2 Days Before Race Day – (Friday)

So, here I am sitting in my hotel – The Seebichl Hotel – which is in a perfect location, at the top of the hill which is on the bike course, thank you sis for finding such a great hotel and location. Today, I have been around the swim and the bike course. Swimming in the Schwarzsee lake, the water temp was around 20.2, I was in my wetsuit but it felt very warm however, that wasn’t to last, as later on in the day at around 3pm the rain came down, and as timing would have it, if it rains at this time on Sunday it’ll be as we’re on the bike. Great!

Going around the bike course today we had a police escort for the whole two laps and I have to say that it is the best bike course I have done this year. It’s not just your bog standard flat loop, there is a hill just out of transition and technical section through the town on both the roads and cobble stones, which I’m sure will make the race interesting on the bike.

This afternoon I’ve just been chilling, watched American Gangster – good film – with Carrie and then watched some of the younger Austrian triathlons doing their mini-triathlon whilst sipping a coffee. Watching the younger ones cycling up and down the hill from my hotel did make me smile. They looked so cute, on what looked to be huge bikes, with their helmets falling off their heads, covering their eyes reminded me of my first triathlon… but we won’t go there.

Day Before Race Day (Saturday)

Went for a little run this morning down by the course and my legs didn’t feel as good as yesterday, but felt okay on the stride, so was happy and then had a lovely breakfast at our hotel with mum, dad and Carrie. The eggs are lovely here, some say I’m easily pleased but the yokes of the egg are bright orange, so that’s how I now they are nice and fresh. So I tucked in to my breakfast, and then went for a swim at the race hotel’s pool with Clarke Ellis from NZ, Stuart and Will which was pretty picture perfect to be honest. They have got a 48m swimming pool on the 7th (top) floor, with all glass windows surrounding it so you can swim and look at the amazing views of the mountains, it’s pretty amazing.

Now I am just relaxing before I take a spin down to the start, to take a look at the in’s and out’s of transition and then I will sit outside my hotel for a bit and watch the men’s bike as they come up the hill. The sun seems to be trying to break through slightly between the clouds, so I am hoping it will stay the same for our race to be honest as it will make the bike a lot safer, I’ve had too many crashes in the rain from inexperienced rider’s thanks. I’m not too bothered if it’s a wetsuit swim or not to be honest, but I would just like it to be dry, either way, I’m sure this will be a great race.

So, I’m just finishing watching the men’s run on my laptop and OH MY GOD MR STUART HAYES YOUR ARE A TRUE LEGEND! The guy who has just won the Kitzbuhel World Championship Series Race is my training partner and I am so proud of him. He has just proven, that even if some people don’t want to help you achieve your dreams, there are always people around that will, and with Team Dillon we have a supporting group around us that are the best and I am so pleased for Stu, he totally deserves his win today! BIG CONGRATULATIONS!

Now, let’s see how I go tomorrow.

Race day in Kitzbuhel

I have defiantly been experiencing the rollercoaster ride of racing recently, with the bad race of London Hyde Park to the second in the London Triathlon to the thing I hate the most, the DNF in Kitzbuhel. So, here’s the (short) story…

I was number 32, which didn’t give me a great start on the pontoon, but I know I was swimming okay so I wasn’t too concerned. I dived in and got battered a bit to the first buoy (again), and found myself just of the first pack at the 750m turn around point just behind Nicola Spirig and Barbara Riveros, but I could see the front pack as I dived in so dug in hard, and managed to bridge the small gap onto the back of the front pack which is a much nicer place to be. Then I sprinted up and down the ramp into T1 had a smooth transition, out in the lead pack with quite a big pack of about 22 girls. The bike wasn’t the hardest of paces, but the undulating bike course made it challenging. I felt good up the hills and found myself naturally going to the front but then on the decent through the tunnel Helen Jenkins would lay the pace down, so it was a matter of hanging onto her wheel, which I can tell you was not easy.

