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Andrea Hansen about her husband dying in bed next to her || Runners Only! Podcast with Dom Harvey

October 22, 202249:17
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hello and welcome to episode 28 of
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Runners only with dom Harvey on this
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episode triathlete Andrea Hansen
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formerly known as Andrea Hewitt yeah you
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can't have more more children after you
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get the Commonwealth Games out of the
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way or yes definitely yeah really very
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very happy
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at the time of recording the central
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Andrea was in Birmingham for the 2022
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Commonwealth Games and at the age of 40
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and with a toddler it might be the last
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time we ever see this Triathlon Legend
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wearing the black Lycra in this
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conversation that we recorded at her
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home in Christchurch we talk about her
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incredible career spending almost two
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decades how she stayed fit during her
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recent pregnancy giving birth while
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nursing a broken arm that's a hell of a
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story and the time she finished the
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triathlon after breaking her collarbone
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well I've been a fan of Andrea for years
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so it was an absolute pleasure to get to
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spend time with her she's she's quite a
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shy and modest person so talking about
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herself and all the amazing things she's
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done is not something that comes easy to
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her so I can't thank her enough for
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putting up with me all right let's get
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into it episode 28.
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[Music]
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let's get it started
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fast-paced slow and steady anywhere you
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coming up just wanna connect for
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everyone who loves running this is
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[Music]
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Runners only with dom Harvey and Andrea
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Hansen it feels weird saying that Andrea
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Hansen I I feel like you've been on our
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screens for years and years and years as
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Andrea Hewitt sort of rolls off the
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tongue
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well how are you you used the new name I
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guess I've been around a long time so
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yeah Hewitt as the normal but yeah I'm
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coming back as Hanson right right and um
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you're 40 now
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yeah 40. why'd you roll your eyes
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because everyone brings up my age but I
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think um I suppose they bring up your
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age because it's remarkable that you're
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still performing at the level you are at
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that age yeah well when I um diff when I
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started running and doing Triathlon I
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never thought you know about my age and
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I was a little bit late to start so
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like a lot of the girls that I'm racing
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now were around when I started so I
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don't feel that old except when you
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mentioned you're sorry about it and I
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did it within the first minute but if um
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someone likes say Cameron Brown's
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listening to this he'll be like [ __ ]
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she's young yeah he's going he's still
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going he's doing great he's doing great
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did you did when you started how old
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were you when you started out in
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Triathlon 22 22 right she asked me like
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half your life
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yeah but I mean I was swimming doing
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stuff life saving all those Sports so I
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mean my whole life I've done sport it's
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just Triathlon at the moment yeah so
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it's been um it's been remarkable um
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there's so much I want to tick off with
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you but three Olympic Games yeah so it's
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um Beijing London and Rio and presumably
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you only missed out on the Tokyo ones
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because you were pregnant or with a baby
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uh yeah oh didn't get selected so I had
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a I had flossie last year in February
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and then the Olympics were in July it
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was a bit closer right and three
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Commonwealth Games three yeah yeah New
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Delhi wasn't wasn't in the didn't have
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Triathlon in the Commonwealth game so
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2010. right and um where did you where
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you did quite well on the main like top
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10 finishes and all of them uh
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Commonwealth Games oh no not the last
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one I got oh sorry for pulling that up
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yeah I was third and
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third and um Melbourne back in 2006 and
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then fourth in Glasgow in 2014 and then
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was the 13th
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oh that's a story is that a respectable
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finish it's one of those one of those
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Sports I wear anything can happen on the
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day well I missed the swim Bunch so it
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was all over from there right how did
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you miss the swim Bunch adding some of
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that's enough right
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okay so um where is the middle where do
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you keep the middle oh the that's the
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front door the Commonwealth Games yeah
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how do I miss that on the way in yeah
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didn't look at it unbelievable I'm
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pleased you've still got it I um
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recorded a podcast earlier today with um
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Zach Guilford the former all black and
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he won a gold medal for the sevens at um
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one of the Commonwealth Games and um he
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sold that for gambling money oh okay so
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I'm pleased that you've still got yours
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so you go to Birmingham for the
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Commonwealth Games this will be your
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last one or Never Say Never
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yeah four years from now 44 it's a bit
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too much isn't it I said I don't know I
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don't know yeah I don't know either but
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yeah I'll just take it year by year at
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the moment yeah that's a good way to
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take it okay so um yes so let's go way
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back I was reading a bit about you and
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your family you like a water family yeah
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a swimming family
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surf life saving water polo yeah that's
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right yeah yeah so who does what one of
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your sisters is like a top level surf
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Lifesaver the other one's water polo
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back when we're at high school and right
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yeah uni so my older sister Tina did
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well she was the one that started
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swimming and that's who I followed to
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the pool she's three years older than me
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and then she was the one that started
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surf life serving I followed her there
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too and we went to Australia and
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traveled a bit Hawaii and raced and
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competed and social saving and my
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younger sister Sierra she was the water
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polo player right and um so you were
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just a swimmer growing up
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uh well there's a summer until I'd say
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14. yeah I started surf life 7 at 11. so
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I was yeah in the water but
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um I did other sports too like right I
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did a bit of running too okay so were
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you quite a good runner and that's how
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you sort of gravitated towards triathlon
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no it was just it was just timing I just
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went through the sports changed as a
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like each year just decided what I
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wanted to do and then it was actually I
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did the coast to coast in 2005 and I met
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John hellermann who's Triathlon coach
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and he was telling me I was silly for
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doing the coast to coast at 22 and had
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never done anything like that it's like
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doing an Iron Man really did you do the
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full one yeah one day right just one day
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just first go yeah right water down a
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marathon why did he think you were
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foolish for doing that it's 22 too young
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oh you just said that I'd never done
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anything like it right like I hadn't
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done any long distance I hadn't really I
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hadn't done a marathon I hadn't run that
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far before and
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although Gates Pass isn't really running
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is it just like scrambling over rocks
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and yeah but it's still a phone yeah
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yeah and how did you get on I was fourth
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in 2000 oh [ __ ] yes that wasn't too bad
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right so is that the moment where you're
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like okay maybe uh you know maybe I
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replaced the the canoe for dogs and no
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actually it was before that he told me
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that he would coach me for the coast to
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coast over that summer so he was
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coaching Christina England who won the
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event and so I was able to go training
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with her
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for the coast to coast she won it she
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was like 6 30 overall with the men's
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only five men beat her I think she might
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be the only woman that's ever made the
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top ten wow and he told me you know he
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can go train with her but I'll coach you
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only if you do Triathlon after and so
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the Nationals in Triathlon was two weeks
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after and I went up to Napier so my
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first Olympic distance Triathlon and so
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for anyone that doesn't know what is an
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Olympic this is Triathlon 1500 meters or
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swimming like 40K on the bike and 10K on
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the run right so it's around two hours
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yeah so I went to the New York
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yeah
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so into the New Zealand chance and I
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finished third and the under 23 and that
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qualified me for the world Champs
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straight off so in 2005 I became a
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traffic
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yeah yeah and you you um yeah how many
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world champs did you um have you
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participated in
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uh up until 2018 right and you and
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you've won it once so you were the world
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champion I won the Grand Final in 2011
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but in 2009 it changed from a world
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championship race to a series so it's I
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won the championship race but I got
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finished second in the series right
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right oh disappointing if only the
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second best in the world oh yeah I just
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feel your husband gave me a Stein leg
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which is very nice I just I came in here
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I rearranged to a house got a coffee
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table for the microphones I've just put
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beer on your on your table do you want
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me to get a cloth and so I thought is
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that okay oh my husband can grab one
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I'm a terrible houses hey by the way
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it's a beautiful house you've got yeah
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lots of money in Triathlon
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I had Eric Murray on the podcast a few
