Liz Blatchford

The Possibilities Are Endless

By InnerVoice

October 28^th, 2016

This too SHall Pass

The inner voice is loud during the marathon of an Ironman. Learning to control that is part of the art –tricking the mind, distracting the mind. My inner voice says plenty of things, but I try to think of races in very small sections. Often I just think of the next aid/feeding station and what I’m going to eat and drink! Other times I focus my mind on the small details of my performance – technique, cadence, and breathing. Sometimes I try to count time gaps between myself and my competitors. Anything to not think about how far I have to go.

During particularly bad patches I repeat a mantra “this too shall pass”, because for the most part you do come out of the bad patches to feel good (or okay) again.

Despite all the hardship, a small part of me also focuses on appreciating being able to do what I do, what my body allows me to do and to be grateful for the people who enable me.

I wanted to be a swimmer

At age 9, I joined a surf club, which soon led to swimming training. At around 13 I took up “Little Athletics” and found I was suited to the cross country and longer track races. I did my first triathlon at age 14 and having already competed in swimming and running, I instantly loved it.

I do remember our grade 6 teacher asking our class what they wanted to be when they grew up. I put my hand up and said I wanted to be a swimmer. Believe it or not, the cow told me to “think of something proper!!” I clearly remember it making me all the more determined. I’d love to bump into that teacher one day and remind her!

“Part of me would like to run a straight marathon to see how fast I could run it.”

Pitfalls of injury

Any athlete in a sport as long as I have been knows the pitfalls of injury. Throughout my 21 years of competing in triathlons, I’ve had approximately 10 stress fractures (I’ve lost count), 9 surgeries and countless other injuries. There were times I didn’t feel like a professional athlete at all, and considered retiring.

However, in recent years I have developed a different attitude to injury. The times of injury and struggle make the success SO much sweeter, and now, I actually wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. When you have to sit out for years with injury, when you are able to race again, the motivation and appreciation is huge.

“Before I turned to Ironman, I was very unsure about how one would, well, pee whilst racing. I’d heard stories but was somewhat mortified that this was part of “racing”. I soon lost that inhibition in my first Ironman.”

Now, I always ride defensively

I feel like I have been fairly lucky and avoided too much ‘tragedy’ in my life. Having said that, I witnessed a close friend being hit by a car – he died a few days later. As you can imagine, this was horrific. He was greatly missed in the triathlon community and I will never forget that day for as long as I live. It gave me a healthy fear and respect of cars on the road when cycling. Now, I always ride defensively – it’s needed to stay alive when you spend a lot of hours on a bike for a living.

“Mentally, I have learned that the mind, when you control it, in fact controls the body for the most part. Once you learn to control your mind, the possibilities are endless!”

LIving the journey together

My parents have been a huge impact on my career, for sure. I used to train for my cross country races with my dad. Mum was the tireless taxi; patiently driving me to training and races as a teenager. As I progressed into my career, there have been some coaches who have definitely steered me in directions and showed me what I was truly capable of. Throughout my Olympic distance career Brett Sutton was huge for me, and more recently Mat Steinmetz after I turned to long course.

And, of course, my husband. We are lucky enough to be able to live our journeys together. Glen, through being by my side around the world over years of racing triathlons, has developed a career as a professional photographer and videographer. 95% of the year we travel together and see some incredible places and meet so many amazing people. He is my biggest supporter and has always had incredible belief in me.

You could focus on the things that I have “missed” due to elite sport – weddings, birthdays, funerals, parties. Even when you do attend festivities, often you’re the lone non-drinker as your mind is on the next race.

Amazing opportunities

I look at the opportunities and relationships that triathlon has given me. It has given me and Glen a life we can experience together; travelling the world. At least half of my closest friends are people I have met though triathlon.
I have amazing support from my team, the BMC-Etixx Pro Triathlon Team powered by Uplace and my family has been at some of my most memorable races. My mum even took up triathlons after I did. I believe there are a lot more positives than sacrifices.