PAULA FINDLAY

Maui Video: Take 2

2012-02-02T20:31:00.001-08:00

Here's another movie of our Maui adventures!

Untitled from Paula Findlay on Vimeo.

Maui Training Camp Video

2012-01-28T19:35:00.000-08:00

This is my first try making a video so I need some practice.. but here's a little look into our training camp so far.

New Year Update

2012-01-12T14:40:00.000-08:00

Rough life I have, 2 trips to Hawaii in the past 3 months! Lots has happened between my last update in Kona and our current training camp in Maui. Here’s a quick recap and some pictures from the past few months.

After Kona I took a trip to the Nike World Headquarters in Portland, Oregon. This was an incredible place and it was cool to see what goes on behind the scenes in the Nike world. We went to the employee store for a big shopping trip, which was super fun and I came home 3 bags heavier. I met some awesome athletes there too, like really really fast runner Shalane Flanagan who won the US Olympic Marathon trials today!

Next I went home to Edmonton to have Lasik MD eye surgery. I’ve had bad luck with my contact lenses falling out in races, either from getting whacked in the goggles during the swim, or having them pop out on the bike when my eyes get dry. I’ve had a lens fall out in 5 of the 8 WCS races I’ve done in the past few years, so this was important to get done and was honestly a huge life changer for me. 10 minutes in and out of the “operating room” and I can see 100% perfectly. Just had to wear these rockin' sun glasses around for a few days and not swim for a week. Easy.

A few weeks later I flew to Toronto for the Olympic Excellence Series and Media Summit. This was a great opportunity to meet other Canadian athletes from other sports and get a good idea of what the Olympic Games will be like. It was followed by 2 full days of media and interviews, which was a bit exhausting but important to do. I also went with Simon to the opening of the new Nike store in downtown Toronto where they put us on the wall! It was super cool.

I was back in Victoria after that for a good block of training before going home for Christmas break. I spent the holidays in Canmore and Edmonton, doing lots of relaxing and visiting friends and xcountry skiing. Nike generously gave me tickets to a few of the World Junior Hockey games over the holidays, which were fun to watch. The atmosphere in there was crazy exciting. If only Canada loved triathlon as much as they love hockey!

Now I’m in Maui for our January training camp and it’s been awesome so far. Training is so much easier when it’s warm and sunny, and there’s a great group of 7 girls working well together. I didn’t do very much outdoor riding this fall so it’s been good to get back on the bike for some longer rides. My body is sore and achy and tired, but it definitely feels good! We also got to swim with the U of A team at the end of their Maui camp and it was nice to see some old friends.

Hoping this kicks off a good year ahead. My number one priority is to stay consistent and injury free, which I've discovered it much easier said than done!

Thanks for reading,

Paula

Ironman

2011-10-15T16:12:00.000-07:00

For the first time in my life I packed my bags and got on an airplane to go somewhere hot NOT for a race or a training camp. It was weird to travel somewhere just to relax and have fun but it was definitely needed! Specialized invited the team to the Ironman World Champs in Kona to help promote the release of the new Shiv. It was cool to have most of the Specialized athletes together, I got to know each of them a lot better and it was a really cool event. They also gave us each our own Shiv, so I got to try out a TT bike for the first time ever. I was nervous since it feels quite different than a road bike, but as soon as we got onto the highway I got much more comfortable. These bikes can fly!

I felt so spoiled and lucky all week long and a few years ago I never would have dreamed having such a unique opportunity. I was swimming the Ironman course with Emma Snowsill and Jan Frodeno, hanging out at the Oakley house getting a bunch of new goodies, riding the fastest triathlon bike ever made, having breakfast at Lava Java with some of the best triathletes on the planet and meeting lots of cool people!

Thanks to the Specialized crew for the amazing trip- I’m so lucky to be supported by such an enthusiastic and talented group of people. I definitely want to go back to Kona again, I can see why people get so hooked on Ironman. I just might have to do it myself someday!

Paula

Season Wrap Up

2011-09-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

I was in full on catch-up mode after the London race. I felt motivated and confident that I could be back to my old self by Beijing, but I knew it would be hard work. I jammed in as much training as possible, ignoring that I was feeling tired and slow at every workout, and thinking that it was just part of getting fit again. I had a very disappointing race at nationals in Kelowna where my running just didn’t feel normal. My injury was under control, although I knew that it wasn’t completely healed. Still, I put my head down for 2 more weeks before our departure for Beijing, hoping that somehow everything would come together in time.

Our set up in Beijing was absolutely perfect, and we had an awesome group of staff helping us with everything we needed. Still, I was stressing all week about not being ready, and I really wasn’t excited to race. Our group had a big crash while riding the bike course a few days before the race, leaving me with a giant bruise on my hip and a sore shoulder. I tried to be optimistic and positive all week as that was all I could do at that point, but in the back of my mind I was terrified. Not the nervous-excited that I usually feel, but actually scared of racing.

The race itself was a disaster from the start. No energy, sore shoulder, and tired. Just like in training for the past 4 weeks. I was about a minute back out of the water, but I reminded myself how many times packs come together on the bike, so I started chasing hard. I got to the giant hill and had ZERO energy. I was getting dropped by the girls around me and I couldn’t do anything about it. Frustrating! As I came in around the first lap I couldn’t even fathom getting up the hill again. I actually would have tipped over. So I made the awful and embarrassing decision to pull over. Rode back to the hotel, called my mom, and cried for about 10 hours. I changed my flight from Yokohama to Edmonton, and came home to decide if I had the energy or desire to train for 5 more weeks for the Pan Am games. This situation looked very familiar to my panic catch-up after London, which clearly did not work out well for me. I decided that it was not worth the risk of failing again, I couldn’t mentally deal with another bad race, and my body was telling me that it needed a break.

I did have some great races this season and next year is much more important, but I’m still really sad about such a disappointing finish to my season. At one point I had a realistic chance of finishing on the podium at the World Championships, and I slowly slid down the rankings after every race. I received a really nice message from Malindi Elmore, an Olympic track athlete in Canada who I’ve always looked up to. “You have proven you can be the best in the world and you need to believe that every day now. Every champion has setbacks, raising from them is what makes your successes even more meaningful.” I haven’t won anything for a while, but I’ll appreciate it so much more now, if I ever win anything again! Despite the disappointments, I’ve learned so much in these past few months and I think that it has left me even better prepared for 2012. Plus, it has taken some of the media pressure and attention away. No one wants to interview a DNF ;)

Not to make it sound like I just won an Oscar, but there are some very important people that I’d like to thank. My wonderful therapists who I’ve worked with this year, Kim, Sam, Joelle and Marilyn, thank you for working hard to keep me moving! Michelle, I couldn’t have gone through this year without you. Linda, my strength coach, Bill, my swim coach at U of A, and of course Patrick, my patient and understanding coach who deals with my grumpiness every day. My sponsors, family and friends, you are all awesome. Triathlon Canada, thanks for supporting me and believing in my potential. There is a big team behind me and I know don’t always give them the credit they deserve.

I’m off to Kona in a few weeks to hang out with the Specialized crew at the Ironman World Championships, which I’m excited about! After that, I’m back in Victoria to start getting ready for next year.

Through the ups and the downs, thanks to everyone who has been a part of my rollercoaster year. Actually, it was more like a water slide. Started off high and ended low. But anyways, I appreciate the support through it all.

Paula

London Report

2011-08-10T03:56:00.000-07:00

A little late but here it goes…
The hip injury that forced me out of the Edmonton world cup ended up sticking around for our entire pre-London training camp in France. Pulling out of Edmonton was a good decision, but it didn’t miraculously cure my hip. I still had a frustrating injury to deal with, and I foolishly thought that a few days rest would have me back up and running again. My body had other plans, and I went through a difficult 3 weeks of highs and lows, seeing very little progress forward. I like going to training camps and working so hard that I go to bed exhausted every day, but this camp was very different. Almost every ride I did was “easy”, and my longest run was just 2 days before we left for London. 5 x (2min run, 1 min walk). Fantastic.

