Andrea Hewitt had been originally encouraged to take up triathlon on the advice of her then coach, John Hellemans.
Bought a bike for a race
Said Andrea, 37, “My triathlon journey began in 2004 when I bought a bike to ride and race at the Christchurch Coast To Coast event.”
The Coast to Coast is an annual multi sports endurance competition consisting of biking, kayaking and running and takes place from the West Coast to East Coast of New Zealand’s South Island.
That was when Andrea had initially met John, who clearly saw something special in her and so he had encouraged her to train to do her first triathlon.
Prior to that, she had been a competitive swimmer since the age of six and had also dabbled in surf lifesaving, forging a successful career in the sport, where competitors are required to perform various tasks typically performed by lifeguards on the beach.
Her foray into triathlon
Under John’s guidance, Andrea’s first triathlon had been at the New Zealand U-23 championships 2005 in Napier, New Zealand, where she had been placed third.
Said Andrea, “Because I did well for my first triathlon and had qualified for the U-23 world championships, that was how I became a triathlete.”
Accolades soon came quickly
Soon after that, her achievements quickly piled up, and these had included a bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games as well as seven golds, 3 silvers and 3 bronze medals at the French Club Championship triathlon events from 2007 to 2010. She also finished sixth at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games Triathlon and fourth at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Her Memorable Races
Her most memorable triathlon races, though, are primarily ones where she won the gold, such as the ITU World Triathlon Championship Abi Dhabi in 2017 and the ITU Triathlon World Champs Series Grand Finale in Beijing in 2011.
Said Andrea, “I definitely remember the Olympic Games, but these ones are more memorable because they were the best race results of my career.”
Passion for triathlon still burns strong
In the 13 years and counting that she has been a triathlete, Andrea’s passion for the sport has never wavered.
She said, “I am competitive so I love that aspect of triathlon. And I do not find the training sessions too difficult.”
Challenges of being at the top
However she concedes that training and racing at the top level is never easy.
Said Andrea, “The training is always hard. It does not matter if you go fast or slow. It’s not the motivation but rather, physically it is challenging as you always need to have the energy to train. Even if you are feeling tired or down, you must still head out to do your scheduled sessions.”
She continued, “Normally it is the first part of the session that is the hardest, like jumping into the water or getting out of the door for a run as I can easily procrastinate, but once I can convince myself to get out there, then I can usually finish the session.”
And it is generally the fact that she knows she’s got a race coming up, that usually motivates her to get out and do her scheduled sessions. Said Andrea, “If I want to do well at the race, I know that I have to do my training.”
For her training during her peak periods, Andrea clocks up to 25km of swimming weekly, 300km-500km of cycling and up to 120km of running, with four runs per week including hill sprints and track interval sessions.
Her longest single bike rides can last five hours and quite often, she does brick sessions where she will run for one and a half hours immediately after a three or four hour bike ride session.
Perks of being a professional triathlete
At the same time, being a professional triathlete has its perks though, Andrea added. She said, “As well, it’s also great to meet people and travel the world to take part in races.”
However, while traversing the world may initially sound fun, Andrea admitted that it also has its drawbacks after many years of doing so.
She said, “I am actually now on a break from competing because I was spending so much time away from my home, friends and family. On the world circuit, I was spending six months each year on the road and that was a long period to be away from home. Sometimes I got the feeling that I would rather be home than away, so that is why I took this time off.”
My meeting with Andrea had initially been arranged by Ben Pulham, a close friend of Andrea and a former professional triathlete himself too.
Ben, however, has since retired from the sport and moved to Singapore, where he set up Coached, a heart rate based training programme for runners and triathletes. And Ben had taken the chance of Andrea’s visit to Singapore to give Coached members the opportunity to meet one of the world-beaters in the sport.
Running is her strength
While Andrea acknowledges that to be a triathlete, you need to be strong in all three disciplines, but she admits that running these days is her strength.
Said Andrea, “Of course, I can do all three disciplines well, but in 2005 I began as a swimmer. So that was my strongest then. But last year I felt like I was more of a runner and I think my strength is definitely now in running. I also enjoy the running training a lot more lately, and that is why my running has improved by so much.”
Discipline is needed
Nonetheless, with all of that swimming, cycling and running though, comes lots of discipline, especially to become good enough at not one, but three sports, in order to win competitions.
Said Andrea, “Being a triathlete definitely disciplines you as a person. It is also a healthy and fun lifestyle and you get to meet lots of like minded people, too, which I enjoy because I am a social person.”
A social and lively sport
She also continued, “While triathlon may seem like an individual thing at first glance, there are lots of training sessions that you can do with your peers, as well as making friends with other regular faces on the circuit. As well it is also a great way to lose weight and get active. I love being outdoors rather than being stuck in a gym. Triathlon is a fun sport, and I urge everyone to give it a go, to have fun and enjoy themselves in the process.”
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