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weeks ago and he told me what it pays
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being a high performance Sports person
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and it's not something you do for the
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money is that it's definitely for the
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love you're making sacrifices so your
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husband must oh thank you he must have a
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good job
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he's shaking his head what are you doing
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at the moment he's
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he's teed up a job for September yeah
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how do you how do you guys work out like
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how many hours a day or a week are you
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training what what does an average day
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look like for Andrea Andrea Henson
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Andrew Hanson at the moment I'm trading
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twice a day so swimming at 7 30 well
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this morning swim at 7 30 and then I had
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a massage at midday and then I had a run
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session at four so it was two two and a
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half two one and a half hour sessions
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yeah you're still coping with like the
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double session days now with you getting
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older yeah I actually haven't noticed my
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age yeah
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like three times in eight minutes there
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was more coming back from pregnancy than
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it was just hard getting back into the
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pool and like doing the miles again I'd
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never taken that much time off swimming
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before probably in my life so it was
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that was a difficult part but the
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running and the biking I came back
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pretty strong yeah how much of a break
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did you did you give up all sort of
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forms of exercise like in the late
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stages of the pregnancy or at the early
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stages of your daughter's life well how
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much of a how much of a full break did
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you have because I had um Camille bus
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come on the um on the podcast a few
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weeks ago she's heavily pregnant at the
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moment she's still trying to run like
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10ks most days
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yeah I'm in the hill so sometimes I was
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walking like two hours or so so I was
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trying to keep keep out what you can
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yeah keep out there but I wasn't doing
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any like I stopped doing you know gym
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work and yeah those things were the
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belly
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um I actually brung the arm it was how
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long was it was it two weeks three weeks
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before I gave birth so it had a broken
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arm wasn't great how did you do that I
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fell over
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um in our old house that we had uh
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I don't know have a little wall at the
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out the back and I kind of stepped up
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onto it and I lost my balance
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that sounds like an old age injury
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had this big Valley on me yeah wow well
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lucky um yeah yeah wow like he lucky the
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baby was okay yeah I fell on my arm
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broke it
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um and yeah and you were tough as well
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that reminds me it was um there's one
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event you were in where you um I broke
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your collarbone on the bike and then you
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you you still finish that leg of the
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triathlon then you ran
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in 2014 I was in way high in China uh
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silly idea to do a long distance
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Triathlon so what's a long distance
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Triathlon it was on the time trial bike
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and that was my sort of my first and
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only I've done tuna my first race that
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was on the track time trial bike so big
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long Aero bars out the front fast came
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into transition and it's it's a little
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bit harder to control
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and so I wasn't used to getting off
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first time jumping off the bike at speed
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and I just put on the brakes flipped
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over the front landed on my collarbone
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and then
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I I was coming no it's not funny I'm
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just imagining that wait what okay so
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you're on a time job you must have like
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um because there's a well-known saying
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at all levels of sports that you don't
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do anything on race day that you haven't
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already done in training you must have
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been on the bike before yeah but when
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you get off the bike when you're
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training you stop right off when you're
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in a race you're doing it everything at
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speed so even jumping on the bike
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sometimes people fly over slip slippers
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you know he's got this mental picture of
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how it happened okay so was it like just
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a fracture or like a proper break
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there's a proper break
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I am I used to do a bit of cycling and
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that that happened to me during the
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Round Lake taupo ride one year I I've
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clipped someone else's wheel and fell
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off and broke my collarbone it's the
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bloody it's painful
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so painful
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I know my husband did the same thing and
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he he was in pain too oh we I had to
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wear like button up shirts because you
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can't lift your arm up just get things
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like getting in and out of the bath
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things that you take for granted so how
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do you like how do you complete the
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triathlon with that injury is it just
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adrenaline or what well I sat down in
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transitioned putting my shoes on like
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well I didn't set a fell over because I
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couldn't couldn't feel couldn't didn't
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have any strength in my arm so I was
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sitting there a coach came over to me
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and was like you're right and I was like
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I'll try to run I'm instead I'll try to
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try to get there it was the world champs
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for long distance and so I started
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running I remember the first thing was I
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tried to grab a water bottle it just
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slipped through my hand couldn't drink
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any water uh
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just ran 20K and keep my position that
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was I think it was just coming third
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that was keeping me going you finished
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third yeah
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yeah how long did the Run take you it
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was 20K yeah and how long can you
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remember the time I think it was 124.
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that's a good time
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do you what would you normally do 20ks
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then
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do you think it was slower due to the
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collarbone
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yeah yeah definitely yeah because I was
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talking as well a lot of the time like I
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was telling people I wasn't paying like
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not paying but I was telling people that
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had something wrong with me I didn't
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know it was my color bonus right right
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oh my God yeah when it happened to me it
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was the most immoralizing things I get
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taken to um taupo hospital and then they
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just give me like an ibuprofen and a
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sling and send me on my way because I
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can't there's nothing they can really do
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about it I got it plated
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I came home and the bone had like Fallen
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like completely broken fallen down the
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side of my arm and so I had to get it
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put back together so they put seven pins
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in the plate headed in there for a year
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oh
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is that the worst injury you've had in
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Triathlon on the sport yeah yeah
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definitely yeah unbelievable
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um in 2018 you make the queen's birthday
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honors list yeah that was cool that's it
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yeah is that a cool thing what happens
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there do you do you get a heads up that
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it's going to happen yeah and just a
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letter in the mail yeah just out of the
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blue yeah the blue and if you want to
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accept it and then
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um yeah then someone writes or the
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person who nominated you organization
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writes what they gave it to you for and
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you go and get presented
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yeah so you where do you go to get
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presented uh I chose the Christchurch
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presentation and it was at the Air Force
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Museum yep so I was probably the
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youngest there I don't want to say 50
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years maybe at 20 years
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well I suppose you've you accomplished
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so much and in these years of your life
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that um yeah you have done enough for
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the sport of triathlon to deserve it at
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this young age
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yeah well they probably thought I was
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going to retire at that stage so you
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proved them well yeah they probably
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thought 2018 was my last common last
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game so that was probably good timing
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and for them they thought and here I am
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yeah I have people as you've sort of
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progressed through the 30s sort of
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started to I don't know if write you off
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as the right way to frame it but just
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think that it's going to be the end of
00:15:38
your career
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yeah well even I did from 2016 I thought
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that was the end of my career and I keep
00:15:45
going and did really well in 2017 one of
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my bcos and then
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I got sick in 2018 didn't know if I was
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gonna go on for 2019 so I did step back
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a bit and when I had flossy I knew I
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wanted to get fat and I knew I was gonna
00:16:00
train and do those things but I didn't
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know I was going to come back and get a
00:16:06
couple of games yeah but when you
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compete and like I just do the best I
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can so it was it was just a progression
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all the competitions I've done this last
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year I've got better and better
00:16:17
I mean yeah the amount of training the
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amount of work that's involved you need
00:16:21
that passion for it hey you know you
00:16:23
need that fire in your belly which is
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clear look in your eyes here that you
00:16:27
still have yes it's really good and at
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the moment I'm swimming with Dane Sophie
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Pasco so oh yeah I've heard of here
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so we um we swim next to each other in
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the pool and really push each other
00:16:39
along and she's the same she's like this
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could be my last year and right even
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though she's only what how old is she
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28. she must be exhausted like Oregon
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swimming's got to be the worst sport to
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train for like your head's down you're
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looking at a black line for hours on end
00:16:54
and she's done that for so many years
00:16:56
like the um yeah we started together
00:16:59
back in Beijing even though she's 28
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she's been to the same amount of
00:17:03
Olympics yeah well more she went to
00:17:05
Tokyo too unbelievable she only 28.
