So, after Dallas I came home to train for two weeks before heading out for the last race of my 2011 season in Barcelona. I have done this race for the past two years and have been lucky enough to take home the gold. The race is not like any other race because we start at the same time as the men, and we get to race with the men for all three disciplines, so if I can swim, bike and run with the men then I am on for a good one.

Mum is joining me on this venture which is nice, a weekend away with Mum, but the down side for her is that for most my races she struggles to watch due to nerves. Mom will normally go on a walk somewhere, have a coffee in a cafe, walk around the expo, and then we struggle to find her when I’ve finished! However, this weekend I’m being tough as she’ll have no choice to watch – never mind Mum.

So I flew with Mum on the Thursday and we got into Barcelona late on Thursday night, so by the time we got to the hotel it was ready for bed. We both woke up in the morning starving. One thing I do love to do in Barcelona is go for a run in the morning just as the sun is rising, so me and Mum decided we could wait 30 minutes and go for a run before brekkie, and I’m so glad we did. The sunrise was stunning, just as I remembered it from last year. Bliss.

Race morning was an early start, up at 5am for a coffee and Powerbar (it’s all I can stomach at that time in a morning) and then down to the race start in the pitch black. I did a run warm up and went in for a swim but suddenly I had déjà-vu, LA in 2009 I went in for a swim warm up and the waves were so big I couldn’t get back out, and today was the same!.

I was in for my warm up and the race organisers moved the swim start, which in one way was a relief, but on the other hand not so good, as it didn’t give me time to claw back on Ainhoa Murua from Spain who had had a good start and was hanging on to the back of the men, and that start won her the race.

I chased as hard as I could into T1 seeing her leaving as I was coming in, and I did catch some time back on the long run out but not enough, she was with the lead pack of men and I was then joined by Nicola Spirig on the bike. We chased hard, but it wasn’t enough to bring back the main pack and we went into T2 with the leading pack having quite a big lead, but the race was not over.

I bolted out of T2 knowing that I was running well and pushed and pushed with Nicola never leaving my heels, I tried to drop her in the first 5km but then at 6km she came up onto my shoulder and pushed on, and I couldn’t push any harder. I tried to hold on but the gap grew between us.

I finished just over a minute behind Nicola in 3rd with Ainhoa Murua running away with the win. I would of liked to have finished on top of the podium today to make it three in a row but happy to finish my season with a podium, three Barcelona Triathlons, three podiums, but I’ll be back next year to get my title back!

Now I’m on a break. No training and it’s family and friends time. So my “to do list” will now consist of the following:

1) No getting out of bed before 6am
2) No going to bed before 8pm
3) Maybe having a few cheeky treats including carrot cake

I hope everyone has had as much fun as I have this year in triathlon and am looking forward to 2012.

Take care,

Jodie xxxx

I arrived in Dallas on the Friday from LA and I have to say that there wasn’t much training going on at all. LA took loads out of me and it was only on Friday that I started to get the feeling back in my leg. So out last days out in LA were pretty much shopping, cinema, chilling and having lots and lots of giggles with Team Dillon.

On Friday it was a day of travelling, where Hollie and I were up at 7am to get our flight and we arrived in our hotel in Dallas at 6pm, just in time for the Toyota Cup dinner, yum! I have to say the Americans really took care of us out there, they put on a big dinner for the pros and the sponsors and some of the other athletes, which was so nice of them and then it was off to bed.

The day before the race I did a little bit of everything in training, which included a swim around the course. What a great place to have a race, lovely warm lake, no wetsuits – lovely. We had an early dinner and then got an early night as the race was to start at 7.20am, just as I like them.
Race day

Well last night I felt the sniffles coming on, worst thing that could ever happen is to get a bloody cold before a race, but hey ho, nothing I could do about it. I felt fine in myself, so just thought I’d see how I’d go. I put it to the back of my mind, got up out of bed, had my coffee and Powerbars breakfast = 4.30am, ready for the race starts.

I cycled over to the start and did a bit of a bike warm up, set up transition in the dark (always good fun), and then had a little jog and swim warm up just as the skies started to brighten. It was time to get this show on the road. It was a cold morning, with all the athletes freezing at the start (so much for the warm lake). It must have been a sudden change as we were now diving into deep water and yesterday it was shallow – how random.

I was not warm enough, and couldn’t get going in the swim until the far buoy and by this time there was a group away. I was left leading the chase group with Lisa Norden, so not that bad of company hey.

Onto the bike and I didn’t see much of Lisa after that, the machine dominated yet again and was gone. Congratulations Lisa you are a beast (in a good way of course). My legs didn’t feel as good as last week on the bike and were screaming all the way, but I just kept on trying to push on and I just couldn’t wait to get off the bike, even though I hadn’t got a clue how my legs would feel.

As the norm, I bolted out of T2 and was on a mission and even though my legs didn’t feel great I felt I was moving ok and was able to put myself in the hurt box which is what has been missing recently (apart from LA last weekend). I started on the run in about 8th or 9th position and found myself running through eventually into 4th position where I finished.

