fast five - november 2021 - vanessa ng

Vanessa & Rene with switched name tags ;-)

Vanessa Ng
Sunshine Coast, Queensland
 
‘I love the ethos of T:Zero - you can do anything if you train for it. Follow the program and trust your coach.’ 

This month, our Fast Five feature athlete is Vanessa Ng, who’s been training with T:Zero and Coach Scotty for the past six years. 

When it comes to long-distance triathlon, Ness is a seasoned campaigner, having completed Ironman Cairns and numerous Ironman 70.3 events (Cairns, Busselton, Sunshine Coast and Port Macquarie) as well as a few Noosa and Mooloolaba Olympic distance races over her 11 years in the sport to date. 

Ness originally got into triathlons because she needed to do something different and loved the social side and structured training program. Her favourite thing about triathlon is the people, the training and the chase, while her least favourite is the technical side of balancing all three disciplines and the time needed to train for all three properly. Still, Ness seems to navigate this expertly, and her advice for others starting out in the sport is “Stick to your plan and don’t get carried away with the hype. Don’t forget to smile and enjoy the moment. Your earned your place, so push it”. 

When she’s not swim, bike or run-training, Ness enjoys hanging out with her two children (20 months and 6) - bike riding, swimming and dancing to terrible crazy frog music with them - and walking Rosie, their French Bulldog. 

Ness is currently training for Cairns 70.3 2022, having set herself the goals of being able to finish strong and return to her pre-baby fitness level! Go Ness!  

Proudest triathlon moment? 
Cairns IM. It was one of the most challenging races that I have finished after hitting the wall.

Favourite race? Why? 
I love Cairns 70.3. It was where I did IM and I have done the 70.3 twice there. Planning to do it in 2022. It’s pretty easy to get to and a similar bike course to Noosa. I know the course and love the fact that the run is around the town.

Have you ever had an apparent training or race day “failure” that has set you up for later success? 
I have never hit the wall until I did an Ironman. It was the biggest and hardest lesson on nutrition I have ever learnt. It is important to have a good nutrition plan. Another time was when I decided to try something new on course so spent the run spewing after drinking a new drink.

What motivates or inspires you to train/race/participate? 
I want to be a strong role model for my boys. I want to show them that it is important to make time to stay healthy by what you eat and do! Work and parenting does get busy but it is important to have me time too to keep myself healthy, mind and body.

Any funny or embarrassing race memories you’d like to share? 
Every year the photo of me running at Mooloolaba Tri with my helmet on pops up! My friends still send me photos of this and tell me how it makes their day!

And one more for good measure (and a big head) …
 
Why do you love being part of the T:Zero Multisport team?
I love my coach Scotty and his attitude. He just gets me and my lifestyle and goals. I also love the T-Zero crew and how the mental side of training is addressed along with the science.

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