Kate Bevilaqua is Wanaka ready
Aussie Pro Kate Bevilaqua started her 2013 campaign with a win at the inaugural Albany Half Ironman and is taking on Challenge Wanaka this weekend. She had a few words with slowtwitch about racing, training and various animals.
ST: Hi there Kate.
Kate: Hey Herbert. Happy New Year.
ST: With that win in Albany your 2013 season certainly has started on a fine note.
Kate: Absolutely, I will take it. It was the inaugural Albany Half Ironman and the race directors did a fantastic job. After taking quite a bit of time off towards the end of last year, the most I have in my professional career, I was back into some solid training once I returned to Perth in mid November. So it was a good indication of where my fitness was at and what areas to focus my training on during my next block.
ST: On your site you mentioned the novelty coming out of the water first. Was this indeed your first time reaching T1 in the lead?
Kate: Ha ha, yes, that actually never happens to me. As far as I can remember I have never been out of the water first. It has always been about trying to limit the gap as much as possible out of the water. I have been working hard on my swim over the last few years with Paul Newsome and SwimSmooth in Perth. And when I haven’t been doing that, swimming with Guy Crawford is not exactly easy either.
ST: Are you telling us that Crawford guy is pretty good in the water?
Kate: Yes, absolutely. Swimming with him is a pain for me. But it can only be good for me, so they say. He is what our swim coach Paul Newsome would call a classic Mr Smooth swimmer. If he is not feeling the love he doesn’t get in the water. Where as us non swimmers have to swim no matter what. All that time in the water must be good for us, right?
ST: It was right for you in Albany and it allowed you to be first on the bike, but how much of an advantage did you have coming off the bike and were you aware of the time gap?
Kate: I wasn’t exactly sure of the time gap coming off the bike. The first 45km of the bike we had a nice tailwind, which I tried to take advantage of. It wasn’t until the turn around I got my first glimpse of the gap to the chasing girls and thought it was around 3 minutes. Riding back into town we had a strong head wind and I was watching my speed getting slower and slower and was just hoping it was affecting everyone else the same. Finally, at the first run turned around at 5km I was able to get my next split and see I had about 4 minutes.
ST: Were you feeling good during the run?
Kate: I wouldn’t say I was feeling great, but I was feeling better than I was 3 weeks ago at Canberra 70.3 so that made me happy. It was an extremely tough run course. I would rate it right up there with the run course at Honu 70.3. The first 5km is rolling along a beach side footpath with a short flat section to the turn around, however on the way back you head down onto the beach for 2.5km. You can see far in the distance the point you need to run to, so it is better to keep the head down and just put one foot in front of the other. Then onto the boardwalk for a short climb to the turn around point before heading back to transition and doing it all again. Although I didn’t feel fast or great, I felt strong.
ST: Challenge Wanaka is next?
Kate: Yes, something new which I am very excited about. Actually I am here now in Wanaka and it is amazing. Such a gorgeous location, the scenery is stunning. I just completed a drive of the bike course and can see how challenging it will be. But I love racing in New Zealand and this weekend will be no different.
ST: Do you feel fit?
Kate: Well, I am not going to lie to you and say I am the fittest I have ever been. I have just had some considerable time off after illness, I have been back training for a couple of months. Training has definitely been going well, consistent, and I had a great hit out at the Albany Half Ironman. It is January, there is a long year ahead of me and I see this as a great opportunity to see where my fitness is at in an incredible location with some quality competition.
ST: Who is the main competition?
Kate: Everyone. Gina Crawford was on fire last year and had an awesome 2012 and has won this event 4 times. Jo Lawn is making her first appearance in Wanaka and needs no introduction. Plus Candice Hammond who has been on the podium here the last few years and has a killer run. Anyone on the start list could put it together and cross that line first. I know it is a bit of a cliche, but I will be totally focusing on my own race and my own goals for this one. The rest is totally out of my control.
ST: How did you decide on Wanaka?
Kate: I had thought about it for a few years but it never fit into the schedule. Normally I would race Ironman Western Australia in December then need a bit of a break before building again for Ironman New Zealand in March. But after being sick the end of last year taking time off and not racing Ironman Western Australia I saw it as a great chance to finally have my first Challenge Experience.
ST: Do you plan on doing more Challenge races, or is this for now more of a testing event?
Kate: I think it is definitely going to be a testing event for my fitness. But in regards to the event, I have never heard a bad thing about Challenge races and if they fit into my schedule would love to do more of them. Hawaii is always the goal though so will wait and see how the year pans out.
ST: You won Ironman Korea in 2011 and Ironman Western Australia 2010, but somehow I would think that the SunSmart WA title means more to you.
Kate: Absolutely. Don’t get me wrong, winning any Ironman is just incredible. But to win the Ironman in your home town in front of all your family and friends, nothing will ever beat that. Except maybe winning it again.
ST: I guess that mean we will see you later this year again in Western Australia?
Kate: Definitely. I missed not racing last year. I was there to cheer on some amazing athletes Guy and I coach who were racing but would have preferred to be out there in the action myself. I need to be smart with my racing and recovery this year because Ironman Western Australia is still 11 months away.
ST: How are things going in terms of sponsorship?
Kate: I have been lucky with some amazing sponsors that I have been working with for a long time. Like everyone, there have been a few hiccups along the way but I am hoping to have everything finalized and sorted for 2013 in the next month.
ST: Is there a specific area where you still could use support?
Kate: We are triathletes, we could always do with support. A big corporate company would be nice. I have an incredible team but I am looking forward to some exciting new changes in 2013.
ST: Anything else we should know?
Kate: Guy and I have adopted. A gorgeous little Pussy Cat that we have named Ozzy. She actually adopted us while we were living in Boise. She is now finally in Perth with us after 50 days in quarantine. We found out the hard way it is extremely difficult to get animals into Australia, although I had no problems getting Guy Crawford in.
ST: Maybe the rules are slightly more relaxed for giraffes?
Kate: Ha ha, giraffes from New Zealand. Pretty soon I think there are going to be more Kiwi’s in OZ than there are in New Zealand. Ironically, according to the Chinese Zodiac Guy is the year of the Sheep.
ST: On that note, have a great race in Wanaka.
Kate: Thanks Herbert. It’s going to be a great day.
You can follow Kate on twitter @katebevilaqua and her site is katebevilaqua.com