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she's been on our screens forever yeah
00:17:11
remarkable so so you and your husband
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how did you guys make
00:17:16
through there
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it was true
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he's just behind the sofa over there
00:17:23
just popped up with a banana
00:17:26
no just through a mutual friend who does
00:17:28
triathlon yeah he was living with them
00:17:31
and he
00:17:33
well you met him through swimming and
00:17:35
Ollie dabbled in some cycling and
00:17:39
he even a few triathlons and
00:17:42
yeah
00:17:44
he's shaking his head knife was he any
00:17:46
good
00:17:47
well his claim is that he beat me he's
00:17:50
beat me in the two triathlons we've done
00:17:52
together right
00:17:53
toenail
00:17:54
[Laughter]
00:17:57
so yeah throughout through Mike Phillips
00:17:59
who he's won I'm in New Zealand and he
00:18:01
does a lot of training with me in
00:18:02
Christchurch right
00:18:04
it was a very unromantic story there's
00:18:06
got to be more to it than that was it
00:18:07
like who had a crush on who was it Love
00:18:09
at First Time
00:18:11
so yeah oh my gosh
00:18:14
what you got played
00:18:18
this isn't this isn't true
00:18:20
I
00:18:22
don't know
00:18:26
no we just were hanging out we're just
00:18:27
doing the training and yeah it just
00:18:30
happened like that yeah did you sort of
00:18:32
train together a little bit Yeah Yeah
00:18:33
well he started training a lot with Mike
00:18:35
and
00:18:36
I was already well running and
00:18:40
while he runs with me now anyway here we
00:18:42
are now yeah
00:18:44
and he doesn't have to work because he's
00:18:46
coming over with us we leave on Thursday
00:18:48
and we're overseas for two and a half
00:18:49
months how exciting is that so when did
00:18:51
so we're recording this
00:18:53
um podcast at the end of May so you're
00:18:56
leaving later this week and then went to
00:18:58
the Commonwealth game start I'm not it's
00:19:00
on the 29th of July right why are you
00:19:04
going so soon it's too I'm racing in
00:19:06
Leeds next and two weekends away right
00:19:09
and that's one of the world Triathlon
00:19:11
series and then training with a New
00:19:13
Zealand team over in Spain yeah in the
00:19:15
warm weather and racing Hamburg too
00:19:17
before become games yeah and how are you
00:19:19
feeling about the commonwealth games
00:19:20
like do you have any sort of
00:19:21
expectations or hopes or goals I think
00:19:24
I'll know more after leads yeah because
00:19:26
I'll be racing the girls that are used
00:19:27
to race and having
00:19:30
done one of the races yeah it's been
00:19:32
over two years I went to mooloolaba in
00:19:34
2020 and was fourth there
00:19:37
um
00:19:38
yeah hopefully it's
00:19:40
all on track so you feel like if
00:19:43
everything goes right over there you
00:19:44
could be on the podium
00:19:46
yeah definitely if everything goes right
00:19:48
yeah yeah if I make that front pick
00:19:51
yeah can you well can you explain that
00:19:53
for anyone that doesn't sort of fully
00:19:54
understand Triathlon how do you mean if
00:19:56
you make that front Okay so there's
00:19:57
drafting drafting aloud on the bike and
00:20:00
so if you miss that draft it's really
00:20:03
hard to catch up
00:20:04
so it starts with a swim and you can so
00:20:07
people say that you either you just you
00:20:10
swim you can either lose it lose the
00:20:12
whole race in the swim or just like be
00:20:14
in the race so if I swim fast enough and
00:20:17
come out together with the front of the
00:20:19
race then I can start the front of the
00:20:21
race it's a lot easier right now is that
00:20:24
one of those things where it's easier
00:20:25
said than done or
00:20:26
do you have like a game plan or a
00:20:28
strategy for how you can do well on this
00:20:29
one
00:20:31
um it's well I'm definitely not as fast
00:20:33
as the swimmer as the top swimmers
00:20:34
that's the thing so I'm always battling
00:20:38
um but if I get in the right position
00:20:39
like around the boy being on the inside
00:20:43
and getting on the right feet so
00:20:45
drafting on the swim too as well as on
00:20:47
the bike right and also having a good
00:20:48
transition
00:20:49
so running out of the water putting the
00:20:52
helmet on
00:20:54
uh taking the wetsuit off and then
00:20:57
jumping on the bike
00:20:59
it's a lot going on isn't it do you do
00:21:01
you practice those transitions yeah
00:21:03
probably not enough but I have raised
00:21:06
them I think I think I've been told it's
00:21:09
something like 230
00:21:12
uh World Triathlon races so Jess you've
00:21:15
done some stuff it's a lot of racing
00:21:17
well it just keep going from when I
00:21:19
started Triathlon from it was kind of
00:21:21
like planned the next year of what races
00:21:23
I would do like I'd qualified and I was
00:21:25
in the New Zealand team so I just went
00:21:27
and did most of the world Triathlon
00:21:29
races the next year and just keep going
00:21:31
and I haven't really been injured so
00:21:34
some years I was racing 20. 22 times
00:21:38
yeah how so is that just luck like the
00:21:41
jeans or
00:21:43
I mean you have been injured there was
00:21:44
that collarbone incident that we talked
00:21:46
about before but no actual injuries like
00:21:48
no no I missed one race because of that
00:21:49
and then got straight back into it the
00:21:52
um
00:21:54
I don't think it's I don't think it's
00:21:55
jeans but I think it's just
00:22:01
like injury prevention knowing knowing
00:22:05
your body knowing how to train and
00:22:07
knowing what you how you can train and
00:22:10
what you can do yeah pushing too hard
00:22:12
and
00:22:13
not being on that limit and going over
00:22:15
right right are you quite good at
00:22:17
listening to your body are you
00:22:18
well I guess so I haven't yeah they
00:22:21
haven't
00:22:22
been yeah if I had I don't get sick that
00:22:25
afternoon and those sort of things yeah
00:22:27
um and is it true that you were back
00:22:28
running
00:22:29
um just two weeks after giving birth
00:22:31
I thought I read that somewhere uh
00:22:33
probably I was probably I was probably
00:22:35
on the win trainer one week after right
00:22:37
I know that um when I came out of
00:22:39
hospital so I had philosophy Friday came
00:22:41
at a hospital the next Thursday because
00:22:43
I had a cesarean and then on the
00:22:45
Saturday so eight days after I walked
00:22:48
halfway up the Adventure park because
00:22:49
the downhill mountain biking was on so I
