Catriona Morrison

(more photos by Imre Foldi are in the gallery) 

I’ll be the first to admit that I was not relishing the prospect of lining up for the European Duathlon Championships in Budapest. My season has started with two great 70.3 events – all longer miles, so I have not been feeling speedy at all. In fact, I’ve not done anything speedy on the run or the bike for a while. Combine this with a DNF at the British National Triathlon Champs last week due to a dodgy tummy and a week and a half of X-trainer work as my Achilles has been niggling, I was not feeling in the best of form either mentally or physically. I learnt two important things this weekend 1) I was fitter than I thought 2) It can be very easy to talk yourself out of a race, but if you stay strong and believe in yourself, you can get the desired results.

(you’ll have to imagine the figures! overall wattage 210 (bang on 70.3 pace) my 4 laps solo at the front 218w) 

Early in the run Kat Grimmet – in her first International race for GB, took the bull by the horns and had built herself a substantial lead. On the last lap the group finally got back into contact with her and around ten of us entered T1 together. Unfortunately for Kat, she missed the pack coming out of transition and was swallowed by the second bike pack. Her strong second run ensured a top ten finish for her first GB vest – congrats!On the road there was a lot of faffing. I did a few solid (half  a lap and more) turns at the front. I tried to get away a couple of times, but without success – I think that with the longer miles in my legs I lacked the mental and physical sharpness to make a definitive break. After hiding for a while and covering some breaks I decided that biking at 160W was useless and I may as well get a decent training day. I put myself on the front, rode at half ironman wattage and towed the group for 4 laps. On the graph you can see at about half way when the watts become more level! I questioned my decision, wondering if I was sacrificing my second run, but with some decent running in my previous races this year I knew that I would run OK. It was more a question of everyone else having fresher legs….? I made sure into T2 that there was no overtaking me and stealing that first place spot onto the bike racks as I knew that I needed a super fast transition and fast couple of Ks to stand any chance of a win. I blasted my way out and within 1.5K had only one girl on my shoulder and as I went onto lap two I tried to put the pace up as much as I could. Thank goodness that at about 3.5k I felt myself pulling ahead. I was seriously breathing out of all orifices and held on to win my second Euro Champs. Very satisfying :-)Thanks to all the GB squad members who waited out the long day in the heat and sun to cheer me on.

A big thanks to Ramon Serrano for taking these fab piccies and giving me permission to use them on my web page! You can find the complete set in the Gallery under “2009 racing”. www.ramser1photo.com

After a good 2^nd place finish at New Orleans 70.3 at the beginning of April, I moved across country to Tucson, Arizona for a three week stay. On some days I felt as if I was riding my bike in a sauna with a hairdryer directed in my face! For my pale Scottish colouring it was a tough time. I averaged one bottle of sunscreen per week (any potential sunscreen sponsors out there should feel free to contact me!). I had a great time in Tucson training for one week with Physfarm on the Sabino Canyon side of town and then cashing in on the generosity of fellow pro Leanda Cave, who graciously put up with me for a couple of weeks.

Then it was time to head to the Caribbean island of St Croix. I simply do not know where to begin writing about my wonderful experiences here. This year I was lucky to arrive on the Monday prior to the race, so I had a full 6 days to live the island life and acclimatise to the heat and humidity. The St Croix 70.3 is more than just a race. For over 20 years the island has embraced local, national and international athletes in a weekend of triathlon activity. Swimmers, bikers and runners take over the island and are welcomed with open arms and wide smiles. The combination of location and community participation in this event make it very very special. It was hard not to feel truly blessed as I woke up every morning to ride around the island, swim in the Caribbean and run through the island’s trails – what an office for a week! For many of the pro athletes one of the highlights of coming to St Croix is staying with a home stay family. I can quite honestly say that I feel as if I have been pampered for a whole week and treated like a queen. My husband now has a lot to live up to when I get home to Edinburgh!! I was honoured to stay with Todd Newman, one of St Croix’s best known citizens and a true triathlon fan. Also staying with Todd were Wayne Nicholls and Win Thomas, two close friends. Together they form the “knuckleheads” (Win, Wayne and Todd – L-R above) and kept me constantly amused with tales of past triathlons and adventures. Who needs to do ab-work when you spend so much time laughing?

And the race? Well, it was another day at the office. The women’s field was very strong this year including current and former world 70.3 champions Joanna Zeiger and Miranda Carfrae. I exited the water in the pack chasing Joanna Zeigler and Nina Craft. The bike course in St Croix is a challenging affair – winds; high heat and humidity; the rolling East end loop and, of course, the infamous “beast” at 21miles. After ascending the beast I was in 3^rd position trailing Miranda and Nina. On such a challenging course my plan was to bike within my limits. I bike with a Powertap so I can monitor my wattage throughout the race. This way I can make sure that I maximise my running potential. Coming into T2 I was in second place trailing Miranda by around 3mins. On the run I was feeling pretty strong and I settled into a good pace within the first 3k. The aide stations are a super organised affair. With the high heat and humidity there was plenty on offer for every athlete. I made the most of these goodies and enjoyed the cheering and motivation of the volunteers and spectators alike as I ploughed on. After taming the bike course, if you thought that the challenge was all over, you can get a nasty shock when you get going on the run. Winding out of town and over a couple of tough rises you enter the Buccaneer Resort. Here you run around the perimeter of the golf course on a mixture of paved, gravel and grassy trails before hitting a nasty steep hill, exiting the Buccaneer and re-tracing your route back into town again. At the run turnaround I caught my first glimpse of Miranda who was only about 400m ahead. I was still feeling good and knowing that I had caught about a minute and a half in the first lap of the run I started lap 2 feeling positive that I could catch. On the trails around the golf course I could see Miranda ahead and caught her at around the 10 mile mark. It was a strange feeling to move into first place – part of me was really excited and started to imagine what it was going to feel like when I finally crossed the line! It’s really important to live in the present in any race so I put all of those musings at the back of my mind and ticked off the miles back into town. On the way back in I caught sight of all three “knuckleheads” and got to give them all a cheer! Finally, running up King Street with the spectators cheering I was able to relax and enjoy the moment. I am really ecstatic to have won in St Croix. It was an honour and a privilege to compete in such a great event in a fabulous location. Thanks to everyone who makes the race happen. I can’t wait to come back next year!!