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melanie mcquaid running Penrith

Racing Triathlons In Australia

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Racing Triathlons in Australia

Racing triathlons in Australia is so fun.  This is my fifth visit to the country including two other occasions to race mountain bikes (a World Cup and the World Championships).  On this trip, I raced the 2016 IM 70.3 West Sydney, which saw Annabel Luxford take a convincing win.

The Race

The event is held at the Olympic Rowing Stadium in Penrith where the 2000 Sydney Games were held.  Penrith is a town in the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia near the Blue Mountains.  Highlights of the town include a gorgeous walking trail next to the river, a picturesque park filled with mulberry and jacaranda trees, lots of cafes, an outdoor 50m pool, and a bunch of really cool people. Read more

don't give up

The 12 Weeks Broken Ankle Recovery Video Update

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The 12 Week Broken Ankle Recovery Update

It has been 12 weeks to the day since I had my bike accident and broke my ankle.  In this 12 week video update, I share a bit about the people that have helped me get back to speed so quickly and kept my attitude in check.  Staying positive and engaged in the process of recovery has been the key to getting back in shape quickly.

don't give up

Simple.

This injury has helped redefine and motivate my desire to race.  I feel like I am among a new generation of athletes who continue to race into their 40s and remain competitive as elites.  This isn’t “normal” and there is certainly some resistance to this notion.  Although I am more of an outlier at the moment, I don’t think this will always be the case.

I am thankful to have great sponsors and supporters who believe that fast after 40 means REALLY FAST.  I love the idea of helping to define what that is and work hard to set the bar as high as possible.  I look to my contemporaries, athletes like Jo Pavey and Gunn-Rita Dahle, who are competing as top level elites in their sports (running and mountain biking) to help me decide what level I plan to compete at.  The top level.

I am still looking at Kona in 2017.

Looking forward to setting some new benchmarks this season.

Thanks for following along.

xoxo  Melanie ???

 

 

2016 Season Opener- Mountain Bike Racing At Bear Mountain

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Last weekend I raced my first mountain bike race in three years.

I joined the fun at the first Canada Cup National XC Series race ever hosted in Victoria.

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Channeling Paola Pezzo old-school style by forgetting to zip my jersey up – Braison Images photo Read more

2015 Ironman Arizona

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Competing at Ironman Arizona in my second attempt racing a full distance Ironman

My second attempt racing a full distance Ironman distance was at Ironman Arizona.  I had the privilege of having my ass handed to me by Meredith Kessler after I finished in 9:14, a time that might have been respectable 5 years ago but was in another time zone behind MBK’s 8:44 (the fastest Ironman performance of 2015-so amazing!).  It is good I was on the course with her that day.  It is invaluable to have that performance to shine a light on where I can improve.  Without comparing apples to apples, you never really know where you stack up and I was good in my second attempt but I still need to improve. Read more

2015 IM 70.3 Los Cabos

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Visiting San Jose del Cabo for the first time at the 2015 IM 70.3 Los Cabos

I’ve never visited San Jose del Cabo so the idea of racing IM 70.3 Los Cabos event was appealing- if only to tick a travel box while doing my job as a pro athlete.  Many aspects of this race were questionable in the final leadup to an Ironman event (Would I get sick from the water/food? Do I even need a race at this point? Would the airline travel challenge my immune system?) but I decided to stick to my Ironman Arizona plan as we originally laid it out and went.  It seems to have been a good decision.

I was better than IM 70.3 Las Vegas, I had a great swim and I had a great time.  Plus I won a bit of money, got some great exposure for Trek Mexico at the presser and I now have a whale shark BFF.  All around good times and noodle salad.

presser

Pre race pomp and circumstance. Read more