00:22:51
was watching that and have you done
00:22:53
quite a bit of running with the pram
00:22:54
yeah yeah yeah definitely um been taking
00:22:57
flossy around the Hills
00:22:59
oh my God that's good training isn't it
00:23:01
yeah especially now she's 10 and a half
00:23:04
kgs
00:23:05
of driving to your house tonight it's um
00:23:07
that's a it's up a very very Steep and
00:23:10
Long Hill yeah it's a good not a nice
00:23:12
way to end your run especially the bike
00:23:14
good strength training yeah no the right
00:23:16
they've got runs okay normally I'd run
00:23:17
up to start and then run down to finish
00:23:19
yeah yeah
00:23:21
um yeah why did you call it flossie
00:23:23
what's flossy short for Florence
00:23:25
Florence is that why Florence
00:23:27
well I thought as part of Ollie's family
00:23:30
from ashburton
00:23:32
so that's a beautiful name you can't
00:23:35
have more more children after you get
00:23:37
the Commonwealth Games out of the way or
00:23:38
yes definitely yeah really very very
00:23:41
happy
00:23:45
yeah oh it's good well you seem like
00:23:47
wonderful parents she's a real cutie she
00:23:50
should be in beard right now right
00:23:52
yeah it said and mess with it hey
00:23:56
hello well she's wide awake she's not
00:23:59
going anywhere she's smiling um are you
00:24:01
flying um when you fly over says you're
00:24:03
flying um business or economy or how do
00:24:05
they fly you over there no we just fly
00:24:06
economy really
00:24:08
oh God economy with a baby oh
00:24:12
poor other passengers it's so
00:24:14
inconsiderate of you guys
00:24:17
I'm kidding are you nervous about how
00:24:20
she's gonna fly I'm okay she's fine when
00:24:23
she's sitting on me and she's around me
00:24:24
oh he's a bit nervous I said we could do
00:24:26
half each like
00:24:28
give me four hours to get him for us and
00:24:30
he was like no no no no no I'll find
00:24:32
another seat and
00:24:35
and go sit at the back yeah yeah because
00:24:39
at the moment she doesn't have a seat
00:24:40
right so she can she can sleep in that
00:24:42
bassinet if she will okay oh so you have
00:24:45
like the exit row seats at the front
00:24:46
where they have to take a clip-on table
00:24:48
yes oh cool cool yeah oh that'll be good
00:24:52
where do you stay over there
00:24:54
all over and airbnbs hotels
00:24:57
yeah all over
00:25:00
um
00:25:01
something else that's part of the um the
00:25:04
fabric of your life and I don't know if
00:25:05
you want to get into this or not but
00:25:06
your your ex and um his tragic death
00:25:09
like seven years ago so you were you
00:25:12
were married or engaged uh we're engaged
00:25:14
yeah yes this was um Laureen Lauren yeah
00:25:17
we met in 2005. yeah and he was a
00:25:21
triathlete triathlete really good right
00:25:23
yeah really really good he could run
00:25:26
really really fast
00:25:28
um and he ended up coach studying
00:25:30
coaching me so uh he started coaching
00:25:34
uh when my coach retired John
00:25:37
hellermann's in 2008 and John Helens by
00:25:40
the way is retired I think five times or
00:25:42
so so and now he's also he's he's still
00:25:44
my coach
00:25:46
so he is still a trifling coach bet um
00:25:48
Lauren started coaching when he coached
00:25:51
me and then he this was in 2009 and then
00:25:54
he coached himself and he went to the
00:25:56
Beijing Olympics in London Olympics
00:25:58
and yeah we were together on tours
00:26:02
awesome I was listening to um a podcast
00:26:06
that he was on just the other day
00:26:07
actually um I think it was recorded in
00:26:09
Wanaka it sounds like it was recorded in
00:26:10
a
00:26:11
um in like a restaurant in a hotel or
00:26:14
something and at that point he was
00:26:16
talking about his um it had heart
00:26:18
problems like he'd collapsed in a race
00:26:19
or whatever yeah it's quite quite sort
00:26:21
of Haunting hearing it in a way yeah
00:26:23
what eventually happened Heath uh
00:26:26
fainted
00:26:27
the first time was in clipsville and
00:26:30
then in Sydney and then during training
00:26:34
and the episode during training he got
00:26:36
contour and Juice coma so that one
00:26:39
um was the end of his career so he was
00:26:43
still coaching me and
00:26:46
yeah everything was fine like he didn't
00:26:49
have any other problems
00:26:51
um and it was just sudden you know
00:26:53
sudden so okay so so that's why he
00:26:56
retired from the sport because of the
00:26:58
the heart problems yes
00:27:00
um but presumably he thought he thought
00:27:03
it was like being managed or was under
00:27:05
control yeah it was it always one of
00:27:07
those things where where no it was
00:27:09
Sports and juice so he thought by
00:27:10
stopping sport that it wouldn't happen
00:27:12
again like it had only happened when he
00:27:14
was doing Sport and they never ever gave
00:27:18
us any indication that it would happen
00:27:19
during a sleep
00:27:21
so what was it just like a massive heart
00:27:23
attack
00:27:24
I I don't think it's a heart attack when
00:27:28
it's and our heart attacks when the
00:27:29
arteries blocked right
00:27:32
I'm not sure what that is but I think um
00:27:34
it was a cardiac arrest right that's
00:27:38
what they call it it's just a heart to
00:27:40
start oh my God I'm so sorry you had to
00:27:43
go through that it's awful it's so
00:27:44
highly thought of in the um Triathlon
00:27:46
Community as well maybe Chris kimle at
00:27:48
the time said some really kind words
00:27:49
about them
00:27:51
um so so you're there at the time yeah
00:27:53
yeah and
00:27:55
so when
00:27:57
when you hear the saying that someone
00:27:58
died in their sleep do they actually was
00:28:00
it was he actually asleep so you just
00:28:02
wake up in the morning and he's passed
00:28:04
or yeah I woke up in the middle of the
00:28:06
night but I'm not sure why yeah it was
00:28:09
at 2 30 in the morning
00:28:10
yeah nothing
00:28:12
oh my God how do you recover from that
00:28:15
how long how long did it does one of
00:28:17
those things you ever get over
00:28:19
I guess not when you think about it like
00:28:21
when someone brings it up like this but
00:28:25
um
00:28:26
there was nothing that I could do I
00:28:29
stayed over there I was
00:28:31
we had the funeral I was with his family
00:28:35
um and then
00:28:37
yeah there's nothing I could do there's
00:28:39
no I wasn't going to live over in France
00:28:41
anymore yeah I just came home because
00:28:44
you guys sort of split the year right
00:28:45
you'd have half the year in France and
00:28:47
half the year here in New Zealand so how
00:28:49
old were you at the time like 32 33
00:28:52
I was 33. it was 31.
