School Sport Nationals Triathlon Championships
Individual Race – 600m swim/ 16km bike/ 4km run Race Result - 8th Place Intermediate Female Team Race – 300m swim/ 5km bike/ 1.5km run (Each member of the team of 4 completed a whole triathlon) Race Result - 5th Place Intermediate Mixed Individual Race I had a good lead up to the race; I was well hydrated and made sure I got enough rest. My goal for this race was to do better than last year, which was 8th. When we got to the race venue the morning of the race I was feeling comfortable and fresh. When I racked my bike in transition I did a few run-throughs while pretending to racing to get my bearings and to make sure I didn’t miss my bike during the race. After I finished in transition I made sure I stayed warm and relaxed while watching the races before mine. When the time came I started my warm up. I did a 10 minute jog alongside the run course then headed to the swim start to do a swim warm up. For my swim warm up I did an easy swim followed by sprints and practice starts. Swim We got to choose our position in the water before the start, so as soon as the briefing was over all the competitors raced to get that far right position next to the swim can. Luckily I was the first one there so I got a clear water when the gun went. I had a great start, I was second to the first can and it remained that way for the rest of the swim. On the way back towards the swim finish, the sun was directly in my view of the exit but luckily I was wearing my Vorgee Missile Eclipse Goggle because otherwise I wouldn’t be able to see the exit clearly. When I touched the bottom I jumped up and started running into transition, I looked back once just to see where everyone was. Cycle When I started riding I could see that I was part of a group with four other cyclists, and we were the lead pack. Since my crash, my bike confidence has slowly been building back up, so when we got to the first corner I made sure I was the first one there to give myself plenty of time to turn but after that my legs were fried. I didn’t feel especially great on the bike. I didn’t feel like I had the strength to help on the front as much as usual, but I still tried to do my share. By the time we finished the bike leg, the chase group had caught up a little bit of ground on us. I knew every second would count so I had a speedy transition and was one of the first ones out. Run I had a good start to the run, but I probably started out a little bit too hard. We just had a two lap course so I tried to image that I was doing four 1km repeats. I felt like I wasn’t going that fast but after looking back on my pace after the race it was one of my best runs for the season – out of the races I did do. I crossed the line in 8th place. Even though my goal was to beat my result from last year, I was still happy with my result because of all the obstacles faced during the season. I didn’t do much of a cool down, I just watched the rest of the races and cheered on my teammates. Team Race My legs were burned out after the previous day’s performance yet I still felt fresh. Unfortunately, I didn’t get that much of a warm up in because transition opened so late and the race start was so soon. However, I did manage to get a small swim warm up in. I was first to start in my team and it was a dive start, so if I had a bad dive I wouldn’t get clear water to swim in. After my swim warm up, the start time kept getting delayed so I and to make sure I kept moving around and stayed warm. When we were eventually told to line up, I once again took the right side of the platform. The closest group of people to me were about 1 metre away, crowding the person who was first out of the water the day before even though I had the closest route to the first can. As soon as the gun went I was first to the first can and led the whole swim and by the time I finished the swim I had a decent gap on the next person. I sprinted into transition but as soon as I jumped onto my bike my legs were toast and I felt weak. The main group caught me and swallowed me into their pack just before transition. As a result, I was pushed to the back of the pack and was the last person to jump of my bike going into transition. However, I had one of the fastest transitions and was the second person onto the run. I held my ground for about 200 metres but my legs were so heavy from doing the whole bike leg myself. By the end of my race I was the fifth or sixth person to tag my teammate. Once again, I didn’t do much of a cool down as I wanted to watch the rest of my team race. Our team ended up finishing in 5th place. Overall, I’m happy with my performance and proud to have had a good end to the season. I am more than thankful to have had the support of the Sunshine Coast Triathlon Academy/ Protector Aluminium Junior Scholarship throughout the season.
2 Comments
16/5/2017 04:35:24 am
The Sunshine coast team is doing a good job in each sport. Their team must've practiced hard for the nationals. I'm really proud of each of their members. I certainly hope that they will continue practicing hard for their games in the future. I'll be checking up on more news about the race on this site.
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AuthorKaya Shults SCTA Junior Scholarship Recipient 2016-2017 Archives
July 2017
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