Things started to turn around on the last few days of the camp. I could walk and bike pain-free for the first time in a long while, and my mini-runs didn’t aggravate anything. I’m not sure what made me think that I could possibly race a full triathlon on Saturday, but my competitiveness and love for racing made me determined to at least start the race. Of course my expectations were much lower than usual, and I promised to pull out of the race the second that I felt that I was making the injury worse. For some reason I thought that just maybe I could squeeze out a top 8 to secure a spot on the Olympic team. The truth is, coming into the most competitive race of the year severely underprepared is a bad idea. Also, going into a race uncertain if you’ll be able to finish makes it very hard to mentally prepare for success. Still, I wanted to be familiar with the course incase I’m back for the Olympics next year and take as many positives out of the experience as I could.

So I started. And I finished. My hip was pain-free on the run so I was determined to finish the race, because dropping out at this point would have only been because I was doing badly, and this is not a good reason to pull out of a race. I heard someone say as I ran by “I’ve never seen her run that slow before!”… Yes, that’s how slow I was running. I could hear people’s full conversations as I passed by. I absolutely hated being passed by the other girls and watch them pull away from me while my legs wouldn’t respond. This is not something that I’ve experienced before in a triathlon, and it’s very mentally defeating! I knew that I wouldn’t be able to stay with the leaders, but in all honestly I didn’t think that I’d do THAT badly, and naturally I was upset and frustrated after the race. Only 8 points separate Barbara, Andrea and I, and a few places higher would have put me back in the lead. So close!!

I decided before the race that regardless of the outcome, I needed to walk away from the experience happy with my decision and with a positive outlook on everything. I certainly didn’t want to leave London with a bad taste in my mouth, as I hope to be back here next year and I want to be excited and as best prepared as possible for this event. I’m now familiar with the course, the transition area, the layout of the venue, our accommodation and our logistics coming into the race. I also learned how to deal with media attention surrounding an upsetting and unfortunate circumstance, so this was good practice too. Another major positive is that my sister was in London for my race, so it was lots of fun to hang out with her and explore London after the race.

I’m back in Victoria now with 5 weeks to get my running legs back. Thankfully the race on Saturday did no further damage and I’m cautiously building up my running again. I always thought that having good results was the best motivation for me to keep training hard, but I was wrong. Having bad races is the best fuel for the fire, and I’m extremely determined to be back at my best again in Beijing.

Thanks for the support, as always.

Paula

Tough Decision

2011-07-10T17:57:00.000-07:00

Well this is a lot less fun to write then a post-race victory report!

I started feeling some pain in my right hip on a run last Thursday, but didn't think much of it. I did the usual ice, roller, massage to keep it under control. I trained for the rest of the week with the pain not going away, but not getting any worse. I arrived in Edmonton and took a few days off running with the hopes that it would settle down. My dad arranged a precautionary MRI, just to confirm that it wasn't a stress fracture. The MRI was completely unnotable. No fracture, not even any inflammation or irritation visible in the muscles or tendons. I was relieved that it was nothing serious, but confused as to why "nothing" could be so painful! Certain that I'd be okay to race, I spent the next few days getting treatment and resting. I had an ultrasound the day before the race to see if there was any tear in the muscle that was not visible in the MRI, and they found a tiny 0.5 cm strain. Again, nothing major, but enough to cause some pain. I decided that I would wait until race morning to see how it felt, but I think I knew in the back of my mind all along that running would not be a smart idea.

I had a whole city excited about my recent success and looking forward to watching me race at home, and I let them down. My friends came down with T-shirts and signs, and I let them down too. I've been so touched by how understanding everyone has been. It really is about the big picture at this point, and I need to be healthy for London in August. This feels like a big deal today and I'm so sad, but hopefully I can look back in a few weeks and be happy with my decision. It's a small bump in what has been a pretty awesome road so far.

Thanks for understanding everyone, and thank you to everyone who worked so hard to try to get me ready in time. I'm in very good hands!

See you on the start line in London, healthy and ready to go.

Paula

Kitzbuhel Race Report

2011-06-21T13:28:00.000-07:00

Kitzbuhel was my very first WCS race back in 2009. I went into it feeling way over my head and more nervous than ever. It was a great learning experience and I finished in 16^th place, relieved and satisfied. I was back in 2010 just 3 weeks after my breakthrough win in London, wanting to prove to myself that London wasn’t a fluke, but with no expectations to win again. Having some success in this race 2 years in a row, I was excited to compete again on the very familiar course. I recovered quickly after Madrid and was feeling back to normal within a few days, so we had a pretty hard week of training between the two races. This worried me a bit when Wednesday rolled around and I was feeling extremely tired and sore, but I took a few light days and was feeling okay by Saturday. Just in time!

I chose to start on the very far right, which looked like the shortest line to the first buoy. Unfortunately some of the faster swimmers decided to start about 20 spots away from me. The gun went off and I had clear water, but no fast feet to latch onto. I could see the girls on my left pulling away and I desperately wished that I had been closer to them. I tried to make the best of it and sprint the first 400 meters to the buoy, but I arrived there with about 40 friends, and the familiar washing machine began. I was pulled and dunked, but kept calm and slowly made my way around. I was working really hard for the whole 1500 meters, feeling very uncomfortable and having a hard to time finding feet to draft on. I swam most of the time on the outside by myself, which is definitely slower, but a little less chaotic. I came out much further back than I would have liked, but knew that I had a good bunch of girls around me to help bridge any gap to the leaders.

I got on the bike and immediately the pace was ON. The packs came together within a few minutes after some pretty hard chasing. At that time I had no idea that there was a 30 second break away with Sarah Haskins and Helen Jenkins. I could hear the coaches yelling “Jenkins 30 seconds!” but I thought that she was 30 seconds behind, not ahead! It wasn’t until the 3^rdlap that I realized that they were up the road, and I felt very guilty for not being more aggressive in helping with the chase.They were reeled in on the 4^th lap, which was a relief as I know those girls can run fast. I admittedly was pretty useless on the bike, I wasn’t feeling 100 percent and I was uncomfortable on the very technical course, so I spent most of the time at the back of the pack. I wish I could be a super-human Alistair Brownlee, dominant in all 3 sports, but my swim and bike were feeling off so I was being conservative with the hopes saving some energy for the run.

The skies opened up in the middle of the ride and it started hailing on us! The forecast predicted rain and cold so everyone was prepared for a wet day, but this was more than we had been expecting. It really hurt, and it was really cold! I was starting to shiver and my hands were going numb, so I tried to work a little more of the last few laps to keep my body temperature up. Although the hailstorm was short lived, it left big puddles and wet roads, so water was spraying up on us for the rest of the ride. I was SO happy to get off the bike.

I struggled a bit in transition with cold hands, but was running at the front within the first few minutes. The run was very similar to Madrid, fast paced but I felt in control. That is until the last lap, when Helen put in a surge that I could hardly respond to. It hurt a lot and I was running near my maximum for the whole final lap, knowing that I would get dropped if she had another gear. I wanted so badly to settle for 2^nd, but I talked myself out of it and reminded myself that she was hurting too. I tried to put a few stride lengths on her on the last turn around to see if she could respond, and saw that I made a small gap. The last 800 meters was all out, and I was hurting, but made it to the line just ahead of her. Kudos to Helen, she worked her butt off in a breakaway on the bike, and she made me work my butt off on the run. She’s dangerous!

After doping control and a very good dinner with the Specialized team, I packed up my stuff and tried to get a few hours sleep. I'm finally back in Victoria, stiff and tired and sore, but I really couldn’t be happier with the past 5 weeks. Thanks to the amazing support from Bobby and all the Specialized guys, Patrick, John, Kim, Kyla, Jeff and Matt- I couldn’t have had a better group of people helping me during this Europe trip. Also thanks to my mom for flying out to Kitzbuhel at the last minute to keep me company and watch my race... and make my dinners and do my laundry and clean up after me. The usual.

Next up is Edmonton World Cup on July 10th, my hometown race. Come down to Hawrelak Park and watch the action if you’re around!

Thanks again for the enormous support everyone. It's what keeps me going.

Paula

Madrid

2011-06-06T22:02:00.000-07:00

I tried not to worry about going into the race with the number 1 tattooed on my arms and legs. It came with some added pressure, a few more stares, and some annoying cameras in my face during warm-up, but I approached the race like I do every other. I still sat in the pre-race meeting thinking, “Cool, there’s Gomez! And Emma Snowsill! And the Brownlees!” I did have a minor panic attack when I opened my envelope and saw my “1” stickers and realized I had a bit of a target on my back, but in general I stayed pretty relaxed and was confident in the training that I had done since Sydney. This is me trying really hard not to freak out before the start... ha.