00:28:56
I'm so sorry you had to go through that
00:28:58
does it does it get easier
00:29:02
um yeah definitely definitely gets easy
00:29:04
yeah but I mean it's yeah he's still
00:29:08
a big part of your life part of my life
00:29:10
yeah so
00:29:12
um
00:29:13
I mean I suppose like Wednesday that
00:29:15
happens to you you could go in two
00:29:17
different ways like you could lose the
00:29:18
desire to compete and do the thing that
00:29:21
you loved and the thing that you did
00:29:22
together why did you decide to go on was
00:29:25
it like almost like to honor his memory
00:29:26
in a way or because you still had so
00:29:28
much to get the sport
00:29:29
honestly I it didn't even cross my mind
00:29:32
to stop traffic and that was just what I
00:29:35
was doing I know that there were
00:29:37
articles and people were saying you know
00:29:39
we'll give her time to see what she
00:29:41
wants to do but in my mind I was never
00:29:43
just gonna stop yeah like I don't know
00:29:46
what he wanted to right it was in 2015
00:29:49
so I'd already qualified for Rio
00:29:52
um obviously a whole lot had to change
00:29:54
when I came home he wasn't there so I
00:29:56
had to
00:29:57
I just you know had to work with who I
00:30:01
could who was around who was around me
00:30:03
and uh obviously find a new coach and
00:30:06
those sort of things but I was really
00:30:08
lucky I found Maddie Dillon well I
00:30:10
didn't find her she she decided that she
00:30:13
wanted to spend the year with me
00:30:16
and she was she was a triathlete from
00:30:18
Auckland so I was really lucky to have
00:30:20
her and I don't matter yeah yeah we've
00:30:22
got a few half marathons together yeah
00:30:24
yeah she's really I was pacing one I was
00:30:27
doing pacing this run and um Omaha like
00:30:30
I was the 90 minute pace Guy and um you
00:30:33
know you look around a few k's in and
00:30:35
she's she's there and she's like oh I'm
00:30:37
hoping to hoping to do 90 or break 90
00:30:38
and it wasn't until afterwards that I
00:30:40
like I looked her up and it's like oh
00:30:41
[ __ ] or she's legit yeah it's probably
00:30:44
even faster than
00:30:45
90.84 now yeah then I saw her in um last
00:30:49
year and um we were sort of running it
00:30:51
running about the same pace for the
00:30:52
first 10ks and then she just blasted and
00:30:54
I did um I remember my time was um one
00:30:57
hour 23 45 and she was like a minute or
00:31:00
two quicker than that she's very Speedy
00:31:02
oh so you trained with Maddie for a
00:31:04
while yeah she came to Christchurch for
00:31:06
uh from in 2016 and then she was my
00:31:10
training partner and just with me for
00:31:12
every well a year until the Olympics and
00:31:15
then even the next time as she came down
00:31:17
to cross streets and trained
00:31:18
so um dealing with like the grief side
00:31:21
of things like did you see a therapist
00:31:23
do you have any counseling or anything
00:31:24
at the time or are you just quite good
00:31:25
at like you seem quite stoic are you
00:31:27
quite good at um like just processing
00:31:29
things on your own well I wasn't on my
00:31:31
own when I came home yeah well when I
00:31:33
was over there even I had family and
00:31:35
friends like Chris Campbell came and
00:31:37
um
00:31:38
James Avery and Tom Davison so friends
00:31:40
from New Zealand came over and
00:31:43
like I had a lot of support around me
00:31:44
and then when I came home to New Zealand
00:31:46
I was with my parents and yeah my sister
00:31:49
was here
00:31:50
so I always have people around me and
00:31:53
then yeah with high performance sport
00:31:54
they did office
00:31:56
a therapist and I think I saw him twice
00:32:00
not not for you
00:32:02
John hallerman had Helen had always said
00:32:06
that like there were athletes that he
00:32:08
coached that needed a little kick in the
00:32:10
butt and he knew he said he always said
00:32:13
that I didn't need that that I would do
00:32:15
my training and wouldn't complain so
00:32:18
I mean I wasn't
00:32:20
fine after what everything that happened
00:32:22
but of course not but I did like I
00:32:26
managed and I had a lot of family
00:32:28
support yeah no support yeah I'm I'm
00:32:31
sorry I mean you're married now we've
00:32:33
talked about your name so I'm I'm so
00:32:34
pleased I guess it took a while before
00:32:35
you were sort of ready you know to be
00:32:37
open for that again
00:32:39
yeah
00:32:41
um just through yeah it was just through
00:32:43
training and friends I didn't go out
00:32:44
looking it was just
00:32:47
went on bundle no right place right time
00:32:50
right moment yeah
00:32:52
yeah oh thanks for sharing and being so
00:32:55
honest about that it's a terrible thing
00:32:57
I think when when it happened everyone
00:32:58
in New Zealand sort of you know really
00:33:00
felt for you it's an awful thing to go
00:33:01
through yeah well I was it was just a
00:33:04
shock because I started and it was a
00:33:06
shock for everyone
00:33:07
it's funny how these things happen and
00:33:09
you went ahead like how I mean you like
00:33:11
you've got a beautiful life now and it's
00:33:13
amazing you've got a you know you're
00:33:14
married and you've got your daughter and
00:33:15
you've lived in this fabulous house but
00:33:17
you just wonder how different your life
00:33:18
would have been
00:33:19
I guess oh yeah definitely yeah but you
00:33:21
can't think like that you can't think in
00:33:23
the past and
00:33:25
yeah I always said I was going to live
00:33:26
in New Zealand but it was different with
00:33:29
someone different it just doesn't work
00:33:30
out all the time where does this like
00:33:33
um mental strength of yours come from do
00:33:36
you know is everyone in your family like
00:33:37
this like you're just some very um you
00:33:40
know all of us this is all completely
00:33:43
different so no I wouldn't say that
00:33:45
we're eating anything similar yeah um
00:33:48
has your mental health over the years
00:33:49
has been good
00:33:51
yeah yeah yeah yeah I haven't
00:33:53
had any issues there yeah oh that's
00:33:56
great yeah
00:33:57
you mean the high performance
00:34:00
um environment I don't know I I yeah
00:34:03
that's just something I bring up with
00:34:04
everyone on the podcast high performance
00:34:06
environment is high pressure yeah but
00:34:08
and Trust on being an individual sport
00:34:11
the pressure's you know is what you what
00:34:15
you bring to yourself it's not it's not
00:34:17
someone telling you you know you have to
00:34:20
perform otherwise you're going to be
00:34:21
kicked off the team there's not really a
00:34:22
team it's you perform yeah if you don't
00:34:25
perform obviously you're not good enough
00:34:26
to be doing those races there are like
00:34:29
there are tiers of races so there's the
00:34:32
world Triathlon series the world Champs
00:34:34
and then well all the Olympics above
00:34:37
that but then
00:34:39
under that there's the World Cups and
00:34:40
the international points races and the
00:34:43
