After a stunning performance in the Ironman World Championship that put her on the Kona podium for the second time in three years, Brisbane’s Sarah Crowley is heading to the Noosa Triathlon this weekend to catch up with her mates and fly the flag for the long course athletes.
Sarah is no stranger to the Noosa, having first raced there as a budding short course athlete in 2007.
Thirteen years later, she still has the same affinity for the event that kick started her successful professional career.
“In 2007, when I was still living in Adelaide, Noosa was my first big event interstate. I raced in the open category but was fourth overall and the next year, I was third, then I was second and then I didn’t do it for a couple of years, then I had some ninth and sixth and some random results and in 2017, I was fourth.”
“In 2008, I was on the podium with Emma Snowsill and Emma Moffatt after they had raced the Olympic Games in Beijing. That result motivated me to try and reach a higher level in the sport, so Noosa is a really important race for me. That result meant so much, it meant, ‘Wow I am so close and I could do this if I wanted to’. It was inspiring for me and for my career and that is what draws me back each time for sure.
“As an Ironman athlete if you can muster the energy after Hawaii to go do it, Noosa is definitely worth it. Noosa is a pretty special event and I love getting together with everyone. I have been away for five months, so I have a lot of little coffee catch ups arranged for while I am there. It is such a nice place and tropical is beautiful. It is very relaxed and the race has a nice vibe. It is a fun event and the lead up is not too serious, even though the result is serious.”
“Living in Brisbane it is also a short drive and it is such a well-supported event. A couple of hours in the car and you have a big crowd to watch you race and it is a good opportunity to be seen racing. I race overseas so much now in Asia, South America and Europe and I don’t actually race at home a lot. So, it is nice to be with people you used to train with in the local clubs and be able to race among friends and family,” she said.
The best performed Aussie at the Ironman World Championship of recent years, Crowley will have her work cut out for her over Noosa’s standard distance but in typical fashion she is determined to race well and will leave it all out on the track.
“My recovery hasn’t been too bad since Kona, and I didn’t expect to feel so good after such a gruelling race. So, we kind of thought let’s just keep it going for another couple of weeks and that is why we thought to do Noosa.
“After going so long for most of the year I am going to have to flick the switch and find some speed. We have been doing some treadmill work and I have taken a few extra days off from what I would normally take trying to recover and freshen up. Some of the training we were doing going into Kona was at 3:20 pace for the harder stuff, so it won’t be too much of a shock. I think it will all come together and it is more about getting my recovery right, so I can push the heart. But I am scared of the lactate for sure,” she laughed.
After a podium in 2017, Sarah’s sixth place at Kona last year left her wanting for more. She now believes the key to getting a good one at Kona may rely on sacrificing a couple of good performances throughout the year.
“In 2017 I went into the race with some great results from Cairns and Frankfurt and I was racing with a mindset and good momentum that got me onto the podium. Whereas this year I have raced with a body that was capable of getting onto the podium. I now have my ability up to the level where previously my brain was putting me. This year I was actually stronger than 2017.
“I wasn’t happy with my form in Vietnam or Cairns but the work we did leading into those was banking up so that when we did a block of training at altitude before Kona I was at another level and I could cope with a bigger load. It is just too hard to see at the time and you feel like you are under performing but I guess I would rather give up a few performances during the year to get a podium at the Ironman World Championship.
“This year in Kona it was right there. Annie got off the bike with me, so I could sniff a good result. Maybe for next year I won’t do anything too different, I have just got to be there and be another year stronger and wiser, and just try and replicate what we have done already. I can’t complain at all about my Kona race. It was one of my most complete performances because I only fell apart for one kilometre, which meant I didn’t get second. But it was a pretty good day in the end.
“A third in 2017, sixth last year and third this year, is pretty consistent, which is good. Kona is one of those things, you can either race it or you can’t and any weakness that you might have during the year gets amplified at World Champs. It is pretty good to be able to perform there because some people can’t. To be able to perform on one day of the year, in one of the hardest competitions on a terribly difficult course, you have to be happy with that,” she said.
