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Is preparing to be a first time mum just like prepping for your first Ironman?

Follow Coach Sarah as she shares her training and racing journey. She will share not only what her training looks like, but her day to day nutrition, recovery, the mental side of training, the 1%rs, the ups and the downs, her favourite sessions, break throughs, realisations and now, her journey with a bub on the way! She will show you that training to your optimal performance doesn’t have to mean spending every spare hour training or every waking moment tired….

It is easy to get into a routine and simply let time pass us by. Another day, another week, another month, another year… gone, just like that. And before we know it ‘life’ is literally passing us by. When you first sign up for a big race you feel like you have loads of time. “9 months to train for an Ironman – no worries!” You’ll convince yourself. And before you know it, you are counting down the weeks and you start freaking out – ‘Where did the time go?!‘ And you begin doubting yourself if you have done ‘enough’ to be ready for race day.

And that’s how I feel right now.

As I write this, I’m just 5weeks away from meeting our little mini-me. 5 weeks until our house and our lives will be transformed. And to be honest, I still can’t actually ‘visualise’ what that will look like. We’ve put together bubs’ room, but I still can’t picture a little human in there, in our home, in our lives… Will I be able to cope? Will I know what to do? What will happen if things don’t go to plan? What a scary prospect! And all too familiar to feelings I’ve had before.

And so when I was thinking about these doubts, I started relating it to when I was preparing for my first Ironman. Something so daunting that I didn’t know if I’d be able to accomplish. I had steps in place to get there, but self doubt would still creep in. I’d become unsure of myself, of my ability, of my training, I’d compare myself to others, to my former self, to my future self. Self doubt can be crippling on so many levels. So I’d search for ways to remind myself that what I was doing was enough. That where I am right now is where I’m supposed to be. And if I just kept ticking off those boxes, each day, each week, then I’d get to my goal. And sure enough I not only reached my goal, but I surpassed it. A podium finish. And a spot at the the Ironman World Championships in Kona.

But it seems like I’ve now come full circle. The work I did leading into Ironman was one thing, and I know if I ever wanted to do another one, I’d be even better prepared as I know what I was in for, I know what it takes and I know the challenges along the way. But most of all, I’d be sure of myself.

But when it comes to motherhood, I have no hesitations in saying I have absolutely no idea what I’m in for. I have 8 nieces and nephews and the majority of my friends have kids, but still it seems so foreign. Being around others who have done it before you is one thing, but actually doing it yourself is another. Being a mother is something I’ve never done before and I have those same self doubts again on whether I’ll be ‘good’ enough. But to help combat the self doubt, just as in triathlon, I have to just keep reminding myself that what I am doing is enough.

So just as in triathlon, I’ve been working on my preparation for the big ‘day’. I’ve been working on my physical being – training most days to help prepare my body as best as physically possible for what it will endure through labour. I’ve also been working on my mental being. Visualising, learning techniques to self manage pain, understanding whats available to me and simply educating myself as best as possible. Just as in triathlon. Even though there will most likely be times when I’ll feel like I can’t go on any longer and I’ll want to give up, I’ll remind myself what is waiting at the finish line and I’ll know I can’t give up when I’m so close.

Once I reach the ‘finish line’, I actually haven’t planned out in great detail what things will look like when bubs arrives, why? Because I have no idea what it will look like. And I am ok with that. First and foremost for me is about getting to the start line in my best shape possible. And for me that means I’m as happy, healthy and stress free as possible,the rest will take care of itself. And at the moment I feel like I’m doing pretty well!

I’ve received lots of advice along the way and these resonate with me – both in preparing for motherhood, and for Ironman…..

  • Listen and take advice from others, but ultimately do what feels right to you. 
  • Have a team of support people with you and beside you that you can rely on and lean on – you don’t have to do it alone. 
  • Have a process and a goal, but be flexible with your plan otherwise you will set yourself up for disappointment.
  • There will be challenges, there will be great days and there will be hard days. Days when you feel like you just want to hide under the doona and not come out. And that’s ok. We are human.
  • Don’t compare yourself to others. Period.
  • If all else fails, stick to what feels right to you, listen to yourself, what is ultimately the right thing for your health, well-being and happiness and it will work out. 
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Can I still call myself a triathlete?