New Zealand series races so
00:34:45
yeah Triathlon you can you can still be
00:34:48
really competitive but you can just be
00:34:49
competitive in the lower
00:34:51
events yeah and I suppose you've got to
00:34:54
sort of drive yourself in a way hey push
00:34:57
yourself out the door to do the training
00:34:59
and do the necessary work yeah but
00:35:01
there's some sometimes I don't
00:35:03
understand some people that they think
00:35:04
that they like they can skip the lower
00:35:07
level events so they want to just race
00:35:09
it against the best in the world right
00:35:11
they haven't done the whole steps to get
00:35:14
all the steps to get there and that's
00:35:16
sometimes that's why you know injuries
00:35:19
happen or people push themselves too
00:35:20
hard
00:35:21
and all people want to get there too
00:35:22
fast but then saying that Hayden world
00:35:24
is either huge
00:35:26
huge like he just went from
00:35:30
from um yeah racing the local events and
00:35:33
in age group events actually started and
00:35:35
then Olympic medals so yeah so Hayden
00:35:38
wild exception he's a superb Runner so
00:35:41
then I suppose he just had to work on
00:35:43
the cycling and and swimming and I feel
00:35:46
like it's probably like that for uh I
00:35:48
mean like Lance Armstrong you know the
00:35:50
cyclist so he used to do Triathlon and I
00:35:52
suppose he was just like exceptional on
00:35:54
the bike and not so good in the swim in
00:35:55
the run so he sort of gravitated towards
00:35:57
cycling
00:35:58
um but how did it how did it work for
00:35:59
you like what you know were you were you
00:36:01
a very good swimmer yeah at the
00:36:03
beginning I was at the front on the swim
00:36:04
and all the other in every event so yeah
00:36:07
I started off as a swimmer who could
00:36:09
bike and then sometimes I could run what
00:36:12
do you mean sometimes you could run well
00:36:14
to win the world champion so they ran
00:36:16
like 36 of edits five fans for ten
00:36:18
thousand for ten yeah
00:36:20
and now well I would say I could run
00:36:23
under 34 33 minutes huh wow so I
00:36:28
actually that's why I'm swimming at the
00:36:30
moment when I say I'm not making the
00:36:32
front pick the swimming is my weakness
00:36:34
now so I've turned it around
00:36:37
yeah exactly so from from being from
00:36:41
training for Triathlon of course you
00:36:43
have to be the fastest runner to win the
00:36:45
race and so I trained a lot on the run
00:36:48
my body composition Everything's changed
00:36:50
probably look more like a runner now
00:36:51
than a swimmer so lost my shoulders and
00:36:55
lost a bit of strength because what
00:36:58
um
00:36:58
what what time do most people do on the
00:37:01
Run for the like you say you do 34. like
00:37:04
can you make up places on the run if you
00:37:05
have a [ __ ] time on the bike and you're
00:37:07
not in that first group is there a
00:37:09
chance that you can pull people back in
00:37:10
or no yeah yeah it depends how big the
00:37:13
groups are but the couple of games
00:37:14
there's probably going to be
00:37:17
like 20 something in the race so that's
00:37:19
why if you're not in a group of cyclists
00:37:22
if you're with you know one or two
00:37:24
others it's a lot harder than being in
00:37:26
the front Group which was probably going
00:37:28
to be 10 or so yeah well I've got a
00:37:30
bigger script I I did a um a 10K time
00:37:33
trial last Friday and I did um 39
00:37:35
minutes 47 seconds which I was going sub
00:37:38
40 I was very very stoked about so
00:37:40
you're you're peeling off like I'm under
00:37:42
three and a half minute case
00:37:44
yeah three yes three twenty something
00:37:47
case that is flying and you're you're
00:37:49
tiny
00:37:53
that's your height
00:37:55
10 meter sixty one meter 60. look at
00:37:57
tiny little leaves short little legs
00:37:59
yeah they go how do you go so damn quick
00:38:02
that's insane they just have a big
00:38:04
Cadence
00:38:06
yeah yeah yeah unbelievable
00:38:11
um well no that's remarkable
00:38:14
yeah
00:38:15
um
00:38:17
I just can't I I'm like a major 94. I
00:38:20
got very very long very tall legs
00:38:24
there's all shapes and sizes and
00:38:26
Triathlon so yeah there's there are some
00:38:28
really chill lanky fast Runners yeah and
00:38:32
then a lot of little small
00:38:34
um and are you gonna get a um a break
00:38:36
over there after competition yeah we
00:38:38
plan on having a two-week break after
00:38:40
the come game so a bit of a holiday over
00:38:42
in Europe yeah cool whereabouts
00:38:44
uh we'll from Birmingham we'll go down
00:38:46
to London make our way to Paris down the
00:38:49
south of Paris and see some friends and
00:38:52
then Dubai on the way home to see my
00:38:54
sister oh how good how good and it only
00:38:57
has to give back to reality and start
00:38:58
working yeah what's what's the job when
00:39:01
you start working
00:39:03
of course I thought oh rich guy
00:39:08
and and what about you like What's um
00:39:11
life gonna look like um post Triathlon
00:39:13
you've got a degree right a bachelor in
00:39:15
economics yeah Bachelor of Commerce
00:39:18
um honestly I have an idea
00:39:21
um what can you do with that degree
00:39:23
probably nothing
00:39:28
oh
00:39:29
I think the hard thing is after having
00:39:32
like the fabulous and remarkable and
00:39:36
decorated career that you've had and and
00:39:38
a high performance sport is finding
00:39:40
something that's going to spin your
00:39:41
wheels you know something that you're
00:39:42
passionate about and into do you reckon
00:39:45
yeah yeah something that just doesn't
00:39:47
feel like a like a grind or a job
00:39:50
yeah I don't really know what that feels
00:39:51
like so yeah what about coaching or
00:39:54
something or would you want to remain in
00:39:55
the sport or
00:39:57
um I
00:39:58
don't think I'd make a very good coach
00:39:59
oh they said I don't have you don't
00:40:01
think no why well the way that I train
00:40:05
it's not
00:40:07
uh I guess it's not free
00:40:15
all right yeah are you you're saying
00:40:17
that yeah I mean tell them
00:40:22
right the mentality I don't know I don't
00:40:25
think I've got the mentality to start
00:40:26
someone right to build I guess but then
00:40:31
you your your ex he was he was a very
00:40:33
good triathlete and a very good coach
00:40:35
yeah I know yeah yeah so you could
00:40:39
um I'd also I don't think that I'd want
00:40:41
to go straight into just yeah Triathlon
00:40:44
coaching I I'll definitely I'll
00:40:46
definitely go into some sort of coaching
00:40:48
maybe with flossy and
00:40:50
her schoolmates or something like that
00:40:52
lower level yeah but I think to like
00:40:56
because I was in the late athlete if I
00:40:58
want to coach if like if I go straight
00:41:01
into coaching people probably think I
00:41:02
want to coach Elites right and go
00:41:04
straight into that and I don't think
00:41:05
I've learned enough of the lower right
00:41:08
okay you need to like you do you do your
00:41:10
