NSWIS quartet give pro tips for Noosa Triathlon

NSWIS triathletes Jake Birtwhistle, Charlotte McShane, Natalie Van Coevorden and Tamsyn Moana-Veale are all set to contest Sunday’s Noosa Triathlon, the main event at the popular Noosa Triathlon Multi-Sport Festival.

 

The quartet head to Noosa after racing last weekend’s Nepean Triathlon, where Birtwhistle won the men’s event, while Van Coevorden and McShane placed second and third in the women’s event. Moana-Veale will be hoping to turn around her fortunes after a mechanical drama last Sunday.

 

Meanwhile Rio Olympic top ten finisher Ryan Bailie, who placed second to Birtwhistle last weekend, will not make the start of the Noosa Triathlon as schedule due to injury. You can read more about that on his official website – CLICK HERE.

 

With the race just days away, we asked the four NSWIS athletes in action for a few pro tips about the race!

 

Natalie Van Coevorden – How hard is it backing up from last week’s event, and what do you differently to prepare for back-to-back events?

 

The key is to listen to your body.

 

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For anyone that also raced at Nepean or anywhere else the weekend before Noosa, it’s important to realize that you aren’t going to get any fitter between the two events, so the focus is maintaining fitness.

 

We were lucky last week that it was a bit cooler, and that helps for Noosa. But this week I took the first few days fairly easy and just added some short speed work leading up to the weekend.

 

Jake Birtwhistle – What do you think about in the days and hours before a race?

 

I generally try and chill out and keep everything relaxed.

 

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It’s hard not to think about a race coming up, so for short periods I will think about the race and what I plan to do. For those moments I am fully focused on the event coming up and work through a checklist of everything that needs to be done before the event.

 

By allowing myself those short times to focus, I am able to switch off the rest of the time and relax.

 

Charlotte McShane – What do you normally eat the night before a race and the morning of a race? Are there particular foods competitors should focus on eating?

 

Normally it’s a big plate of vegetables with some rice and I will top up my carbs with a little bread if I think I need it.

 

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I’m a vegetarian, so for me it is about knowing what foods I can substitute for meat – which can be difficult when I race overseas. Fortunately I know what to look out for now.

 

For most people though, I recommend keeping your diet similar to what you would use to fuel yourself for training, don’t overthink it.

 

The morning of a race I am up early and try to eat three hours before the start. For me it’s a coffee, a couple of pieces of toast and a banana.

 

Tamsyn Moana-Veale – Racing doesn’t always go to plan. So when it doesn’t how do you deal with that during a race and try to get things back on track?

 

When everything starts unraveling you need to adapt to the situation, whatever it is. In triathlon you need to be prepared for that because very rarely do things play out as expected.

 

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We always train to prepare for the worst and then “exceed the demands of competition”, so that we have the tools to be able to adapt when we need to.

 

For me the best way to deal with a botched race plan is to try and calm myself down and do everything I can to get back on track, or make the most of opportunities as they arise!