I remember back in junior racing when I had no trouble getting out into clear water to have a clean swim instead of fighting for my life to stay above water. I’ve since discovered out that WCS races are at a whole other level and I often get caught somewhere in the middle by the first turn, forcing me to fight may way back up to the leaders. This was my first elite race where I was able to get on some good feet right away and I was in 3 ^rd position going around the first turn. Triathlons are actually fun when you don’t get stuck in washing machine chaos! I came out of the first transition in 2^nd place, right behind Laura Bennett. That never happens!

The bike course was 8 loops around a beautiful park, with a challenging hill on each lap. There was a Specialized prime line at the top of the hill, with $500 up for grabs on each lap. I had no intention of going for any of them, but I was feeling great leading up the first hill and thought I may as well try. I stood up and went for it with another girl in a Tour-de-France style sprint to the line, slightly dramatic, and I actually got it! That never happens! I was in the same situation on the 2^nd lap so I went for it with Lisa Norden, and just barely got it again. A solid swim and 2 bike primes to start the race, I was actually having fun! I knew that some strong runners including Emma Moffatt were in a chase pack about 30 seconds behind us, so I worked hard with the other girls to maintain our lead. The hardest part for me was the technical and steep descent, where I got super nervous and put on my breaks every time, leaving a gap to the girls in front of me. I felt bad for everyone who got stuck behind me! I’m a major wimp on down hills.

I had a decent 2^nd transition compared to my usual dead last exit, but Andrea Hewitt took off like a rocket. I slowly reeled her back in and we were soon caught by Helen Jenkins. I was working hard but I felt in control and I knew that I had another gear in me if one of the girls decided to surge ahead. I was happy to run with them and try to make a gap on the last 180-degree turn towards the finish. This didn’t go exactly as planned, as Helen stayed with me right until the blue carpet. I managed to keep a small lead on her, looking over both shoulders all the way to the finish.

I’m more excited about how well things went DURING the race than I am about the actual result. It’s a big confidence booster to know that I am able to come out of the swim with the leaders and be strong on the bike. This course didn’t leave room for any mistakes on the swim, bike or run, so I’m thrilled that I was able to put together a smooth and successful race.

I’m so appreciative of all the support that I had this weekend, from Bobby and the Specialized crew (who replaced my cracked bike frame within 4 hours after I arrived!!), Patrick, Kyla, Kim, John, and the whole ITU and organizing committee who put on such a fantastic race. I could not be in this position right now without the help of these people and so many others!

I’ve just arrived in Kitzbuhel, where we’ll train for 2 weeks before the next race on June 20^th. I’m looking forward to the change of scenery and this is certainly a beautiful place to be.

Thanks for cheering for me!

Paula

Europe

2011-05-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

I made the big trip across the world a few days ago for the next two WCS races in Madrid and Kitzbuhel. I’m here with a great little group: coach Patrick, massage therapist Kim, physiologist John, and training partners Kyla, Jeff and Matt. We are staying in Les Angles, France for a few weeks, which is the same place I trained last year before London. It’s nice to come back to a familiar place where we know the good cycling and running routes, and we have an awesome place to stay with hosts/ temporary parents Mike and Jenny. I’m already finding the altitude a lot easier to adapt to than last year, and although I’m still feeling tired from the jet lag, the first few days have gone really well.

Nothing very interesting to report, the training camp lifestyle is not very exciting, especially in a little ski town where everything is closed for the season. It’s absolutely beautiful here, but there’s nothing else to do except train hard, nap, eat and recover properly, which is exactly what we’re here to do. Boring places are probably the best places to train as there are very few distractions. My recovery days at home often become the busiest and most stressful ones, filled with appointments and grocery shopping and laundry and all the things that I don’t have time to do throughout the week. So I’m trying to appreciate how lucky I am to be here, even though I do really miss home!

Two new fun things that I got before I left: NormaTec and Bonk Breaker Bars. I am so grateful to have received the new NormaTec pro, which is a smaller and more travel-friendly version of their original machine. Personalized and everything! Normatec is a “muscle pump” compression machine used to help with post-workout recovery, and I find it helps me feel so much better after hard training days.

I was also sent some boxes of Bonk Breaker Energy bars, which are delicious and healthy, and a great snack in between workouts. You have to be pretty good to put “The Worlds Best Energy Bar” right on your package! Go get some.

Ok, that’s all the updates. And I’ve refreshed twitter about 5 million times. Now what do I do… I’m bored.

Thanks for reading,

Paula

Believe It

2011-05-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to IMPACT magazine for writing such a nice article and putting me on their cover this month!

The stunning arrival of triathlete wunderkind Paula Findlay

By Chris Welner

One of these days, Paula Findlay is going to have to stop being awestruck about her status as one of the world’s great triathletes.

A red-headed pixie who you could mistake for being a member of a high school glee club, Findlay has won three of the last four ITU World Championship Series triathlons, including this season’s opening race. Every time, she looks and sounds surprised crossing the finish line:

“The whole season was a big surprise.”

“I was in total shock.”

“I can’t believe it.”

Believe it Paula. Believe it big time, because you are the one being chased. You have London’s Olympic Rings figuratively tattooed on your backside in full view of all the competition that you have been running into the ground from Austria to Australia.

In less than a year, the Edmonton native has risen to the top of a sport that taxes the body and mind in so many ways as athletes swim, bike and run to superhuman limits. Findlay, who turns 22 on May 25, has soared from a world ranking of 53 to No. 3 in less than a year. She’s ranked No. 1 for the 2012 Olympic Games. And while you won’t find her on the statistical leaderboard for the swim or cycle, Findlay is proving herself to be triathlon’s best runner.

“The whole season was a big surprise. I wasn’t expecting to be able to compete with those girls after racing under-23 in 2009,” says Findlay. “I was just building up Olympic distance experience and hoping for top-20 finishes. I don’t know how it happened; just a lot of hard work, I guess.”

I guess.

“I’ve never actually met an athlete as determined, focused and organized as Paula,” says her coach, Patrick Kelly. “With Paula, we don’t have the best swimmer or biker, but she runs very well, very fluid and she has very big aerobic capacity. It’s something physiological — like Lance Armstrong.

“Some people just want to be competitive, but Paula loves to race and loves to win.”

Findlay made headlines last July, when, in a 68-racer field competing on the Olympic course in London, the woman with No. 53 taped onto her limbs won in her first elite World Championship Series race.

“I was in total shock. I don’t think I understood the significance of the race,” she says.

Three weeks later, Findlay was back in Europe, a little under the weather and jet-lagged from another transatlantic crossing. This time she was racing in the ski resort town of Kitzbuhel, Austria. Again she won the $18,000 first prize, despite being struck in the head in the crush of the swim and losing a contact lens.

“Kitzbuhel was a lot more difficult and I wasn’t feeling well — London was almost effortless — but I was just as excited and just as surprised,” Findlay says.

The latest trophy she hauled home came from Sydney, Australia in April when she edged out Barbara Riveros Diaz of Chile by two seconds in the season opening World Championship Series race. That race featured another swim crash, another lost contact lens.

“Going into Sydney I was kind of nervous with new sponsors, more people knew my name. And I had no idea where I’d be. I just wanted to run with the leaders. It turned out well,” she says. “There was a little less shock factor this time. I was more happy to know I hadn’t lost it over the winter, that I was still at the top of my game.”

In four career WCS races, Findlay has won three and placed fifth in the other, last year’s Grand Final in Budapest. Austalian Emma Snowsill scorched the field when she ran a 33 minute, 8 second 10K — Findlay had the second best run at 35:02 — to win that race by one minute, 43 seconds.

“I envy Paula, at 22 just starting her career. I think, ‘Oh that’d be fun. I could do that again,’” says Simon Whitfield, Canada’s most decorated triathlete, with more than 25 international wins, including Olympic gold and silver medals. At 36, a father of two, Whitfield’s triathlon career is waning, but he intends to be wearing Canadian colours at the Olympics in London.

As he watches the nation’s rising star take care of business on the race courses and at their training home in Victoria, B.C., Whitfield marvels at her results.

