30 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
For more information and to enter visit:
http://www.challengemelbourne.com.au
Sunday 22nd April 2018, St Kilda
Challenge yourself at Australia’s only
inner city half distance triathlon
AnnABeL LUXFoRd
“We grow up being told that we can
have it all - and I think we can - but
maybe not all at once. I’ve always
craved balance - combining study with
triathlon in the early days, wanting a
life travelling around the world racing
but also a permanent home base and
normality; and lately a foot in the
corporate world and a foot in the
professional sporting world. But
chasing ‘balance’ can sometimes
come at a cost.”
Such mature statements hint towards
the importance of ‘process’ that Bella so
highly regards - the process of self-
discovery on the way to athletic success.
The quest to win professional races tests
a persons motivations and reality, more
ruthlessly than most philosophy or idealism
would recommend. But humans like
certainty. We like truths. Perhaps that is
why Ironman is so popular - though its
lessons can be painful and harsh, they are
always honest and clear. If that clarity has
suspended Annabel’s desire for ‘balance’ in
her life then we can look forward to many
more years in the presence of a successful
Annabel Luxford in our sport. Perhaps right
at the top of that ‘top 10 in the world’...
I leave you with a statement by
Annabel Luxford again, because it is
that good.world’ was proving difficult over the long
distance, despite maintaining a
formidable presence in 70.3 racing.
In 2016, Annabel withdrew from the
Ironman World Championships mid-
marathon due to illness. She was burning
the candle at both ends.
In April 2017, she surrendered to the
lure of full time sport once again, having
been granted extended leave from NAB.
She had tried balance, but was now
poised to risk a little more for a better
reward. The lessons she has learnt from
her experience hint to her true
expectations as an athlete as well as in
the banking industry - she wanted more
than she could get ‘balancing’.
“I’ve realised that yes, I could
combine the two but funnily enough I
wasn’t satisfied. I knew I wouldn’t
progress in the corporate world this
way and I also knew that I was limiting
my success as a world-class long
course athlete. So, I found myself
wondering what the point was?
I wasn’t happy with mediocrity in
either. I think if you’re going to chase
that balance, you need to adjust your
measures of success, or pick pursuits
that aren’t mutually exclusive.”such challenges; Daniela Ryf balanced a
university degree within her two most
successful years on the circuit; many Pro
athletes coach; I write. We all feel a need
for balance and security - whether that be
to procure future roles or to prolong our
athletic careers. There is a time and need
for recuperation away from the sports
arena, and many have succeeded in
excelling in multiple areas of life. Bella
took it to extremes, committing to regular
hours in a pressurised corporate
atmosphere. That takes juggling to a
whole different level.
“Entering the corporate world (part
time) and still racing professionally
was the right choice for me. I needed to
know what life after triathlon would be
like and that I could thrive in that
environment if I set my mind to it.”
Annabel’s experiment did not fail. She
developed in both sectors of her work/
sport life procuring many titles at the
half-distance triathlon across Australia,
satisfying her work commitments and still
occasionally racing internationally to
podiums. She finished 12th at her first
Ironman World Championships in 2015.
In high-level sport though, ‘not failing’ is
never enough. Staying in the ‘top 10 in the
TURnInG The LeGs: Annabel out training before the 2016 Ironman World Championships
in kona, hawaii
© ATWe grow up being told that we can
have it all - and I think we can -
but maybe not all at once.
— Annabel Luxford