Co Down athlete Suzie Cave is approaching the end of an eventful year that saw her compete at the Commonwealth Games, earn a World bronze medal and get married.
The 37-year-old recently excelled at the World Triathle Championships, finishing on the podium with relay partner Sam Cobb in the mixed pairs event.
Suzie only took up Triathle seven years ago, having to learn how to swim, fence and shoot to embark on her new sporting career.
Read more: Northern Ireland karate kids celebrate medal success in Manchester
Suzie's other job is as a researcher for the Northern Ireland Assembly, leaving the Saintfield native with little time for much else apart from work, train and compete.
Her schedule is so congested that she even had to delay her honeymoon to next year.
We caught up with Suzie to reflect on the World Triathle Championships, her achievements so far, and what her daily timetable really looks like.
Here's what she had to say...
BL: Tell us a bit about the 2022 World Triathle Championships...
S: The World Triathle Championships 2022 were held in Madeira, Machicco Bay. Triathle involves 600m run, 50m static shoot, 50m swim, 600m run (x4 continuously).
It's run like a triathlon where its continuous and you transition from one phase to the next. On the final 600m run it's first over the line wins. The target is 10m away, it's electronic and we use a laser hand pistol, shooting with one hand. With each shoot you must hit the centre black of the target five times, once you have done this you can move on.
This is where leads etc change, some take less than 20 seconds to finish their shoot, others take the full 50 seconds time limit. So you are essentially holding yourself up the longer you take. This is what creates the pressure. You could come into the shoot range in first place, and leave in last. It's a real mental game to keep composure, shoot while out of breath and not get influenced by the ones around you.
The rest is about physical fitness, strength and endurance. This was a beach triathle, so we swam in the sea and ran on the sand. Rules required us to keep trainers on. It was a surprise to us all that the run was mostly on sand. Plus the course snaked up and down the beach, with hairpin bends, which made the event extra tough.
A lot of jostling for position at the beginning, around tight bends etc, arms and elbows in faces. But I think my days of running cross country through the muck here in NI really stood to me.
BL: And you picked up a brilliant bronze medal?
S: I managed to pick up bronze with my relay partner Sam Cobb in the mixed pairs relay - where we each do half the number of loops of a full competition - so I do 2 loops , then on my final run hand over to Sam to do the final 2.
It's always female first then male. I handed over to Sam in 5th position, then he worked his magic and brought us up to bronze behind France and Lithuania. I also came 10th in the individual.
Given the fierce line up , I was hoping for a top 15, so this surpassed my goal massively. The field was full of Olympians, European medalists - two of which I came home in front of. It is the best performance of my career to get top 10 against the best in the world including Olympians and previous European champions.
It’s a great feeling to not only get to compete with them, but to feel you belong there too!
BL: It must have been a proud moment on the podium with your relay partner?
S: It was a great feeling to get to stand on the podium, knowing that both of us had given everything we could. We knew against the line-up, it was going to be a tough ask to get on the podium, so to podium and share it with Olympians made the result even more special.
BL: Where does this rank in your achievements so far?
S: This was definitely one of the best performances of my career. I also had some of the best shooting I have ever done. To get top 10 in the World and a medal against some of the best athletes in the world, was the one of the best feelings ever. I work full-time, I'm self-funded and at 37 I'm very much considered at the wrong end of the age category (23-39).
So to be able to lie up with these athletes and feel you belong there i the best feeling in the world. It gives me pure satisfaction of proving to myself that I can do it, when on paper, my credentials wouldn't be considered ideal!
BL: It sounds like a gruelling competition - you must have made a lot of sacrifices to even get there?
S: Yes, I got married earlier in the year- even that was planned around competitions and training. We still haven't had our honeymoon yet.
But on a daily basis, sacrifices are made by not just by me, but my family, friends and team around me. I couldn't do what I do without their understanding and support. They act as my main sounding board, which I know is not an easy job!
Doing 5 different sports requires a lot of sacrifice and joined up working between my coaches (Jason Ratcliffe, David Graham, John McGahey, Jonathan Courtney and Peter Strain). They sacrifice their time, not just during sessions but around them too. My husband Rob probably has the most to sacrifice - not being able to make it through a whole film without me falling asleep!
