What are your current training goals?
The last few months have been the busiest cycling period yet for me with Australian Track Teams pursuit, Australian Road Nationals and then two UCI International events; Tour Down Under and Cadel’s Great Ocean Road Race. I will look to build on the experience that I have gained from this summer and take it into the domestic season with my Sydney Uni Staminade Team. This year will be my last at School and will be looking to continue my development and dream of pursuing more international racing and of course have fun doing it.
What is most important for your preparation leading into competition?
I try to be very organised and structure my preparation before a competition, there is so much to think of; equipment, taper, nutrition and of course hydration, where PREPD has provided a real advantage. I believe that when you are ready well in advance, it reduces stress, gives you time to focus and feel prepared to race. You know you have done everything to prepare for the event and compete at your best.
How do you approach hydration?
I honestly believe that my preparation and hydration plan was what made the difference over my summer of cycling. It started back in November last year, where my coach put me through a heat training program which prepared my body and mind for the increased heat and fatigue that I would encounter in January. During this time I also worked with a nutritionist calculating sweat rates and fuelling the body. With temperatures over 40 encountered on several race days in a multi stage tour, I believe it was my hydration plan with PREPD and Staminade that enabled me to back up for the next stage. During the race you have three sources of fluid, what you start with, from the vehicle and from the feedzone handed to you. I often came back from the vehicle with over 4 bottles to hand out to my team mates. After meeting with the PREPD team before the Tour Down Under, I refined how I can best use the two-step PREPD system to boost hydration on race day. I ensured I went into the tour hydrated and used PREPD Prime before going to sleep, hydrated during the event and then had the Recover in my recovery bag that I had access to straight after the event.
How have you integrated PREPD into your training and competition routine and what difference has it made to your performance and recovery?
Utilising performance and recovery methods allows me to be able to perform at my peak and push my limits. PREPD allows my hydration to be replenished to back up after multiple days of exertion and makes it easier to manage my hydration over races. I think that PREPD will also be as much of an advantage in the cooler months as during summer because hydration is often overlooked in these conditions. During cooler months many sessions are indoors and can be very intense and depleting in terms of the fluid loss. I have found that the advantage of PREPD is key for both my training and in racing. Considering how many back-to-back intense training sessions I have in my routine, the ability to train harder and recover faster with PREPD is key to my race preparation. Naturally it is always critical to train as you race.