Follow Coach Sarah as she shares her training and racing journey. She will share not only what her training looks like, but her day to day nutrition, recovery, the mental side of training, the 1%rs, the ups and the downs, her favourite sessions, break throughs, realisations and now,her journey with a bub on the way! She will show you that training to your optimal performance doesn’t have to mean spending every spare hour training or every waking moment tired….

Sometimes I question – can I still call myself a triathlete at the moment? I’m not training hard, I’m not following a specific structured plan, I’m not racing. So how can I still call myself a triathlete? And what even defines someone as a triathlete? It seems silly really that we can even question ourselves, but I guess that’s the nature of being human right?!

I remember conversations I’ve had with athletes over the years and they down play labelling themselves a ‘triathlete’ by saying things like ‘I’m not a triathlete, I just do triathlons‘ as if their ability, fitness, skill or experience means they aren’t worthy of calling themselves a triathlete.

A definition of a triathlete is someone who competes in triathlon. So anyone who trains for triathlons and toes the start line in my eyes is a triathlete – no matter your ability or finishing time. Just like any other sport. SO keeping that in mind, I remind myself that yes, I am still a triathlete. And although it may be more than 12 months between my last race in December 2016, and my planned racing return in 2018, everything that I am doing now is helping me to not just support the growth and development of my growing bump, it is also ensuring I remain fit, healthy and capable of returning to ‘proper’ triathlon training once bubs arrives. My partner and I already joke that when bubs does arrive that I will be passing the baton that quickly that I’ll be out the door before I have barely had time to register the baby is here! (Well maybe not to that extreme, but I’ll definitely be keen to join back in bunch rides as soon as my body allows!)

So even though I won’t be racing this year, I thought it would be interesting to share what training looks like for me – nearly 6 months pregnant. 6 months! That’s a little scary when I think about it! But honestly there is not much that my body can’t do that it wasn’t doing before, so I don’t see it as much of a hindrance at all, and I’m certainly not using it as an excuse to not continue training.

Each week for me looks different, and although training isn’t my highest priority, it’s still a priority for me. There are not many days in a month that I don’t move my body in some way. My plan is to look at my training as a reverse periodisation. I was at my peak in December 2016 when I last raced, and instead of looking at it like I’m gradually loosing fitness, I’m viewing the decrease in load and intensity with a purpose and with a goal in mind. For me – this goal is to remain as fit and healthy as possible right up to when bubs is born. But in doing so, the de-load in training will occur gradually over each month all while listening to my body. I’m currently now training around 10 hours a week, which has dropped from around 14hours a month ago.

My training week at 6 months pregnant: 

1-2 x 1hr windtrainer sessions a week, with a mix of aerobic endurance,strength and short high intensity efforts
(I’m not afraid of putting my body through short high intensity work given it has always been used to it)
1 x 1+hr MTB trail ride (for fun!)
2 x 30-60min easy aerobic runs
1 x 1hr pilate session
2 x 1/2hr home based S&C sessions
2-3x 1+hr walks a week
Total: 8-10hrs of training a week.

The above training is working really well and I’m feeling strong and healthy. Each session I still always listen to my body and don’t push it when it doesn’t want to be pushed. Some days I’ll plan to go for a run but I start out and it turns into a run/walk or sometimes a walk, simply because that’s what my body tells me it wants that day. I don’t fight it, I just roll with it, knowing that tomorrow I could feel totally different. Just as when I’m in full training, it’s imperative that I listen to what my body is telling me. My legs sore? Back stiff? Do I need some extra rolling/ stretching? Or even a massage? Tired/fatigued? Do I need to back it off? Have a day off?  Am I fuelling enough? With the right foods? At the right times? Continually assessing and reassessing how I’m feeling and training and fueling intuitively is important, regardless of the phase or type of training your in.

So, I look at my training now as a really long build into a race. Laying down the foundations and the building blocks to a strong, robust body that is capable of re-introducing the load when it’s time, and not before. So technically I’m having ‘time off’ from racing, but the foundations are still being laid for my next race- no matter how far away that race is.