“We knew Paula was going to be good, that she was going to win races; but I don’t know if anyone knew it would happen that quickly. She got to races in really good shape — but with no expectations. Fifth would have been great, 10th would have great. And she goes off and wins those races! With no pressure, that was a perfect scenario to perform,” say Whitfield. “It’s been really fun to watch as she does her thing and I get to sit in the peanut gallery. She’s very impressive — the epitome of quietly getting the work done. It’s very impressive and it’s working.”

But expectations are rising, particularly returning to London for the 2012 Games. This year’s WCS race in London in August will follow the Olympic course, a tweaked route that crosses through the grounds of Buckingham Palace. And Findlay is racing this year with the benefit, and added weight, of new corporate sponsors. Whitfield cautions about taking on too much sponsorship, noting that corporate obligations can distract from training.

“Now the pressure begins,” says Whitfield. “It’s one thing to make it to the top; it’s another thing to stay there. I’m confident she has the ability to rise to the challenge. She’s very intelligent. The fear
I have is that people smother her. You have to let her make mistakes and learn from them.”

Findlay certainly has the pedigree for success. Her father Max Findlay is one of the country’s premier neurosurgeons and a sub-three hour marathon runner with a bulldog personality that Paula inherited.

Her mom Sheila, a respiratory therapist, ran track at the University of Toronto and rowed single skulls for Canada at the world championships, while brother Colin, 18, is an Alberta indoor rowing champion. Paula is part way through a sciences degree at the University of Alberta and hopes to follow her parents into the health care field one day.

“If I sense she’s overburdened, I tell her coach. My role is just to be her mom and listen to the things that bug her,” says Sheila Findlay.

“She can’t tell other people if her coach is bugging her, if her roommate’s bugging her. You don’t get to where she is by being easy to get along with — she’s tough, she’s smart. She knows what she wants.”
Findlay’s coach is well aware the temperature around her is creeping into global warming territory and he’s taking steps to cool things down.

“It’s not easy to repeat. Paula understands there’s more pressure, more distractions and greater expectations from everyone,” says Kelly. “We have to help her reduce that external noise.”

A competitive swimmer since age 11, Paula took up track at St. Francis Xavier High School in Edmonton and competed in triathlon. She swam on the varsity team at the U of A. She stepped onto the world triathlon stage at the 2006 World Junior Championships in 2006 and finished 13th in a race won by her Canadian teammate Kirsten Sweetland. Findlay has had a series of victories over several age-group classes and categories before last season’s leap onto the big stage, including a victory at home in Edmonton at the 2007 Pan American junior championships.

She’ll be back racing in her hometown on July 10 in the Edmonton ITU Triathlon World Cup, looking to step back on that podium. That means training 25-plus hours a week: six days in the pool, six days on the bike and five runs along the way. She’s in bed early every night and rarely steps out to socialize. She keeps her gaze firmly affixed on training and triathlon, albeit with stakes raised because of her breakthrough world-class performances.

“I’ve learned to keep things in perspective, stay grounded and not let those results get to my head,” says Findlay. “After every race I won, I still felt inferior to those girls. I wasn’t thinking, ‘I’m better and faster than everyone else and I’m going to win every race.’ It’s still amazing and I can’t believe what’s happening.”

A year ago, Findlay had no idea she was even in this league.

“The expectations are making me very nervous,” she admits. “Even after winning in Kitzbuhel, I was new to the whole thing. Now I’m going into these races expecting to be a podium contender every time.

“I’m really confident in my running and if I get out of the swim in the lead pack and stay with leaders in the bike, I know I’m having a good day.

“I’m excited, but I’m scared. I was a huge underdog. No one knew my name.”

They know the name now. Believe it.

May/June 2011 Issue

Happy Mothers Day

2011-05-08T06:07:00.001-07:00

To the BEST mom in the whole wide world.

Vancouver Sun Run and HOME!

2011-04-22T16:02:00.000-07:00

I made the short trip to Vancouver last weekend to race in the famous Sun Run 10k road race. My mom came with me so it made for a fun weekend hanging out in a fancy hotel and shopping downtown. The race was only a week after Sydney so I was still feeling a bit jet-lagged and sluggish, but I love the energy and atmosphere of the race so I was very keen to do it! My only goal was to run faster than last year, which would be a PB for me. There were 2 African girls competing, one from Kenya (Lucy) and one from Ethiopia (Emebet), and I found them sitting on my shoulder for the first 4 km. It was a quick pace, but I was fairly comfortable. I felt silly running ahead of them since I was expecting them to be significantly faster than me. At about halfway, Lucy surged ahead and Emebet dropped back quite a bit. From that point, I maintained the gap of about 6 seconds for the rest of the race. I really regret not trying to close the gap and run with her, and looking back I feel like I could have. I was satisfied with being so close to a Kenyan that I just settled in and accepted that she SHOULD be ahead of me. I settled for second place instead of racing to win. Bad decision. I still managed a PB, 33:47, which was faster than last year despite a less-than-ideal lead up to the race. I was the first Canadian and second overall- but man I hate losing!

After the race I travelled home to Edmonton to visit with my family and friends that I haven’t seen for a few months. I also had to sort out lots of grown-up stuff that I shouldn’t have to worry about for at least another 5 years! I don’t want to deal with taxes and banks and corporate accounts and lawyers and accountants. I don’t want to have a ledger books and keep track of all of my receipts. I don’t understand any of it... but my mom says I have to pay taxes or I’ll get thrown in jail. So I sat at the accountants office and wrote a cheque for a ridiculously large amount of money to the Government of Canada. Major down-side of winning prize money. I’m lucky that my mom is helping me so much with this, I basically just have to sign on the line and write cheques, but it’s definitely not fun! Welcome to the real world.

On a more fun note, a got a new Macbook Air yesterday and I love it! I’ve been thinking about getting one for a while and I finally decided to do it. It’ll be nice and light for traveling and it’s so much faster than my old one.

I’m heading back to Victoria tomorrow morning, with a little less money but a lot more happy! Definitely needed that little break.

Happy Easter everyone!

Paula

Sydney

2011-04-12T19:52:00.000-07:00

Wow, really wasn't expecting that!! Here's how it went down...

The swim took place in the Sydney Harbour right in front of the opera house. It was a spectacular venue but the water was really choppy which made for another difficult swim. I chose to start on the far left and I took a bad line towards the first buoy, so I was in the middle of chaos going around the first turn. I was much further back than I would have liked after the first lap. For the whole swim I was thinking about how bad of a swim I was having, really not the best mind set to be in, but I put my head down and managed to make up quite a bit of ground on the second lap. I came out in a much better position than I thought I was in, and quickly rode up to the leaders. Relief!

The bike course was very technical with three 180 degree turns on each of the 9 laps. Specialized gave out a $500 prime on every lap at the top of a hill, which made for lots of surging and chasing and bridging gaps. It was a deceivingly difficult bike course because of the hills and sprinting out of each turn. Specialized gave me my brand new S-works Amira with Zipp wheels the day before the race, so thankfully I had a speedy machine to get me through it! I had a good knock to the head during the swim which made one of my contacts slide out of place, and it eventually fell out on the second lap of the bike. The same thing happened to me in Kitzbuhel last year so I had some experience riding with blurry and distorted vision! It was difficult to see the pot holes and I spent more time focusing on seeing properly than I did on staying in good position, so unfortunately I was in the middle or back of the pack for most of the ride. Again, I was so relieved to start the run, definitely the safest of the three sports, not much can go wrong there! Except maybe getting hit in the head with a water bottle?..

I had a bad transition, same old story, so had to make up about 20 seconds to the leaders right off the bat. I settled in with them by the first turnaround. Everyone is telling me how comfortable and in-contol I looked on the run, but it certainly did not feel like it at all! My legs felt good, but there were tons of surges on the up and downhills and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to respond to every single one. I felt like I was on the verge of getting dropped the whole time. Everyone was relentless and it was a very fast pace. On the last lap it came down to Barbara, Andrea and I, and I was really expecting them to run away from me. Barb made a gap on the uphill, which I somehow managed to close, and I went by her on the last corner. I didn't look over my shoulder, just ran as fast as I possibly could, but I did't think it would be fast enough to hold off those charging girls. I definitely doubted myself too many times in this race! Man, sprint finishes are stressful. I was so shocked when I crossed the finish line.

