Aileen Blog Update

The Nigel Farrow shot says it all. 8th in
World after a season of consistent performances, then I topped it off with my
best performance to date.

After (my last blog) I left Sedona, I raced
in Yokohama. I love Japan, rice triangles, Procari sweat and getting to meet up
with the Asics Japan guys who always give me snazzy shoes with my name on. I
was 4th there in 2011 so I have fond memories of the course and its
crazy 70 corners. I finished 12th and a decent few points.

A had a much needed 3 weeks at home to
spend some time with the hubby, but also trying to keep up my training. It can
seem weird to people to say that I was ‘hiding’ but really you cant be going
out all the time or meeting all the people you would like to for cups of tea-
otherwise you’d not get much rest between sessions.

Onto Madrid, with a silver last year, I
knew from experience the course would favor strong riders over the hilly Campo
Lopez course. I swam and biked with the front pack, and tried to put into practice
my transitions I’ve been working on with Darren. Whatever happened I ended up
at the back and was dead last out of T2, something that cost me a few finish
positions. I did have the fastest last half lap run split, but if you're not in
the race at the start of the race….

European camp started straight after Madrid
when the D-squad arrived in Morzine, France. A beautiful sleepy village haven
for skiing and downhill mountain biking. Every day our first session would
start at 7.30am, taking advantage of the 1000-1300m altitude, in the French
alps. An idyllic location for hilly biking, trail running and open water
swimming. House-sharing with Mitch was fun as I found someone more OCD than me.
We were settled in by Amelia & Joe at Tri4 the Alps, merci boucoup!

I sneaked home a weekend to race at the
‘City of Culture’ Triathlon in Derry. Cold, wet and blowing a gale it wasn’t
the weather I was now accustomed to. My 4minute transition (jacket and coat)
raised a few ‘what-is-she-doing’ eyebrows. Nevertheless the organizers did a
superb job, the town looked amazing, and I had a fab time. I also took the
opportunity to pick up my swanky new PlanetX Mondo to race the rest of the
season on.

Read the rest of Aileen's blog post on her website here