On lap five of six, the worst luck started and my back wheel punctured but there was still hope, with me not being too far from the wheel stop I a changed my back wheel and started again, but I was a minute plus down from the front group who were moving. The Nicola Spirig train was coming up behind me, so I jumped on but could tell I was losing time, and the adrenaline from stopping, changing my wheel and starting again, my legs were hurting, but with one lap to go, with the gap to the leaders being around 1 minute 30 seconds, I was in the mind set of “Okay, I can still run some girls down, lets GO!”. THEN I soon realised that lady luck was not on my side, with yet again, the wheel I had just changed puncturing again! It obviously wasn’t meant for me today. I was too far away from the transition area were the wheel stop was. DAY DONE!

I rimed it back to T2 and watched group by group go by, pi**ed off does not put it into words enough. I saw Dad, Carrie, Michelle and Stuart, handed them my stuff, grabbed my running trainers and went for a run.

The highs and lows of triathlon, oh well, onwards and upwards, next up for me is the Lausanne World Sprint Championship Race next weekend (Saturday).

Thanks for tuning in xxx

Related categories: 2012, Athletics, Jodie Stimpson, Olympics

So, I was on a bit of a downer after London Hyde Park, as I really wanted to have a good race on the modified Olympic course, and starting off with a bad swim was only the beginning of a hard day at the office. Lessons were learnt during the race and I went into the following week ready for some tough, hard core, balls in the wheelie bin sessions with Michelle and Stuart.

Stuart had a fantastic race at Hyde Park, which to be honest has been long overdue, he is the most hard working triathlete I know, and to have him alongside me to train with is a privilege. Stuart is like a big brother, rolled into a training partner, rolled into a teacher, who I am always learning off and for him to have a good race at Hyde Park on home turf really did make up for my shocker of a weekend.

So from one end of London to another for the Challenger London Triathlon at the ExCel centre. I had done some decent times in training, which I think I needed to get my confidence back, so I was ready to race. Kirsty (a good mate) came around and braided my hair for me on Friday evening which got me into race mode, and then I travelled up to London on Saturday ready for the race on Sunday.

The weather hadn’t been what I was hoping for in the lead up to London, and it looked like it was going to be a wetsuit swim, which I wasn’t looking forward to if I’m honest, as I hadn’t used it at all this year. Anyway, race morning came and the sun was shining. I was stood around with the other elite women, waiting for the juniors to start their race and I couldn’t wait to get in the water to cool down – it gets pretty hot in that wetsuit when the sun is beaming down – bit of a change in climate from the day before when it was raining, but that’s good old British weather for you.

I was next to the best in the water, Helen Jenkins, Liz Blatchford, Vicky Holland and Kerry Lang – as you can see, not a bad GB women’s field. The horn sounded, the rope lifted and we were off, the women stayed in a line for a few 100m but then Helen found clear water and went off to the front on her own, and I swam the first 700m next to Liz, just behind Abbie Thorrington and a few other women.

Around the top buoy and on our way back, I tried to move around Abbie but ended up swimming next to her for the rest of the swim. I exited the water with her, about 15 seconds behind Helen and Liz.

I got into T1 and had a smooth transition and jumped straight on the bike where I was in time trial mode to try and catch Liz and Helen. This would have been easier if my legs were there with me on the bike but I think I left them back in transition. I could see Liz on her own out in front but not Helen, I managed to catch Liz but then the chasing pack which contained Kerry, Vicky and about four other women caught me, and then the chase was on to get Helen.

The group didn’t work great but we managed to catch Helen at the first turn around point but no sooner as we had completed that task, everyone seemed to sit up and were concentrating on taking in the sights of London – very frustrating. It then became pretty obvious it was going to be a running race, and I was hoping my legs would be waiting in transition where I left them.

