COURTNEY ATKINSON TRIATHLETE

UPDATE FROM EUROPE

I have been in Europe for a month now and finally have arrived at the first big race here in Madrid Spain for the 3^rd Rd of the World Championship Series.

Hot, Hot hot….looks like it will be around 32 degrees for the 1pm start tomorrow. I am looking at another solid race. The best in the world all all back on the start line and we are here in the new heartland of ITU racing…Europe. I heard that they have wait lists now for ITU Continental Cups in Europe little long WCS events!

Entrance to Casa De Campo Park where race is held

Looking back to Madrid and the Palace from Casa De Campo

After the race on the weekend there is no rest. Next day leave for the US for the week and race at the richest race in the world Des Moines WC with a 7 day turnaround from this Madrid race. Tough ask, but last year after skipping the Washington WC the week before it was all the guys who raced in Washington that gunned at Des Moines. Little different with the travel and hot race here, but who knows…that’s triathlons and you have to be in them to win them!

Some totally random things in no particular timeline:

Walked into my hotel room here in Madrid on the outskirt of the Casa De Campo Park. Got to love the 70’s retro toilet outfit still existing!

Have settled into our new home away home. Aix-Les-Bains, France. Aix is pretty much at sea level (250m) but behind town and across Lac de Bouget (largest lake in france) are near vertical mountains that hit 1300-1500m straight up out of the water! Beautiful place to train, although the French weather hasn’t been all that great yet? Hoping by the time I return the southern french summer I remember has hit its best.

Is this a coincidence or what…live in the street named after founder of Modern Olympics! Apartments in background (Image above).

Second weekend after arriving packed the bike (again!) and the family, jumped on a train from Aix 2 Paris 2 Dunkerque (or Dunkirk for the English history buffs) for my rookie French Grand Prix Triathlon race. Racing for team Sartrouville with a group of younger guys who showed me up well and truly! Jonny Brownlee 1^st, Oliver Freeman 7^th?, me 10^th and Mario Mola 12^th. The FGP is team racing and unfortunately with me missing the first group of 8 on the bike the team managed only second. I did run well like I have been, but it was all a bit late as Beavius team had 4 guys in the breakaway of 8 and best 3 finishers count towards the final result. Although got close to running some of the front group down…close maze well of been a few km cause it didn’t matter in the end! Form still good though, just a very rough, short, wetsuit swim with 90 guys and first bouy 150m away!

This was the first time traveling to Europe that I think I skipped the jetlag somehow? First night slep like a baby 8 hours without getting up and fell straight into the routine! Wasn’t unitl my daughter arrived a week later that I started not sleeping through. On the flip side as a 3 year old, this was the first trip that she was affected by jetlag! Go figure!

My daughter…I yesterday realised what an interesting life she leads when I started playing with her @ 3 years old what countries have we lived in? (For her anytime we go to a hotel for a race or on a holiday is a new house!) After telling me she lives in France, her house where her dog lives is in Australia and we are living in Spain (for at least the weekend Next to my surprise she continued with Singapore, London, the place with Snow (Japan). Once on a role I tried to help her along as he passport seems to have more stamps than mine but you get the idea…its not the normal Gold Coast life at the beach!