Wamboin's Penny Slater does mock triathlons at home during isolation

The water is a chilly 13 degrees on an autumn morning, but Slater still dodges through the reeds and swims towards her bike waiting on the shore.

The 24-year-old triathlete returned to her parents' Wamboin property in February and has stayed isolated there throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

Lack of equipment and access to facilities means Slater has had to get creative with her training. And the brisk swim session is just one method she's used to stay motivated.

She's learned steel-capped farm boots don't substitute well for cycling shoes but a bag of fertiliser works perfectly for free weights.

She helps dad prune the olive crop and chops wood for the family's fire - both a solid upper-body workout.

"I've almost been getting a better workout at home with the substituted equipment rather than if I was at the gym," Slater said.

"You've just gotta make do with what you've got. I've been using 25 kilogram bags of fertiliser as weights and sometimes my dog if she's around.

"I can use crates for step ups as well, so it's been kept interesting."

Slater was supposed to be racing in Europe before the coronavirus outbreak forced sports to shut down across the globe.

So instead of scaling back training with a long year ahead, the under-23 world champion decided to create a mock triathlon in her own backyard.

While most people do everything they can do avoid the Canberra chill, Slater pulls on her swimsuit and gloves before diving into a freezing dam.

"I'm used to it now, I think because I've been swimming in it for five weeks. But at first I did not handle the cold very well," Slater said.

"You also have to dodge a few reeds and ducks every now and then, but it keeps things interesting."

Slater is a dual international and Australian cross triathlon champion but despite reaching the pinnacle of the event, she's recently shifted into the sport's more traditional format.

She began training for the road triathlon this year, focusing on the 70.3km endurance event.

Slater kicked off the 2020 season with a half-ironman distance in Geelong and finished sixth.

She switched back to the cross triathlon format just a week later to claim third in the Oceania championships.

But the coronavirus-forced shutdown has put the rest of the season on hold. She initially planned to do a few races in the Philippines over winter and qualify for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships.

"Oddly, this has given me more time to do the amount of training I need to race that distance at a high level," Slater said.

"The traditional long course is about a four-to-four-and-a-half-hour race, so you need a lot more training for it.

"So in that way it's been good, by not racing for a couple of months I can focus on training and getting the little things right. Otherwise I'm always desperate to go out and race."

The coronavirus shutdown has also given Slater more time to focus on her university studies and help her parents around the Wamboin property.

She's studying a bachelor of secondary education at the University of Canberra and was about to start her final placement before social distancing restrictions were introduced.

"I'm in a bit of a limbo at the moment, so I'm hoping school will be back soon and they're able to sort something out," Slater said.

"I'm doing all my study online. I'm really enjoying the units and have interest in them because I have had the time to do all the work.

"I was away for four months of last year and I struggled with university, just trying to fit everything in.

"So it means I don't fall asleep while listening to lectures and stuff like that because I'm not as tired. It's been good in that regard."