Lisa didn't miss a session through the winter months and is reaping the rewards now.
Next up is the big dance at Ironman Western Australia!!
Well done Lisa. You have some very proud coaches!!
Mandurah 70.3.
Qualifying for Kona!
Race day was finally a few days away & was the most calm i have ever been during race week. Excited actually!! Really excited! Ready to R n R.
Andy and i packed Friday night, with Henry our boxer pup 'unpacking' for us as he picked things up, out of the room and ran outside with them.
A good nights sleep found me waking up early as usual so I got my pre ride and run done before heading off at lunch time to Mandurah.
Checking into transition it was hot!! Tomorrow was going to be tough!!
Race morning.
Transition done, wetty on, good luck kiss from my now fiancé! and off to the swim start with Kate, Mum and Dad feeling excited. I had a quick chat to Guy before I entered the water and wasn't really nervous but felt a big expectation on my shoulders due to a bit of pressure I had put on myself. I have never stood at a start line with my personal goal to win my AG although the ultimate goal was to get a good hit out for Busso IM, but i wanted to be first!!
I positioned my self just behind some quick toes for the start. The gun went and we were off. It was fast and I pushed hard to get some clear water before the leading 5-6 girls pulled away. A good, comfortable solo swim and i has happy to exit up those stairs with out stacking it. I reached transition with one girl in my age at her bike. I had a quick friendly 'chat' before cya… i was out of there leaving T1 to my 'screaming' fans, Mum and Dad!!
I pushed hard out. It was windy. Real windy. I was thankful to reach the turn around and to have a tail wind pushing me on the return. At one point I could see this lanky giraffe running in the distance… it was Guy and he cheered me on!! The turn around heading out onto the second lap was great and again lots of support which i appreciate so much. The second lap, more pain out, joy back :-)
I ran though T2 like there was no tomorrow!! Put my shoes on to run out but quickly realised i had collected some prickles in my socks and wiped them off to clean them out!!
I felt good on the run straight away. Comfortable and in the zone. It was hot though and I really felt that. Water, Ice, water. I think the aid stations where my highlight!! By the second lap I still felt strong so I just went for it, trying to finish strongly. I heard a motorbike next to me, initially seeing the bike from the corner of my eye thinking they are keeping an eye on me for drafting. After remembering I was on the run I realised they where filming me running and i felt a little like a rock star!! Seeing Kate and Guy with 2km's to go was great. Im so grateful to have them cheering me on and I loved every second of their support.
It felt like forever running up the small return before heading down to the finish line but i could not stop smiling!!!
First in the 18-24 AG with a 4.39.51 and proud to be 4th Female amateur across the line today. Super, super stocked!! And yes, a spot to Kona which i quite happily took. :-)
I went straight through the recovery area out to find my mum and dad an other family friends that came down to support. Its their support that is the highlight for me and gets you through these tough days. I will never forget how proud my mum n dad were as they ran looking for me to give me a huge hug!! It was awesome :-) Then time to cheer on Mark, Andy and Kate. :-) A long day in the sun!!
Andy had a great race getting back into some training after many months off after IM Cairns. My twinny 2nd with a spot to Kona also and my sister finished her half in a great time. I'm super happy for her. My remaining IM training buddies had a great day and thanks to Jono, Sean and Macca for pushing me on these training days which reflected in my race result today!!
GKE. awesome coaching, awesome training, awesome friends = awesome result. Couldn't be happier :-)
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