Pregnancy, Pro Triathlon & Finding a New Mindset with Hannah Munday

In this episode, Hannah shares her inspiring journey from competitive swimming to earning her professional triathlon licence and explains why becoming a pro was always about passion, freedom, and the love of racing, not just results.

Hannah opens up about training throughout pregnancy, the challenge of letting go of pace, power, and performance metrics, and learning to trust her body instead. She talks honestly about navigating the first trimester, keeping her pregnancy private while training with others, adapting swim, bike, and run sessions as her body changes, and dealing with the physical and mental shifts that come with pregnancy.

We also discuss the latest guidance around exercising during pregnancy, the importance of medical support, staying active safely, and why every pregnancy is unique. Looking ahead, Hannah shares her hopes of returning to professional racing, with Ironman Kalmar firmly on her radar around nine months postpartum.

Finally, Hannah reflects on her memorable Long Course Weekend victory, the unique demands of multi-day racing, and offers practical advice for athletes balancing sport, pregnancy, work, and everyday life.

Whether you're a triathlete, an endurance athlete, an expectant parent, or simply interested in stories of resilience and adaptation, this conversation is packed with honest insights, motivation, and practical takeaways.

You can Find Hannah on Instagram and follow her journey here

https://www.instagram.com/hannahmundaytri

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Transcript

Hi, I'm Celia Boothman, founder of LTR Coaching, and I'd like to welcome you to the Inspired Triathletes podcast, where I'll be bringing you stories from female triathletes and taking on topics that are important to women in the sport.

Hello and welcome to today's episode. I'm here with Hannah Monday, a triathlete and doctor who is also pregnant. So, for those people who don't know you, can you give us a little bit of background on how you got into triathlon? And also, you're a pro triathlete. I forgot to mention that. When you decided to go pro, what was it that inspired you to do that? Um, yeah. Hi, thanks for having me on, Celia. Um, I've been doing triathon for quite a long time now, it seems. Um I grew up as a swimmer so I did that quite competitively from the age of 11 until 16. Um yeah my poor parents were doing many a half past 4 early morning. Yeah. Yeah. Half past 4. Oh half past 54 past 5 we got in the water till quart 7 in the mornings and then again 2 hours in the evening. So that was my childhood um for the most part. And then I took a little bit of time away from sport in my later teens just to knock down and do my A levels. Um went to university. Uh tried some other sports like rowing and um commuting on bike and with my swim background doing some cycling, keeping fit with running, triathon then started for me in my yeah early 20ies. Um then I decided to train as a doctor. So that kind of took yeah the the front of yeah front of my mind for quite a long time. Um, and I didn't really start doing triathon competitively until probably around, yeah, late 2017, 2018. Um, but again, that was middle of when I was training to be a doctor. Um, it wasn't until 2022, um, I remember being an outlaw triathlon and the one in Outlaw half in Nottingham. Um, that was when I first thought about getting a professional license. um that's one of the gateway events and um that year it was quite a few people dropped out and I ended up leading the race at one point. Um I didn't know even know beforehand that you could get a professional license from that race. Um yeah, I was leading that race and I'd gone from thinking, oh 2022 might be my last year in triathlon. I'd got a few bucket list races coming along. I was going to do Iron Man Wales and Long Course Weekend that year and I thought that would be like the final hit out before thinking about starting a family. But yeah, I found myself leading this race in in Outlaw and although I didn't win, it was um it was Lizzie Rainer that won that year and I was I think it wasn't too far behind um at all. But that kind of sparked something in me to think actually professional triathon. I'd only done kind of one or two laps of the um Outlaw Lake um in the lead, but within that time I'd completely changed from retiring at the end of this year to then thinking actually it would be quite cool to be a professional athlete. my husband um he was already a professional triathlete and I thought you know we could travel do these races um yeah it would be quite a cool life so within the space of probably around 10k I'd gone from retiring to to wanting to be a professional triathlete and it then took a little bit longer to to get the license wasn't until 2024 um when I raced in challenge Gdansk and that I then hit the criteria to to get the license and um yeah since then it's been ups and downs like all triathletes no injuries and things that have stopped me along the way. But no, I've just been really enjoying Yeah. really enjoying the uh the last few years of of training and racing. Oh wow. Yeah, that's amazing. I love that story cuz like oh yeah, I might give it up. No, actually I'm doing quite well. And it was a very spontaneous thing within Yeah, literally within that lap, I just got a taste of leading the race um and thought actually no it would, you know, I don't think I'm done with this sport. would be quite cool to um yeah to take a professional license and travel the world doing triathlon. Yeah. And sort of see how far you can go as well. For me that was a major motivation in doing it was like I did all right in my first one and I was like oh maybe I could do okay in this and you see that progression and you kind of want to keep improving and see where it goes. And with your husband being the professional as well that fits in really nicely, doesn't it? Because you both understand and Yeah, definitely. Yeah. For me it was more about the opportunities that it brought. Um so yeah just the lifestyle, the you know traveling, being able to enter races quite last minute. I think the difference between being a pro and an age grouper is that as pros we don't have to book our whole calendar up kind of 12 months in advance. You can enter races um and move races around at very short notice. So um it just gives you the freedom to enter as long as there's a pro field or you can enter whatever races you want to. You don't have to think early on. Um, so I never saw it as a career. And even now when someone asks what I do, I would always say I'm a doctor. I would never say that I was a professional athlete. Um, I see it still more as a hobby, but it's just the opportunities. Um, the chance to race against the best in the world, the chance to be eligible for prize money. Um, just Yeah, it's it's just a it's a cool experience. Yeah, it's a very cool experience and it's just a different way to do your hobby. Um, yeah, definitely. No, that's great. And it's a really good way to look at it as well because it sort of takes the pressure off a little bit. Definitely. Yeah. For me it is it is just a hobby and I'm just very fortunate that I can do it in the professional field and yeah travel the world and yeah have have the possibility of earning a little bit of prize money alongside. But yeah the end of the day I sport that I love. Yeah. Oh great. And so congratulations on your pregnancy. How has your relationship with sport changed already? It's quite a difficult balancing act, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. I I think overwhelmingly it's just been an appreciation of my body and what it can continue to do while being pregnant. Um yeah, I'm just amazed that I'm I've been very fortunate