Race Report - Luke Harrop Memorial Gold Coast Triathlon

Luke Harrop Memorial – Gold Coast Triathlon (Sunday)

Enticer Distance – 300m swim/ 10km bike/ 2.5km run
Date - 9th April 2017
Race Result - 1st Place U/16 and 2nd Female Overall

With nationals right around the corner, I didn’t want to race further than my race distance, so I did the enticer. I used this race to get the legs moving for nationals the following week.

Warm Up
For my warm up I did the usual 10-minute jog, then did some run drills and a few sprints. Before I started my swim warm up I swung my arms around and had a good stretch. During my swim warm up I did an easy swim followed by a few ins-and-outs. On the first in-and-out I discovered that the water was a lot shallower than I anticipated and I ended up doing a bellyflop. I probably should have taken the time to walk out to waist deep and examine the area before diving in. I learned my lesson that time and made sure to wade further out before diving. In the time between my warm up and start I kept my arms moving and made sure I stayed warm.

Swim
On the start line I made sure to get as far right as possible to have the shortest route to the turning buoy. Before the start, I waded out to waist deep water and made sure I knew the depth of the water. We got a 10-second count down before the go and everyone was slowly creeping forward. When the horn went I waded out as far as possible (not making the same mistake as in my warm up) before diving in. I was first out to the buoy and expanded my lead throughout the swim. The sun was shining bright behind the first turning can, but thanks to my Vorgee Eclipse Missile goggles I could see the first buoy perfectly. By the end of the swim, I had a decent lead.

Cycle
I was confident coming into transition. I knew exactly where my bike was and got my helmet on quickly – transition training with Head Coach Toby Coote was really paying off. I sprinted out of transition with my bike but hesitated to mount it as there were two people blocking the line. As a result, I ran about 25 metres passed the line before mounting. I started out strong on the bike but quickly tired. I didn’t feel very strong throughout the second half of the ride and my cadence felt slow and heavy. However, coming back into transition for the second time was a good feeling because I only had a 2.5km run to go.

Run
Once again, I had a fast transition, I was familiar with where my bike went. I slipped on my Mizuno Hitogami shoe sand Cannibal race belt, and sprinted out of transition. As a result of having a slow cadence on the bike, my legs were a bit slow during the first half of the run. But during the second half I managed to pick up my speed and have a faster finish than start. I crossed the line first in the u16 category and waited for my sister to finish, who won the u14 category.

Race Analysis
Overall, I am happy with my performance. I had a speedy swim thanks to Vorgee Eclipse Missile goggles and although I suffered slightly on the bike, I finished with a good run in my Mizuno Hitogami shoes.
 
WTS Round 2 (Saturday)
The day before my race was the second round of the World Triathlon Series, which also doubled as a Commonwealth games selection for the Australians. It was an amazing experience to watch the elites race in person. It is still my goal to race in the WTS and to represent Australia at the Olympics, so watching the elite race in person was so exciting, motivating and inspirational.