<?xml version="1.0"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>Michelle Dillon - Tri247</title><link>http://www.tri247.com/index.html</link><description>Latest articles submitted by Michelle Dillon on Tri247</description><item><title><![CDATA[Just to get the story straight!]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_3136.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[The season has just started and unfortunately mine has been delayed. I wasn&rsquo;t able to race at Mooloolaba World Cup at the weekend due to a virus that hampered my preparation in the lead up to it. I hadn&rsquo;t been feeling very well and just wasn&rsquo;t ready to start racing just yet so unfortunately I was a late withdrawal. This means I won&rsquo;t be racing at New Plymouth this weekend either and will probably have to wait until the Olympic selection race in Madrid to get my season underway. This is when you will see me next toe the line for the start. Before that though I will be heading back to the UK and sunny (I&rsquo;m hoping) Loughborough.
 
I have been coaching Stu Hayes and again he performed strongly to finish 12th in his first world cup of the season. Mine and Stu&rsquo;s training partners, Emma Davies and Richard Stannard, did really well too and finished 15th and 23rd respectively.
 
They will all race this weekend in New Plymouth so look out for their results! I will be there too, cheering them from the sidelines.
 
Take careMichelle]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Believe in yourself!]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_2872.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[It&rsquo;s been a while since I wrote my last update and I write this one from bright and sunny Australia. I have spent the last couple of days thinking about what I am going to write in this update, as my life is pretty repetitious at this time of year. I spend most days eating, sleeping and training (not necessarily in that order).

It got me thinking about questions I often get asked and one that seems to crop up all the time, &ldquo;Why Australia in the winter?&rdquo; The answer seems pretty obvious, right? The SUN! If you read my Wiggle Blog updates you&rsquo;ll know I talk about the weather quite a lot, but this is quite influential to my job. Did I tell you the sun&rsquo;s got his hat on in Oz?  Sorry to rub it in...

The sun isn&rsquo;t the only reason I am drawn to Australia for the winter. As many of you may know my family emigrated to Australia when I was eight years old. I spent the early days of my career as a 10,000m runner and competed for Australia at the Commonwealth games. My family still live in Australia; my parents live in Adelaide and my sister in Sydney. So, another pretty good reason to spend the winter in Oz. Whilst here, I base myself on the Gold Coast, this is a triathlon Mecca and many faces from the World Cup scene can be spotted on the Goldie.

Over the last couple of years my decision to spend the winter in Australia has been made harder. This is due to the governing bodies wanting athletes to remain UK -based all year. At the end of 2006 I was told that if I wanted to remain a funded athlete I would have to spend the winter in the UK. I spent much of 2006 plagued by injury and the winter was going to be so very important in my quest to get fit again, I needed the sunshine and my family as my support network to get me through it. It didn&rsquo;t take me long to conclude that my heart was in Australia and that I was to come off of funding.  Thinking back this took a lot of self belief, and I think I owe a lot of my success to this belief.

Athlete reviews in 2007 came to similar conclusions and, even though I had a fab 2007, I remain unfunded for 2008. I have a mixture of emotions when I think about the reasons I am not funded. However, I am my own person, I make my own decisions, and I choose what happens next. Ultimately this gives me a free rein and I like being in control. I may not have the backing from the governing bodies and they may not believe in me but I believe in myself.

2008 is another year and another chapter. As well as continuing my success as an athlete I look to helping and guiding other athletes on their journeys. My online coaching is going really well and I am enjoying inspiring, and pushing athletes to their full potential. Many of the athletes under my watchful eye juggle triathlon with full time jobs, their dedication and commitment to our sport makes it a pleasure for me to help them in every way I can.

Whatever 2008 holds in store for you, set yourself a goal, train smart, have fun and most of all believe in yourself.]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reflections on the year]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_2553.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Sorry it&rsquo;s been a while since I wrote my last column. I&rsquo;ve only just jumped off that rolling rollercoaster for a short break. After a disappointing race in Hamburg at the Worlds and then getting sick in Beijing and not finishing, to top things off I caught the flu, they say bad luck comes in threes!

Having said this, I&rsquo;m pleased to report that I am feeling much better and am on holiday in Sydney, visiting my sister. I&rsquo;m enjoying my rest, and spending time with my sister - I haven&rsquo;t seen her since March, so we have had so much to catch up on. Life as a &#039;normal&#039; person is quite strange for me and it took at little while to adjust, but I&rsquo;m loving it! I&rsquo;m not sure how I fit all the training in now!

As the years have gone by, I have realised how important rest is. It&rsquo;s important for my body to rest, but also important for my mind to rest too. I&rsquo;m now gathering my thoughts, reading lots, enjoying yoga and Pilates and am really looking forward to next season. 

I will be heading back to the UK for a month before I fly to the Gold Coast. This is where I will base myself for the winter. I have a really great set up on the Gold Coast, with the sports super centre literally on my door step. I also have the added bonus of the beautiful sunshine and will be accompanied by my Manager and close friend Sarah, as well as a group of training partners including Stuart (Hayes). We&rsquo;re going to have a ball.

