Phoebe Chennell Dutton: “Pain is temporary!”

Australian Sonographer and Triathlete, strong and beautiful, she inspires others to keep going and pushing!

Current training location

Sydney

Personal Motto

Ever onward

Favorite Vegetable

Steamed green beans! Such a tasty healthy snack, I could eat a whole bowl of them!

Favorite Athlete

Serena Williams – A woman who won 23 grand slams, then had a baby and came back for more.

When do you train?

Morning

Short or Long Distance?

Short

Hills or Flat Route?

Hills

Favorite Cycling Kit Color?

Black

What gets you out of bed every morning?

Normally my boyfriend chucking my cycling Jersey on my face saying “come on, we’re riding” haha

What is the most important part of your daily routine?

Breakfast! I don’t have a huge meal before I exercise in the morning, but I love to have a big meal when I finish. Normally it’s peanut butter and banana on toast, and it’s what I look forward to most in the mornings.

What is the best piece of the health/cycling/triathlon training advice you’ve ever received?

That pain is temporary. No matter how much I’m hurting when I’m training or competing, I think to myself “This pain is temporary, it won’t last forever.” I look at my watch and figure out how much longer to go in my workout or race and tell myself “Just 10 more minutes or 2 more kilometers and then it’s done”. It really helps me put it into perspective.

What is your most challenging/ memorable race?

I competed in a race in Sydney in December 2018 called the Chieftain’s Challenge where we had to do 3 ocean swims and 3 beach runs in between. On the day of the race, I arrived at the beach and the swell was huge and quite daunting. The three swim legs were extremely challenging, everyone was getting dumped by wave after wave, and couldn’t make it past the breaks. I remember only having enough time to come up for a quick breath of air before having to duck back down under the next massive wave. This went on for about 30 minutes. I looked up and could see dozens of people with their hands up waving to be rescued by lifeguards. There was a point where I thought to myself “I’m actually not moving. I’ve been swimming for 25 minutes and I’m not getting any closer to the buoy, and I’m exhausted”. I wanted to just turn around and swim back to the safety of the shore. I don’t know what pushed me to keep going, but I remember thinking “Just keep swimming, there will be a break between the waves, and when that happens, I just need to just go for it”, and I did. The event took far longer than it should have, no records were broken that day, but the sense of achievement at the end was massive. I was so proud, that when I was feeling scared and tired and was getting bashed around by the ocean, I had the strength to push onward.

Why do you tri/ cycling?

Why only do one sport, when you can do three in the same event!! ?

What is your #1 fitness habit?

The night before I exercise, I lay out all the clothes and shoes and gear I need on the floor. So in the morning when I wake up, it’s all ready to go!

How do you motivate yourself to train?

I book into events months in advance, so I am committed to doing it! Knowing I have an event coming up pushes me in my training. Also organizing training sessions with my friends / boyfriend get me moving! I will never sleep through a session if I’ve organised to do it with someone else.