Natalie Van Coevorden- Australian Triathlete

Since Yokohama I’ve settled into my ‘Winter’ home in Vitoria Gasteiz in the Basque Country of Spain. It always feels like home and we have been spoiled with perfect weather since we have arrived. Vitoria is ideal for training and coming back every year I realise just how fortunate we are to have it as our training base overseas. Last weekend I travelled to France to compete in the first GP of the season in Dunkerque with my French team Poissy Triathlon. I was unsure how I would go after a long week of travelling. My swim was not the best and I had to play catch up on the bike to get on the first pack. I felt really strong when I started running and ended up in a group of five girls with four girls up the road. The pace was fast with our group sprint finishing for top 10 places. I finished in 8 th place with only nine seconds separating 3 rd to me. We had a solid week of training in Vitoria before driving to what feels like a...

Leading into Yokohama, I was training down in Canberra apart of a sleep high/sleep low carbohydrate study based out of the Australian Institute of Sport. It gave me an interesting insight into my daily nutrition and how to fuel pre/post session. More than anything I realised how mentally ingrained certain habits are e.g. fuelling post session.   Although we were a part of this study, we incorporated normal training and specific Yokohama sessions. Being based out of Canberra, I am very grateful for the use of the world class facilities and the amazing training grounds Canberra has to offer. It is the best place I have trained and I look forward to going back hopefully in the future to make the most of it. With a month in Canberra, I gained consistency in our weekly training which gave me a great indicator of my form and the opportunity to go into Yokohama with a positive mentality looking towards the race. ...

I remember going on my break last year in November and thinking I had ages till the big dance. Well that came around too fast... Before I knew it, the processes were in place and the work was done.   I was exhausted after Mooloolaba World Cup and needed some down time to recuperate. In saying that, it's actually been a really progressive month with a lot of goals being ticked off and new ones to be set in place. Gold Coast meant a lot for the Australians as the first Australian in the top 10 was an auto nomination for the Commonwealth Games. I stood on the start line on Saturday with a focus - being engaged and bold. With a low start number, I didn't have much choice of where I started on the pontoon and ending up far left was not ideal. The water was super choppy and we were swimming with the current to the first buoy. I had clear water for the first minute or so and that was the end of it. I have now experienced what it is like bei...

The base miles have been done and the race season is underway again. From my last blog post of the year in 2016, I quoted this " It's not about perfect. It's about effort. And when you bring that effort everyday, that's when transformation happens. That's how change happens ". I have taken this as a motto for this year and in the past few months I have had some good consistency in my training. Being at home and a change of scenery in Canberra last month were both great opportunities to cement consistent work.   Coming into Mooloolaba World Cup, I knew what the course and the conditions were like from previous years. The days before the race, the waves were bigger and dumpier and I came out with half of the beach in my costumes. We had been practicing a lot in Wollongong with ins and outs in the surf and I knew I just had to do the same thing on race day to execute this well. I had to be bold, not afraid.   The swim was really comforta...

  Arriving back from Noosa, I reset my mind into 27 days of hard work before 70.3 Western Sydney. I sat down with my computer with training peaks infront of me and put in everything I knew I had to do, to be best prepared for race day. Having already been on my TT for the last month, I didn’t have to change my training around too much. I was excited and motivated to dip my toes back into the long distance triathlon scene with it being something that I wish to pursue more regularly in the near future. To break up the month of training, I headed to Hamilton Island for the first time as an ambassador for the triathlon and ocean swim. I decided not to taper as I wanted to go in fatigued under a week of training stress. It was definitely pain in paradise as I never expected the course to be so hilly. It’s such an iconic race with riding on the airport runaway a standout feature. The smaller race atmosphere makes it a great community event and I was happy to take the win...

October is a month I really look forward to with two consecutive weekends of hard racing at home in Australia! I was feeling good leading up to Nepean and Noosa. I had a month of consistent sessions and I could see improvement every week especially in my running speed. This time of year I can train when I want and you certainly appreciate the skill involved in coaching when you are under your own guidance. I put old fashioned pen to paper to detail my training weeks and then set about ticking off each session. The morning of the Nepean was absolutely freezing. I had gloves, tights and headwear on just to keep warm and I was still shaking. It was a wetsuit swim for the first time in the 6 years that I have competed and I was glad of the added protection. The women’s field was pretty small and I lead out with five of us exiting the water together. I was a little disappointed with the swim based on how well I have been swimming but the cold was definitely a factor. In the fi...

In the last week of my overseas trip for 2016, I jumped through six time zones to get back to my final destination - home. There was a lot of travel this year to places I have never trained or raced before but this year was probably the year I enjoyed the most out of the five years I have been away. Being happy training in the environment that you are in, I think reflects on performances mentally and your results at the end of the day. World Championships in Cozumel was a great experience and I am very grateful to be the 42nd woman to represent Australia at a World Championships. Training in Florida was perfect to acclimatise to the weather conditions and to get some final hard sessions in for the year with the Wizards. Cozumel brought a lot of positives to take to the 2017 ITU season and prepare for a big two years leading to the Commonwealth Games. I have become confident in my swim and my ability to have processes in place to get me out near the front. By Cozumel, I lea...