So although this race wasn't completely smooth sailing, I couldn't have started off the year any better. I'm not letting the result get to my head as it's a very long season and I have lots of racing in front of me, but it's a great confidence booster to know that I'm on the right track. Everyone is going to get fitter and faster from here, so I have to try and do the same!

I couldn't have had this success without the help of so many people, too many to name, but I have to give a special mention Patrick, Sam, and John. They were with us for our month-long adventure in Australia and they did so much work to make sure that our group was healthy, happy, and training hard. I'm not always the cheeriest person to be around, so thanks for putting up with me :).

I'm back in Victoria now and racing the Vancouver Sun Run 10km next weekend. This is a really fun race and it's where I got my 10k PB last year, so I'm excited to see if I can improve on my time a little. My mom is coming with me to do the race, and then I'll go back to Edmonton for a few days to visit my family and friends. After lots of discussion and debating I've decided not to race in Yokohama this year, so my next triathlon won't be until June 4th in Madrid. Lots of time to get in a good bunch of training!

Thanks so much for the massive support everyone. I know I haven't responded to every single message but please know that I appreciate it so much and couldn't do it without you all.

Paula

Mooloolaba World Cup

2011-03-27T13:33:00.000-07:00

As I dove in for warm up in the choppy surf yesterday, my goal for this race completely changed: just survive the swim. Come out alive, and I'll be happy. This may sound dramatic to some of the Aussies who are ocean swimming experts, but this was my first beach start swim and I was really scared! It was the choppiest, waviest swim I've ever done and the girls were really rough, as usual. It was one big 1500 meter loop, out 300 meters through the surf, along the beach, and back. I don't think I saw one buoy the whole time, I was just frantically following feet in front of me, and lucky I had lots to follow! I was so relieved when I came out of the water and saw that I wasn't actually too far behind the leaders. There was a 200 meter run through deep sand to get back to transition so I tried my best to make up as much time as possible, but running all out in sinking sand after that swim was not easy!

I jumped on my bike and could see a lead pack of 6 about 10 seconds up the road, so I got to work with a few other girls and we caught them by the end of the first lap. The bike course went up and over a big hill, out and back, 7 times and there was a huge headwind on the way home. Daniela Ryf and Nicky Samuels made a break uphill on the second lap and we made the mistake of letting them go. We worked pretty well together as a group, but were still loosing time to these 2 super-cyclists. To make the day even better, a torrential downpour started on the 5th lap, which made the turnarounds very slippery and my breaks were not working AT ALL. New goal: survive the bike. Just make it onto the run without crashing. The winds also picked up and our group slowed down quite a bit in these last few laps. I think this is where we lost the most time to the 2 leaders. Again, I was very relieved to get off my bike and start chasing those girls down!

My legs felt very heavy and flat on the run, but I imagine everyone was feeling quite similar after the challenging bike. The run was equally as difficult, up and over the same hill 8 times. I tried to use the downhills to get my leg speed up and bridge the gap to Emma and Barbara but my legs just weren't working! I was running solo for most of the way and could see Vendula Frintova making up time on each lap, she was flying! On the 3rd lap, Patrick told me that I had a penalty, so I checked the board as I ran by and stopped to take my 15 seconds. They looked at me funny and didn't start counting, so I started counting for them. After about 8 seconds, they told me that I actually didn't have a penalty and they didn't know why I was there... it said "4 1" on the board with a huge gap between the 4 and the 1, so it looked like number 4 had a penalty when it was actually 41. They really need a better system!! So I charged out, slightly frustrated, with one lap to go. I guess the bonus of my fake penalty was that I got a 10 second rest. Frintova caught me on the last turn around and we ran side-by-side for last km. I out-sprinted her in a nearly-photo-finish, and crossed the line in 4th place. Most importantly: I survived!

So needless to say, this was definitely the hardest course I've ever raced on. I'm happy with where I finished for this time of year, although never completely satisfied with 4th place! It was my first race since Budapest last September, so it was good to go through the motions and put in a good effort before the WCS starter in Sydney in a few weeks. We are staying in Caloundra, where we have been training for the past 2 weeks. It's a great place to be and we have an awesome little group here: Patrick, Sam (massage therapist), John (physiologist), Jeff, Kyla and Alex, who it leaving today to go back to school. We'll miss her!

Thanks to everyone for the nice messages. It makes a big difference to have so much support from back home!

Paula

Victoria Life & Bazan Bay 5k

2011-03-07T20:05:00.000-08:00

I’ve been in Victoria for about a month now and enjoying it for the most part, but there are lots of things that I’m missing about home! One major plus side are my awesome roommates, Julia and Danika, and our cute little house. Julia (Wilkinson) is a swimmer on the national team who has a busy training schedule like me, so I’m not the only one in the house going to bed at 8pm every night. Poor Danika. Really, these girls are a lot of fun and it’s great to live with other athletes who aren’t triathletes. We understand each other’s weird habits but there’s no competition or anything. Love it.
Another major plus side of Victoria is being able to ride outside, however we had a freak snowstorm last week that put that on hold! It was back to the trainer and treadmills for a few days but lucky for me I’m very used to it. The snow disappeared within a week so although it’s a bit chilly we’re back to training outside.

We’ve had the great opportunity to swim with Randy Bennett’s group these past few weeks (Julia, Ryan Cochrane and lots of other speedsters!). These guys are seriously FAST and we get about 2 seconds rest after each interval, but it’s fun to change up our workouts a bit and learn from these world-class swimmers.

Not to be a downer, but there are some things I miss about home too. For one, commonwealth pool is REALLY cold and I spend almost every workout shivering, and then I’m cold for the rest of the morning. I miss the short-course normal temperature pool at U of A! And my friends. And my family. And my dogs. And my house. But maybe this is just a phase and I’ll get over it soon.

On another note, I raced for the first time since Budapest yesterday morning. It’s hard to go through 7 months of training with no competing at all, so I was very excited to race again. It was a 5km road race in Sidney on a flat course with lots of fast runners in attendance. I got dragged along by the guys for the first km and heard “3:04, 3:05, 3:06” as I was running by… may have been a bit too fast but I was feeling good. The last few km were pretty tough into a head wind and there were a few guys tucking in behind ME to be blocked from the wind. No fair! I finished in 16:33 and surprisingly a course record. I haven’t done many 5k races so I’m not sure if this is a good time but I’m happy with the effort! I almost forgot how much racing hurts so it was good to get this under my belt before Mooloolaba.

7 more days ‘till we head down under! YAY, Let’s get this triathlon season started!

Paula

Maui Camp

2011-01-28T13:38:00.000-08:00

I’ve been in Maui for exactly month now and it’s nearly time to go back home to the land of snow and cold! The training has been going great for me, it’s nice to have no outside distractions and to be able to rest properly between workouts. I was training in Lahaina with the U of A swim team for my first two weeks here, doing lots of double swim days and some really good work. It took me a while to start feeling normal in the pool again after Christmas break, but the second week was much better and I definitely improved my swim a lot in those 10 days. Here’s the good lookin’ group of kids that I was training with- I love these guys! So much fun.

Sadly they all had to get back to school (ha!), so I packed up and moved over to Paia where I’ve been training with Sam McGlone and super-twins Kyla and Alex. All three of these girls are great training partners. They are always happy and get the workouts done without complaining. Patrick has also been awesome, following us around in the van for hours and hours with cold water and food and spare wheels.

My running is coming along surprisingly well since I’ve been here. I was having some knee pain before I left, but the warm weather combined with lots of treatment has loosened me up lots and I’ve been getting some good workouts in, so I’m very happy! The riding is amazing here, tons of hills and lots of technical roads that I am very nervous on, but I’m slowly getting better. I love my new specialized bike, it fits me perfectly and it’s so comfortable to ride. Our swims are at the Kihei pool beside the national team swimmers who are also in Maui for a camp. This morning their coach told them to move over a few lanes to make room for the national team triathletes “lean-to-swim” workout. Hahaha, ok we’re not as fast as them but we’re not THAT bad. They can join us on our run workout and 3-hour ride this afternoon and then they're welcome to make fun of us :)

3 more days of sunshine and then it’s back home to pack up and move to Victoria. I’ll miss Maui but Victoria is my favorite place to train so I’m excited to get back there for another season. Also I can't wait to meet Carolyn and Dean's new baby girl Cadence!