And so that’s when I reflected and compared this to when many other athletes have time off from structured training and racing. If you want to be in the sport for a long time, then this time is crucial to refresh the mind and the body, but where some athletes go wrong is during ‘time off’ structured training, they really let themselves go. They have been training vigorously throughout the season and then as soon as the season is over it’s like bang. Stop! No training (or exercise), nutrition goes out the window, health isn’t a priority as they feel like they have ‘earned’ the right to let everything go.

So no wonder it feels so hard to get back into the groove. You stop for a few weeks and you’ve de-conditioned your heart, your lungs and your legs. Your VO2 max significantly decreases after just 2 weeks of stopping exercising, along with your lactate threshold and aerobic endurance. Your muscle mass starts to decrease (although not at as high rate) and with this – your strength. Don’t get me wrong it’s super important to have down time after a key race or a season, but just like any healthy human being, our bodies are designed to move, so some form of daily movement is what our bodies want and should give them. That can be as simple as going for a walk!  (why is it that so many triathlete find walking so difficult??!)

So no matter the phase of the training program you are in, ensure you are still listening to your body and remaining consistent. That doesn’t mean you have to train hard all year round, it means to stay consistent with training and remaining healthy and your body will thank you for it when you ask it to push hard again. You will have a far easier time getting back into the harder training and far less chance of injury and illness.

And if it’s you having some extended time off racing, no matter your reason, know that if you still have a plan and still have a goal, no matter how far away that may be, you ARE still a triathlete. 😉

Happy training,
Coach Sarah

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When training becomes an addiction

When training becomes an addiction

Follow Coach Sarah as she shares her training and racing journey. She will share not only what her training looks like, but her day to day nutrition, recovery, the mental side of training, the 1%rs, the ups and the downs, her favourite sessions, break throughs, realisations and now,her journey with a bub on the way! She will show you that training to your optimal performance doesn’t have to mean spending every spare hour training or every waking moment tired….

21 weeks – over halfway, when did that happen?! It seems like only a couple of weeks ago I shared with the world that my next big event on the calendar was going to be having a little mini-me! And since then, there has been a plethora of pro-triathletes who have also announced their pregnancies, Mirinda Carfrae being my number one favourite! 🙂 It has been exciting following these amazing women on social media sharing their journeys to motherhood while still remaining fit, healthy and kicking goals while I too try and find my balance and the changes happening in my body.

For me, I can say in general I’ve still been feeling great. It honestly took me a good 4 months to really even feel like a little human was growing inside of me. (of which I still feel a little weirded out about!) ;-p But in the last month I’ve definitely noticed the shift and the changes slowly sneaking up on me. But it wasn’t the slow and gradual changes in my body, it wasn’t coming to terms with needing to slow down, it wasn’t the shifts in energy and nutrients my body craved that I wasn’t ready for. This was something I hadn’t expected and wasn’t prepared for. It silently starting creeping up on me, subtly and so subconsciously that I was totally oblivious until it hit me.

An ‘addiction’ – or an obsession, which ever way you want to term it had made it’s way back into my life, with pregnancy being the catalyst. It formed in the same way as it had previously – slowly and subtly, without me even realising it, until I was right in the midst of it. This addiction had made a profound impact on my health before, and I could see and feel it happening again. I thought that it was in the past, and it wasn’t until just recently, nearly half way through my pregnancy that I realised it had reared its head again. I thought I had ‘cured’ myself from this addiction/obsession, but then I realised, that just like any addiction, we aren’t ever ‘cured’, there are triggers that can set it off and mine was set in motion. I’m just glad I got hold of it before it took over again.

