The FFG Interviews Nikki Bartlett

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Exclusive interview with Pro Triathlete Nikki Bartlett

How did you feel after South Africa and what effect did it have on your training? And how did you pick yourself back up?

When I crashed on my last ride before my ‘A’ race of the season, I was absolutely devastated. My hand was in a mess and all I wanted to do was sleep, and every now and then ask if my bike is okay, obviously! Luckily I was in good company and Tom looked after me and we were in hospital with 7 X-rays within an hour. The NHS were absolutely amazing, couldn’t thank them enough. My concussion was really delayed, so spent the best part of a week in bed. Couldn’t bend my knee or hand, and well, for anyone who’s had concussion, they will know you’re in a mess.

After this week, and the race, passed I was really hit emotionally hard. But luckily I had the best people around me, and we just focussed on what I could do, and made sure I surrounded myself with likeminded individuals who helped me get back up on my feet, literally, and then heading towards my new goals which I created pretty quickly to focus on, and allow me to not fall into a heap of depression!

I would say I was out of the pool (I tried to get back into the pool straight after which soon went down the pan!) properly for a good 5 weeks. It’s now 3months on, and I would say only recently have I been able to pick up a weight with my hand which was injured, and it’s still got bad bone bruising.

Tell us about your bike accident and how that pushed back your training?

We have a joke with my coach, Susie and the people we train with, about ‘the last session which counts’ before the race - ultimately they all count, but psychologically we use it to get us through those last big sessions. So, off I went on ’the last session which counts’ and I don’t recall much from the incident. I just knew as soon as I crashed I wouldn’t be racing South Africa. My hand went black with bruising straight away, and couldn’t bend 3 of my fingers.

After the concussion had gone, we obviously had to be precautious because of the side effects. So I had a week of really easy steady training. My knee swelling had gone down, but not massively, so I was on the turbo for a week. Then went out on a ride with one of my sponsors, who’s one of the nicest guys around, and we had a cafe stop (which I never do in training - well maybe at the end of the session), and we even went on the route where I crashed. But the chat was in full flow and I never once thought of the crash on that ride.

I would say within two weeks I was back into full run and bike training, heading towards my next big goal - IRONMAN Lanzarote (7 weeks post crash)

What changes did you have to make to your training to catch up any lost time?

I think whatever injury or niggle you pick up, you simply have to focus on what you can do. Luckily from November to this crash in April, I had absolutely no illness or injury in this block, so I had a huge block of training in me. We actually made a joke in that it was like I tapered for the IRONMAN, then never raced it, then recovered from the non event!

We certainly didn’t rush anything or even ‘catch up’ on what might have been. Rob (my coach) was brilliant, not just for setting new goals, but helping me adjust to a new goal, and essentially a whole new season plan. There’s a lot of implications that come with missing races as a Pro - financially, and qualifying for the World Champs. So it’s not simply, pick another race and it’s like the one you’ve missed - IM SA was perfect timing in the season, allowing recovery time - racing 7 weeks later is actually pretty late into the season if you’re chasing points. For those who race IRONMAN - they will know how long it takes to recover and the whole process around tapering, racing, recovering - you’re talking of 6-8 weeks as a process. The fatigue is ridiculous and it can mentally wipe you out.

I’m currently in week 4/5 post IRONMAN Lanzarote, and this is actually the most fatigued I’ve felt post race.

Talk us through your last two races where you have placed.

So IRONMAN Lanzarote was absolutely fantastic, a race I really want to go back to. It has been ranked as ’the toughest’ IRONMAN in the world - with a brutal swim, 8,000ft of climbing with mental winds, then a hot and windy run.

I came 3rd Pro which was absolutely one of the most emotional races to date - purely because of getting back up on my feet since the crash - people close to me will know the psychological impact this had on me, and also because of the timing of the race - lets just say it was a painful time of the month ;)! So with all of that, it was a brilliant race, but I had a lot of sitting down time in that race with stomach cramps, so there’s a lot more to come which is exciting.

Just two weeks later I had in the original plan - IRONMAN Staffordshire 70.3, which is a tough course. I had been to every edition of this race, and obviously wanted to race. Most people were questioning my sanity, but I was fit and healthy, and although obviously not recovered from the IRONMAN, I was ready for full gas mode! I was absolutely ecstatic to come 2nd Pro, and break the bike course record, and run a 1.25 on a very hard (millions of turns in one loop which you do three times!) course. The crowds were amazing, and we had loads of family and friends supporting, they got me through it. And to probably have one of my best race performances.

What is your main focus for this year?

