Laura Trimble
Laura is a long distance triathlete. She qualified for Kona in her first year of racing IM (11.14) and finished 2nd in her AG in IM Cozumel (10.20) in 2011. She has also raced for the GB long course age group team and completed Ironmans in South Africa and Austria.
Before taking up triathlon in 2009 Laura rowed competitively for 8 years.
Laura’s 2012 Update
- . Abu Dhabi long course: 1st in AG, 4th amateur (8.37)
- . Ironman St George: 1st in AG, 15th overall (11.55)
- . Challenge Roth / European long distance Championships: 3rd in AG, 29th overall (10.25)
- . Ironman 70.3 Florida: 3rd in AG, 20th overall (4.55)
- . Ironman 70.3 UK: 4th in AG, 23rd overall (5.45)
- . Ironman 70.3 World Championships: 40th in AG (5.32)
- . Ironman World Championships: 37th in AG (11.16)
Looking back on 2012 it would be fair to call it a year of two halves. Having narrowly missed out on my 2nd Kona qualification at Cozumel last November, I started the year determined to do whatever was required to get back to Hawaii this autumn.
Winning my age group at the Abu Dhabi long course triathlon was a good start and a fun opportunity to take part in a unique race and take home the coveted title of the fastest lap time around the Yas Marina F1 circuit. Around this time I was fortunate that my personal and career goals aligned and I was able to take a six month sabbatical from my work with HSBC, a long-held goal which offered the opportunity both to travel to exotic new training locations, train with some great athletes and (I hoped) prepare myself more professionally for the upcoming season. This bore dividends almost immediately as after a short training period in South Africa I travelled to Ironman St George in Utah where I won my age group and finished 15th overall, wrapping up Kona qualification on an Ironman day unlike any other, finishing the day half-drowned, windswept and heat-struck, with my slowest ever swim, bike and overall finish times but rather more importantly having risen to the top of the many and varied challenges thrown at the field that day.
Over the next few months I was lucky enough to train in the thin air and remoteness of Ruidoso, New Mexico, the beating heart of triathlon in Boulder, Colorado and in the French Alps around Alpe D’Huez where I was fortunate to watch the long course triathlon close hand.
I also raced in Florida, where I qualified unexpectedly for the 70.3 World Champs in Las Vegas, returned to Exmoor for the UK 70.3 where my luck ran out with a broken gear shifter, and had my first experience of Challenge hospitality at the European Championships in Roth. On the training front I put in more hours than ever before and saw my performances improve, in no small part thanks to an increased frequency of TheTriTouch massage treatments with Aurelie, which were much needed to keep my body on track!
I finished up the season by racing both World Championship events in Las Vegas and Kona. Neither race went exactly as I had hoped, for a number of reasons not least of which was the challenge of acclimatising to the extreme conditions both races take place in. I also feel I over-raced this year; having raced four Ironmans, four half-Ironmans, one “three-quarter” Ironman (Abu Dhabi) and numerous shorter events over a 12 month period I felt fatigue by the end of the season which even a good taper couldn’t escape.
That being said I know I have developed hugely as an athlete this year. I’ve learned from great training partners who have become lifelong friends, I’ve seen what it’s like to train both full time and at altitude, I’ve finally learned to swim and I finish the season a wiser athlete and with a far clearer idea of the road ahead.
In other exciting news, I am expecting a baby with my husband Andrew!
Congratulations from everyone at TheTriTouch to Laura and Andrew.
