Back in April 2008 I spoke to Emma-Kate Lidbury about her rapid rise to fame in age-group racing. The 2008 season saw the former swimmer setting herself some tough targets (all of which she achieved bar one - which she missed out on by just four seconds), and it was to be dependent on those results whether she would follow her dreams and join the ranks of the full-time pros. Her results turned out to be top class, and so a very determined Emma-Kate headed to Noosa, Australia, just a few weeks ago to prepare for the 2009 season as a full-time triathlete. I caught up with Emma-Kate (just before she was heading off to the beach, it's a tough life!) and found out how her new career was going.

AE When Tri247 interviewed you earlier on this year and you talked about how you accidentally stumbled across triathlon when your boss suggested you would be a good contender for the Blenheim Triathlon. You’ve come along way since then, tell us about your decision to become a full-time triathlete and how it all came about.

EKL At the start of 2008 I set myself several goals – win the European Age Groups, win the World Age Groups, race my first 70.3 well – and decided that if these went well I’d be in a strong position to give going pro a shot. Well, I did two of the three (I missed gold and fastest overall at the Worlds by four seconds!) so I figured now was a good chance to do it.

I’d been sponsored by Wiggle.co.uk throughout the 2008 season and they were pleased with how things had been going so we negotiated a 2009 deal which allowed me to quit my job. I also renewed a sponsorship deal I had with Morris Owen Accountants in Swindon and got some new sponsors on board, such as a nutrition deal with Maximuscle, so I realised I was in a very strong position to go full-time. Everything fell into place and I know opportunities like this don’t come along every day so I had to go for it. I realise it’s risky but I never want to be someone who looks back when I’m old and grey and thinks "What if…?" I’d much rather go for it 110% and try to achieve my full potential. When I handed in my resignation to my editor – the same guy who put me up for the Blenheim Tri back in May 2005 – he said: "You’re doing the right thing, you’ve got to follow your dreams" and as clichéd as that might sound, it’s dead right.

AE Tell us more about your 2008 season went?

EKL My first race was the European Age Groups in Portugal which I’d planned to be a dress rehearsal for Vancouver really as it was four weeks out. That race went really well, I felt strong and did an almost textbook swim, bike and run to win by ten minutes. That gave me a real confidence boost ahead of Vancouver, which still went well for me, but I was disappointed not to get the full 1500m swim and didn’t feel I ran as well as I could or should have done, partly due to being ill-prepared for the cold – schoolgirl mistakes!

I then had a two-week break in the Rockies with my Mum before deciding to do Antwerp 70.3 and boy, what a race that was! I did very little specific half-distance training for that so was blown away by my result. It was my first attempt at the distance and I raced pro so was dead chuffed to clock 4:22 and place sixth to get in the $$$. I definitely felt stronger the longer the race went on and was pleased to post a 1:26 run as that was faster than my stand-alone half marathon PB. This really gave me the bug to do more and that will be my focus in 2009, although I will still race Olympic distance too.

AE You’ve been full-time now for just a few weeks, what’s the best part about being a full-time athlete?

EKL Having the time to rest, recover and refuel after sessions is one of the best things I’ve noticed. It’s good being able to do a 5-6k swim in the morning followed by a weights session, head home, eat, collapse for an hour, eat again (!), chill out and then think about the next session. Because of this I’ve been able to up my hours and not really notice it taxing me in the same way it might have done before when you have work to throw into the equation.

AE And anything that you find hard, or don’t like?

EKL I think I’m still in the honeymoon period, so no, not yet!

AE Now you don’t have to work will you be training much harder and putting in a lot more hours training each week?

EKL I’ve already done several 20+ hour weeks since being out here in Oz which before would have wiped me out, so yes, I will be, but there has been little to no intensity work as I’m just building the base right now. This will obviously change as I work through the different blocks of training. I had a fairly long period of downtime in the off-season so it just feels great to start getting some quality consistent training in again.

AE Last year you won a bronze medal at the World Championships, this year you went one better and got silver in Vancouver. There was a lot of talk about the race for various reasons, tell us about your experience there?

EKL Wow, Vancouver is a race that haunted me for a long, long time! If triathletes had to have therapy following races, then Vancouver would have been the hot topic on the therapist’s couch for me! I learnt an awful lot during that two-hour race which I have already - and will continue to - use to my advantage in future races. Having led the race for two hours only to be pipped on the line was tough, very tough, and I was plagued by what ifs, especially as the circumstances surrounding the race were so controversial, but I eventually realised there was no point dwelling on it. There’s no getting away from the fact it was a badly organised event which should never have turned out the way it did. I guess I was one of the lucky ones who actually got to do a triathlon!