I wasn’t addicted to the usual things people are addicted to, like food, or alcohol, I was addicted to training. To the idea that the more I trained the fitter I would become, the stronger I would be, the more I would achieve. I was obsessed with looking at what I had done last week, or last year and wanting to do more than that. So I trained more. (a rookie error by many athletes) And at first, it served me well. I improved dramatically (as anyone would with an increased training load) but as with any addiction, over time, it becomes all consuming. It was the first thing I thought about when waking, and the last thing I worried about before going to sleep. I’d sneak in an extra 10min ontop of a programmed run, do an extra sneaky ride, if I missed a training session, I would go into panic mode that I’d loose my fitness, or put on weight and I felt like I ‘had’ to train twice as much the next day to make up for it. I wasn’t in control of myself anymore, I became a prisoner in my own thoughts and the stories I was telling myself until my body couldn’t cope with it anymore.

So after 12months away from the sport, self reflection and rebuilding my health, I was proud of myself of being able to find a happy healthy balance again, and another 12 months later I worked my way back to Long Course racing and returned to the sport at Ironman Western Australia.

But fast forward 4 months from then, and I found myself with similar thought patterns to those I had 3+ years ago. Although now being 20 weeks pregnant, and still feeling strong and capable, I found myself each week looking at what I did last week and wanting to do more.

I was training up to 15hrs a week, twice a day most days. I was starting to get more tired, but I ignored the signs, as I ‘had’ to go out and train. But it wasn’t until my body forced me to slow down that I realised what I was doing. I wasn’t training for my health, or for improvements, I found myself training because I felt I needed too, I felt compelled to. I compared myself to my previous, and couldn’t let go of that need. I needed to do more, wanted to do more, felt like I had to do more.

I was again afraid of loosing my fitness and of gaining weight, and I thought with that, I would loose my identity. This then transgressed to instead of making me feel better – as exercise should, I was feeling worse. I was feeling more tired, stuck, controlled and addicted. I was becoming a slave to the training and to exercise. The worst thing about it happening this time was, it wasn’t just going to be my own health that I was impacting, I needed to consider the little being depending on me… and that’s when it really hit home.

So, just as I did those few years ago, it was time to put into play what I had learnt before. To be kind to myself and to my body, particularly now that my body isn’t just for me, it is for the little human growing inside of me.

To appreciate my body in what it can do, but to not take advantage of it. To always have my mental and physical health at the forefront of my mind, but not to let it rule me.

To nourish my body, to support not only my exercise and my health, but also my growing bump. And most importantly to love myself and the changes my body is going through – which when you sit down and think about it, is massive!

I wanted to share these thoughts, as I know many athletes would relate to this. Athletes that may also have similar destructive thought patterns and beliefs in their training and their health.  Don’t think that being ruled by your training is sustainable. It can be for a period of time, but our bodies are far smarter than a lot of us give them credit for. Our bodies can take the toll for a period of time – some longer than others, but if you don’t regain a balance throughout the year, if you don’t listen to the signs, then guaranteed at some point it will come back to bite you. It could be through injury, illness, fatigue, burnout – none of which are fun at all.  No one wants to have forced time off training, be grateful for everything your body allows you to do, while taking care of it. The better you get at listening to your body and being in tune with it, the better it will work for you.

So if you feel like you are controlled by your training/exercise, if you are suffering from fatigue, injury or illness but continue to train anyway, then ask for help – from a Coach, from a friend, from a professional that you can discuss your feelings with understanding and support. You will be glad you did.

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My next big event

Follow Coach Sarah as she shares her training and racing journey. She will share not only what her training looks like, but her day to day nutrition, recovery, the mental side of training, the 1%rs, the ups and the downs, her favourite sessions, break throughs, realisations and more. She will show you that training to your optimal performance doesn’t have to mean spending every spare hour training or every waking moment tired….

It’s been over 3 months since my return to racing at IM Western Australia 70.3. A race that I looked forward to for so long and that went pretty much to plan. I could not have been happier! Post race I had some loose plans on ‘what was next’. But I wanted to ensure first and foremost my recovery was my number 1 priority before jumping straight back on the long course band wagon.