Thanks for reading,

Paula

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T12:56:00.000-08:00

After 2 weeks of sitting in a stinky, sweaty library, Christmas is finally here! This semester really went by quickly and I enjoyed most of my classes, but exam time is by far my least favorite time of year. I hate sitting all day long and having almost no time to do any training. I basically did a lot of hot yoga, some hard swims, and set my trainer up in front of my desk to multitask. I don’t think I learn very much while I’m reading textbooks on my bike but it makes me feel productive at least. I’m so happy to be finished and to be in Canmore for Christmas! My dogs are in paradise here.

I drove down on Tuesday with my mom and sister and we had a pretty serious crash into the ditch about a mile away from our Canmore house. The roads were good for most of the drive, but the last stretch of highway was covered in black ice and we lost control going around a curve. It was very terrifying and we almost rolled over, but smashed hard into the mountainside and came to a halt. I don’t remember much except my sister screaming at the top of her lungs like it was the end of the world. Drama queen. We were all pretty shaken up for a while, but lucky my dad was close by and came to the rescue! I think the car is totaled, but at least we are all uninjured, and, most importantly, the Christmas presents are safe. Phew!

I stopped in Calgary on the way to Canmore to do a bike test and a run gait analysis at the Canadian Sports Centre. It was very beneficial and I learned a lot, so thanks a lot to Dr Smith, Dr Furber, Patrick, Linda and everyone else who was there to help me.

There’s just 5 more days to go until I leave for Maui for a good 5 weeks of training. My new Specialized bike is being shipped straight to Maui and I’m so excited to try it out! Thanks so much to Garth for putting this all together for me in time for the camp. After Maui I’ll be moving back to Victoria. I’ll be living with swimmer Julia Wilkinson and my friend Danika who’s also moving to Vic for the summer. Julia found a place for us about 800 meters from the pool, it sounds perfect! I’m really looking forward to the year ahead.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Paula

Specialized

2010-11-24T18:45:00.000-08:00

I haven’t had anything too exciting to blog about since Budapest, until now! I’m very excited to be joining the Specialized team this year. I’m so grateful that they even considered supporting me, so I was thrilled when I found out that I would be part of the team. The bikes are super fast, the people are so friendly and helpful, and there will be a Specialized truck at the WCS events this year for support on the road. I’m on my way home from their headquarters in California where I was fit for a bike and was introduced to lots of cool, talented people. It took me about 24 hours to get there after 2 cancelled flights and a few delays, but it was well worth the trip. This place was AMAZING! Thanks so much to Bobby, Aaron, Garth, and so many others for the fantastic gear, the awesome bike fit and for being such great hosts for Michelle and me. I can’t wait to ride my new bike!!!

Fit on a tri bike juuuuust incase

Contadors 2010 Tour de France bike

I’ve had a really good few months back at school with a more relaxed training schedule, and swimming lots with the varsity team. It’s been a nice change of routine but I’m looking forward to getting school over with and training lots again. I’m going to Maui with the U of A swim team for 2 weeks after Christmas, and then meeting up with everyone for our triathlon camp right after that. 5 weeks in Maui… sounds good to me! Now I just need to get through exams living in this awful -30 degree weather, and I’m good to go :)

Budapest

2010-09-19T15:14:00.000-07:00

I was feeling very anxious all week leading up to this race. I tried not to get distracted by media stuff and external expectations, but I still felt way more pressure than usual. Triathlon Canada brought an awesome support staff that took care of everything for us. Kim, Rob, Chris, Pierre, Gabor, Steve, Kurt, Carolyn and Patrick- I can’t thank you all enough. You were all amazing and I appreciate your hard work more than you know.

I woke up on race morning and was so relieved to see the sun. It had been very rainy all week and I knew the bike course would be dangerous on a wet day. I was ranked number 8 and was excited to be close to the fast swimmers for the start. I lined up next to Emma Moffatt and Andrea Hewitt on the far left. I was adjusting my goggles one last time just before the start and my strap broke!!! I ran over to referee Leslie Buchanan in a total panic. I couldn’t get the broken strap back through the goggles. She was very calm and told me “it’s okay, you have 30 seconds, just relax”. HAHA, a whole 30 seconds. I was freaking out and my hands were shaking. She took the goggles from me and threaded the strap back through. I tied a quick knot in them and sprinted back to my stating position with about 2 seconds to spare. THESE are the goggles that nearly ruined my life:

I proceeded to have the worst swim of my life. I lost all of my focus and still felt panicky for the first few hundred meters. I got out after the first lap and saw a huuuuge line of girls in front of me. I swam as hard as I could on the 2nd lap to make up as much ground as possible, but was still well back from the leaders by the end.

I was happy see Lisa Mensink and a few other strong cyclists in the chase pack with me. We were about 30 seconds behind the leaders and worked VERY hard to catch up. I’ve never had to bridge a gap like that before, and it took much more out of my legs than I was expecting. We caught the pack after about 2 laps and the pace did not settle down. There was lots of standing and sprinting on the very technical course. I tried to stay at the front but my average riding skills kept me near the back around every corner. I was so relieved to get off the bike. It was a deceivingly hard course and I’d worked very hard to get back into contention after my bad swim.

I ran up to the leaders within the first few minutes of the run, but was not feeling nearly as comfortable as I did in London and Kitzbuhel. I slowly got strung off the back and was running about 10 seconds behind the group for most of the way. I had settled with 8th place in my mind because I was hurting so much, but saw myself slowly getting closer to the girls on the last lap. I reminded myself how badly I wanted to get on the podium, so I surged to catch up and went straight to the front of the pack. I was running at my max for the last 800 meters, and I just didn’t have anything left for the sprint at the end. I crossed the line in 5th, initially disappointed that I wasn’t on the podium… but then I looked around and saw the girls that were rolling on the ground beside me. I was in pretty good company. Maybe 5th place isn’t so bad after all :).

I was very surprised to find out that I had won “best runner of the series” award. I felt a but guilty receiving this as Emma Snowsill is clearly in a different league than me, and the only reason my run splits were fastest was because I have slow transitions and had to bridge a gap to the leaders in every race! Regardless, I was very honored to be recognized, and was very star struck standing next to Jan Frodeno! Haha…

So my 2010 triathlon season is officially over and I’m getting back into the swing of things at school. It’s very hard to switch from full-time training back to being a student- athlete. I’m sitting in class and all I can think about is how I would/should/could be training instead! But I am very happy to be home, and it’s nice to have a change of focus for a few months.

This season was beyond anything I could have imagined. I couldn’t have done it alone and I appreciate every single person who was a part of my success. Thanks so much for the support everyone. I'm excited for next year already!

Paula

Canadian Nationals

2010-08-24T19:04:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I competed in Kelowna at the Nationals Champs, which is one of my favorite races of the season. I’ve done this race for the past 5 years, ever since my first year in triathlon, so I’m always excited to go back to a familiar course. The weather was much cooler than it has been in the past, and it was very windy on race morning. I saw whitecaps in the water on my walk down to the beach and was immediately terrified. I’ve never had much success swimming in waves- I can’t breath properly and my stoke completely falls apart. Waves and no wetsuit = potential disaster. I chose my start on the very far right and had clear water the whole way, a very nice change from my past few races. I got on Dorelle’s feet and stuck there the whole time. We got out with a group of 6 girls about 90 seconds ahead of the chase pack. The steep hill separated the group a bit, and after a lap it was down to Kirsten, Flora Duffy and I. We took short pulls and worked really well together, but having only 2 other girls to work with made it a challenging ride. I proceeded to have the slowest transition of all times (WHY can’t I get better at this???) and had to close a gap to Kirsten right away. My run was feeling great and I got about a 10 second lead by the first lap, but I knew that Kirsten was coming on strong behind me. The crowds were so great and I could hear people cheering my name along the whole course, which made the time fly by. There was a really strong head wind on half of the run and we ran the last 2 laps in torrential downpour. I started to get cold, but I felt worse for all the people watching the race!

I felt like I had lots of expectations on me for this race so I was very relieved to have a good performance. Now we have 2 more weeks in Victoria before heading to Budapest. Can’t wait!

Congrats to all of the other girls and guys that raced this weekend, and thanks to the Apple triathlon crew for putting on another fantastic race.