and been able to continue training throughout pregnancy. Um, I know a lot of women have a lot more severe symptoms and, you know, might be bedbound for a while or, you know, get severe nausea and can't continue training. But I've been really fortunate and yes, my training has changed a lot. Um, but I've still had the energy and still been physically able to continue swimming, biking, and running. Um, it's got a completely different mindset now. Um, I'm no longer looking at numbers, um, paces, heart rates, watts, like all of that has completely gone. Um, it's actually been a really freeing time and I feel like I've thrived in this time because it's so liberating to be able to just go out and do things for fun. Um, and just listen to your body and is really how it should be. Like I said, I do this sport for fun. Um, I shouldn't be kind of stressed about, oh, I didn't hit this interval at this specific watts or um or I don't feel like going cycling today, but I feel like I've got to. Like my training at the moment is yes, I'm still following a training plan, but if on that day I think I don't feel up to running today, you know, I feel tired, nauseous, I I won't. Um, and if I want to go and do a little bit more, then I will. So, it's very it's very freeing. It's it's really nice to to train without being concr, you know, constricted by numbers and and what's and just Yeah. It's all just very enjoyable. Yeah. Yeah. So, it's like another bit a way of taking the pressure off and and being able to just relax a little bit. Yeah, it did shock me um at the beginning quite how quickly things changed. Um I naively thought I wouldn't slow down until I got a bump. Um I don't know if I just thought that I would only slow down once I got heavier or bigger or kind of more drag in the water. I didn't realize quite how quickly uh things would change for me. So, um, I wear an aura ring and within even before I knew I was pregnant, there were changes on there. My heart rate had gone up, my temperature had gone up and so that was a sign for me to actually take a pregnancy test was that I I've been getting minor signs and major signs on my aura. And this was about a week before my period was due. Um, and then weeks four and five of pregnancy were okay. And I was actually on training camp in Lanzerati at the time. So, doing like quite big volumes and I noticed I was a bit more tired, but I still had some really good sessions. And then once I got back kind of week six onwards, I to anyone else I looked exactly the same, but it was just so hard to hit the same numbers and paces in the pool. And every time you'd go training, you get that little bit worse, which we're just not used to as athletes. You're used to going training and getting better. Um, but every session I did was like the that horrible first session back after an off season. And you just know that the next session then is going to be like an even longer off season. Um, so around kind of nine or 10 weeks. So I did have a bit of a strap and a bit of a kind of needed to talk to myself and think look you are actually growing a child here. Um things things have changed and again going back to my aura ring um my resting heart rate from week six or seven onwards was was in the like 58 59 almost 60 at times whereas previously pre-reg it would be you know high 30s low 40s. So I I had that reassurance from the aura ring that yes your body is working hard doing something like something yeah the body is stressed yeah trying to yeah create this life and I just had to then had a long chat with my coach and just had to reframe everything right you don't look at the pace clock in the pool your training sessions are no longer set by pace or watts or anything it's all done on RP now so that then kind of I just basically had to reframe frame everything um and just find the fun in things again. And once I had that kind of down to earth chat with the coach um then I kind of developed into the pregnant athlete training um I guess and where I am now. Yeah, that's the difference between doing it as a pro alete and then doing it as a pregnant pro athlete. It's like you can't approach it the same way, can you? because yeah, as you say, you're doing something pretty amazing inside your body and although it doesn't look like it, there's so much going on. Yeah. Yeah. I think the hardest thing was training with a group, training with a squad and obviously being before the 12 week scan and not being able to tell anyone. Um, so they were like, "What? Why is she not leading the lane anymore? Why, you know, why has she got Finn on all the time?" Um, yeah. So, that was the hardest thing. I think once I got to 12 weeks, I've had the scan and everything was fine. I was able to say, "Look, I've been feeling really quite fatigued the last few weeks, and this is why I've slowed down quite a lot." And I think once I got to that kind of yeah, 9 10 11 12 week mark. Um, I started to get more energy. Um, I went away on a I still don't know if it was a training camp or a holiday, but we went away to Morca around 14, 15 weeks, and that kind of came at exactly the right time for me. That's just as my energy levels were getting back to normal. Um, and I was able to do a lot more training out there and the change in mindset kind of got used to the idea a lot more of ignoring your your watts and everything. And yeah, that that came Yeah. the perfect time for me. Yeah, that's interesting because I've like not been training for a long time and it took me quite a while to say to ignore it all and kind of forget, you know, I had to have almost like a massive break. And I've gone back to the bike now and I'm like looking starting to get into that like looking at my watch again going, "Oh no, it's really bad compared to what it used to be." And it's like, "Well, it's not going to be the same, is it?" You know, you've got to like reconcile those things and it can be really tricky for people to do that. So, it's great that you've managed to do that so quickly as well to to wrap your head around that. It still catches me off guard kind of you just automatically look down at at you know your watch or your bike computer or you know the paces in the pool. You kind of know what you're doing but it's just telling my conscious brain this is okay. It's okay to be you know 10 seconds slower than 100. It's okay to be pushing watts that you could probably do you know onelegged before. like it's okay and just ignore those numbers. Yeah. And I suppose you have to do that every time you go training. It's not just like it's a one off, is it? That you go, "Oh, it's okay." And then next time you're fine. It's like every session you're going, "Hang on, it's okay." I would take those really bad W at 10 weeks pregnant now because that's much worse. Yeah. It's just best not to to look at it and it's exceptional, isn't it? Yeah. So, what advice would you give to other active women who are in the same situation and if they're wondering how much training is appropriate for them? It's um it's really hard because and I know it's a cliche, but everyone is so different and every pregnancy is so different. Um, and I guess none of us know what is coming when we, you know, when we fall pregnant. We don't know kind of are we going to be able to continue doing sport at pretty much, you know, the same level or are we going to be, you know, calling in sick for work and vomiting continuously throughout the day. You just don't know kind of what category you're going to fall in. Um, I'm really fortunate that I've got a good group of people around me. So, I've got um I've got two sports doctors and I've got um some good friends that are obstitricians, midwives. Um, so I've once as soon as I had that positive pregnancy test, I contacted them to say look, I've