So post race, I enjoyed some down time to recover – which went super well and was feeling great just a couple of weeks after. A HUGE improvement on previous years when it would take anywhere up to 3 months to fully recover. I actually had to try and hold myself back – which as any athlete knows, is hard to do! Port Macquarie Half Ironman was my next target race and that was still 5 months away. So I pulled back and held back. Sitting back in my aerobic zone, working again on strength endurance – the key to racing strong in long course.
But just as quick as I felt good, I started to feel tired again. I found sessions a little harder and recovery a little slower. So I backed it off thinking maybe I hadn’t recovered as well as I thought I had. A few more weeks and then I realised a big change was ahead of me. My body was changing. It wasn’t the same as before and I’d have to change my race plans and aim for something new.
SO instead of being in final preparations for my next Half Ironman in Port Macquarie, I’m prepping for something much bigger now.
The event I’m now aiming for is early September and I have no doubt it will be far more challenging, a lot harder but at the same time way more satisfying than any other event or race I’ve competed in before. And I’m excited and maybe a little scared at the same time. For this one isn’t just about me anymore. This one is about a little human being that will be arriving early September, an event that I have 6 more months to prepare for. And I’m ready to embrace every part of the journey to motherhood… (eek!)
I’ve already had similar emotions and doubts to those I remember in prepping for my first Ironman. Am I ready for this? Can I do this? Ok I can do this. Argh. I know nothing about this! How am I going to do this. (And breath…) An exciting, scary, daunting but amazing journey all rolled into one.
I don’t know any other full time female triathlon coaches who have gone through the transition to motherhood – balancing their health, training and coaching all in one (if you do let me know!) but I intend to use my experience not only as learning for myself but further learning so I can share with other female athletes (and coaches!)
So far, everything has gone along smoothly. I’m training as much as I was before, but the intensity (and pace!) has certainly dropped. And to be honest that was the hardest thing to grasp to begin with – I’ve even had a few tearies with my partner exclaiming to him ‘I just can’t go fast anymore!” as I came to the realisation that my body was changing and it was getting ready for something far bigger than an Ironman!
Acceptance of this for me will be the key. Knowing that my body is now serving another purpose and putting as much energy and focus into that as I do my racing. And as I have always done I’ll be listening to my body and using my intuition to know when to go easier, when to have a day off, when to rest and recover. But all along my aim will be maintaining my health and happiness while creating the healthiest environment for the little being growing inside of me.
I can’t wait to share my new journey with you as  I aim to share the highs and the lows. The challenges, doubts and the milestones. It’s going to be an amazing ride! 🙂
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Where it all started

“Triathlon isn’t who you are, it’s what you do. Triathlon shouldn’t define your worth, or be a means to prove yourself. Triathlon should be part of a lifestyle not take over your life. Everyone’s goals will be different, but those goals shouldn’t compromise your health and happiness.”

For anyone who has asked me, I have shared some of my story. Where I started and why, what drives and motivates me, what gets me out of bed in the morning. But what I haven’t shared until recently is the the tough parts of training for triathlon and Ironman. The bits that are hidden, unspoken, assumed not there. But for me, a few years ago, for 2 years (as an athlete) were extremely tough, I fought against my body for 2 years until I couldn’t fight any longer. I didn’t give up – it was far from that. What I did was went in search for answers. Answers to why I was tired ALL the time. Why I was fatigued, emotional, stressed, and why I couldn’t recover well. I had for so long gotten used to feeling like this that I had nearly come to accept it. But I knew it wasn’t normal, and I knew it was more than just the training load, so I kept looking until I found the answers and until I had a solution……

Our bodies aren’t machines, although we’d like to think they are, and we often treat them accordingly. But it took me to a point of collapsing into an emotional heap to prove that no one is invincible. Especially not me.

Our bodies are very complex, they are individual, and they need to be treated with the respect. They need to be listened to, understood, cared for and looked after. In the past I can be forgiven for taking advantage of mine. I’ve pushed it to its absolute brink, I failed to listen to it when it was screaming time and time again to stop. And the only way it knew how to stop me was to break down. For me, that breakdown first started in the form of injuries. I’m lucky not to have had many soft tissue issues during my 9years of triathlon, but I have had 3 stress fractures in 5 years. Two in my shines, and one in my femur. A classic sign that the body wasn’t coping with the load. And a classic sign of an athlete not listening to their body (or coach!). Each time I was a little bit smarter, learning more about my body on what was enough and what was too much. But when you are as driven, and dedicated and passionate as I have been to achieve the ultimate success in triathlon, sometimes you ignore those signs and so you live with the consequences.

