Charlotte McShane Triathlete » Uncategorized

London ITU World Series 30/05/2014

Charlotte McShane — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 12:06:03 +0000

I was pretty excited to head back to London after winning U23’s there last September. This race was of course going to be quite different – the best girls currently in the world over a fast sprint distance rather than the full Olympic length.

With 65 athletes on the start line and only 250m to the first buoy it was going to be critical to get a good start.

I put pressure on myself to do just that and I also made the decision to swim quite wide around the first couple of 90 degree turn buoys so that I’d have some clear water and avoid the fighting. I came away unscathed and after hearing of some stories about how rough it was out there, I think it worked well for me!

I exited the water in the chase group, with a group of 11 15 seconds up the road – still not front pack but a definite improvement on my last few races. With some of the pre race favourites in our group I was quite surprised that we didn’t make any ground up on the front group and we started the run around 20 seconds down.

I was perhaps a bit fatigued and flat with all the recent travel, and I struggled to really get going in the run, which is less than ideal when its only 5km! However I had some key processes I went in to the race focusing on and I am content knowing I was quite successful in fulfilling these goals.

I finished in 23^rd. I’m not completely content with this result but it wasn’t a huge disappointment either. I have a few weeks of training to do in Vitoria before I head to Chicago in 3 weeks!

ASICS

Charlotte McShane — Fri, 30 May 2014 08:49:30 +0000

I’m very excited to be able to announce that I recently signed with ASICS.

ASICS have such a huge presence in the triathlon community and I am honoured to be an ambassador and very grateful for their support!

I’ve spent the last month trialing a few different shoes, and below are my current choices :

Gel-Super J33

I do almost every training run in these, from my long runs to my tempo runs. I love light & flexible training shoes, so for me these are perfect!

Gel DS Racer 10

I’ll put on my DS Racer’s if I want a slightly lighter running shoe for any top end speed work, like 1km reps. They feel a little less cushioned the the Gel-Super’s so are more similar to my race flats.

Gel-Hyper Speed 6

These are what I currently race in. I normally do either 5km or 10km when I race, & so my priority is finding a very light shoe! The Gel-Hyper Speed is perfect for me. Its very light & also easy to get in to for a quick transition.

Check out www.asics.com.au for their latest range of shoes and apparel.

Photo Courtesy of Edward Birchall

Yokohama ITU World Series 17/05/14

Charlotte McShane — Wed, 21 May 2014 03:31:35 +0000

We’re lined up, getting called on to the pontoon one by one. The nerve racking ITU music booms over the announcer and it feels like its just getting louder and louder. I’m nervous. Do I really belong here?

‘Number twenty, from Australia, the current U23 ITU World Champion Charlotte McShane’

That’s what has preceded every race start this year. I can’t help but smile and get a little excited as I run on to the pontoon and pick my position in between countless Olympians, WTS winners and former World Champions. This year, I know I belong there.

Yokohama was a two-lap wetsuit swim that happened to be incredibly choppy the morning of the race. My swim performance was almost identical to last year when I raced here: disappointing. I struggled to get stroke speed up and put the pressure on when I really needed to.

I finished the swim leg in close contact to three other athletes with much of the field ahead of us and I knew I was going to have to ride hard to make up ground on the lead groups early on.

American Lindsey Jerdonek came flying past me in the first 1km and I sprinted on to her wheel and spent the next three laps doing all I could just to stay there. At around the 15km mark, we had caught the front group that now contained the majority of the field. Now it was time to ride smart and save some energy for the run.

It was crazy the sudden pace difference one we caught on – I had gone from going as hard as I possible, to what felt very pedestrian. I did all I could to take the time to try and recover and freshen my legs up for the run.

Heading into transition, I managed to make my way up to the front of the large group – a wise move with some girls hitting the deck due to the huge surge for the bike dismount line.

I headed out on to the run and the pace was on from the start. My legs were feeling flat, I struggled to match the initial intensity and for the first 2.5km it felt like everyone had passed me.

I eventually settled into my own rhythm and begun to build through the back half of the 10km picking girls off who were beginning to fade. Heat and humidity (something I’ve struggled with already this year) had climbed throughout the morning, which is something that in hindsight it might have been a blessing in disguise that I wasn’t able to push myself too hard at the start. I was able to finish strong and run back into 19^th place.

It’s hard not to be disappointed when there are 18 girls finishing ahead of you. I train and race because I want to win every time I get on the start line. However I’m learning that winning can be a lengthy process and as long as I’m constantly progressing and moving forward it is a different kind of win.

I only have a few months left to enjoy the title when my name is announced on the line up. I quite enjoy being a World Champion. I guess it motivates me that little extra bit to one day earn myself another one..

Thank you for all the support!