There were a lot of age groupers who felt ripped off and cheated by the ITU and I must admit it was one of the factors which made me think "I want to leave age group racing behind now". I’ve heard it said before that the ITU treat age groupers as second class citizens and I think that was definitely the case in Vancouver.

AE Previously you were a journalist, will you still be writing now you’re a full-time triathlete?

EKL Yes, I think I’ll always be writing – whether it’s for my blog on my website, www.eklidbury.co.uk , or continuing to work freelance for magazines such as 220. I’m also doing some writing/media work for Wiggle so I think there’s little chance of the journalist/writer in me dying out. I think it’s really important to keep a balance in your life. There are so many triathletes who can only talk about swim, bike and run – and I find these people incredibly cranky, so I work hard to ensure I have a non-triathlon focus each week and I don’t neglect other areas of my life.

AE You've chosen Noosa, on the Sunshine Coast in Australia, as your winter training base, what was behind your decision to train there?

EKL I came out here last year after winning the London Tri – the prize from that was a trip to the Noosa Tri – and I totally fell in love with the place. I was out last year from October to just before Christmas and returning to training in the UK in January was one of the toughest things ever so I vowed then I’d return to Noosa if I could. When things worked out the way they did with sponsorship at the back end of this year and I realised I would no longer need to be in the UK to work I was straight on the phone to the travel agent booking my flight here! Noosa is just awesome. I’ve been here just under a month now and it already feels like home from home. The people are great, the sunshine and climate is fantastic – why wouldn’t you be here?! In short, I love it. I must say a huge thanks to Greg, Jo, Stinky & all the gang at Le Cyclo Sportif bike shop here in Noosa as they have been an awesome help. You could fit what I know about bike mechanics/maintenance onto a spoke, so these guys have been brilliant.

AE Noosa is a lovely place (although very hot) and its full of famous triathletes: Laura and Greg Bennett, Lisbeth Kristensen, Andrew Johns and many more, have you bumped into any of them yet?

EKL Yes, training here is kind of a who’s who of triathlon so it’s impossible not to see these guys. The Bennetts aren’t back in town until the New Year but I’ve been out on the bike and in the pool with the Grangers a fair bit. Belinda is an awesome athlete and it’s great to learn from people like her. Come January, there will be even more big names here, so it’s going to get really interesting!

AE Previously you’ve talked about training for an Ironman is that idea on hold for the time being?

EKL Yes, Ironman can wait at least another year!

AE What goals have you set yourself for this coming season?

EKL I want to get a good winter’s training in so that I can make a successful step-up to pro racing in 2009. I would like to race well at three or four 70.3 events with Clearwater as my target race. That said, I’m upping my swim training too, though, with the aim of dusting off my old swimmer’s shoulders and getting some serious water fitness back to see how well I fare in elite Olympic distance racing. In many ways, 2009 will be a tester season for me. I’ve recently teamed up with a new coach – Steve Lumley – and we’ve decided that I’ll do Olympic and 70.3 next season and what happens from 2010 onwards will largely be dependent on the outcome of some of these races. We’ll see where my strengths and weaknesses are and from there will decide whether I go long in 2010 or stick with the shorter, faster stuff.

AE Within the goals you’ve set yourself, is there one big dream you have, which may seem impossible now, but that you feel is achievable in the future?

EKL I think I have two dreams which run alongside each other – one is competing at the 2012 Olympics, the other is winning Hawaii – both of which are a fair way off right now and also mutually exclusive I’d say! The thing I’ve learned, though, is never say never. A few years ago the only dream I had was to work as a journo in Fleet Street and now look at me – typing away on my laptop in the sunshine in Noosa as a pro triathlete! The only limits you have are the ones you place on yourself. Some people might read me saying I’d like to win Hawaii and think "Who the hell’s she and how on earth could she ever win Hawaii?!" but give me a couple of seasons of training like this and who knows?! I have the work ethic, the desire and the basic tools and talent to do the job, so why not aim high?! A few guys I’ve ridden long with before have said to me: "Wow, you could do really well at this if you’re prepared to stick at it long-term". When you think about that, plus the fact I’m only 28 and someone like Belinda Granger only really started making an impact in Ironman when she was about 30, and you realise it isn’t such a crazy statement. I’m truly excited about the future and what it has in store and right now, I couldn’t be happier. Sometimes I can’t quite believe where I am and what I’m doing!