fallen pregnant. Um, what can I can't I do? What advice? Because you know there's so much conflicting advice out there if I just went on Google or you know asked friends that everyone tells you different things. So yeah, I went to my sports doctors um and the obstatrician and asked their advice and all of them said you can continue training as normal um just don't let your core temperature get too hot. So at that time I was in Lanzerati and they said you know if the temperatures are hot don't do things like go out for you know run in the middle of the day you know just we all know what it feels like to get your core temperature up and doing heat training for things like Hawaii and that in the past I know what that feels like. So I just wanted to avoid doing that but they said otherwise you know continue continue training as normal um which I am very fortunate I was able to do to some extent. I pre-reging 16 to 20 hours a week. Um, and the first trimester I did have some nausea and I did have some fatigue and I just felt like doing any kind of longer bike rides was just I just wasn't interested in that. But overall, I've been able to continue swimming, biking, and running. We've adapted things along the way. Like I said, we've changed our outlook um and kind of how we monitor training now. But um yeah, my advice would be continue doing what you were doing before if you're able to. But if you're not able to, then that's perfectly fine as well. You know, it's it's a huge change for your body to go through. And I'm just fortunate that I have been able to to continue doing exercise. And I I now see it more as kind of exercise and movement than training. I don't people say, "Are you training today? I'm or swimming?" They say, "Do you want to know you're going for it?" I'm just here to move. That's what I'm here to do. don't worry about like I'm now at the back of the lane as opposed to the front of the lane and that's fine. I'm just moving my body and I know that's as long as I can continue doing that, that's what's best for for me and the baby as as the time goes on. The more I can keep doing what my body's used to, the better. I think there's quite a a generational um some generational attitudes especially kind of our parents age and grandparents and there's kind of frowns upon as how much exercise you should be doing because we just didn't know you know a few years ago about you know what women could do during pregnancy and I think people think oh you know sit down and rest and I think for me to sit on the sofa for 9 months would be the worst thing for both my physical and my mental health but yeah it's it's being aware that People are going to have opinions on what you're doing. And I'm sure there's people out there and maybe people listening that think I'm doing too much or, you know, think I shouldn't be riding on the roads or or running while pregnant. And everyone's entitled to their own own opinion and I'm just doing what I think is best and safest for for me and the baby right now. Yeah, exactly. That's totally true as well that you know other people have ideas and you don't know where they've come from and what you know what has influenced them and what's influenced you know to to be able to continue to do that and you know that the advice it's not that long ago that the advice was just don't exercise and do nothing. It's really like you say it's like a generation ago. So a lot of us are still hearing that message even though it's out of date really now, isn't it? It's more like listen to your body and have that awareness of your body and not being judged by society or other people. You see it all the time, don't you? People being told, "Oh, you shouldn't be doing this or that." And it's just I don't think people Yeah. That's why I've tried to be as open and honest on social media, on Instagram, and I've kept a kind of a record of how each week has gone for me and just I just want to if anyone else is in a similar position or a few weeks behind me or a few years behind me, I just want to be able to share my personal experiences with them. But I am aware that I've spoken to other athletes that, you know, professional athletes that have been pregnant and they've not wanted to share because they're worried about people might comment on things and um but yeah, for me thankfully I haven't had any, you know, any negativity towards me. Um I'm aware there are people out there that will disagree with the amount that I'm doing, but I'm just following the advice from my doctors, from my midwife, from the obstatrician. Um and most importantly, listening to my body. There have been so many times when I've adapted training. Um, especially last week with the heat wave. Um, the one thing I was told is don't get your core temperature too hot. So, um, completely abandoned training for a few days because I was hot enough just sat doing nothing, you know, sat at work. Um, yay. I did need to get on the bike or go for a run. The risks like far outweighed the benefits then. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, it was it was boiling, wasn't it? I mean, I was hot just I I could feel my core temperature going up just sort of wandering about. And I'm not pregnant. So yeah, the only thing that was any good was going in the cold sea and that managed to cool me down quite a bit. Yeah. My motivation for swimming last week was through the roof. I've never been so keen to get in the pool in all my life. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. And it's not cold enough though, is it? Yeah. And I like the way you put a disclaimer on your you kind of have a disclaimer on your Instagram anyway, don't you? I'm doing this because I know my body and I'm, you know, consult, you know, you've got that kind of information there, which I think is good. I'm just so fortunate to have that, you know, to have access to, you know, being a doctor. I've got other friends, many friends that are doctors, some of whom are obstatricians. My sister's a midwife and she's been on speed dial for the whole the whole pregnancy so far. Yeah, having access to sports doctors as well, I just feel like very fortunate to have this wealth of information alongside my coach who's also coached pregnant women through through training before as well. So, yeah, I've got a lot of information and resources and support and um yeah, just thankful that I can continue doing exercise and using them as resources. Yeah, definitely. And what parts of your training have been easy to adapt and which bits have been a bit more tricky do you think? Um the hardest thing well the hardest thing initially was adapting the mindset and once like I said once I got used to ignoring the numbers. Um I told our coach on ball side like don't tell me times anymore when I touch the ball. I don't want to know what times I'm doing. And that took a few weeks to kind of adapt to. Um, other hard things have been the cycling because we live on the Gower, so there aren't any really flat roads that you can cycle on. So, um, I found the hills especially hard because my watts have gone down 30, 50 watts for my easy rides, but my weight has gone up. Um, so the watts to kilo, um, I'm finding the hills really, really difficult. I feel like I've gone back to um, I don't know if you or any of your listeners can um, identify with this. when you first start cycling and you see every little like incline as a hill and then as you get fitter and fitter you think a few years ago I thought this was a hill and now I think it's nothing whereas now I've gone back to that being like every little kind of speed bump in the road I'm like oh I can't get up this hill yeah I feel like I've gone right back to kind of beginner mindset with cycling there so the cycling's been the hardest um just because yeah the