So as my body healed from these, I continued my training, I was relatively injury free, managing my body well. Or so I thought. What I didn’t realise was I was actually slowly deteriorating my body from the inside out. I was constantly tired, forever feeling like a walking zombie. There were not many days in 2012/2013 that I don’t remember not needing a nap during the day. Sometimes that nap would be 10min and i’d be good to go again, other days I could sleep for 3hrs and still feel not just tired, but extremely exhausted. I say to people that I actually can’t remember much of my 2012/2013 season. A season that was my biggest and included my first Ironman and 2 world championship races. But all I remember from that time was training, sleeping and trying my hardest to work in between.

My brain was foggy, I found it extremely difficult to focus and even harder to remember things. Each day rolled into the next, each week was another week gone by, but I was losing count. I wasn’t living, I was simply existing and I had no idea how to break out of it.

I went to the doctors for blood tests and as usual came back with ‘You have low iron but everything else seems normal. Maybe you should eat more red meat’. I wanted to fist palm the doctor in the face. Was he actually listening to me? Was he even caring? I’d had low iron before and this was different. I physically couldn’t function normally day to day and how I continued through the year is beyond me, let alone continue to train and race.

I was then recommended to see a dietician, ‘maybe you aren’t eating enough’. I knew I ate a lot for my size and training volume but I was at a loss, so I reluctantly organised a consult. To my berwilderment, I was simply recommended to have extra calories any way I could, including in the form of Up and Go, bread and honey, and the like. I knew it baffled me at the time, but at the same time I was desperate so I went along with the plan. Not surprisingly it didn’t help one bit so I continued into my downward spiral.

I remember driving down to a training camp in 2012 and I was physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. I felt like my body wasn’t my own, I could barely keep my eyes open let alone fathom coaching and training for 3 days straight. ‘What am I doing?’ I asked myself, and my partner at the time. ‘Why do I feel so damn tired all the time’ and I burst into tears. I was at a loss to what was going on and I didn’t have the support network around me to help me understand.

Just a month later I was due to head over to Vegas for the Half Ironman World Championships. I was supposed to feel on top of the world, I should have been jumping out of my skin to race, but instead I was slowly but surely fading away. I was again in tears just a week before the race, I was probably at my lowest point. A 5km easy run felt like a marathon, the amount of effort it took to put one foot in front of the other was enormous. ‘How am I going to do this?’ I questioned myself again.

Luckily though I had a week leading into the race and I could sleep and rest as much as I wanted and needed. It was just enough to revive my body to race, what I describe as my toughest race to date. The relief after the race wasn’t just the physical relief of completing a half ironman in searing 45deg heat, it was the emotional relief of getting to the finish line in one piece without physically and mentally falling to pieces.
You can read more about my race here.

It took me 2months to ‘recover’ from that race, and I say recover as I use the term loosely. I was never 100%, but I had my first ironman to train for so the journey started again. The plans were quickly derailed though, as my third stress fracture reared its head and put me out for those two months in late 2012, missing Noosa Olympic, Shepparton Half and Busselton Ironman which was to be my first full Ironman. A very expensive injury! Looking back, it was a blessing in disguise, but at the time I simply thought my body was failing me, and that when the injury healed I’d have to train even harder.

So after 2 months off, I got back into training and set my sights on Ironman Melbourne 2013 as my first Ironman. I’d convinced myself now that I wasn’t going to race this Ironman for myself, but for my athletes. To understand the process of training and racing an Ironman, to understand what it took, the sacrifices, the ups and the downs. And what a roller coaster it was. On the outside, not many knew what I was going through other than those close to me. I put on a hard shell when it comes to showing my emotions particularly with my training buddies and fellow athletes. I’m supposed to be strong and encouraging and there for those around me, which I was, but that in itself was draining me that little bit more. So I ended up doing most of my training by myself or with a very small select group of athletes. I isolated myself for self preservation. I supported and encouraged and guided and motivated the rest of my athletes, but to ensure I got to the start line I felt I had to conserve as much energy as I could, as the tank was slowly but surely being emptied.

