| Q:
Most guys would give their eye teeth just to ride
next to you on the bike. How do you cope with testosterone-driven
guys always trying to chat you up? |
 |
|
| A:
Ha ha! I just ride away from them. Just pick it
up another gear and go hard. |
|
| Q:
Does your body work as well as it looks? |
|
| A:
No, not quite. I've got a bit of a leg length discrepancy.
My right leg is almost 12 millimetres shorter than
my left leg. I've had to have orthotics put in both
my running and cycling shoes to correct the problem.
People often think I walk with a bit of a limp,
but it's because of my short right leg and a slight
case of sclerosis. My posture is also not very good.
I'm a bit of a slouch. |
|
| Q:
It was between you and Lizel Moore for the Olympic
triathlon spot in Sydney. Lizel eventually got it.
A big disappiontment? |
|
| A:
It was actually enormous. I was going so well this
season and everything was coming together. Last
season I had a stress fracture and I was really
down, but I came back stronger. At the world champs
I beat Lizel by four minutes. I would have thought
the selectors would have looked at that. I was hoping
we both would have gone. |
|
| Q:
Now what are your long term goals? |
|
| A:
I'd still like to go to the Olympics. thats a dream
maybe for 2004. But I also want to do the long distance
Nice triathlon. Thats the ultimate for me. I also
want to get to the point where I can make a living
out of the sport. |
|
| Q:
In the past, many people saw you as a triathlete
who could swim and cycle, but didn't perform on
the run. that seems to have changed |
|
| A:
With the help of my running coach, Bobby McGee,
I've cut down on mileage and concentrated on intensity
and my running style. It's a completely different
approach and there's a lot of walking involved.
I run about four times a week and a typical steady
session will involve 10 minutes of drills, then
5x6 minutes with a 1 minute walk in between, followed
by 8x30 seconds of strides. It's helped a lot with
my style and each walk makes you look forward to
the run. |
|
| Q:
Are you one of those healthy people who doesn't
touch alcohol and only eats greens and pasta all
day? |
|
| A:
No way! How boring! I do like to have a life. I
can enjoy a good breakfast of fried eggs, bacon
and sausage and enjoy a bottle or red wine, especially
vintage red, and a couple of brandy's now and then.
I don't deny myself things like alcohol and wine
is my favourite. I think the tannin in wine gives
you extra glucose and you wake up feeling a million
dollars. I eat on the same principles as Conrad
Stoltz. In other words, I eat what I like as long
as it's natural and not full of colurants and flavourants.
I've cut down a lot on my carbohydrate intake and
I eat avo'a lots of steak and I love fish. I eat
about 5 meals a day and intersperse it with lots
of dried fruit which is very high in carbo's and
fibre. I'm also a coffee nut. I can't survive without
my coffee. |
|
| Q:
If you only had 10 seconds to give an up and coming
triathlete advice, what would it be? |
|
| A:
Look after your diet and be consistent in your training.
Don't do too much too soon. |
|
| Q:
You get invited to a beer festival. Are you just
someone who stays long enough to be polite or do
you end up dancing on tables? |
|
| A:
Depends on my mood. Give me a tot of tequila and
that really gets me going! |
|
|
