Triathlon: Illness can't stop mum's US charge

Louise Dumee is competing in Chicago this weekend at the 2015 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final. Photo / File

Endurance athlete Louise Dumee will represent New Zealand at the 2015 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final beginning this weekend in Chicago.

The 36-year-old mother of two from Papamoa is a personal trainer at Aspire Health and Sports. She qualified as one of five females selected in her age group to represent New Zealand after the ITU World Triathlon in Auckland in March.

That is a highly impressive achievement for any athlete but in Dumee's case it is especially creditable. Last August she was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, which meant she was unable to train for two months.

"I became carbs intolerant. The main fuel of endurance athletes is carbohydrates and I can't tolerate that at all, so I had to go to a high fat diet," Dumee said.

"That is the good-quality fats, like fish and nuts and natural oils. I basically had to make my body fat-adaptive, to be able to use that as the main source of fuel, rather than relying on sugars and carbs to do that for me."

While she could not train, Dumee never gave up on her goal of making the start line in Chicago. She worked around her diet and training needs, found supplements and nutrition to help her through training, and says the team at Salveo Therapy were invaluable.

In January, she completed the Auckland 70.3 triathlon in a smart time and ran more than an hour faster than she did the year before at the gruelling Ironman NZ held in March.

A good performance followed at the Auckland ITU race and then came the news of her selection, for which she had worked so hard.

Dumee is confident she will do well in Chicago and has set new targets to reach in the next 12 months.

"Chicago is basically the same set-up as the ITU race that was held in Auckland. It is mostly flat with one incline on the bike leg, but mostly a nice, fast course," she said.

"I want to qualify for the Long Distance Triathlon worlds [Oklahoma City, September 2016], just because that is more the distances I like, rather than the short, sharp ones. The qualifying race is the Port of Tauranga Half (in January), although I know the Taupo 70.3 has a few qualifying spots available."

Dumee is equally passionate about helping others achieve their personal health goals, no matter what levels of fitness they start out with.

"A lot of it comes down to nutrition and how to look after yourself, listening to your own body and not trying to push through limits. I know it can be done after a lot of the things I have had to deal with ...you just have to have the right approach to it."