ten thousand hours or do your draft or
00:41:12
whatever and yeah for sure for sure
00:41:15
um what about
00:41:16
um doing longer distances yourself there
00:41:19
was yeah how old were you in um Evan and
00:41:23
Hamish for this first and second at the
00:41:24
Olympics do you remember that I remember
00:41:27
that we're competing then no that was
00:41:28
before I started so that's how when I
00:41:31
got onto the sport there was so much
00:41:32
funding that's how we got over to Europe
00:41:34
and there were like I think there were
00:41:36
36 of us in France in 2006 just off the
00:41:39
back of them they did amazing for the
00:41:42
sport um
00:41:43
so did that sort of inspire you to get
00:41:45
into Triathlon in a way or no not really
00:41:49
no I didn't I never thought of it like
00:41:52
that it was really cool it was really
00:41:54
cool that I got gold and silver but when
00:41:55
I said Triathlon I didn't think I was
00:41:57
going to go the Olympics yes it wasn't
00:41:58
well I thought oh is that right just
00:42:00
wasn't even on your sort of radar
00:42:03
when did you realize that you were you
00:42:05
you know you you were like Olympic
00:42:06
potential
00:42:07
I guess when I went to the world Champs
00:42:10
it was in September in 2005. it was my
00:42:13
fourth Olympic distance Triathlon and I
00:42:15
got well I got first I won the under-23
00:42:18
world Champs and then my coach John
00:42:20
hallerman's was like you should go to
00:42:22
the com games Trail I think it was in
00:42:24
six weeks after that so
00:42:26
when I made the common games team I
00:42:28
think that was like a big surprise I had
00:42:31
to stop I was working at a surf shop
00:42:33
back then alrights of stuff work and I
00:42:35
was like I don't think I can work
00:42:36
anymore I've got to go overseas for
00:42:38
seven weeks
00:42:39
is that what you see when you see
00:42:41
goodbye
00:42:44
what was is that the only job you've had
00:42:47
uh I was a lifeguard yeah that was nice
00:42:51
that's not a real job it was a six week
00:42:54
job over summer like a paid job yeah
00:42:57
paid guard it was called right but I was
00:43:00
16 17. and yeah then social that was I
00:43:03
did you I finished University and I mean
00:43:05
that was my job through University right
00:43:08
wow what was the surf shop it was called
00:43:12
um Euphoria Euphoria of course it was
00:43:14
it's a massive shop name either oh no
00:43:17
the reason I brought up um uh the Biven
00:43:19
and Hamish thing before because when
00:43:20
when Bevan stopped doing uh like Olympic
00:43:22
distance Triathlon I I think one the
00:43:26
taupo Iron Man yeah yeah would you be
00:43:28
Keen to try a longer distance well
00:43:29
that's the thing you have to go on the
00:43:30
time travel back it's more
00:43:33
it's more of a cyclist based event you
00:43:36
have to bike 180k like pretty much
00:43:38
around taupo isn't it yeah like
00:43:40
backwards and forwards down this Rural
00:43:42
Road yeah it looks like a punishing
00:43:43
course but I mean you know I probably
00:43:46
could be good at it I don't know no I
00:43:49
just never thought of doing it yeah
00:43:50
would you would you want to keep um
00:43:53
keep them competing at some level even
00:43:55
when you're you're no longer running 34
00:43:57
minutes for 10 000 meters do you know
00:43:59
what I mean you can't be involved in the
00:44:00
sport or is it one of those things where
00:44:01
you just wouldn't you know it's either
00:44:03
top level or nothing
00:44:06
I don't know I haven't thought about
00:44:07
that either because when I started sorry
00:44:09
to think about it so many questions so
00:44:12
when I started
00:44:13
um doing the cross countries last year
00:44:15
so I had flossy and
00:44:17
February and then in May I was running
00:44:19
the cross countries and at the beginning
00:44:21
just didn't feel right like I wasn't fit
00:44:23
enough but I knew that I could go faster
00:44:25
but I just wasn't pushing it was
00:44:27
probably one of those things that I
00:44:29
thought if I pushed I might get injured
00:44:30
or
00:44:31
and I hurt myself so I didn't and then
00:44:34
each race just got better and you know
00:44:36
the feeling came back and then I thought
00:44:39
yeah actually I can run fast again yeah
00:44:41
yeah how good how good all right your
00:44:44
husband's just left the room how many
00:44:46
kids do you want
00:44:49
does it do you want a big family no just
00:44:52
have well
00:44:54
is there one or two more right
00:44:58
and why not why not if you can it's like
00:45:00
your great parents yeah do you love it
00:45:02
you enjoying being a mum yeah yeah I
00:45:04
love it yeah I think Ollie's growing
00:45:06
into it he said he wasn't ready at the
00:45:09
beginning yeah you never rather are you
00:45:12
no um if we had a cesarean well any any
00:45:15
particular reason for that or was it
00:45:17
just a yeah there were complications
00:45:19
heart rate started going
00:45:22
get it going higher and higher and then
00:45:24
the contractions were like three and a
00:45:26
half minutes and they said that wasn't
00:45:27
normal so
00:45:28
she's with it with her heart rate was
00:45:30
that like triggering a few in any way
00:45:33
I was already in labor so it was already
00:45:36
painful right
00:45:37
right well yeah yeah how was the birth
00:45:39
experience for you I I'm guessing you've
00:45:41
got a you know you ran you fell off the
00:45:43
bike and you ran 10ks at a very good
00:45:45
time with a broken collarbone I'm
00:45:47
guessing you've got a huge pain
00:45:48
threshold yeah
00:45:50
this is only laughing at me because he
00:45:52
bought me sushi home and as soon as I
00:45:55
ate it I threw it up and then then I
00:45:58
started like shaking and I was like I
00:46:00
think I'm in labor but I don't know I
00:46:02
don't know and he goes you're in labor
00:46:04
you're definitely in labor we're going
00:46:06
to the hospital
00:46:09
you think you're in labor what do you
00:46:11
mean well it was like well because they
00:46:13
keep telling you you know it's got
00:46:14
you've got to have contractions three
00:46:16
within 10 minutes and the contractions
00:46:19
weren't regular they were all over the
00:46:20
place and I was in pain but I didn't
00:46:23
know there was Labor pain I was like
00:46:24
shaking and right right so were you in
00:46:28
pain or was it just was it manageable
00:46:30
well for me it was manageable it's like
00:46:35
yes you're an ice queen
00:46:40
unbelievable hey um that's been so nice
00:46:43
sitting down and chatting with you you
00:46:45
know absolutely like kind of the sport
00:46:47
of triathlon in New Zealand it's going
00:46:48
to be um it's gonna be a weird scene
00:46:50
when you finally decide to
00:46:52
hang up the hang up the helmet or
00:46:54
whatever you whatever you do
00:46:55
yeah it's probably more weird for me
00:46:58
like coming back and you know having a
00:47:00
whole group of younger younger people
00:47:02
around me I think there's the other
00:47:04
girls on the team that are 20.
