World Champs London thoughts

I’m writing this entry from the Sunshine Coast, Australia, currently recovering after the World Champs at Hyde Park last weekend and a long haul flight. It was a good race for me and I was really pleased. I didn’t get the best start in the swim and was lying eighth after the first lap but managed to find some clear water and come out of the water second. I felt pretty solid and consistent on the bike – there was quite a head wind at times and it was a bit frustrating that the groups from behind were able to ride up to us, but that's racing. Jodie [Swallow] and I really pushed on with the final lap and there was a real sense of competition amongst the lead group heading into the run. My second transition was pretty smooth which placed me in a decent position for the run – Jodie Stimpson went off really quickly but I was determined to stay with her and tucked in behind her. The final lap was between me, Nicola Spirig and Lisa Norden – it was really close and I was doing a lot of front running hoping to gain enough of a gap so that there wasn’t a sprint finish. But there was - and the girls pipped me to the post! Still, I was pleased with bronze and Nicola and Lisa have been up there all season. I’ve gone up from 10th overall to 5th overall now – and am looking forward to the Grand Final on the Gold Coast in just a few weeks. It should be a close one – there really are a lot of capable girls in the group this year…watch this space! For now, it’s on with the training.

Busy yet successful times in the Big Smoke

Just back from a busy weekend in London. It kicked-off with an interview on BBC Breakfast early Saturday morning which was a little nerve wracking but seemed to go well - and then a visit to the Expo to see the Asics and Suunto stands ahead of my race the next day. I hadn’t put too much pressure on myself for this race as I was really using it as a bit of a warm-up for the ITU World Championship Series race in Hyde Park but I was obviously extremely pleased to win!

The swim went well with four of us managing to get a gap on the rest of the field relatively early on. The bike was hard as we were all working to extend our advantage and it felt like there was a constant headwind. I ran well and kept pushing myself and I think I won by 35 seconds, so I am really pleased with how it went. It has certainly given me confidence leading into Hyde Park and the World Champs Grand Final (in September) - and it has motivated me to get back home for a hard week’s training. Marc will make sure of that!

I had to do an interview for Radio Five Live straight after the race where we discussed everything from my race win to 2012, the upcoming race in Hyde Park, the FINA World Swimming Champs along with the current issue of the controversial new swimsuits. There’s a lot going on in the sports world at present and I love the fact that triathlon is becoming more mainstream and accessible to everyone.

Will keep you posted on how my training goes ahead of August 15th…

Helen

Setting the scene...

I’ve recently got back from a solid race in beautiful Kitzbuhel, Austria, but lots of training to get done ahead of the ITU World Championship, London, in just a few weeks time now. I’m racing at the London Triathlon next weekend so this should be a good warm up ahead of the big event.

Marc, my trainer (and husband!) has set me a tough programme for this final few weeks – I’m going to be swimming five times a week, running six times a week, going on four bike rides and heading to the gym at least twice a week. So not a huge amount of down time but it’ll be worth it as it’s so important to go into this kind of race mentally and physically on top form. It’s a great feeling to be doing a season without any injury, although I mustn’t talk to soon!

It’s certainly going to be a tough race as there are a lot of girls having a great season – Brits like Hollie Avil and Jodie Stimpson as well as the Aussie girls. I think it’s going to be a close race with so much talent and determination this year. I’m beginning to feel a little bit of pressure…

So, for this next week, I just want to concentrate on eating well, trying to rest as much as possible (taking my dog Barney down to the beach is my therapy!) and ensuring I’m getting consistent results from each training session. My Suunto heart rate monitor results are being closely monitored to ensure I’m pushing my boundaries at each stage without over-exerting myself and, so far, I feel like I’m getting a good balance. But it’ll be interesting to see how I feel after the weekend!

Helen

Helen Jenkins, one of Suunto’s top ambassadors, talks about her training and thoughts in the run-up to the next ITU World Championship event in London. Over the next few weeks you can follow the current ITU World Champion and Olympic athlete in her bid to defend her title in this exclusive blog she’s agreed to write for Suunto fans.

Helen has also provided us with her top tips on how to successfully get into triathlon. You can also read an interview we did with Helen ahead of the big event. Both of them are found at suunto.com/ITU