Jacinta Roberts is new to the sports of triathlon and cycling. After leading a relatively inactive lifestyle whilst growing up, Jacinta made the shift to sport when the pandemic arrived. She decided to buy a bike and capitalised on every opportunity to get out of the house and go for a ride. As with most endurance sport enthusiasts, she soon became addicted!
I recently took the time to chat with Marley-Jo (MJ), who is a female police offer, triathlete and mother of two children, one of whom has severe learning difficulties and epilepsy. MJ works long hours in Highway Patrol and often survives off two to three hours’ sleep, as her son, Denver, struggles to sleep. Yet she still makes time to train and values it all the more as a result of her circumstances. Sport is a luxury, which many in other countries cannot afford. Marley-Jo certainly does not waste a moment and understands the importance of health, fitness and nutrition in not only performance, but also productivity and maintaining quality of life.
We all think our bodies are invincible, but there’s always a chance we could break. Trainers and athletes especially need to stay cautious of what they’re doing in order to be successful; every session counts! We just want to make the most out of it so we can feel satisfied with ourselves at the end of the day – no matter how hard we pushed. However, it’s tricky to know when you’re pushing yourself too hard without taking care of yourself properly- so here’s some tips on how to tell whether you’re going too far one way or another (and when you should back off)!
Alex is an Ironman triathlete and nurse from Western Australia. She lived and breathed triathlon for several years whilst training and racing for Ironman. Her reason for racing was not to be the best in the field, but to conquer the demons in her head. Her thoughts told her she couldn’t on countless occasions, yet she told herself, she could. Alex then went on to finish two of the most gruelling Ironman races in Australia!
Brooke Bishop is a tetrathlete, modern pentathlete and triathlete, based in in Western Australia. When you combine all three of these sports, you have: swimming – short and middle distance, running – middle distance and long distance, fencing, shooting, cycling and show jumping! Brooke has competed for Australia nationally and internationally in tetrathlon and modern pentathlon and recently took up triathlon after her plans to pursue pentathlon professionally were put to an abrupt hold by the pandemic.
Sam Harris is new to the sport of triathlon and already securing his spot at the top in all of the races he has touched down on the start line of. Determined as ever, and despite several injury setbacks, Sam plans on qualifying for the Sprint Distance Age Group World Championships to represent Australia.
Roxy Jakob is a mum and an athlete living in Grafton in NSW. Having grown up with no interest in sport, she decided to take the plunge at a later age and get into the multidiscipline sport of triathlon. She now has two young kids and is training for her first Half Ironman distance Aquabike – all in addition to studying, working and making time for family and friends. She has also recently set up the Grafton Triathlon Club to encourage others to participate in the sport!
In this week’s issue of the Bindi Athlete Interview Series, I had a chat with Brenden Wheeler, a long course triathlete who also works in the Air Force. Brenden did his first triathlon on a whim back in 2018 and was hooked from there.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Matt for this edition of the Bindi Athlete Interview series. Matt is a hard-working and honest athlete, who often works 14-16 hour days and still manages to qualify for Kona. He achieves the impossible every day and here is how he does it….
There is no doubt that Busselton in December is absolutely buzzing. The town is fills with Ironman athletes clad in compression gear… the foreshore bursts with marquees and red carpet… and the atmosphere is electric. Although this year may look a little different in Busselton, it is sure to be an exciting week. Here is a list of the ‘go-to’ places to visit in Busselton… so you can spend more time with a long black in hand and your feet up!