Leading up to the London Triathlon, one of my aims was to get out of T2 with Helen, she is the top GB women at the moment, and I wanted to see where I was running wise against her, as she is not only GB number, but one of the best and most consistent in the world. I don’t think this race it was meant to be, I didn’t feel my normal self going out of T2, but I gave it a blast and lead for the first lap of four. I was hoping to get into my running stride, but if you’re not on top form, and trying to run with Helen, you’re in for a tough day at the office, and going out onto the second lap, Helen showed why she is one of the best in the world and started to get away from me. I finished second behind Helen, with Liz Blatchford finished third.

I’m pleased with how I raced, and am looking forward to the next few weeks where I am racing Kitzbuhel WCR then Lausanne World Sprint Champs.

It’s been a good weekend, with a smile back on my face; I’ve got to say Happy Birthday to my big sis Carrie who was 23 on Saturday, and my best friend Claire Hipkiss who was 21 on Monday.

Love ya all xxx

Related categories: 2012, Athletics, Jodie Stimpson, Olympics

So, it’s Saturday morning and I have just come back from a lovely run in Hyde Park. The course is up and running with Dextro Energy banners up, and all the marshals out. It gives me such a thrill.

The week’s preparation has been great. I got such a huge confidence boost from last weekend’s win. Knowing that I am swimming, cycling and running well going into a race is such a great feeling, but with this weekend’s field I knew it would be the toughest to date, but hey ho, that is what makes the race.

So, my journey to London started off with me driving down to Stuart’s parent’s house on Thursday morning, ready for the race briefing at 5pm. There was a GB team meeting and dinner at 6.45pm, after the race briefing but with me and Stuart not being able to afford another nights’ accommodation, it would have been silly not to just go back to his parent’s house and chill there.

Don’t get me wrong, I am so proud to be part of the GB team, and it fills me with pride to have GBR on my chest when I race, but I am not part of the British Triathlon Squad. They do not fund me, they do not help or support me, so I didn’t want to sit around a table with these people, when I could go and have dinner with Michelle, Stuart and the rest of Team Dillon.

Without getting into too much detail, words were exchanged between myself and the BTF, which I will not go into at this time. However, I will say, I did get very upset but Michelle soon sorted me out. This just proves, yet again, what a great support I have around me with Team Dillon and my family. I know these people believe in me and will be with me all the way to 2012 and beyond.

On the other hand, as always, there are some people who I feel don’t want to help or support me, and just seem to just want to make things difficult and try to put things in my way. This is just my feelings at the moment, and I hope I don’t feel this way forever.

I would like to point out that, I am not using what happened on Thursday night as an excuse for my performance on Saturday, it just wasn’t my day, but it did make me feel so angry afterwards.

Moving on, after my training was done on Friday morning we moved into the hotel, which was so close I could throw a brick from window and it would land right into Hyde Park. Carrie, the accommodation was perfect; cheap, close location, and big rooms, and I can tell you, in London, this is hard to find. Thanks sis!

Race Day

So, race morning, after I got back from my little morning run with Michelle, it was time to chill out and watch TV, have a quick look on Facebook and pass some time, the sun was out, lovely and warm already, and London WCR is awaiting.

I felt great in the swim warm up and was really ready to race. I was in a good mind set and not too nervous. Going onto the pontoon I wasn’t in the best position, ranked number 37 which meant I was placed in the middle, but I wasn’t too far away from Laura Bennett and was right next to Annabel.

The swim started and I was going fine until the first buoy and then things started to change, I have to say this was the worst swim I have ever been in, going around the first buoy I got absolutely battered.

I was being pulled left, right and centre and just couldn’t move anywhere. I panicked slightly, probably down to lack of oxygen then eventually managed to get around the first buoy, this is where the battle really commenced.

I had to try and get myself back into a decent rhythm, so I was swimming down the outside in an attempt to swim up, I was making some ground but with the girls up front really pushing the pace. It was always going to be hard but I tried swimming through on the next lap, but just couldn’t make enough ground on the main girls.

Into and out of T1, I was fine and as I looked up, I saw Nicola Spirig just in front, I thought to myself great someone to work with to get up to the main field, but there was this shiny material on the floor, which I found out after was Skins branding which I slipped on.