terrain that we live in um it's just become more difficult and also as I'm getting bigger Now, the bike position, I think it's going to have to to change soon cuz my knees are coming up towards um towards my well my knees are now coming out like this. Um so, yeah, I've been looking at ebikes, but I think I should probably spend my money on pram and stuff rather than ebikes and new training kit as well. Yeah, all my money is going on me at the moment. Um so, yeah, cycling has been hard and the mindset has been hard. Um running actually has been I thought that would be the hardest, but that has actually been okay. I've just done it on again RP and um my heart rate for a steady run has been the same as what it was before, but I just go a whole lot slower and but it feels it it's hard to say. At times it feels quite uncomfortable, but I can't quite put my finger on why. It's not like anything's particularly hurting or um I'm too out of breath. It's just I generally just feel it's just hard. Um and then the swimming, I thought that would be the easy one. So I thought it wasn't it wouldn't be until I got bigger. um that I found that harder. Um but the breathing side of things as as everything comes upwards and you've got less lung capacity, I find like I'm gasping in and out of each tumble turn now. Um yeah, so especially when we train short course and I'm finding swimming Yeah, that's hard. So yeah, in summary, probably everything is is hard, but um yeah, just finding ways to try and adapt and get around and then continue moving. Yeah, definitely. That's Yeah, I never thought that kit as well actually for cycling like cycling shorts and things like that must be a bright pain. It's more um Yeah, more sports bras. Um yeah, I've had I've gone through a lot of sports bras already. I just I keep buying the next size up, but then a few weeks later I need the next size up again. Um and running kit as well. It's there's nothing worse that like when your shorts don't sit right or you know, I think that's what it's been mostly. I've just been like uncomfortable but can't put my finger on. So, um, yeah, I'm very much in kind of oversized t-shirts and and stretchy like lucky like a stretchy. Yeah, like a stretchy, isn't it? Yeah. I forgot. I couldn't remember what I did cuz I just ran cuz I wasn't doing triathlon when I was pregnant the first time. So, I was just running. Um, and I quite enjoyed just running. And as you say, it was fairly straightforward. I just got slower and slower. Then it got to the point where it was just not I got too uncomfortable and I didn't want to run anymore. I just stopped in the last few months cuz it was just I was getting big and it was just yeah not not comfortable anymore which is fair fair enough. Yeah, definitely definitely well every run I do and every session I do I think all this this could be the last one but I think hopefully I've still got many more weeks weeks ahead of me. Yeah, I think so. Yeah, definitely. And it's you know at the end of the day it doesn't it's not a very long amount of time. It feels like it's a long amount of time when you're pregnant when and you're used to being active and you're like getting you feel like you're getting less fit, but you probably not losing as much fitness as we think cuz there's that rebound, isn't there? And yeah, it's it's always the same, isn't it? Injury. Anything like that, you think it's worse or I'm getting less fit. Yeah. Yeah. And it doesn't take long to catch to get things back, especially if you're fit before and you keep it going. Yeah. I'm just trying to keep as active as possible. Um, which I think is is best for me. Like I said, I don't see it as training anymore. Just keeping moving and and keeping exercising. Um, yeah, be the best for me. So, how have your goals shifted then over the last few months? I know you've talked about your kind of the way you've looked at your training and you've adjusted your mindset, but for racing or you know, is there any kind of idea about how that might look? You mean like like my longerterm goal? So, like returning to racing. So, yeah. Um, I'd love to be able to return to racing. Um, I've got a race in mind that I'd like to do and I'll be n months postpartum then to do I manar. Um, but we just don't know like how the birth will go, how I recover. Um, so that's very fluid at the moment. But I think it's good to have something on the horizon to keep motivation high and um, yeah, just to keep you excited about triathlon. Um, so the goals I wouldn't say my kind of longerterm goals have changed all that much. I'd say before I was training and racing, like I said, as a hobby for fun. Um, yes, at times we're all guilty of making it a bit too serious and a bit too, you know, selfish. Um, but I think overall, as long as I can, um, and with support from family and my husband, it would be nice to be able to return to professional racing. British triathlon, keep your professional license until the child is two. So there's no pressure for me to perform at the same level in the first year. If I do um if I do race next year um and things don't go all to plan, then I've got the following year to to maintain my license as well. So um yeah, if I'm able to, I'd love to to race I manar and have maybe a kind of a later season. So that'll be August next year. The baby's due in November. So hopefully, yeah, nine months post Hartum. Um, but yeah, it's all very fluid, I'm sure. Yeah, there will be curve balls and things that that come in the way, but um I'd love to be able to return to professional racing, but just with the same mindset that I had before. No, that sounds like you've got a really good way of looking at it to be able to be flexible because you have to be, don't you? You've got children. Yeah. And like I said, it's I'm so lucky to have the professional license where you can make adaptations. like if I was an age grouper now, I'd have to be entering Karan next year, you know, in a few months time. Um whereas I can get to, you know, even 3 weeks before the race and decide actually no, I'm not ready. I want to do um I don't know, I'm in Wales or something afterward, you know, give myself more time. So having that flexibility is Yeah, it's really good. Yeah. And that's something that's being looked at, isn't it, in races more and more now, the pregnancy deferrals for age groupers because it isn't it's not good, is it? If you've got you've had to book your race and then you get pregnant and you can't plan when you get pregnant and then all of a sudden you can't do the race and you need that flexibility. I don't know what Iron Man's like, but some of the races are doing much better deferrals nowadays. I think they they offer it from that end, but also if I if I was an age grouper now, I'd have to be thinking what race do I want to do next summer to be entering things, but I don't know how the birth's going to go or how my training in the first few months after the baby arrives will go. So, it's just nice to have that flexibility next summer to yeah to move things around as needed. So, why Iron Man Kar? Why is that? I love that race. I did it in um I did it last year. Um, it's such a fabulous location. I've never been to Sweden before, but um, really nice location, really easy to get to. The support was, I would say, on par with Iron Man Wales. It was absolutely incredible. Um, I think it helped that we had really nice conditions on race day. It was kind of 21 22 degrees. Um, really calm. I know it can be windy in Kar, but we had a really calm day. Um, and I just had a brilliant race. I was really kind of happy with how the swim back and the run went. Um, the whole experience I just really enjoyed and the atmosphere was incredible. It's a it's a Pro Series race this year and I think that might kind of raise