Reflecting on 2007, I&rsquo;m really pleased! Really pleased in more ways than one. When I think back to this time last year, I was lying on the sofa unable to move, fighting back the fear that this might be the end of my triathlon career, and now I&rsquo;m sitting here reflecting on my results in 2007 and planning for 2008. It seems ironic, but just shows that anything is possible, if you want it enough!

I&rsquo;ll write again soon to let you know how the winter training is going. Until then take care, train hard and be careful on the road in the Autumn conditions.

Michelle
www.michelledillon.co.uk]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[What's your lucky number?]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_2348.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Hi there, it&rsquo;s been a month since I wrote my last column. Hope you&rsquo;re all well and training hard? It&rsquo;s been a busy month with training, training and, more training really!! I&rsquo;m still on a high from my win at the London Triathlon last weekend, boy I love that race. It&rsquo;s so well organised and it&rsquo;s not often you get to whiz round London on your bike in a costume without having to dodge the buses. Wish I&rsquo;d had more time to take in the scenery, but being 1 minute and 50 seconds down out of the swim, the scenery really was the last thing on my mind. The crowd and support was amazing, thanks so much guys.

Now put your thinking caps on, I&rsquo;ve got something for you to think about &ndash; superstition. Are you superstitious? Do you have a lucky number? Perhaps you have a lucky secret ritual before a race, perhaps you have a lucky pair of socks or a lucky charm? I always use the same routine before every race and I get really excited about numbers.

For example the number 7 seems to be a lucky one for me, so I relate a lot of things to the number 7, like my hotel room number, or the aisle I queue in at the airport. Why is the number 7 a lucky one for me? Work this out... I wore number 43 at the Sydney Olympics (4+3=7) then in 2004 I qualified for the Athens Olympics wearing number 7. I then went on to the Athens Olympics and wore number 43 again. 2007 has been such a great year for me, and this year I am 34 (3+4=7) and I wore number 61 at London last weekend (6+1=7). Spooky hey, or just coincidence, I&rsquo;m not sure?  I wonder if the number 7 will pop up at the Worlds?

Well I&rsquo;ve got 3 weeks now until it&rsquo;s time to pack the bags and take the bike apart again for the Worlds in Hamburg. I&rsquo;ve got some serious sessions to get in before then, so it&rsquo;s nose to the grindstone. I hope the sun stays out for a few more weeks, it makes training so much easier. 

Once the Worlds are over I&rsquo;m home for a day and then straight off to Korea and Beijing for the ITU World Cup. It&rsquo;s an Olympic Qualifier for most federations so the field is going to be strong and the competition tough, but hey, I love a challenge.

Well, best get on with training session three of the day!! For more updates on my progress check out my website: www.michelledillon.co.uk ]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Ride the rollercoaster]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_2219.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[As the triathlon season is well underway, I hope you are all enjoying the rollercoaster ride that is triathlon. Now, I call it a rollercoaster ride because of its ups and downs and twists and turns. Whatever your reason to participate in triathlon, and whatever level you are at, it certainly has its highs and lows, and that&amp;rsquo;s why we love it, it&amp;rsquo;s addictive in so many ways.

Triathlon is no longer just for the super fit and is inclusive for all. It&amp;rsquo;s a sport that I am lucky enough to do for a living. The highs are thrilling, with an adrenaline rush like no other, think back to that feeling of crossing the finishing line, how good is that feeling?? A good feeling for so many reasons, reasons personal to each and every one of us. Then you think to the lows, when you have to go out for a three hour bike ride in the freezing cold, or when you can&amp;rsquo;t compete because of injury.

In October of last year my career was threatened by injury. I have a degenerative back injury and was advised to hang up my wheels and call it a day. On one hand I told myself to be grateful for the very successful career that I&amp;rsquo;ve already had, on the other  hand I wasn&amp;rsquo;t ready to call it a day, I had unfinished business and so many dreams that I wanted to fulfil. I was in turmoil, knowing that I might have to give up the sport I love so much, however I never gave up believing that I could get better and stronger. As I hobbled around the house, barely able to walk, I opted to get a second opinion and was delighted when the consultant told me that with a strict core and strengthening programme I could return to racing at the highest level. I can&amp;rsquo;t tell you how good that felt. I feel so thankful and it has made me come back even stronger.

My season has got off to a flying start and there&amp;rsquo;s so much more to come. Don&amp;rsquo;t get me wrong, it&amp;rsquo;s not all smelling of roses. I have my bad days too, but I&amp;rsquo;m just so happy to still be racing, and grateful to the wonderful support network around me. I wouldn&amp;rsquo;t be able to do any of this without the support from my family and friends, my sponsors, my manager and not forgetting my iPod. My manager and closest friend always says to me &amp;ldquo;we&amp;rsquo;re in this together&amp;rdquo; and it&amp;rsquo;s so true, with our belief combined we make the best team.  

Whatever your goals are this season, believe in yourself, have a little patience and remember you can&amp;rsquo;t fail if you never give up trying.

Good luck &ndash; train hard
Michelle Dillon]]></description></item></channel></rss>