I could see Annabel Luxford in the distance but ran out of road to catch her and missed my place on the podium, gutted about that, but still a happy chappy and will be leaving the USA in good spirits, and very grateful for the organisers of LA and Dallas Toyota Cup races, for hosting a terrific show. I’ll be back for sure.

So tonight I’m going to party and let my hair down (for a change) and then fly back to the UK tomorrow to have a few weeks at home before my last race of the season in Barcelona.

Thanks for reading guys, my season 2011 season is nearly over

Jodie xxx

I arrived in L.A. on Tuesday at 9.20am, which was kind of strange because I left Yokohama at 3.20pm on the same day. Time zones drive me crazy.

The flight was OK, a 10 hour flight is a 10 hour flight, surprisingly, I watched a film, had some dinner and then tried to sleep for the rest of the flight. But anyone who has experienced a long flight knows that that is next to impossible to do this, unless you’re in business class or something. Which I’m not . . . yet anyway! I am however determined to get in there one day and not have to just walk past the exclusive curtain staring through at them thinking “oh that looks so comfortable.” I’m collecting the air miles so don’t worry people, another 300 flights or so and I should be nearly there.

This week has been brilliant, it’s been really relaxed and chilled, just ticking over in training and recovering from jet lag which has given me and Hollie Avil time to do a bit of touristy stuff which we don’t usually get time to. Normally we arrive in these amazing countries and sit in our hotel room. So me and Hollie went on a tour which took us to Hollywood and Beverley Hills. Check us out! And we also discovered The Olive Garden (one of the many nice places to eat out here).

Michelle and Stuart arrived on Friday and time seemed to fly by and it was suddenly Sunday morning and the race was here. So, Sunday morning came and it was an early start. Up at 4am to have a coffee and a few powerbars before driving down to the race venue, setting up transition in the dark (bit like Barcelona), and just as the horn sounded the run from the beach to the sea began, and the sun started to appear. Bliss.

I was a bit slow running in, but got in fine and dolphined in for a while until we were clear of the waves, but my goggles were fogged up to the max and I couldn’t see a thing so I had to depend on other swimmers to take me round the course, which is not a good thing and resulted in me going the wrong way, but it was ok in the end and I didn’t lose too much time coming into to T1. Out onto the bike just behind Hollie, Lisa and a few others but Lisa didn’t feel like hanging around, and showed her power on the bike and in 1, 2, 3 – she was gone, never to be seen again.

I was hanging in on the bike for the whole 40km, my legs were feeling like they were going to explode. I must have looked like a first timer, no time trial bike, no time trial helmet, oh dear, not the best look on a non drafting course. So coming into T2, I really did not know how I was going to be able to run but in and out safety in around 7th place, I bolted out of transition and just thought I’d go for it. I really wanted to test myself and push as hard as I could for the whole 10km, so that’s what I did and I am glad I did. I managed to catch up to Hollie and Annabel Luxford, and then found myself chasing Mary Beth Ellis who was in 3rd, I caught her just before the first lap which was 5km.

The run course was good with a bit of a hill, a small out and back, and then running down the steep hill. Before I knew it, I was running in 3rd and saw Sarah McLarty in front of me running in 2nd. I was pushing and pushing and heard Michelle shouting at me. I passed Sarah before we hit the hill and oh my God I was in 2nd, and this is where I stayed. I finished in 2nd place and was so chuffed, and to make things even better I had the fastest run split with a time of 34.56, I’m still smiling now, from ear to ear.
Well done to everyone who raced, LA is such a great event and BIG congrats to Team Dillon; Hollie Avil in 6th and Stuart Hayes in 4th.

Now onto Dallas next weekend, I’m having a great time out here with the team and look forward to racing again on the weekend. I could get used to this USA living!

Jodie xxx

Sunday – Travel day

Today I started with my long run, before heading over to Heathrow Airport. It wasn’t the nicest of leaving presents from the UK, with me running in the rain for the whole session, but I actually enjoyed running in the rain, it kept me cool and I knew it wouldn’t be like that over in Beijing. The flight is just under 10 hours which I am not dreading too much really, as I have done Australia quite a few times which is more like 23 hours, so really this should be a doddle. Ha, ha, famous last words hey?
To be honest in one way I am looking forward to the flight, it’s been a hard block of training I have been in since London to try and improve for Beijing and I am looking forward to freshening up for the next few races; Beijing , Yokahama, LA, Dallas and finally Barcelona.

Monday – First day in China

Well my first day in China, hmmm, I got off the plane and onto the transfer bus and I think the drivers hand was attached to the horn. They really like using it out here, thus giving me a headache. When I got to the hotel – wow – very nice, the food is not really to my liking at all, as I have been told not to eat the salads, which anyone who knows me knows that’s very difficult for me. I love my salads and the meat is quite fatty and I am already finding it hard to eat right so I think it might be a hard week food wise.

I went for a swim to loosen off and try and get rid of the travelling cankles! And later on I went out for a run with the GB coach Glen, Todd, and Lucy and I felt like my legs weren’t attached to my body at all, I felt very heavy and found it hard to run, I hope they freshen up quickly.