the profile a little bit because I think it goes under the radar. I think if if I asked you know what kind of races are known for their atmosphere, I don't think anyone would come up with Highman Cowar as top of the list. But honestly, it was incredible. Really, really well supported. Um, I've had such a good experience there and I think timings wise that will work out well. Hopefully nine months is enough time um to get, you know, to get ready to do it next year. Yeah, definitely. I think so. I think you've got time. I'm trying to think when I did my first race after, but I wasn't even fit at that point. So, I think I did something in like April and my son was born in July. So, that would have been July. Similar time. Yeah. Yeah. similar rides, but it was only a little, you know, it was like my first triathlon kind of thing when I did. I might get to a few months before and decide this was way too ambitious and I'll change to, I don't know, a 70.3 Elsenor in Denmark, which I've always heard good things about, or another kind of European 70.3 instead and save save the Iron Man for later in the year. Um, just see how you got that flexibility, haven't you, that you can choose and and decide nearer the time and you'll soon know whether it's doable or not. Absolutely. Definitely. Absolutely. Like it's it's pretty obvious quite soon on. But it's nice to be able to go out and train as well and kind of it was my escape from being a parent was to go out and and train cuz some people do their training with their child and I'm like nope

from that. And I was only doing like short stuff because it was sprint stuff anyway. But yeah. Cool. So what would success in sport look like for you over the next few years? talking about, you know, Calmar maybe or just when um when I started, so I recently started being coached by Beex Mills. Um and when we started working together last October, that was one of her questions to me is what success looks like to you. And I wasn't expecting that from like a coaching onboarding meeting. And it did make me really think. Um, yeah. And I answered the question initially and then I went back to her again like after another conversation and and I said for me success isn't like a number like a top 10 or a sub whatever Iron Man. It's it's not about like the placing. It's kind of, it sounds quite mushy, but it's a bit more kind of the overwhelming like success for me is to enjoy what doing what I'm doing and to be in a position and a level of fitness where I can train with other people. Um, I can compete in an ir man. Um, I can do crazy challenges in between. For me, that is success. It's not about where I place or or what my PB is or times or anything like that. is is very much success is just the enjoyment of it all and being in a position where your body's able to to do those things and that's that's how I would define success for me. Yeah. No, that's nice. I like that question. That's a great question for on boarding like as a coach because it's really important to know what your athletes motivations are cuz if your motivation is numbers and or and you're not and I'm not knowing that as a coach or you're wanting to podium and that's not what's happening. You know, a lot of athletes that I coach, they're looking for the experience and the fitness and they just want to enjoy the race and and have a good time there. It's not necessarily, you know, the the performance of or where they place is like a side thing that happens if you're in that in that position or not. You know, some pe a lot of people aren't actually going to podium and they just want to go and have a really awesome experience. Yeah, I think you you're setting or you could potentially be setting yourself up for feeling disappointed after a brilliant performance if you put those kind of targets on it. So, say I said I wanted to go to KMAR and I think last time I finished ninth and I said, "Oh, I want to come ninth." But then next year it was a pro series race again and you've got an amazing field and I finished 15th, but I could have had my absolute best performance and love the day but finished outside what my goal was. So, I'd end up being disappointed in a performance when actually I should have been really thrilled with it. And it can work the other way as well, you know. you could end up, you know, wanting to do um, you know, finish in a certain position and the field that time isn't as strong and you end up happy with the performance where perhaps you should be taking, you know, it might not been your best performance and you should be taking some kind of learnings or or mistakes from it, but you kind of put them to one side because you think, oh, I achieved my goal, so therefore, yeah, I did a really good performance. So, yeah, not putting numbers. Yeah, I don't like putting numbers on things. Um, not when it comes to kind of goals. Um yeah, it's tricky not to though, isn't it? It's like quite hard. It's quite a hard thing to do, especially if you're trying to like, you know, when I was trying to qualify, it was like, well, I have to win this my age group, otherwise I'm not going to get there. Um, but I had to then go, but I've got to forget that on race day and not think about it. And whatever happens happens. I know I'm in my best shape that I can be and that's all you can do. So, you kind of like have the both going on sometimes. Yeah, I think it's best to keep it internal um rather than there's so many external factors like other people that you can't control at all. You can only control yourself and your performance. So, um yeah, I don't really tend to I probably should more get involved in what other people are doing on race day, especially in the professional field. there are more tactics and group dynamics and and things like that to think about, but I'm very kind of internally driven and just focus on me and getting myself to the finish line as quick as I can and whatever will be will be if if I win, if I come 100th, I can only do what I can do. Yeah, it's taking your own, you know, doing what you can do for yourself rather than worrying. I think I don't think that's a negative thing. I think that's good especially for your mental health sometimes cuz I think it can be otherwise too much can't it? Yeah. So is there anything about becoming a parent that you think might help you become a better athlete? I think from looking at other people that have been through similar things, I think overwhelmingly people seem to come back stronger and it's so inspiring to see um you know so many different athletes come back stronger after after having a child. I don't know if it's the hormones, if it's the change in kind of motivation and change in perspective. um whether it's that your training adapts because you don't have the time to put in necessarily any like like junk miles or every basically every session that you do I guess has has to have a specific purpose um if you're more time crunch. So, I don't know what it is, but people seem to come back incredibly well after child birth. And I hope that I'm in that category where, you know, I've got a new sense of of motivation and perspective. Um, you know, I want to be a role model. Um, I want to, you know, set examples um, you know, for the child. Um, but also I think that, you know, the hormones after pregnancy, I've heard that they can, you know, give you some some money superpowers. So, I guess we'll have to see. Um, yeah, it's all an unknown at the moment, but all I can say is from women that have been there beforehand, it's it's incredibly inspiring to see how they've been able to um, you know, manage sleepless nights and all the stresses that come with parenthood, but have a stronger um, a stronger performance than before pregnancy. Yeah. I and the other thing I often