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Gossage Lucy
Combining success as a professional Ironman athlete with a career is for many just a dream, yet that is exactly what Dr Gossage has achieved as reigning Ironman UK champion – she tells us how here
What are you up to currently? I’m training in the Canary Islands and trying to get the final part of my PhD published.
How do you balance training and working as a doctor? For the past two and a half years I’ve been working part-time on my research PhD on kidney cancer. Going part-time at work was a big decision but ultimately turned out to be a good one – I found I was much more productive at work when I was there and could train more effectively when I wasn’t. I was working extremely hard (full-time plus…) for three months after Ironman Wales to get my PhD finished, but now it’s submitted I’ve got much more time to train (part-time minus…) and am really just tying up loose ends before I start a two year sabbatical in April. Exciting times!
What are your goals for 2014? My main aim is to qualify for the Ironman World Champs in Hawaii as a pro.
What first drew you to triathlons? Honestly? It was a drunken dare!
Have you always enjoyed sports? I’ve always been active – at school and uni I played tennis, hockey and did a bit of jogging. When I started work as a junior doctor I was a bit of a gym bunny – after work I’d go on the cross trainer for an hour or so watching mindless TV, and then go out to the pub with other doctors. I certainly didn’t look or act like a triathlete in the making!
Which part of the training and competition process spurs you on the most – are your results-driven, or do you relish the training? I’m absolutely certain I wouldn’t be
Blimey, so much has changed since then. I guess I’ve gone from ‘completing’ races to ‘racing’ them. I’ve learnt to make myself hurt in racing and training. I don’t get drunk the week before big races! Perhaps most importantly I’ve learnt to believe in myself a bit more. It’s all been very gradual though – nothing magic happens overnight!
If you could just do one of the triathlete activities for the rest of your career, which would it be and why? Biking. My favourite thing in the world is a long hilly bike ride with friends followed by a big pub lunch.
where I am now if I didn’t love the training! I fell into triathlon by chance and was fortunate to join a thriving, sociable tri club (TFN in Nottingham) where the social side of the club was just as important as the training side. That really got me hooked. If I’m honest, in the old days I used to enjoy the training more than the racing – I never used to make myself hurt in training! Now I absolutely love both, particularly the smashfest training sessions I do with friends. Obviously I don’t enjoy every single training session, and there are ones I could do without. In general though, the sessions you enjoy least give you the most satisfaction after. I think it’s important to know what
your goals are – obviously I like winning (don’t we all) but the most important thing for me is getting the best out of myself and if that means I finish fifth in a strong field then that’s good enough for me.
In terms of your attitude to events and training, what has changed between your first triathlon in 2005 and winning Ironmans in 2013?
What words of encouragement would you give to any budding triathletes and Ironman athletes out there? Believe in yourself.
What training advice have you found the most useful over the years? There are two passing comments that have stayed with me and probably always will. First, from a cyclist I have huge respect for in Cambridge – “Lucy, if you tried a bit harder you could be quite good.” There was a bit of context to that comment but it’s that line that has stuck with me. And second, from a professional
triathlete – “Lucy, if you stopped drinking as much, lost a bit of weight and stopped talking so much in training you could really be quite good.” I did two of the three but am not sure I’ll ever change the last one….
Is there any particular kit or gear that you swear by for success? Get a bike that fits.
What’s next in the diary? Ironman South Africa in April.
triathlonplusshow.co.uk
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DAVID PEARCE,
WWW.DIFFERENT-PERSPECTIVE.CO.UK
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