Multisport: 'A pretty good job'

Jess Simson on her way to second place in the Challenge Wanaka half-ironman.  Photo by marathon...
Jess Simson on her way to second place in the Challenge Wanaka half-ironman. Photo by marathon-photos.com .
Professional Wanaka athlete Jess Simson has a distinctive approach to racing - one that could put fellow competitors off their stride as she zooms by with a smile and cheery greeting.

Now in her third year of racing as a career, Simson (31) targets her major events, trains specifically for them and, predominantly, nails them.

February's Coast to Coast was a perfect example.

Her race and nutrition plan were executed faultlessly and she broke through her second consecutive winner's ribbon in Christchurch, 19 minutes ahead of her nearest rival.

There were none of the extremes she had to go to when she won last year, and she had plenty left in the tank.

''Because I was so bored and felt so good afterwards, I thought I should go do another race,'' Simson said, laughing.

Cue entering her first half-distance triathlon, Challenge Wanaka, the following weekend.

She registered on the Wednesday, bought a wetsuit on the Thursday and raced on the Sunday after reaching a resolution regarding the 1.9km swim.

''In my head I thought, I've got the cardiovascular system. I used to be able to swim.''

She blitzed it in 29min. Then, despite racing for 13 hours the previous weekend, found herself ''euphoric on the bike'', spinning herself into the record books for the 90km ride by 1sec.

Simson went on to place second, despite a run that ''started slow, hoping to get faster, but got slower.''

Encouraged by the result, she decided to try her first Xterra (off-road triathlon) the following weekend in Australia.

The Oceania championships in the Snowy Mountains included a 1.5km swim, 30km mountain bike and 10km trail run.

Simson had not been on her mountain bike since November but finished fifth in a competitive elite field of 11 women.

''It was really cool to see where I'm at with no specific training.''

Competing back home in the Motatapu Xterra recently was when the fatigue really set in for Simson.

But, as always, it did not diminish her fun factor.

She and fellow Wanaka athlete Simon Maier discussed their tiredness after competing in the Coast to Coast and Challenge Wanaka, and Simson suggested they could race together.

About 30km into the mountain bike section, Maier caught up, and the pair ''decided to hang out''.

They chatted and laughed their way through the following 15km run.

Simson is now planning her calendar a year in advance, finding events that appeal, are easily accessible and pay her way.

Managing her body is her fulltime job - making sure she has adequate water intake and good nutrition, gets any injuries sorted, and sticks to a weekly training programme of up to 25 hours.

Heading out of the house on a bike, with a kayak on the roof or wearing running shoes is par for the course now, and there is a positive thought pattern Simson follows on the rare times she doesn't feel like going to work.

''About 5% of the time, I don't want to do it. Then I think, it's my job to go for a run. That's a pretty good job.''

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