see is that it sounds like you've got that anyway to be honest, but that gratitude for being able to go out and train and and do those things, but it sounds like you've already you're already doing that, you know, being grateful to be able to go out and train during pregnancy. It sort of starts there, doesn't it? And it carries on to as you then go through and then have a child and go, "Yeah, you are definitely grateful to be able to go and train." And I think even without thinking about pregnancy and and children and and all that comes with that, I think just I've always just had gratitude for being able to swim, bike, and run. Um anyway, I think there's so many people out there um with injuries, illnesses, and it only takes your own kind of minor injuries or minor illnesses to knock you back and think actually I am so lucky to be able to go out for a run. There's so many people I'm sure that would love to go out for a run that physically aren't able to. Um so yeah, it's only when it's after multiple injuries and illnesses throughout my time doing the sport that it makes you really and seeing other people that are in situations where they can't um you know, their health is holding them back. So, I think we should all have more gratitude just to be able to move. It's it's know it's fantastic that we're able to train and and exercise and have a healthy enough body to do so. Yeah. And experience things that a lot of people will never experience with the events that we do as well. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. So, you have raced a lot of events, but obviously long course weekend which was at the weekend actually, wasn't it? you've you've gone back to that event a few times. What is it that brings you back to Long Course? Because I love it cuz I live near. Yeah, TMBI for me is such a special place. Um, so I first raced there when I did Long Horse Weekend in 2022 in preparation for IM Wales later that year. Um, I don't know, there's just something about being stood on North Beach. It just Yeah, just gives you the the goosebumps. Um and having such a positive first experience there definitely helped shape ti as a special place for me. Um I yeah managed to take the win experience for people. Yeah. You sorry you about to tell um so yeah taking the win at the long cross weekend swim um was the first kind of yeah running up North Beach knowing you're the first person to cross that line. Um yeah, the I mean Wales loves a sporting event, but the crowds um and everything were were fantastic there. And the whole weekend is very magical. Um so many ups and downs. I had that weekend with mechanicals and niggles and injuries and yeah, a lot of things go go into long course weekend. A lot of overthinking on my part throughout each of the days. Um, but to finish with the overall win in 2022 despite I I didn't even think I was gonna make it on on the start line on on the run. Um, so yeah, why is that then? What happened? You have So the swim went really well. The bike um was going well until I got a puncher. I think I was about 70k in or I wasn't a significant way into the bike. Um, and I got a puncher and I was on the side of the road trying to fix it for half an hour. Um I don't think I had tubeless tires then. I think I was Yes, I had um inner tubes in and the inner tube that I changed it to um either pinched or whatever punched my wheel had repunched that inner tube. So I ended up changing two inner tubes. Um lost the group that I was cycling with cuz at that point it was road bikes only. So we were all in groups. So I was in a fantastic group getting dragged around at a pace that I would not be able to hold if I was on my own and I was on the side of the road. Um yeah, we had to carry phones with us I think for safety reasons. And so I was facetiming my husband saying, "I've got a puncher like can you like I'm trying to do this. I'm replaced the tube once and I thought that's it. I'm like that's the end of my long course weekend." Um but managed to get going again and somehow didn't lose too much time to the other the other females despite being on the side of the road for quite a while. So that was a shock. Um, so starting in the marathon, I think I had a half an hour lead over um the next over the next group of girls. Um, but I knew that they were incredible runners and I'd been nursing what I thought was a hip injury, but I actually think I just got tight hip flexors cuz when I went on the foam roller the night before the race and I managed to, yeah, ease everything out. I've not done more than 5k of running in the kind of weeks leading up because every time I ran my hip flexors got really tight and so I thought I was only going to get to 5k on the run. Um I managed to finish the whole the whole marathon and didn't get caught from behind. So wow. Yeah. Everything was just Yeah. It just felt like a shock after were they okay? Screwed. Absolutely screwed. Yeah. Yeah. No, I was this phantom injury. I I really thought that I'd like yeah broken both my hips, but actually I was just got really tight hip flexors every time I ran. And getting on the foam roller was all I needed to sort it out, but I didn't find that out until I Yeah. did some emergency foam rolling the night before the race and managed to fix the injury that I'd had for the last few weeks. Oh wow. Yeah. So I wasn't sure at all if I was going to be able to run. Um but yeah, managed to to keep keep on going. um and got got round in a decent enough time to to take the win. And the that like um finishes award ceremony, the you know the carpet and the fireworks and the people, the drama. Yeah. Walking I felt like the queen walking through this kind of parade of people and yeah, it was it was brilliant. And yeah, people kind of learn your name, you know, local people learn your name there. And then um yeah, people kind of know who you are. Why do you know who I am? just, you know, I'm just someone that's come along to to do this race and yeah, it was just such a fantastic experience. Yeah, definitely. No, it's amazing. And Iron Man Wales sort of similar experience. Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. It was um Yeah. 10B somewhere. We've been back every every year since to support and I've been going there since 2015 when we moved to Wales. I've been going there every year to race to to support. Sorry. Yeah. Yeah, it's a fantastic event. So, did you do it again then? A couple of years after um I've not actually done the full weekend since. Right. Okay. Um I've I've been been back every year that I've been able to to do the swim support. Oh, and do the swim. Yeah. To do the swim. Yeah, I've done the swim every year since. Apart from uh 2023 when I broke my collarbone, but they let me start this to be the um on the start of the kids race. So, um I was down there still, but yeah, in a sling and the other years, yeah, the other years I've I've just done the swim race. Okay, nice. Yeah. And what do you think? Do you think that because it's obviously it's over three days? Well, probably not everyone knows this, but um long course weekend, you do swim like Iron Man distance or half iron man distance, but the full one is an Iron Man distance swim on the Friday, then the Iron Man distance bike on a Saturday and then Iron Man distance obviously marathon on the Sunday or you can do like half of the whole events or you can pick and choose bits and it can't you and do bits. Um, but it's different to doing a full iron man. Do you think it suits you better or do you think it's so different? Um, yeah. Again, naively thought it would be similar, if not easier than an Iron Man, because you get time to recover in between. Um, but I found it so hard. Um, the swim on the Friday, I was just buzzing afterwards. Um, I don't know if I've had too many