But 2018 has proven to be the year the goalposts moved for the partner of the voice of Ironman in Australia Pete Murray.

She gave birth to son Xander at the start of the year and then the world changed – but for the better.

Now she has a different perspective.

“It’s all about him and if I can fit in the (triathlon) training that’s good,” she said.

“Sometimes I have to finish early because he’s unsettled and that’s fine with me because I used to go exactly to schedule, but now I have to be more flexible.”

The new training schedule has delivered the results with the 39-year-old two-time world, Asia-Pacific and European champion winning her third Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast title on August 26.

The win was a successful return to the place she spent seven years at before the move to Port Macquarie two years ago.

“I surprised myself on the Sunshine Coast and realised the way we’re going at the moment is good enough to win races again,” she said.

“I’d won on that course twice before and was three minutes faster than last time I won.”

It backed up an impressive second-place effort at the Asia Pacific Championships in the Philippines three weeks before that.

It all came within eight months of having her first child although she admitted there had been some challenges along the way.

“When I had Xander and got back into training I was so unfit and had 25 kilos to lose,” she said.

“I thought I’d never, ever get back to that fitness level and now I’m at the point where I realised when I was in full training how much I achieved.

“I thought I’d never reach that (level) again and now I’m faster than before that.”

With a change in focus comes a change in routine and the Swiss superstar is okay with being more flexible than she was before.

“Sometimes it does my head in because I don’t think I’m going to perform well, but I need to be there for (Xander) as well as be a good mum and that comes first,” Steffen said.

“(It’s) not crazy, (it’s) just different, but for me it was the time to have kids and I appreciate things a lot more than I used to.”

Having a happy-go-lucky infant who can interact with different people also provides an opportunity for Steffen to pursue the Ironman path as little – or as far – as she wanted.

“(Xander) is used to having other people around him and that’s good to not always have mum 24/7,” she said.

“At most, I’m four hours away from him and the other 20 I’m with him so I’m in a much better position than I would be dropping him off at daycare.

“I’m going better than ever before with less training so that’s a massive plus and gives me some confidence I’m doing things right and Xander is happy too.”