Paula

kitzbuhel

2010-08-18T18:56:00.000-07:00

Soooooo that happened... again, no idea how…
I had a hard time adjusting to the jet lag on this trip and felt a bit sluggish all week. I slept for 13 hours the night before the race and woke up still feeling sleepy. My legs were aching on the ride over to the course and all I wanted to do was crawl back into bed! I felt surprisingly okay on the run and swim warm up, so I tried to convince myself that maybe things wouldn’t be so bad after all.

I had my highest start number ever for a WCS race, 18, so I was close to the right side and had a straight line right to the first buoy. I got a big knock to the face in the first 100 meters and one goggle immediately filled with water. My contact lens fell out and I panicked for a few seconds but was thankful that I still had one good eye to see out of. I put my head down, got beat up as usual going around the turn, and came out at the tail end of a big group of girls. My second lap was great and I managed to get right back into the front. It was pretty spread out by this point so I was able to actually swim, instead of constantly getting whacked and pulled under. I was super relieved when I got on my bike with the leaders. The bike course was much more technical and hilly than last year, going through a big tunnel and over some cobblestone sections. I surprised myself by staying at the front for the whole ride. Apparently there were 22 girls in the front pack but I only ever saw about 10 of them! There was a major break-away in the men’s race the day before and I didn’t want to get left behind if the same thing happened in our race. It was one of the more challenging rides that I’ve done so I tried to spin my legs out a bit on the last lap to get ready for the run. My second transition was definitely better than London, still not great, but I was able to join the lead group within about a minute. Andrea majorly picked up the pace at the end of the 2nd lap and I really thought that I was going to get dropped, but I hung on for a few minutes hoping that it might settle down again. Just Lisa, Andrea and I were left at the front for the last 2 laps. I made sure that I was leading going around all the 180 turns and took a few fast strides after each one to see if I could make a gap like I did in London. Ha.. not this time, we were all relentless and I was pretty much running at max effort for the last 5k.

I thought briefly to myself “wouldn’t that be crazy if I won?? Wait, that’s not happening, I’m completely dying and there’s no way I can sprint right now…” but SOMEHOW I managed to find another gear in the last 300. I didn’t look back and had no idea if the girls were right behind me. I expected them to fly by on the blue carpet but I gave everything I had and SOMEHOW got to the line first. I was thrilled with my result but had a hard time taking in what just happened because I was so absolutely exhausted, nauseous and half blind!

I have to give a big thank-you to Patrick, who spent a whole week in Europe with me, leaving a big group of his athletes behind in Vic. I know I’m not the most pleasant person to be around before races so I really appreciate him making the trip with me, it made everything so much easier.

Kelowna is up next weekend, then Budapest, then back to school! I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited to go back to school and live at home again. It’s been a great season in Vic but I’m ready to go back to the laundry service, dinner on the table, fridge stocked kind of life :) ..

Thanks so much for the support everyone!

Paula

London...

2010-08-01T20:33:00.000-07:00

Here’s my extremely late race report, it’s been written for a while but I haven’t got around to posting it. I think I’ve received more emails in the past 7 days than I have in my whole life. The support has been overwhelming and I really appreciate every single message that I’ve received. I’m not used to getting so much attention from newspapers and TV stations so it has been quite the experience!!

This was absolutely the best result of my life, but was not quite the best race of my life. I’m usually able to get out ahead in the swim and avoid most of the chaos, but I got trampled going around the turn buoys on the first lap. The second lap was a bit better, but I could see a small gap to the front pack when I dove back in the water. Kathy was right in front of me and managed to close the gap so we were at the tail end of the leaders by the end. I hopped on my bike and hammered by myself to catch the girls who were about 100 meters ahead. I wasn’t making up any time until Nicola Sprig came blazing by me, so I stood up and made sure I got on her wheel. Kathy told me at our camp that if you don’t make lead pack, the first question you ask is “Where is Nicola??” because she’s SO strong and usually pulls herself and any lucky survivors up to the front. We joined the front pack after the first lap. The pace was pretty quick and our group got strung out on all the corners, which made for lots of standing and chasing. I took some pulls at the front but the girls were so strong that I felt like I was getting in the way. I hate sitting at the back so I tried to help as much as I could. Transition 2… another nightmare, I got off my bike in great position at the front, which almost never happens for me. I couldn’t get my shoes on very quickly, and I took a few steps with my helmet on before realizing that it needs to go into my box, so I ran back to drop it off and was out of transition dead last. Ha.. just like in Des Moines, I knew I had to bridge the gap to the leaders right away. The best part of the day was that my run was feeling great, better than I’ve ever felt, and I settled in very comfortably with the leaders. A few girls fell off the back until there were 4 of us left at the front. 4 girls and 3 spots on the podium.. I knew it was going to be a tough battle and I was not confident that I could beat any of them. I hesitantly went to the front at the start of the last lap with everyone right behind me, and was still feeling really good. I swung around the last 180° turn, looked back and saw that I had made a small gap. I still had a while to go at this point and definitely didn’t feel like I had the race won. I took a few glances to make sure that I wasn’t going to get out-sprinted at the end. I crossed the line in total complete shock, and happier than ever.

I couldn’t have had this result without the help of so many people. Triathlon Canada did a great job of making sure that we were ready to go in London. Thanks to Patrick, Kurt, Kim, Sophie, Ben, and Dr. Keeler! Also, thanks to Patrick, DJ, Sophie, Yulla, Ben and Dr Smith for all of the great work you did at our training camp in France. It was an awesome 3 weeks and I appreciate all of the work that went in to making it a success.

Up next for me is Kitzbuhel on August 15th, then Kelowna and Budapest.

Thanks again to everyone for the support. It’s been an overwhelming week but I’ve loved every minute of it.

Paula

Tour de France

2010-07-18T10:58:00.000-07:00

Today we had the incredible opportunity to watch the Tour ride through the Pyrenees. We drove the van near the base of the second last climb and rode our bikes to the top. It was definitely the steepest and hardest climb I've ever done. Our enormous backpacks didn't help either. I can't imagine those guys going up twice our speed after riding already for 4 hours! Kyla and I decided that we are never doing the Tour de France. ever. We did get lots of cheers on our way up though!

We were at the top of the Port de Pailheres. It was definitely worth the climb as we had a great view from the top and could see the riders and team cars winding their way up the mountain.

The coolest part was seeing Lance Armstrong live in person!

Kyla and I got some caught some pretty cool hats that were being thrown from the caravans.

This was definitely the highlight of the camp so far! I can't believe we only have 3 more days here before heading to London. We've done some really good work and my running is feeling better that it has in a long time. It's been a great 3 weeks and I'm really looking forward to racing next weekend!

camp week 1

2010-07-09T04:03:00.000-07:00

We’ve been in France for about a week now and I’m feeling very adapted to the altitude. The pool in Font Romeau is one of the nicest I’ve ever been in, with huge windows overlooking the mountains. It’s also much warmer than the pool in Victoria so the swims are very enjoyable! There’s a big lake right by our place for open water swims with a trail around it for longer runs. The roads are great for cycling with very little traffic but it’s hard to find anything flat. We’re either climbing or descending for all of our rides. I really like the climbing but unfortunately I’m very nervous on the winding narrow downhills and I get dropped every time. Hah, better safe than sorry I guess. We’ve gone down to Spain to do some of our harder workouts, which is only about a 30 minute drive away.

We had an easier day yesterday so we decided to drive into Andorra after the morning swim to do some shopping. We were told that it was a 90 minute drive… 2hrs later we’re not even close and feeling very carsick. On the way back we discovered that there’s a tunnel that goes UNDER the mountains, instead of taking the winding narrow roads up and OVER the mountains. The tunnel saved us about an hour of driving on the way home. It was a long trip for a short few hours in Andorra but it was a cool place to see!

There’s a big triathlon in Les Angles this weekend so there’s a bit more action in this little town. Apparently it’s one of the hardest ironman courses in the world. It’ll be fun to watch!

Here’s a few pictures from the past week…

France Camp & Coteau Update

2010-07-03T10:11:00.000-07:00

Today was our 3rd day of training in the beautiful Pyrenees in France. We made it here safely after a very long trip and we're staying at a Bed and Breakfast with wonderful hosts. We've been doing some lower intensity work to adapt to the altitude and I feel good so far. There's definitely a noticeable change from training in Victoria, lots of heavy breathing, especially in the pool. We have some hard work starting tomorrow so I'm sure it will only get more difficult. Kathy, Kyla and I are lucky to have Yulla (massage therapist), Sophie (chiro), Pat, DJ and NormaTec here taking good care of us. It's a small group but we have great support and it's really a great place to train.

