A few words with Rachel Joyce
At the 2009 Ford Ironman Word Championships a female Brit rocked into the top ten of whom many folks had not heard of before. She has now joined Team Abu Dhabi and is ready to show that the performance in Kona wasn't a fluke.
Slowtwitch: Thank you so much for spending time with us.
Rachel: Hello and thank you for having me on Slowtwitch
ST: It has been 3 months now since you stormed into top 10 in Kona. Has your world changed much?
Rachel: Some things have changed and some things have remained pretty much the same. When I got back from Hawaii my day to day life carried on as normal except I did get some attention from the UK triathlon press and I did my first interview and cover shot for Triathlete Europe, which was good fun and really exciting for me. Apart from some media attention the major change came when I was approached by Team Abu Dhabi Triathlon, the team led by Faris Al Sultan, asked if I would like to apply for the team. I am currently in Abu Dhabi with the team on a training camp and this is my first experience of being in a team set up. Unlike last year joining the team gives me some financial stability so that I will be able to focus 100% on training and not look for work as I did last year. Another important factor for me is the team environment, which already seems to be working well for me especially during these training camps as I get the opportunity to train with like-minded pro triathletes, share knowledge and I can learn a lot from the experiences of the others. The team set up is going to make my life easier. For instance, the arrangements for this camp were all taken care of, we have a team manager, physio and doctor on the camp with this. The team also comes with a host of excellent sponsors which I would have struggled to get on my own.
ST: What expectations did you actually have going into Kona?
Rachel: At the start of 2009 my initial aim was to qualify for Hawaii as I’d missed out by one spot in Ironman Florida in November 2008. After qualifying in Lanzarote I decided I didn’t just want to go for experience but to have the best performance possible. Having never raced in Hawaii before nor raced against most of the known contenders my expectations as to my position were pretty arbitrary. I decided I would be happy with a top 20 position and delighted with a top 10. Perhaps more importantly I focused on what I knew I could control: I knew I was fitter than I had been for my previous races – I felt stronger in all three disciplines so I felt confident I would be able to improve on my previous results.
ST: Talk about your race day in Kona.
Rachel: On race morning I felt pretty calm and my overwhelming feeling was of excitement as well as a few nerves. In any race I’m always impatient for the gun to go as the nerves always disappear once you’re getting on with the race. I lined up in the swim next to a couple of girls who I knew would either be faster than me or around about my speed, and after the initial scrum at beginning I got into a good group, and felt that I settled into a comfortable rhythm quite quickly. I came out of the swim in a group that included about 3 others girls and saw I had swum about 53 minutes, which was right where I wanted to be.
I found the first part of the bike route through Kona a little difficult. My legs didn’t feel good, and I was thinking too much about what my competitors were doing and wondering if I should be trying to bridge the gap to the girls in front. Once I got onto the Queen K away from the crowds I calmed down a bit and my legs warmed up. I stuck to my plan to ride almost conservatively until Hawi and then pick things up on the way back. When I got time checks I could see that a small group had formed about 2 minutes ahead of me but decided against trying to push myself to get to them as I didn’t want to blow up further down the line.
This tactic seemed to work out ok for me as at the turn around I was feeling good and having dropped back to 6th place on the way out to Hawi I gained 2 places on the way back moving me up to 4th place. I started to feel the heat too and my arms were burning up as I’d missed the sun cream in T1 so made a note to myself to get some in T2! In previous races I have started to tire in the last 20km but I still felt strong going passed the airport. I was on a bit of a high coming back into Kona. The crowds and atmosphere were amazing and I felt like I had put myself in a great position for the run. I was still on a high as I ran out of T2 but the thought of running a marathon is quite a sobering thought and so I made sure that I didn’t get carried away in the opening miles. The first part of the run, along Alii Drive, passed in a bit of a blur with the crowds. I remember little snap shots: seeing my boyfriend and parents; hearing quite a few people quoting my number and asking “Who is she?” and also getting a cheer from Natascha Badmann on my way back into town which I thought was pretty cool! Palani Drive hit me pretty hard and I was reduced to a walk until I reached the top: which happened to be when Mirinda Carfrae sped passed me. The rest of the my run was broken down into 10 minute segments. Although conditions were tough this is what I had expected and would almost have been disappointed had it been anything other. I dropped back to 7th place at the Energy Lab but it was at the turnaround point, after seeing who was behind me and how they looked that I really believed that I could get a top ten place. The finisher’s chute was incredible and I loved every moment: high fiving the crowds. I went back to see the final finishers at midnight and the race felt a bit unreal and I was pinching myself to believe I had made 7th spot.
ST: Prior to Kona you had some decent results including a very nice second place at Ironman Lanzarote, but nothing that would have caused folks to tip you into the top 10. What do you think changed?
Rachel: After Lanzarote I had some down time and in that time thought what I needed to do to race well at Hawaii. I have always analyzed each of my races to think about what went well, or not so well so I can improve for my next race. In Lanzarote I knew I had tired towards the end of the bike, which then impacted on my run so decided a good bet was to focus on strengthening my bike as I felt this would not only make me faster on the bike, but also fresher on the run. In the 8 weeks leading up to Hawaii I worked with a cycle coach, Helen Carter of PB Science and using a power meter I learned quite a lot about the way I was riding and I think this paid off in Hawaii.
ST: You did take important lessons from Lanzarote though.