My bike went from underneath me and I skidded across the floor. It was quite a good skid and I’ve now got a lovely cut on my elbow and leg and a cracking graze up all the left side of my body and my back, great.

I jumped straight back on my bike and tried to bridge the gap, but I ended up being left in the jokers pack, who didn’t want to do any work apart from a couple of athletes. I said to myself I wish Lisa Norden would of come out the water with me, because I think she would of done her bit on the bike and we would have been able to bridge the gap, but it was too late, by the time she caught up to our pack, my legs were already blowing red and I think hers were too.

We went onto the run one minute and 40ish seconds down and I all I could do was run as hard as I could. I felt like I was sprinting all the way. I caught a few girls that were in the front pack and I finished second out of the joker’s pack, with Barbara Riveros beating me. I did not enjoy racing for 25th place, it was not fun on the bike, but that’s racing I suppose.

So onwards and upwards now, I have the London triathlon in two week’s time, so I’m looking forward to that. I know I am in good form at the moment and to not show that at the Hyde Park WCSR was disappointing, but I’ve got to move on now to the next one.

I just want to say a huge thank you to all my family and friends that came down to support me over the weekend. It was great having you all there and also to all the support from the crowd, London 2012 will be awesome.

Related categories: 2012, Athletics, Jodie Stimpson, Olympics

So I started out for Paris on Friday afternoon and I flew over with a bunch of GB athletes including Stuart, Will, Abbie and Adam who were also racing on Saturday and also the support crew of Michelle, Sarah and Clare. As always they did a great job screaming from the sidelines, but under strict instructions from my sister Carrie, Sarah (AKA Marry Poppins) forgot the carmera, but she made up for it with having to get up at 4.30am to watch the 6.00am start! LOL.

The flight went fine and I met Cedrick (Possiy coach) at the airport and went back to his parents house were I was truly spoilt (again) and was greeted by a lovely dinner, after which I near enough went to bed. Sleeping like a baby… until the mosquito incident where Kerry Lang decided the fill our room with mosquito spray in the middle of the night, (talk about choking, bloody things!) apart from that I slept pretty well.

On the Saturday me and Kerry took off for a little run and then back for breakfast, followed by swimming at the pool where I got to meet some more of the famous Poissy team. It was a very relaxed day, spending most of my time off my feet and getting ready for the race. We found the BEST baguette shop for lunch and then later went round to Martin’s house for a big Poissy team dinner, it was really nice to meet most of the team there. The women Poissy team consisted of Jodie Swallow (JS1), Kerry Lang, Erin Densham, Marine Bonnetaud, Jade Diemunsch, Berengere Abraham and me.

Race morning

Me and Jodie (JS1) set our alarms for 3:30am so we’d be ready to leave the hotel at 4.00am ahead of the bright and early start of 6:00am. With it still being pitch black outside, I went downstairs to the reception to get a coffee to have with my Powerbar performance bar (of course the chocolate flavour, anyone who knows me will know I do love my chocolate flavour, no matter what time it is) then Cedrick picked us up and down to the race venue we went.

I was quite cold on race morning but considering it was 4.30am, I think that’s probably about right! So, we set up transition and I went for a warm up, then down to the swim start. We had some entertainment at the swim start, where we were joined by some early morning boozers, that obviously hadn’t stopped partying yet. They decided when the girls were jumping into the river to get to the pontoon, that they wanted to joins us, three of the men tried to get past the marshalls, with one succeeded and jumped in with just his boxers on, but the marshalls managed to get him out before we started. Very funny at the time though.

The race was off and Berengere started off faster than everyone else and didn’t slow down, Abbie Thorrington was the only girl who could swim with her, but I had a good swim on Kerry Langs feet and swam the 750m course next to team mate Erin Densham. So, out of the water and with the long 300m run up to T1 I was up where I needed to be, so onto the bike and in the lead pack, but yet again, the bike was extremely slow for the whole 20k and, I just sat there and was quite happy to wait for the run.