I raced in Coteau du Lac on the way over to France last weekend and it went really well. I got out of the water with a group of about 6 girls and we worked hard on the bike to stay away from the giant chase pack. The strong winds and the long out-and-back course and the super strong riders I was with made it one of the hardest bikes I've ever done in a race. I was a bit worried about the run but the plan was to go a bit conservatively to shorten the recovery time after the race. My legs felt heavy for the first few laps but got much smoother towards the end. I'm glad I was able to do one more hard race before London at the end of July. Patrick, Kyla and I spent a few days in Quebec before heading to France.. and here we are now! I'm really looking forward to the next 3 weeks. It's a beautiful place to train and I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to be here.

Here's some pictures from the past few weeks..

The victoria crew at Kathy and DJ's place after the race

Top of the mountain from our hike yesterday

Our home for the next 3 weeks!

More updates coming soon :)

Paula

Thanks Shimano

2010-06-25T11:34:00.000-07:00

I'm really lucky that Shimano was willing to help me out so late in the season. They just sent me a new set of race wheels and I'll have a chance to race on them tomorrow. I just took them for a ride and they're great.. I don't know much about bikes or wheels but I could honestly feel a big difference versus my old race wheels. They're great at cornering and are super light. Also, thanks to Pro City for setting them up for me, and for installing my SRM last week. I get my bike from United Cycle in Edmonton, so it's great to have such helpful and reliable guys at Pro City to help me out in Victoria!

While I'm on it, I have to thank BlueSeventy for recently sending me their new helix wetsuit to use this year. They have been such great people to work with and it's by far the most comfortable suit I've ever worn.

I've never had much success with getting sponsors, so I feel very fortunate to have these two great companies help me at this point of the year.

I'm currently in Coteau-du-Lac for a continental cup race. I'm using it as a bit of a training race before leaving for France next week. There's a big group of BC athletes here and I'm looking forward to watching all the juniors and senior men race tomorrow! Gooooood luck everyone :)

Paula

HyVee Report

2010-06-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

Wooow what a great weekend. Kyla and I were starstruck all weekend with all of the famous people that we kept seeing at our hotel! We were running on the treadmill beside Emma Moffat the day before the race and we thought it was soooo cool, so to be running with those speedy girls during the race was pretty neat.

We woke up on race morning to huge thundershowers and lighting, so we were really hoping that it would clear up before race time. It ended up being almost perfect weather for us. No rain, but still cloudy so it wasn’t as hot as we expected. I was worried about the swim since lots of fast American swimmers were in the race, so I knew that I would have to go out hard to get into the front pack. I never have any idea where I am until the run out for the second lap, and I found myself in pretty good position. The second lap was much better for me- way less chaos and I felt way more relaxed. I got out of the water in the main pack with Hayley Piersol and Sara Mclarty about a minute ahead us.

The bike course was very narrow and technical at some parts, and despite all of my efforts to stay at the front of the pack, my cornering is really bad so I kept getting pushed to the back. I took some pulls but I do not feel very comfortable in those big packs and feel safer at the back, even though I know it’s not the best place to be. My biggest mistake of the race was being at the back going in to T2 and having to bridge a gap to the leaders right away.

The run was very challenging and I felt very out of place running with that group of girls at the front. I surprised myself by keeping up with them for most of it. I let a gap form on the third lap when Emma Snowsill passed us, but I got a second wind on the last lap and felt like I could maybe catch back up. I was going all-out for the last 400 meters, but Emma Moffat and Helen Jenkins were in a sprint with each other for 2^nd place, so I would’ve had to have a super sprint to be able to catch either of them. 4^th place is always a little bittersweet, but given how competitive this race was with all the money on the line, I couldn’t of asked for more!!

Thanks so much to Kim and Rob for looking after us before the race, it’s really great to have them travel with us and know that we are in good hands. And of course thanks to Pat and Kurt for their help and support!

I have one short week back in Vic before we head to Europe for a training camp, with a stop in Montreal on the way to race Coteau-du-Lac. My next big race will be London at the end of July. Maybe I’ll do a post or two between now and then… hah I knew I would be bad at this blog thing!

Thanks for reading..

Paula

The Sun Run

2010-05-10T15:36:00.001-07:00

I was originally on the start list to race in Seoul this past weekend, but was told that it would be better to stay home and get some training in before the summer instead of going away for another exhausting trip. I was disappointed at first, but was given the opportunity to race the Sun Run instead, which is a big 10 km road race in Vancouver. About 55 000 people sign up for the race every year and it’s a pretty fast and accurate course so I was really looking forward to it.

The race starts with a big downhill section, so the first few kilometers were way speedier than 10k pace. I went through 5km in 16:48, which is around my PB, and was expecting to have a major positive split, as the second half has some up hills and is quite a bit more difficult. I wasn’t worried about my placing since I was just racing to get a good time, but people started telling me that I was the second woman and I got excited and picked up the pace a bit. Malindi Elmore was waaaayy ahead of me so I had no hope of catching her but I really didn’t want the girls behind me to go by! The last 2 km were painful as always but I tried to stay focused and not slow down too much. I could see the clock at 33:4.. as I came to the finish and I tried REALLY hard to get in before the 34, but ran out of time. Oh well. So my official time was 34 flat, with a chip time of 33:55 since I started a bit back from the mat. I’ve never done a race with both men and women before and really enjoyed it- there were always guys around me or in front of me so I always had people to run with. Overall- very happy with my time and a totally unexpected 2^nd place.

Just waiting for the ferry to get home... got here at 1:45 for the 3:00 ferry, which was full, so now I have to wait for the 5- which is delayed until 5:45. Booo I hate traveling. Lesson learned, don’t be cheap and always make a reservation.

Congrats to everyone else that raced this weekend, and Happy Mothers Day :)

Monterrey Race Report

2010-04-21T19:49:00.000-07:00

I’ve been overwhelmed by all of the messages that I've received since my race on Sunday! I’m not the kind of person that likes any sort of attention, which is why I am reluctant to start a blog, but this race has made me realize the supportive group of family and friends that I have behind me. So thank you!

In February I made the decision to put school on hold and move to Victoria to train. This was a difficult and stressful choice, but trying to balance training and school was like having two full time jobs, and there were simply not enough hours in the day to do well in both. This allowed me to get my race season started earlier with some good training behind me.

I had no expectations going in to Monterrey and was excited to get my season started. I always get extremely nervous on race day, and this time was no different! I finally started to relax after the hectic swim start when I found myself in a good position near the front. There was a wall of 4 girls swimming side-by-side directly in front of me, so I was able to tuck in behind them. Our pack of around 8 girls came out of the water a minute behind super swimmer Hayley Piersol, who we caught after about 2 laps on the bike. It was pretty chaotic ride as the course was very technical, and any sort of organization that we had quickly diminished every time we went around a corner. I did my fair share of work, with about 5 other girls taking pulls at the front. We somehow managed to stay away from the chase pack and had about a 30 second lead coming into transition. I went out onto the run fairly conservatively as I’ve not had very consistent run training these past few months. The first 2 laps felt comfortable and I found myself separated from the rest of the pack, however I could see that the Japanese girl was making time on me every lap. I ran the last 2 laps waiting for her to blow by me, but surprisingly the gap slowly started to get bigger in the final few kilometers. I ended up with the fastest run split of the day and a very unexpected and surprising win.

I know that it is still very early so I can’t let this result get to my head, but it's certainly a nice way to start the year. I really need to work on my mind-set heading into these races, as I get way too worked-up and nervous for no reason. I think I said to Patrick about 10 times before the start: “I HATE this feeling, this isn’t even fun, why do I do this to myself???!”… haha.. As soon as I start I realize that racing can be fun, I don't hate it, and I do it because it feels awesome to have a good race and know that all of the hard work is paying off!

Thanks to Patrick, Bill, TriCan, all of my teammates, family and friends. And Bill from ProCity for the bike-fit!! Still in discussion about what my next race will be, but for now it’s back to work J

Thanks for reading,

Paula