Queensland Schools Triathlon Championships - Hervey Bay

Queensland School Sport Triathlon Championships
7-9th March 2019
750m swim – 20km bike – 5km run
Results: 11th in the Senior Girls

These trials would have to be one of the most important races of the year for me as it gives you an idea of what you are ranked in your age group out of the whole of the state. For this reason, I get extremely nervous in the lead up to the race because I want to perform at my best. It was also my first year in the Senior Girls too!

Before the race I was feeling the nerves slowly building. I stuck to my normal pre-race warm up, and tried to relax myself as best I could to preserve my energy for the race. I spoke about my race tactics with Toby the day before and my plan for the race was to have a good swim and get out in a good position. I wanted to not get caught in any carnage during the swim, so till the first buoy I put my head down and absolutely sprinted as hard as I could go to try and get out of the way. This seemed to work as I didn’t have people jumping all over me, stopping me from actually being able to swim.

After I turned around the first buoy I was able to get into the rhythm and swim in a free space. I was quite happy with my swim as usually it is something that I really fall behind on but I managed to hang in there a lot better. I would have liked to come out of the water a bit earlier and with some girls that I usually come out with but sometimes that is just racing and you don’t always come out with the same people.

My first transition was good, I had some CLIF Blok Chews and found that they really helped me regain some energy for the race. I felt really strong in my bike ride, it was a little difficult riding into the head wind as this is something that always affects me as I’m not the strongest rider, but I thought I did a really good job. Strength is something I definitely lack on the bike but it’s something else I have to improve on, however I thought I had one of the strongest rides I have had in a long time so I couldn’t complain too much about that.

My second transition was fast and efficient. Leading into the first lap of the run I just wanted to settle in and set a good pace. After I completed the first lap I was feeling good so I picked up the pace for the second lap and managed to pass three girls. I was so happy with my run, picking up three places and feeling as strong as I did. I feel as though I paced my run leg really well which allowed me to bring it home stronger in the second lap.

Overall, I couldn’t be happier with my race. This was the best result I have had at the championships and it feels good to know I had a good race. There is no doubt that there is heaps of room left for improvement but it is great to see that I have improved from last year and let’s hope it’s the same for next year. I want to thank all of the people who have supported me; all of my sponsors – I couldn’t be more grateful for everything you guys have done for me in the season so far, my family and friends for always being by my side and my coach, Toby Coote who has helped me stay motivated and on track for states.

Every time I race I always feel proud of my achievements because of Toby and the SCTA family. Nothing makes me prouder than knowing I have made those who support me proud. This championship was a proud moment for myself and I can’t wait to see how I go at my next race at Luke Harrop Memorial on the Gold Coast.

Well done to all of the SCTA athletes who raced, we had an absolute amazing weekend of results, especially fellow scholarship holder Peyton Craig taking out the win for the Junior males. Congrats team!

See you in 4 weeks