caffeine gels or like just the whole atmosphere. I could not sleep at all that night. So the swim was quite late the year that I did it. I think we started at 7:00. Then they did the award ceremony at 9:00. So you didn't get back to your accommodation until kind of half 9, 10:00 by the time you had a shower and everything. I remember going to bed and just laying there being wide awake, absolutely buzzing. But the bike started at 7:00 the next day. So I needed to be up at 5:00 and I think it was 2 or 3 in the morning and I was still wide awake after the swim. Um, so I found that yeah, switching off after the swim before starting the bike, I found that really hard. Um, and then between the bike and the run is just so much overthinking because you're, again, this is why you shouldn't look at other people, but you're kind of analyzing, well, if so and so runs x time, I need to run this time in order to keep the lead. And um, then physically as well, I remember walking down the stairs on the morning of the marathon and already walking like I'd done a marathon because the bike had taken so much out of my legs. So to start a marathon with such bad doms, it's just awful. Um because your muscles have already started, you know, they've broken down. They've started repairing. Yeah. Um so it's very different mentally and physically compared to doing an Iron Man. In an Iron Man, you've not got time to think between swim then bike then run. You've not got time to go on the internet and look at other people's, you know, results and compare your results to them and think if X happens then Y. And you've just not got that time to overthink. And then physically you've not got time for the for the doms to set in during the middle of an Iron Man. Um so yeah, I found it so much harder but also so much more rewarding at the end. And you know, you've had that whole weekend of to celebrate rather than just 9 10 or however many hours the iron man takes. And yeah, but they're both amazing in their own right, but do not underestimate the the toll that long course weekend will take on your body. And I think in each discipline you go harder. So you've got that more muscle breakdown. Um you know if you were to swim a 3.8k time trial you're doing that absolutely max effort for 3.8k and you swim so much harder than if it was the first hour or however long it takes of a 10 11 12 13 plus hour day. Um you're you're tapering your your effort quite differently. And the same with the bike. You're not seeing it as a just 180k time trial. you don't think about the run. It's um you know, you're just doing the bike, so you you do that that much harder. And by the marathon, it's just it's just what you've got left, isn't it? But um yeah, if you've not got the um you know, you're starting kind of fresh as such. So, it's only, you know, three, four, however many hours is rather than the last three or four hours of a um of a however long your man day is. So, each one is is much more intense. Yeah, definitely. Yeah, I I remember that's I had a similar experience when I did and I didn't do the full one. I just did the bike the next day and I think I did half the bike the next day and I did the full swim the night before and I was like can't get to sleep and I ate really late, you know, and I had I didn't feel like I'd eaten enough and all that kind of thing. And then the next day I was like, "Oh god, I just got to get up and cycle." And it was just so buzzing from seeing people, from the atmosphere, from the wind. Yeah. Yeah. From being down in T. It was just all kind of so much to take in. And I was just Yeah. Absolutely. I couldn't sleep. Yeah. But it's interesting as well cuz we sometimes get really freaked out when we can't sleep. But you do actually still you can still perform the next day once you've done that. It still sort of kicks in. And sometimes people do worry if they're not sleeping that they're going to have a terrible day. The next, you know, that becomes another worry. But actually, it's okay. You you'll be all right. But yeah, everyone's on the same boat. No one's on the start line of of any event, you know, Iron Man, whatever that starts at 6:00 in the morning. No one's had a nice fresh eight hours. Everyone is in the same boat. Everyone will have had disturbed sleep. Um, and the caffeine will get you through the race day. Caffeine and adrenaline and the support will get you through. Exactly. Once you get going, it's just that sort of pre thing, isn't it, of like, oh, nerves and worry about what's going to happen. Okay. So, got a bit of a fun question. What's one of the sessions that you secretly dread when it appears that you have to do like your worst training session? I I I don't know actually. It's it's a really hard question for me to answer that because I feel like I can't think there's nothing that springs to mind. There's nothing that I'm like, "Oh, I hate that or I hate that." I think it's probably because I've got such good communication with my coach that they they know what I don't like. Nothing. There's no nasty surprises that come in. Um there's a few other swim sets um that I find really hard. Uh, so we do one session where it's got quite a short warm up and then we go into some 400s max and I really hate that session because I'm a bit of an old diesel engine and like I like a long warm up. I don't like to or I'm not very good at going really like max effort for 400 meters of very limited warm up. Um, so for me the yeah, the the one session I would dread would be a swim with a short warmup and then going straight into some hard or even any doesn't have to be swim any bike run session where you don't have much of a warmup and you go straight into some really hard like V2 or threshold effort. I find I need Yeah. a long time of aerobic warm up and then a bit of a you know sweet spot or kind of Yeah. I like to I'm definitely someone that builds into my sessions. So I'm always that kind of person that even even though you do kind of the same effort for all reps, my times tend to get better as we go through. I tend to build into every session I do. Um yeah, I'm not someone that likes to go super hard super early on in the session. I just can't do that. Well, that's good for endurance racing, isn't it? The sort of improvement as you get through the session rather than burning everything at the beginning and then kind of dropping off at the end. So, yeah, it is something I've had to it is something I've had to work on because obviously the start of any swim, you've got to be able to go hard. You can't just think, oh, I just I'm just building to this one and then miss the group or the pack or whatever that you're with. So, I just know that before a race, I I can't just rock up to the start line, you know, straight without doing any kind of warm up first. I need to do um yeah, mobility normally go for a run. Yeah. Um if I can get in the water, then I will do and then just do some kind of sprint starts and just I mean on a race day, you know, you're training definitely helps you out. It's is easier than in training, but I do I'm aware that I'm not someone that can just be straight on the ball from the gun without a good warm up first. Yeah, it's frustrating. They quite often don't let you go in the water now before you before the events anyway. Well, it's different for age groupers, but yeah, I find that really annoying because you're like, I just want to swim in the water for a bit and warm up cuz to get used to being in the water as well even. Yeah, there's lots of kind of band work and mobility work that I tend to incorporate into my like swim warm-ups anyway, like for just for a normal swim session. Um, I'm awful if I just go straight from the office straight to the pool. I need to, you know, get on the foam roller, do some