FAST FIVE - MAY 2020 - MEL SPEARE

Melissa Speare - Brisbane, QLD

“There is no royal road to anything, one thing at a time, all things in succession. That which grows fast, withers as rapidly. That which grows slowly, endures.”
 
Our May Fast Five feature is Brisbane based athlete Melissa Speare who has been kicking her endurance goals with the help of Coach Scotty and T:Zero for the past four years! 

Melissa’s favourite thing about triathlon and endurance sport is getting to hang out with other people who think it’s all totally normal! She’s got a love/hate relationship with each tri discipline but says the run is perhaps a soft spot purely because it’s so uncomfortable for her that she challenges herself to love it.

Although she doesn’t have a favourite training session, Melissa says her favourite training week was attending the TZ Bright Camp and training up a storm with her buddy Farragio. Her motivation comes from setting the goal which she says makes her feel like she’s “on track” in life sometimes. 

When she’s not training, Melissa likes to play hunt, catch and cuddle with her kids... even though they’re all grown up 😊

While 2020 has seen her take a bit of a hiatus thus far, Melissa still has her eyes set on Noosa Triathlon in November, aiming to give it a crack for the first time since 2014! Fingers crossed Melissa!

Favourite race? Why?
Most recently…my first 100km trail run in Tassie a couple of months ago.  Getting to the end with spirits high throughout the whole event.  Magic.

Proudest triathlon moment?
My first Port Mac IM in 2018 where I finally got to do something I never thought I could do – finish a 42km run leg. 

Do you do other training outside the normal swim/bike/run?
I’m loving throwing myself into yoga right now.  So much so, that I decided I to undertake some yoga teacher training. Doing yoga regularly seems to be a great alternative to spending $$$$ at my physio at the moment.

Have you ever had an apparent training or race day “failure” that has set you up for later success? 
Doing my first OD tri at Byron Bay with my brakes on.  Never has that happened again.  Seriously,  the learnings are endless.  

Do you have any tips for athletes struggling to find some motivation or who may have temporarily lost focus? 
Just roll with it….keep moving however you want…mix it up…..try to maintain a sense of perspective not just for the sport you love, but for everything that makes up the kaleidoscope of your world. 

Make sure you keep talking with coach and surround yourself with good energies.

And one more for good measure (and a big head) …
 
Why do you love being part of the T:Zero Multisport team?
Motivation, sharing knowledge that spans in a web of wild direction and camaraderie.