00:47:06
325 years old so sometimes it's a bit
00:47:09
weird for me as well yeah you must feel
00:47:12
like an Auntie or something yeah to
00:47:13
still be here but I can definitely still
00:47:16
compete against them so that's why I'm
00:47:17
still here yeah yeah absolutely you can
00:47:20
that's why you're going to be
00:47:21
Commonwealth Games
00:47:22
yeah or hey Beast of luck over there
00:47:26
how good would it be to see you on that
00:47:27
Podium yeah
00:47:29
no pressure no pressure but another
00:47:31
middle for the hallway here would be
00:47:32
nice wouldn't it yeah that'd be that'd
00:47:35
be the icing on the cake yeah all right
00:47:36
Andrea Hansen formerly Hewitt thank you
00:47:40
very much for your time today thank you
00:47:41
and best of luck thank you oh you're
00:47:43
still here and you're the best
00:47:45
um thank you so much for listening all
00:47:47
the way through I can't tell you how
00:47:49
much I appreciate it I'm guessing a lot
00:47:51
of people don't make it this far so so
00:47:53
if you have done uh yay yay for you I
00:47:57
really appreciate it no appreciate it do
00:47:59
me a favor if you want if you don't
00:48:00
already do this uh like subscribe follow
00:48:03
do whatever you've got to do whatever
00:48:05
you get your podcast from I'm not sure
00:48:07
how it makes a difference but apparently
00:48:08
it does feel free to give it a rating
00:48:10
like a five star or a review and I think
00:48:13
the best sort of marketing I can do to
00:48:16
spread the word about this podcast and
00:48:18
this Mission we're on is um the word of
00:48:20
mouth stuff so let a friend know if you
00:48:22
think they'll enjoy it or share it on
00:48:23
your social media channels but no
00:48:25
pressure to do any of that only if you
00:48:26
want uh the main thing is I just
00:48:28
appreciate you being here appreciate you
00:48:30
listening to this and I really hope you
00:48:32
got something out of it feel free to
00:48:34
send me any feedback complaints
00:48:35
criticisms whatever you've got any time
00:48:37
I won't necessarily change anything but
00:48:40
I do read it all and I do take it all on
00:48:42
board Instagram's a good way to get a
00:48:44
hold of me slide into my DMs at
00:48:46
domharvey NZ or email me domharvey NZ
00:48:50
gmail.com okay thanks so much I hope to
00:48:53
see you next week I hope to see you next
00:48:54
week I hope to see you next week

Podspun Insights

In episode 28 of Runners Only, Dom Harvey sits down with triathlete Andrea Hansen, formerly known as Andrea Hewitt, for a candid and engaging conversation. As she prepares for what may be her last Commonwealth Games at the age of 40, Andrea reflects on her remarkable two-decade career in triathlon, sharing stories of resilience, including competing with a broken collarbone and giving birth while nursing a broken arm. The episode dives deep into her journey, from her early days in swimming and surf lifesaving to her Olympic experiences and the challenges of balancing motherhood with elite sports. With a mix of humor and heartfelt moments, Andrea’s modesty shines through as she navigates the complexities of her life as an athlete and a new mom. This episode is not just about racing; it’s about the emotional and physical hurdles that define a champion. Tune in for a dose of inspiration and a glimpse into the life of a triathlon legend who continues to defy expectations.

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 90
    Most inspiring
  • 90
    Most heartbreaking
  • 90
    Best performance
  • 85
    Most emotional

Episode Highlights

  • Triathlon Legend Andrea Hansen
    At 40, Andrea Hansen reflects on her incredible career and challenges, including motherhood and injuries.
    “It might be the last time we ever see this Triathlon Legend wearing the black Lycra.”
    @ 00m 25s
    October 22, 2022
  • Overcoming Injuries
    Andrea shares her remarkable story of finishing a triathlon despite breaking her collarbone.
    “I just ran 20K and kept my position.”
    @ 13m 20s
    October 22, 2022
  • Queen's Birthday Honors
    Andrea was honored on the Queen's Birthday list, recognizing her contributions to triathlon.
    “That was cool, just out of the blue.”
    @ 14m 26s
    October 22, 2022
  • Commonwealth Games Aspirations
    She shares her hopes for the Commonwealth Games and the importance of drafting in triathlon.
    “If everything goes right, I could be on the podium.”
    @ 19m 46s
    October 22, 2022
  • Returning to Training Post-Birth
    She discusses her quick return to training after giving birth, showcasing her dedication.
    “I was probably on the wind trainer one week after.”
    @ 22m 35s
    October 22, 2022
  • A Lasting Impact
    She shares how her late fiancé remains a significant part of her life.
    “He’s still a big part of my life.”
    @ 29m 10s
    October 22, 2022
  • Triathlon After Tragedy
    She reflects on how the loss of her fiancé motivated her to continue competing.
    “It didn’t even cross my mind to stop triathlon.”
    @ 29m 32s
    October 22, 2022
  • Post-Triathlon Career
    Transitioning from a high-performance sport to finding a new passion can be challenging.
    “Finding something that doesn’t feel like a grind or a job.”
    @ 39m 41s
    October 22, 2022
  • Olympic Dreams
    Winning the under-23 world championship opened doors to Olympic aspirations.
    “I won the under-23 world Champs.”
    @ 42m 10s
    October 22, 2022
  • Motherhood Joy
    Embracing the joys and challenges of being a mother.
    “I love it, yeah I think Ollie’s growing into it.”
    @ 45m 06s
    October 22, 2022

Episode Quotes

Key Moments

  • Motherhood Challenges00:42
  • Injury Stories11:04
  • Queen's Honors14:26
  • Post-Birth Training22:35
  • Mental Strength33:33
  • Triathlon Transition39:41
  • Olympic Potential42:10
  • Feeling Out of Place47:04

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

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