yoga, do some mobility. Even if it's just 10 minutes of stretching, um, honestly makes so much difference to the times that I can hold in the pool. Um, I can absolutely tell if I've not done that work. Um, I'll be at least a few seconds slower per 100. Um, yeah, just doing that kind of 10 minutes of activation before any session. And I know majority people don't have, you know, time isn't a luxury. Um, but honestly doing, yeah, 10 minutes of of mobility, loosening up your shoulders before you swim, yeah, guarantee will make you swim faster in that session. That's different. Really good advice. And a thing that also as you get older, like I'm finding now, I need to do a lot more stuff like that. And I do something every morning. I do like a short little kind of move through the body and get everything going. But my husband and I climb and you know like joking sometimes that we spend more time warming up actually climbing cuz it's you've got to get everything mobile and just Yeah, it just feels better when you do that. But sometimes you just go and do that and not do anything else. Just the warm up. It is boring and no one enjoys it. But it does have a massive impact. Yeah. Well, maybe we have to like change the way we think about it then and not say it's boring or just say like, "Yeah, it's good. It's a it's the enjoyable sort of thing." My husband loves his warm up now. He spends ages doing it. He's got bands and someone complimented on him on it the other day. He was really pleased like, "Oh, you're doing a really long warm up. What are you doing?" Wanted to know about it. But yeah, it doesn't have to be a long warm up. can be like like you say five 10 minutes just to yeah loosen and activate everything definitely. Okay. So the the last question I'd like to ask you is and I've kind of asked it already but any more advice that women especially around kind of navigating everything with if they've got multiple things going on at at work training and they're also pregnant and they're trying to manage all of those things. Is there any advice or something that you'd like to say to anyone out there? Um, I think it's something that I'm not all that great at, but I think just being kind to yourself and allowing yourself to feel whatever you feel um in that time and not being ashamed or afraid or guilty for having rest. Um, I' never been someone that's particularly enjoyed having like too much time to rest. Um, but if your body's asking for it and you feel like, you know, you'd be happier to just sit at home and have a bath than to go to the swim or or whatever it is that you're doing, I think just allowing yourself to feel whatever you feel. Um, and not feel guilty for having rest days. I've definitely been a lot kinder to myself now during during this time. Um, but then on the flip side, having routine can help with keeping, you know, active. So yeah, being organized and having a routine is definitely helpful in just keeping things second nature and you don't have to think about organizing yourself or or getting in the right, you know, mind mindset for a certain session. Um yeah, having that routine is helpful, but also being able to step away from that routine and think actually I normally swim on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday night, but this Wednesday I feel horrific and I just want to relax, do some knitting or have bath. Um, and I feel like my body will benefit more from that. Um, yeah. So, I think it's it's getting the balance, isn't it? Um, listening to to your body and what it's asking for. And um, because I'm so active normally, I know that if I have a session off, it's it's for a, you know, it's a legitimate reason. Yeah. I'm not I'm not someone that pre-reg I'm not someone that would really ever miss a a session. Um, so I know that I'm not just, you know, being lazy and putting it off. It's, yeah, it's just being kind to yourself in those times. And but also knowing when you think actually I do feel a little bit tired, but I think I'd feel better for trying a run or even just I tend to go out with the mindset now, I'm not sure if I want to run or not. So I take put my kit on, take myself down to the seafront where we live, um, and think, right, just start with a walk and then if you want to progress into a run, you can. If you want to turn around after 5 minutes, you can. getting yourself started on a session and you'll soon know, you know, I've sat on the bike before. I try it and then you get past the warm up and you think, "No, it's not it's not happening today." Cuz you know, nine times out of 10, if you start a session, you might generally feel better for doing it. Yeah. Um Yeah. The hardest thing is is getting your kit on and getting out the door. But what's even harder than that is recognizing when that's not the right thing to do. Um Yeah, definitely. Yeah. I know I used to go on a swim with the tri club when I just had uh Devon I guess I don't know it might have been later anyway but I used to go regularly on a Monday night and uh I remember sitting on the sofa one in the winter and going I really don't want to go and then going am I being lazy and just like this back and forth for like 10 minutes and then it gets too late to go and you're like okay well I didn't go and then I'd give myself a hard time and you'd be like why are you doing this I've got much better at it now that you know, just, you know, the more you practice that, the better you get at it actually at not giving yourself a hard time. Yeah. But it does take that you trying it as well and and sometimes like going out like you say and having that go at it and you definitely know if it's not the right choice for you that day. And you get better at recognizing it before you even have to go. Sometimes it's like, "No, I know that I'm going to start running and I'm just going to feel terrible." So, yeah, just practicing and making things habits is is great advice for people. Yeah, it's it's hard to give advice without knowing who you're giving advice to because there might be people out there that perhaps um you know, well, there's probably people that are on both ends of the spectrum. Some people that might need a little bit more of a of a kick up the bum and go on, give it a try and you might feel, you know, put your kit on, you might feel okay. And then there's probably other people at the other end that actually need slowing down and be like, "No, for you it's time to sit on your sofa, take a break." And it's just hard to know where to put your advice, too. Exactly. Because different people will need different different bits of advice. So, yeah, it's really hard to give that generic advice. I think overwhelmingly, you know, just be kind to yourself in the moment. And what do you need in that moment? Do you need a bit more rest or what is kind of better for you is to, you know, to give it a go and get moving? Yeah, I suppose it comes down to that person's self-awareness of if they know what they're like and whether they know that they need to slow down or whether they know that they need to give themselves a kick up the and athletes aren't self-awareness. You know, we're not we don't tend to be uh tend to bury our head in the sands a little bit as athletes. Yeah. Well, if you've been training for endurance events, that's what you're training yourself to do, isn't it? Cuz it's not very pleasant. It's painful. And so, you're pushing through that kind of pain and and discomfort all the time. Good advice for everybody really. There's something in there for everyone. So, thank you very much. You've been really great guest. Really nice to have you on. Really nice to speak to you. Um, and thank you again. Thank you. It's been really great to chat. Thanks for listening today. Have a great day. Take care. Bye for now.