Tuesday – Erm… Still not quite right

I slept like a log last night and felt good in the pool. The pool here has no lane ropes, so it’s very wavy with the whole GB team in the pool! But still, to be fair was quite good fun. Today has been pretty chilled, I watched a DVD called, The Driver, which I liked, no chick flick though (makes a change).

Wednesday – Better than yesterday

Well I have said today was better than yesterday but when I say that I mean training wise but certainly not sleep wise. I did not sleep at all last night, but training felt ok, I started with a swim with some pickups and then ran afterwards, with a bit of a session which my legs felt good on. I ran on the blue matting which half the run course is on to get the feel for running hard on it, even though it felt really humid and sticky the actual heat isn’t too bad, it’s hard to explain to be honest, and then later I spun the legs out on the bike.

Most of the team are here know with everyone arriving from different places.

Thursday – Bike Reccy

Today I did the bike reccy which was the most exciting thing about today, it’s a hard course which of course I like but there are two main parts that I think are tough. There’s the long incline of course, but what I think is going to be harder is the steep short hill on the matting going out of transition, as the matting isn’t the best, so it’s going to rip it out of everyone’s legs. The weather has been cooler today because of the rain last night, and I could actually breathe properly on the run without any pulling on my chest which was good but who knows what it’s going to be like on race day.

Friday – Not long know

The racing has started and it’s kicked off today in the elite fields with the U23 boys. Well what can I say 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 12th congratulations lads, the title went to the one and only Matt Sharp ,and then a sprint finish with David McNamme (2nd) and Tom Bishop (3rd), and Aarron Harris coming in 12th. All four lads were running together for a while which reminded me of the Gold Coast Worlds in 09 where Hollie, Vicky, and I were running together, good times.

The boys have started this championship off in the best way possible so I hope the team’s success continues. Last night was a relief, as it was the first night here where I have slept naturally without a sleeping pill and with an easy relaxing day I feel ready to rock and roll. Ok, I am going to give my predications a day early for the men’s race tomorrow, and I promise I did write this the day before and not cheat . . .

Alistair 1st

Jonny 2nd

Will 8th

Let’s see if I guess right

Saturday – Racing all day

The day started off with Lucy Hall in the junior race where she was in a wicked position with a 40 second lead with another girl on the chasing pack, but Lucy didn’t get taken out by the terrible conditions she was racing in, but by a dog sprinting into her front wheel, knocking her out of the race, such a shame and very frustrating as I’m sure she would have made the podium.

Onto the men’s, ok so I didn’t get them right, I got Alistair (which was expected I suppose) and that’s it. Alistair won in fantastic form yet again, Jonny with a bloody brilliant 3rd place and Clarkey another top 15 under his belt. Well done to Todd and Adam as well, it was tough conditions for those guys with it pouring down and the air temperature dropped quite a lot I think to 13-14 degrees! Must have been a shock to the system coming out of luke warm 24 degree water to that cool air – well done all around.

Last to follow was the U23 women which has Non Stanford and Lois Rosindale racing. Good luck girlies.
One more night sleep and onto my race…

Sunday – Pre-race – Beijing World Championship

It seems like I have been waiting forever to race, with travelling out here a week from the race and seeing everyone else race it’s like, “come on, when’s it my turn?”. Well here is it. Fingers crossed.

This morning I went for a jog and the legs didn’t feel great but I won’t read too much into that, sometimes you feel good in the warm up and have a terrible session, sometimes you feel awful in your warm up and feel great in the session, so I will just have to wait and see how the legs race today. I am going for top eight so it’s time to go and play.

Post Race – Well that did not go to plan

I was really hoping for top eight today, I have been training really hard and have really been putting the work in with Michelle since London to try and achieve but I just had nothing. I had an ok swim, but my goggles steamed up so couldn’t see a thing and with it only being one lap there was no chance for me to wipe them. Going into T1, I ran past my bike, and had nothing in my legs at all. I was in the second pack and spent all of the ride at the back of the pack just with nothing in the tank, and to be honest struggling to hang on. Then onto the run which wasn’t any better and I realised I just needed to finish, which I did, with my worst position in a WCSR of 34th and finishing the 2011 season 25th in the overall rankings, one word . . . devastated!

Now I have Yokahama next weekend, and I have to try and pull myself back together and get ready for it. I am not in a great mood writing this blog and if I’m honest I will be in a mood for a few days (so I’d stay away) but I will be back to my normal self soon, rearing to go, and hopefully get this bad race behind me ready for next weekend.

I have got to finish this blog with saying what an awesome job all the age group athletes did over the course of the weekend. All I have been hearing is medals coming from here, there and everywhere. Well done to Liz Blatchford who finished 8th today. Not only is that a great result, but she got that result coming back from hip surgery, so well done Liz and I hope you have a quick recovery.

And last but by no means least, big congratulations to Helen Jenkins who is World Champion 2011, she is an amazing athlete and well deserves the title, she swims, cycles and runs the best in the world and that’s why she is number one! Well done Team GB, 2012 look out.

Jodie

xxx