28 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
rAcheL JoYce
Australian Triathlete Magazine: How
did you know it was the right time for
you to get pregnant?
Rachel Joyce: Starting a family was
something Brett and I knew we wanted
and we’d talked about it for a few years.
At the end of 2015, we just knew it was the
right time to start trying. I was 37, which
meant I was already going to be a
“geriatric” mum, and while I was still
enjoying racing, our future family was
more important, and we didn’t want to
delay that any longer. Being pregnant
didn’t really fit into my career. I was taking
a year away from racing off the back of
one of my best years. However,
emotionally it made sense. Starting a
family was really important to Brett and
me, and I felt that racing would lose some
of its appeal if I felt like I was putting that
on hold for another year.ATM: Knowing that pregnancy would
halt your racing career for the time
being, did you have any struggles or
reservations with the decision to try to
become pregnant?
Joyce: It really didn’t. Yes, winning Kona
was always my goal, but I am a veryATM: What was it like keeping your
pregnancy a secret during the first
trimester?
Cunnama: It was impossible for me to
keep it a secret! My training suffered
immediately, and there had to be an
explanation to my swim coaches and
squad as to why I was coasting along at
the back rather than leading like normal.
Then I had to drop out of Ironman South
Africa for “health concerns.” This was
deliberately vague, and we thought it
would direct people that I was indeed
pregnant and needed to keep it quiet as it
was the first trimester. It didn’t work, and
about 50 various strangers outright asked
if I was pregnant. It took me aback
because it isn’t really in my culture to ask
someone about medical health unless
they offer up that information. My ability to
lie is ridiculously bad, and strangers ended
up knowing my business before my
friends, which made me very sad. We
finally waited until after our first scan,
where we heard a strong heartbeat, and
then told everyone.
ATM: How has your approach to training
changed now that you’re pregnant?
Cunnama: Training before I was pregnant
was the best part of my day, and now I
can’t push too hard, which bores me a bit.
I still turbo, run and swim a total of about
two to three hours a day. But it is simply
exercise [rather than training] now since I
feel so sick.
reTUrN To rAcING: Jodie plans to target
the Ironman 70.3 World champ’s
post-baby.
TrIAThLoN: The hardest part of training as a mum for rachel (pictured left) is “getting
the balance right”.ATM: Do you plan on coming back to
racing after the baby is born?
Cunnama: Yes, absolutely! I’ll probably
target the Ironman 70.3 World Champ’s in
2018 as my big comeback aim.ATM: What will you do this year to stay
involved in the triathlon scene?
Cunnama: I will train, coach a few pros,
continue writing for Australian Triathlete
Magazine, write my autobiography, run
Facebook live sessions about my pregnancy
and training, write pregnancy diaries, do
media work for my sponsors, and support
James. I will be doing quite a lot!ATM: What has it been like managing
your ever-changing pregnant
body compared to your normal
race-ready body?
Cunnama: It’s been difficult. I still have
remnants of body dysmorphia that hang
about and putting on weight really tests
my soul. I will be talking a lot about this in
coming weeks on my Facebook live chats.
It is something that I really have to work on.ATM: Are you going to find out the
gender of the baby?
Cunnama: Maybe, but we haven’t
decided yet!ATM: What are you most excited
about when you think about
becoming a mum?
Cunnama: Being a part of a brand new
life is amazing. I want to help our child
simply become the happiest and best
human they can possibly be.