Without a doubt my big focus is IRONMAN Wales on the 9th of September, and everything around that is now allowing me to be in the best shape possible. It’s still the best race I’ve ever done - Wales embrace the race, and I cannot even begin to describe the support on the course. To top it off this course is brutal. I can’t decide whether IRONMAN Lanzarote or this course is the toughest. But I love honest courses, where drafting is still and issue in this sport - you can’t hide in this race.

What part does nutrition play in your prep?

A huge part. Absolutely has to be taken very seriously in a race - especially as the distance goes on. If you bonk it’s game over. Or at least game over until you come back out of that ‘phase’ - of which I have bonked in a session and popped out, but it did take some serious nutrition and soft pedalling to do so.

You absolutely have to plan, and practice your race nutrition in training. Not on easy / just on easy sessions, but the big high intensity ones. I’m luckily to be supported by Clif Bar, of which I was using before being supported. So they allow me to perform to my best with no stomach issues. I would say I’ve only just found the right nutrition plan which suits the full distance.

What are your top 5 tips for training after a setback?

1. Absolutely surround yourself with the right people. There are a lot of negative individuals in the world, but there are a lot of extremely passionate, driven and likeminded people. My family are absolutely the best I could ever ask for. I was in Cheltenham at the time, and Bex was away at the Commonwealth Games, so they looked after me. Team Passion Fit were instrumental in my process of getting back up and looking at new races, and they were heading to IRONMAN Lanzarote too, so with the course profile, it was a no brainer.

Every single sponsor was incredible, and supported me 100%, gave me ‘get well’ shoutouts. The triathlon world is a lovely place, and I had so many nice messages.

2. Talk to others. Remember you’re not alone - so many people have gone through similar ‘setbacks’ - so ask advice and get support. I’ve never had concussion before, so didn’t realise how long, and how much it takes out of you.

3. Share the journey - allow other people to see you’re human and everyone has setbacks, and also suffers mentally from them. As an athlete I will always be honest. I came back up to Scotland after the crash, and whilst the south had a heatwave, we had awful weather - wet, dark, cold. So this didn’t help my mentality and I actually got quite depressed. It’s lucky I have the most supportive partner in the world, and we decided to do a few months of managing a long distance relationship, and I moved back home (to my parents joy) to be in the right environment to prep me for Lanzarote.

4. Get a coach who isn’t just a coach, one that you can share the journey with. Rob was fantastic, between him, Susie and Bex - we all know I have a lot of potential, but over 2017 literally every race some form of setback happened; mechanicals, illness, injury, so I was never full able to race to my potential. Then when this happened after the perfect winter block, it knocked me so much. But they all stood by my side and supported me more than I could ever imagined possible.

5. Join in with a club, group sessions and create a happy environment. This is paramount. Happiness is key for success, and the right environment is paramount for allowing this to happen. There are so many clubs, group sessions and classes with all different levels of ability, age, experience levels in the sport, people going through setbacks or similar life experiences to you. Get involved, never go alone, sharing the journey is what its all about!

How do you manage your business as a sponsored athlete around a heavy training and race schedule?

Time management skills is a must. I absolutely love a close working relationship with my sponsors. When you’re mega fatigued from training, you really do need to schedule in your time for sponsors and commitments.

In terms of managing my sponsors - I prefer to do this myself, I find it really rewarding and working on creating close and exciting relationships. The one thing I absolutely hate about being self employed is Tax Returns, and luckily The Financial Fitness Group take care of this for me, and actually save me a lot of money too; of which some self employed individuals won’t know of. So it’s worth getting an accountant, the services will pay for itself and also save you money on top of this.

Typically a lot of self employed individuals will do the tax returns last minute, but the FFG have a fantastic app which you can download and track accounts, fuel, expenditure etc on the go. So it’s all saved in one place for you at the end of the tax year!

What advice would you give to anyone in the industry who is managing the training of their clients, their own training and business admin?

110% don’t go at it alone. Plus, there are experts in these fields for a reason - they know how to look after you, your business and the longevity of your business. Last year The Financial Fitness Group took care of my Accounts, and I had a very nice Tax Return which paid for a 2 week trip to Lanzarote. Pretty awesome. Without their knowledge I wouldn’t have put the accounts through so effectively.

As with any job in life, getting a work and play-life balance is key to happiness. Allow others to help manage this and take some of the stresses away from you. I hate maths, number crunching etc - so I’m more than happy for the guys to take this off of my hands!

What is the highlight of your year so far?

My other half - Bex Milnes, just recently being appointed as the new Lead British Para Tri Coach. She’s my hero! So we are about to relocate and set up a new life in Loughborough which we are both very excited about!

When is your next race?

TBC at the moment

Nikki is sponsored by The Financial Fitness Group amongst other companies to support her as a Professional athlete. Visit her website by clicking here.You can also find out more about our Accountancy Service here.

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