Natalie Van Coevorden- Australian Triathlete

I want you to think for a minute. Do you know someone or heard of a person that has been hit by a car whilst on a bike? Sadly, I am sure your answer will be yes. Any official statistics will grossly understate the truth as only a fraction of accidents are reported and luckily most do not result in the ultimate cost. My brother has been clipped twice and unfortunately now, I have an experience of my own to tell. Whilst out on a Saturday 50km ride, a driver on the left of me didn’t stop at a give way sign onto a main road. We all swerved in different directions and unfortunately one of us, Ashlee Bailie, wheel was clipped sending her flying into the windscreen of the car and into the air. Hearing and seeing the impact of what happened was certainly a shock to the system. She was one very strong, brave and lucky girl – fortunately, I did not add to her injuries as at some points I was holding her hand tighter than she was holding mine!   She has come out with stitches, bruises and h...

  Being in the race is one thing but watching it back you can see a different perspective of how the race played out. At the moment   the voice of Barrie Shepley is playing in the background of me writing this and I get to see what most of you saw from your computer screen or on TV somewhere around the world.   Six months ago, Auckland invited me to New Zealand for Under 23 World Championships to finish the 2012 season. Not too much has changed since then as my excitement levels were still as high to achieve and perform on such a strength endurance course. Since Mooloolaba I have been exceeding the demands of competition with plenty of wetsuits swims, spending a few hours behind the motorbike wheel and runs that were critical “to run like chillis”. Leading into this weekend, with training easing off, I knew that the weeks of training had come together well and was confident in my ability to perform this weekend. I knew the race was going to be completely different ...

Travel certainties – it is very unlikely that: ü   My bike bag weights less than 23 kgs ü     I don’t get 100 stares whilst I wait in the airport check up line ü     I pick the nice airline counter lady or man ü     I won’t leave without getting Sumo Salad at Sydney Airport ü     I will leave the plane without a sore neck or even some tears if I watch the right movie ü     I wouldn’t join the hundreds of people trying to find free wifi when we land   When the mornings start to become cold and the grass is wet from frost, its nearly time to go again. Well, within a short 37 days till I leave Australia for another 6 months, I have decided that it is time to get organised or realise what I have done wrong in my last 2 years. “Girls, always making the easy things difficult”- the saying I have heard so many times.   Being allowed to take 2...

I have described the last 12 days as a “working holiday“ to many. It might sound funny and I know you can’t be, but I felt jet lagged from New Zealand with my body so out of whack with the time zone changes. Although Queensland doesn’t allow a holiday sleep in with a 5.30am sunrise, we headed to Mooloolaba with a job to do after Wellington. From Wellington to Mooloolaba, it was important to recover and I had an easier week working into the weekend. We all enjoyed the down time and a few short sharp sessions to get the body back into race gear. The night before the race, instead of the normal pizza and pasta, we went with what Erin Densham did last year to win Mooloolaba, with pre race Thai. I think I will be having thai more often now ;).       USM events and ITU made the decision earlier in the week to change the swim to the canal rather than the ocean due to dangerous surf conditions. The decision didn’t ...

  Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, the first draft of this report is clocking up some frequent flyer points. Hopefully, it is an enjoyable read for the next customers reading the Qantas magazine who want to know “What you should do in Newcastle” and obviously, how I went during this race.   Often known as the place that is windy, wet, cold and hilly, Wellington lived up to its reputation on race day. When the sun rose on Friday morning, after getting in quite late Thursday night, it was a nice surprise to wake up to a beautiful autumn day. Wollongong earlier in the week had not seen the word “taper” and I enjoyed 3 full days of hard but meaningful training towards the weekend race. Friday was a bit of a hit and miss with how I felt and having a banana smoothie before our pre-race run probably was not the best idea. I am sure the girls agree!   A perfect start time of 10:30am, we woke up to what We...

  “Twists and Turns” This is the title of the Matthew Mitcham autobiography - a truly inspiring story that was compelling reading. He was a transitional athlete that moved from gymnastics and was picked up by an AIS coach mucking around at his local pool. He has moved past adversity and come out the other end with an Olympic Gold medal. “People kept remarking on how they were surprised that a gold medal and fame hadn′t changed me. I always responded, "Why would I change? Being me is the easiest person to be." He isn’t just a pretty face! Within my own life, although I don’t dive, fly or fall with style, I have my own twists and turns; not from 10m platform hitting the water at 60km an hour, thank goodness! Realistically, I twist :   rotation with every stroke in swimming ( I might be a bad example if you have ever watched me swim ;) ), daily exercises from Alex Price or the occasion dance move boogieing around ...

    I have finally come out of hiding for 2013. With a few months of base training under the belt, t raining has been going relatively well but I know I am no where near full race fitness. A late arrival on Thursday night to the White House. Yes, the White House- looks alittle bit like it. It is a 110 year old two storey weatherboard mansion. It is always nice to stay in places like this as it feels like a homely place to stay before a race. I even got to have a nice bath, as my blonde moments for the trip started as I thought there was no hot water in the shower.. I just had it on the cold tap :/ My third year back in Devonport and not much has changed. The normal pre race on Friday and finally it was time to race my first race of 2013.   A lot of people were going on about the choppy swim conditions with the extremely strong wind. To what I swam in at North Wollongong a few days ago, the waves looked t...