To fit in my training around work, get the necessary nutrition, recovery and sleep (7-8hrs) means there's not much time for other things, especially in season. So it's nice to get to off season which gives more time for normal life, catching up with friends, family etc.
This year was particularly tricky because while things were returning to normal, I had to be careful so as not to get coronavirus >Covid and not be able to compete. Going places with crowds I kept to a minimum, unless unavoidable.
BL: Give us a typical week in the life of Suzie Cave...
S: I work full-time - two days in the office and three days at home. This does make things a lot easier than being office based the whole time.
My day usually starts with work. I work in research for the NI Assembly who are very supportive of what I do.
Most of my lunches are spent training, either running or swimming - I am lucky to have access to the hills around Stormont Estate.
They are used to seeing me running in and out of the building on my way to or from a run or swim. Some mornings I will train before work if I need to fit in a 3rd session somewhere. Through the week, most evenings are spent training at club sessions - two nights a week at Mary Peters Track (running) and one night a week at NICS Stormont Pavilion (fencing).
Between these sessions I fit gym work 2-3 times a week and shooting. I shoot at home (targets are electronic and don't require going to a shooting range), or during running sessions at the track. We work my strength and conditioning sessions in flexibly throughout the week to suit the rest of the week's training, or competing.
Weekends are usually a bit easier, unless there is competition or training down south at Pentathlon Ireland. But usually, it's a long run and easy swim with a bit of horse riding as and when I can. I will try to do these in the morning so I have the rest of the day free.
Weekends are also for food shopping. That's when myself and Rob get everything in for the week and do as much prep as we can. I'm lucky to work with Aaron Finn from Conscious Performance Nutrition, who keeps me right. He has taught me how to fuel best for my training and competitions.
An absolute game changer. Feeling stronger going into sessions, and has just made life and days so much easier being fuelled correctly. It was quite an adjustment at the start, but now it's a way of life.
BL: Do you ever have time for anything else? What do you enjoy doing in your down time?
There is very little time for anything during the season and prep for a new season. However, my coaches try to work on a cycle basis, of 3-4 weeks hard training and one week easy. It's these easy weeks that allow for a bit of down time and recovery.
Not just the body, but for the mind. So, I will try and meet up with friends and family, go for walks, do a bit more horse riding etc. I train at David LLoyd's, it's close to work - so during these times I might get time to use their sauna, jacuzzi etc.
At the weekend, Rob and myself like to get out for a walk. As a wedding present we got a National Trust Membership, so we're currently trying to make our way round National Trust locations.
Films are big part of my down time, so providing we get them on early enough, I love nothing more than to sit down, switch off the mind and watch a good film or box set.
I'm just coming back into training from off-season. I've had about three weeks just doing what I want when I want. I don't completely stop altogether, I need to keep active.
I find going from intense training to nothing, niggles start to surface. So I do easy swims, go for the odd jog, keep up S&C to try and keep tendons and ligaments in use. This helps to make the return to training that bit easier.
It also gives me more time to do the things I don't get to do when in season.
BL: It has been quite a year for you, with the Commonwealths as well as everything else?
S: Representing NI at the Fencing Commonwealth Championships in London 2022 over the summer. This was my first time actually representing Northern Ireland and my first Commonwealths.
Nothing feels better than getting the NI colours on and the level of support I got from NI people was something I've never quite experienced before! It made me very proud to say I am from here and to get the opportunity to represent the country I grew up and live in.
Fencing is just one of the five disciplines I train for, so to compete with the best specialist fencers in the Commonwealths was one of the most exhilarating experiences and feelings of my life. I'm turning 38 in December, and it has ignited more of a fire under me.
BL: And in your personal life - you got married...
S: Myself and Rob got married in April. Then it was into training for qualifiers in July, Commonwealths over the summer and Worlds in October. So there was very little time for a honeymoon. We decided not to rush it, and wait. So, one of my winter chores is to get that sorted for next year.
BL: What does 2023 hold for you?
S: Besides a honeymoon at some point, I hope there will be some international competitions for me.
There are Europeans and World Championships over the summer. I will be another year older but stronger.
Taking this sport up at 30 and only learning how to swim, fence and shoot then, means each year I am still improving.
It's a personal journey for me to see how much I can improve, and at a stage in life I'm maybe not expected to. We see people breaking the mould all the time and that really inspires me.
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