Rachel: Yes, I came second in Lanzarote and although second was enough to qualify for Hawaii I didn’t feel like I had a great race. I think I went into it overtired as I had tried to train hard too soon after Ironman South Africa in April. Having said that, I really loved the race. Lanzarote has been a frequent training venue for me so it felt really familiar and the crowds around the island and in Puerto del Carmen were awesome.
ST: In 2008 at Ironman UK you lead the race early on, but then you disappeared from the top ten. What happened?
Rachel: I was coming back from an injury in September 2008 and knew before I started the race that I did not have enough running in my legs to be able to run a marathon. I think I had run for about 2 weeks and my longest run was 10km so I decided to start the race and use it for training to help me prepare for a good race in Ironman Florida 8 weeks later. It was pretty tough pulling out when I was in third place but my then coach and boyfriend had positioned themselves strategically on the run course to pull me off if I got the idea into my head to carry on.
ST: I guess will we see you in Abu Dhabi?
Rachel: Definitely. As I said, I’m in Abu Dhabi at the moment training and although we are based in Al Ain we have been over to the race venue and it looks spectacular. The bike route goes past the grand mosque and we get to ride a loop of the grand prix circuit. It promises to be quite a show, and with the new race format and generous prize purse I think the field will be very strong.
ST: What else is on your schedule for 2010?
Rachel: After racing in Abu Dhabi I’m going to do some half ironman distance races in the States including New Orleans, Wildflower and maybe Kansas. After that I will return to Europe and race Ironman Austria at the beginning of July. I’ll do a few more races after that too as I start my build up for Hawaii in October.
ST: You had quite a few sponsorship changes / updates in the recent months. Can you elaborate?
Rachel: Well, the major change has been joining Team Abu Dhabi Triathlon at the beginning of the year. The Team’s main sponsor is Abu Dhabi Tourism and in addition we have some great kit sponsors. This year I will be racing on the Storck Aero 2, which Faris was riding in Hawaii. The Team is also sponsored by Adidas, Oakley, Suunto, Aquasphere, Continental, PowerBar, Shimano, SRM and Xentis. As well as my new team sponsors I will also keep some of my original supporters and sponsors who have supported me right from the beginning: Taylor Wessing LLP – the law firm who I was employed by for 5 years and who have sponsored me since I started racing professionally; and also theTriLife.com, a coaching company based in the UK.
ST: A new coach is also in your world. Who coached you prior and why the change to Matt Dixon?
Rachel: Yes, I have recently started working with Matt Dixon of Purple Patch Fitness. I met Matt in Hawaii but a friend had recommended him to me over the summer of 2009. When I first started triathlon I was coached by Richard Jones, now of the TriLife.com. I was brand new to the sport then, and I learned a lot from him. A bit further down the line once I was racing professionally I decided I wanted to manage my own training plan. When I decided I wanted to really focus on improving my cycling in the period running up to Kona I worked with the cycling coach I mentioned earlier, Helen Carter. After Kona I decided I wanted to have triathlon coach who understood the demands of all 3 disciplines, had a good knowledge of the sport and of course someone I would have a good rapport with and Matt filled those criteria.
ST: Other than building new business relationships, what have you been doing the last few months?
Rachel: Immediately after Hawaii I had a week’s holiday in Kuaui to recover from the race (….and the Mai Tais at the Ironman after-party!) which was such a beautiful island. Back at home I had some down time, caught up with friends and family and trained as I wanted for sometime. Over the last 18 months I have also done some work with Pro-Active London, an organization whose aim is to increase the amount of physical activity Londoners do. I was specifically working on a program called Recruit into Coaching, which aims to recruit volunteers to train as coaches in deprived areas so that all children have access to at least 5 hours of exercise a week. This has been an eye opening experience and I hope the initiative succeeds as sport can have such a positive influence on a child’s life. I also kept training pretty relaxed over Christmas – although I squeezed in a couple of turbo sessions in the garage to try and minimize the impact of mince pies and turkey.
ST: Do you follow any other sports?
Rachel: I follow quite a few sports and enjoy doing a fair amount of them when training permits! I really enjoy watching tennis – hopefully Murray will come through and win a grand slam soon. I love watching swimming and athletics, and I’ve been over to France a few times to follow the Tour de France which is one of my favorite holiday/training camp.
ST: Can you share with us some of your food likes and dislikes?
Rachel: Hmmm. I generally like most foods ☺! Favorites include just about anything my Mum cooks, a good steak and a current favorite that I’ve discovered since being out here in Abu Dhabi is dates….oh, and chocolate of course! I don’t have too many food dislikes but I really really hate mayonnaise and I also have to go cold turkey on energy gels for a few weeks after an Ironman race!
ST: What music do you like?
Rachel: I have quite an eclectic taste in music. At the moment my iPod has a lot of Black Eyed Peas, always Queen and Abba, and Alicia Keyes to name a few. I find ‘I gotta feelin’ by Black Eyed gets me pumped up to do some training – it also really reminds me of Hawaii.
ST: What was the last book you read?
Rachel: I’ve just finished reading The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. It’s a funny satirical story told by an Indian entrepreneur about his life working himself up from his beginnings working in a tea room in rural India. I’d highly recommend it. Next on the list is a bit of chick lit – its about all I can handle when training gets tough!
ST: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Rachel: Well, I definitely see myself racing for the next 3 years but after that who knows. I guess I’ll be thinking of starting a family, and my ideal situation would be to combine my legal background with a job in sport but we’ll see. I’m not sure I would have seen myself here if you’d asked me 5 years ago so anything can happen.
ST: Is there anything else we should know about you?
Rachel: Hmm, I can’t think of anything just at the moment…