I got into a good position going into T2 and got out of T2 in third place, as soon as you get onto the run course, it’s straight uphill, and at the top of the hill I found myself leading which is exactly the position I love to be in, and I stayed there for the full 5k. However… I was not alone, and as I was running found that Barbara Riveros was on my heels.

Coming onto the final 800m I found there was another person in our party, Emma Jackson (AUS). Barbara put the first surge in for the finish line, I reacted and took the final left turn to go up the 100m hill to the finish line, I had to dig real deep but was lactating to the max! It was a sprint finish between the threee of us and I ended up with the gold which I was chuffed with, and was greeted by my coach Michelle Dillon and Sarah Murphy as I crossed line. ChuffedChuffedChuffed.com

Check out the full results.

Now for next weekend, the London Hyde Park WCR, I want to end by saying a HUGE congratulations to Vicky Holland who got fifth at Hamburg on Sunday, a great result, well done Vicky!

Hope you all enjoy the race, whether you’re racing or spectating, watching it on the TV or cheering at the venue. Scream if you wanna go faster!

Related categories: 2012, Athletics, Jodie Stimpson, Olympics

If you know me well, a lot of you will know that one of my favourite races from last season was London Hyde Park. The noise the UK crowd makes, screaming “GO STIMPSON” around the run course gives me goose pimples just thinking about it. The lift I got from the supporting crowd I cannot explain, it was awesome. This is probably why I am so excited about racing there again on the 24th July (only 14 days away). Can you tell I am just a bit excited about the race?!

Training has been going great after I got back from Des Monies, it has been the hardest block of training I think I have ever done. The easy days were I am trying to recover for the next “Balls in the Wheelie Bin” sessions have seemed like my legs just don’t want to work at all and by the time you get to the “Ball Bashing” session you are thinking “Oh my god this is going to be tough” but its amazing how powerful your mental strength can be if you really think “it’s all mind over matter”.

You can have some of your best sessions and when you start thinking you are going to really struggle but push through it’s such a fantastic feeling.

Usually it’s me, Michelle and Stuart that I train with up at Loughborough in the week but recently Nick Beer and Chris (also part of Team Dillon) have also been training with me the past two weeks which is great and has really pushed the pace of the sessions.

It’s two other strong guys that I am trying to hold on to on the bike, so that makes it four very strong cyclists (including the mean machine Dillon) I am trying to hold on to. When it comes to the run, I am trying to give as good as I get with the lads, which is easier said than done, but I’m not complaining when I have these three guys to chase and it’s been the same in the pool, pushing all the way racing in the hard sessions.

It’s been great swimming in a pool where I don’t have to weave in and out of the public (no offence guys, but I got a job to do) and being able to just concentrate on the sessions. I have to say this is mainly down to Stuart knowing when a pool is at it quietest time and we are able give 100% in the sessions with no worries.

Apart from training going well I have also had great news of new support and it comes in the form of Martin Connelen from Bromsgrove Coblers! Martin is my best friend’s step dad and has kindly joined my support team and bought me a Pilates Reformer! WOW!

This is a vital piece of equipment to keep me on the path to 2012 and will help keep me training and racing. This will make a huge difference to my Strength and Conditioning (S&C) sessions and I am extremely grateful and appreciative to have Martin on my team and following my journey to London 2012 and beyond.

This weekend (Sunday 18 July) I am racing with my new FGP team Poissy which will be my first time racing in France this year, so I am looking forward to that, but am of course fully focused on the 24th.

I hope to see the course packed with support as it was last year, Good luck to everyone who is racing that weekend!!! Let’s show the world what GB has to offer!!!

Just a little note to say good luck to everyone who is taking part in the race for life 5k run, especially Carli Hayes and Jay Handley, go girls!

xxx

Related categories: 2012, Athletics, Jodie Stimpson, Olympics