In my emotional state I sought support from Dane from The Performance and Sports Psychology Clinic, the only person I felt I could talk to about my fears, my concerns and my doubts of being able to get to the start line. Although he wasn’t able to solve my issues of severe fatigue, he was able to help me control my mind when I was at my worst.

I mentioned briefly to a fellow athlete that I didn’t know if I could get to the start line at IM Melbourne and he laughed. ‘You’re the strongest girl I’ve trained with you will smash it’. Little did he know that the will to keep going was continually fading, my body was strong, but something else wasn’t right. Mentally and emotionally I was drained beyond existence.

There were tears and tantrums, good days but more bad, days of feeling invincible, and others of not being able to get off the couch. I was on a roller coaster ride and didn’t know how to get off.

Needless to say, I went on to race my first Ironman at Melbourne and although I didn’t doubt my ability, I managed to finish 3rd and qualify for the Hawaii Ironman World Championships. Not through luck, but sheer determination and bloody hard work.

The relief was enormous. I didn’t get the huge buzz though that people talk about when crossing the finishing line of your first Ironman, for me it was sheer relief. And in fact I don’t remember much about the race at all. To me the race ended up being a process of getting from point A to point B, and I had no desire to do another one… Until I found out I qualified for Kona, which changed those plans.

So another 6 weeks off post Ironman and I forced myself back into training. ‘If I survive this winter it’s going to be a miracle’ I remember thinking at the time. And at times it was. From the outside looking in, others wouldn’t have known, but it was a huge struggle getting to Kona. A constant battle of training, fatigue and recovery. I hid it well from others for the fear of looking weak. If only I knew how to reach out sooner, the journey could have been totally different.

I don’t regret going to Kona for one moment as it was an amazing experience, but I do feel like I lost a year of my life in getting there. I missed birthdays, births, celebrations, friends, and at times happiness simply because the only energy I had left in me was focused on that one race and that one goal. I had made it toKona – how could I not race?!

So I made a promise to myself that after Kona I would find a solution, I would go in search of answers, I would rest my body and I would have fun. I’d give up competitive racing until I had found the answers and until I was healthy and happy again.

And to get to that point it took me 15months. It took weeks of complete rest, and discovering my bodies needs. It took discipline to do nothing for ‘fear of getting fat’, but at the same time I knew it was what my body craved.

I was put in touch with Naturopath Dianne Scranton from Balanced by Nature. A woman who took the time to get to know me and my body and testing me for more than just ‘iron levels’. And the results were interesting to say the least! My cortisol levels were way out of whack, alarm bells went off with signs of adrenal fatigue which is why I was crashing after sessions. My levels were high when they should have been low and low when they should have been high. My body didn’t know what it was supposed to do and when. We also discovered I have a mutation of a gene called MTHFR which has also been contributing to my hormonal and adrenal issues and why I’ve been struggling to recover.

We started managing these things through a specific nutritional and supplement plan – not simply just eating more or getting stuck into more steak. It’s specific and measured and designed for me and my needs. I’ve been practising a high fat, low(er) carb diet, minimising gluten, along with specific supplements and improving my gut health and the results in just 6 weeks were amazing.

Most people don’t realise how good their bodies are designed to feel, and I was one of them. I now know what it should feel like and it is amazing!

Through this experience, my training philosophy and outlook totally changed . Finding a balanced approach in training, racing and life in general is of utmost important to me now and I stress that to my athletes also. Triathlon isn’t who you are, it’s what you do. Triathlon shouldn’t define your worth, or be a means to prove yourself. Triathlon should be part of a lifestyle not take over your life. Everyone’s goals will be different, but those goals shouldn’t compromise your health and happiness.

So I am excited to be sharing my experiences and my passion as it encompasses all that I believe in. And I’m excited to share that with as many people as I possibly can to ensure each of you can continue to enjoy this amazing sport for years to come.

Happy Training & Racing
Coach Sarah
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