!), but I will say that I’m in a good place physically, mentally and spiritually right now.

Last night Coach Babbitt had a throwers BBQ at his house. He has quite a size-able squad between the Collegiate, Alumni, International and Elite athletes who are based here at UGA. Although he lives in Georgia now, he was born and raised in California and has travelled extensively so we are on the same wavelength with most things. Being a college town, Athens is a pocket of more liberal/progressive culture situated within the notoriously conservative Deep South. This has been the stem of some stimulating discussions around values, culture, politics, religion and the USA way of life. There are many aspects of life here which I consider virtuous, interspersed with features that I occasionally find regressive and grating. Needless to say, any visitor who spends any reasonable amount of time in a different cultural setting would express the same sentiments.

I also made some progress on my thesis this week. I find the academic stimulus to sit in nice contrast to the physical pursuit of training. Fortunately I have a supportive auxiliary team at Monash University who let me work in a way that fits my lifestyle.

That’s about all I have at the moment. Between NBA playoffs, watching replays of weekly Collingwood games and discovering various culinary delights around town; the days seem to fill up without detracting from the main focus of my stint here, hitting the A standard for London.

Stay classy,

ds

Mt Sac Relays, CA.

I just got back to my hotel after today’s competition. After a quick dip in the pool (it’s close to 35degrees today) I have time for a quick update before dinner.

First the formalities- I finished 7^th and threw 19.23m. That’s enough of that.

At 24 years old, I have a different outlook on comps like todays than I may have 2 or 3 years ago. A younger me would have been angry, upset and it would have lingered with me until my next comp. It would throw off my training and more than likely I would end up in a worse place; all because of how I perceived my result.

Here are a few other facts;

- The ring was possibly the slipperiest ring I have thrown on. Ever. Although the weather was hot and sunny, it was like throwing on ice. It took us all a few rounds just to adjust.

- There were 3 x 21m throwers in the comp, and only the very final thrower broke 20m, and it was on his last throw. Almost every thrower in the comp threw ~80cm less than their season average.

- My distances in training are consistently around my personal best level. In fact, my 2 comps thus far (19.4 and 19.2) are lower than every training session I have had since I arrived here.

With these in mind, I am choosing not to dwell on my distances. The way that we perceive performances is always subjective. With all the information taken in to account, I am actually in career best form and should not allowing myself to get dispirited. Because I can choose.

Back to Atlanta tomorrow morning for a few days of high quality training, then off to San Diego for 2 comps next week. I am really looking forward to that; 2 comps across 3 days allows us to develop a nice rhythm and resultantly I am confident that better marks are just around the corner. I have the same comp layout in Tucson, AZ 3 weeks later. These are the places that we have structured my training around to really go after the big ones.

In other news, I moved accommodation this week to somewhere a little more comfortable. Thanks go out to Derek from VIS and Glenn from Events Worldwide for helping coordinate the move promptly. Reese threw a World Lead in Kansas on Wednesday (21.73m) and Collingwood are back on the winners list.

Much Love,

Ds

See more information on the below Facebook link.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/North-Sydney-Harbourview-Hotel/354948140105

I have now been here in Athens, Georgia for a week and thought it would be nice to send an update on the eve of my first competition.

The flights over worked out well, despite the long distance covered. I flew Melbourne > Sydney > LA > Chicago > Atlanta and then caught a shuttle out to Athens to arrive at 2am on Saturday. Fortunately I got an aisle seat for every leg, so it wasn’t too painful. I actually don’t mind long flights; what annoys me most is sitting in airports. At least on the plane I feel as though I am getting closer to the destination.

Having spent time in Athens last year, I was able to settle in to a rhythm relatively easily. My priority for Day 1 was to get hold of some transport and a phone. As Athens is a college town (University of Georgia, UGA), the Moped dealers no longer hire out any Scooters/Mopeds because they get trashed. However, with a bit of searching I managed to contact one place on Facebook and explain my situation. Jason from a local dealership came and picked me up from my hotel and took me to his shop where he hooked me up with a little moped. Needless to say, a 130kg guy tests out the 50cc engine but it gets me everywhere I need to go.

Training started on Monday with a morning throws session and weights in the afternoon. There are 5 senior male Shot Putters here training at the moment; I am the youngest of the group and have the lowest PB. Some would say that I am the bitch of the squad. Whilst this can be a shock to the ego (coming straight from Aussie domestic season), it is the perfect situation to develop. Reese Hoffa and Adam Nelson are two ex-World Champions who train here under Coach Don Babbitt; both of whom are great people. Already this week I feel that I have reaped the benefits from throwing alongside these quality athletes.

This year we are doing out gym training at a small Cross Fit gym about 5 minutes from the track, the gym is small but the atmosphere is great. It reminds me of the gym at Ringwood and I enjoy training there more than at a bigger, more sterile facility. I lift with my 2 other training partners; Ming-Huang Chang of Taiwan and Jun Zhang of China. They both speak reasonable English, certainly better than my Mandarin. They too are here to train with Don and earn Olympic selection for their respective countries. Jun has a coach here with him, Marlon, who speaks better English and is great fun to have around. The interaction and energy at the gym sessions have been a real highlight thus far.

Tomorrow we have a competition here at UGA. I had penciled this comp in as more of a ‘hit out’ before our bigger meets in California over the next fortnight, but I am feeling great so who knows what will happen. Either way, my stint here in the USA is treating me very well thus far.

Finally, I would like to thank those who have helped me get here. My coach Gus, the Victorian Institute of Sport, Athletics Australia, Saucony, Dan from DTR Sports Management but most importantly the ongoing support from my friends, family and beautiful girlfriend, Lauren.

Much Love,

ds

Oh, and I saw the footy result. Stay patient Magpie Army, It’s a long season.