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Date/Location: |
April 14th, 2019 – Lake Berryessa, CA |
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Distances: |
750m Swim – 12.4mi Bike – 5km Run |
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Time: |
1:21:54 (15:56 – :57 – 44:02 – :48 – 20:08) |
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Place: |
1st (13-15 Females), 6th Female Overall |
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Teammates: |
LC – FCA: Troy Soares OLY – Dave Campbell SPRINT – FCA: Caryn Galeckas, Chad Glass, Karen Nickel, Linny Gigoryey, Lori Bergenstock, Suzanne Galeckas; Hunter Glass OPEN – FCA: Ariel Soares; Ashley Glass |
I'm down at the swim ready to do the HITS Sprint Triathlon. My friend Hunter starts first, 3 minutes ahead of me. Now it's my turn. I walk towards the water. It's kind of cold but not bad. I walk about waist deep and wave to Ariel.
SWIM
They start the countdown and I'm ready. They say go and I plunge in the water. The water actually doesn't freeze my face right at the moment, after a while I start to feel my face freeze up. I do what my dad told me, and force my face in the water. I feel strong as I swim, but my dad strapped the neck strap too tight and it’s uncomfortable. I get to the first buoy and I'm feeling great. All the swim practice I did with my mom and dad this winter paid off. The next buoy is far ahead, but I don't worry about that. I consistently swim straight ahead, following everybody around me. After a while, I reach the buoy. I turn around and head straight back to the dock. I focus on getting to the guide buoy ahead. I don't feel like I'm getting tired at all. I am really enjoying the swim. I am not cold, not hot, but feel perfect. I can't see the dock so I just follow everyone. I try to pick it up a little bit.
After a while, I can see the dock ahead. I keep swimming and get more and more excited as I get closer. I am super close to the dock now. I swim around the dock and towards the ramp. I get to the ramp and try to pull down my zipper. It is stuck. I start to run up the deck pulling at the same time. It finally comes loose and I start taking it off at the top of the deck. I flick off the wetsuit and start running to transition. I get to transition and quickly switch to my biking gear. I grab my helmet and glasses and I am off.
BIKE
I get to the line where you can jump on your bike. I jump on and start to bike up the hill. My bike shoes are already on my bike so I bike with my feet on top of them. I get to the top of the hill and turn onto the bike course and slip by feet into my shoes. I pedal hard because my mom said Hunter was in front of me. But very soon Hunter passes me. I later find out that I passed him in transition. I stay with him and pass him up. I try to drink some water from my bike and end up partly off the road in the gravel part! I bike back onto the road and stay focused. Hunter passes me but I really don't mind, I'm going to get him back in the run. I try not to fall too far behind though.
The bike isn't that difficult although it's a little tiring. We go mostly uphill, which is great because on the way back it will probably be mostly downhill. After a little bit, Karen Nickel bikes by me. We both say hi. After a lot of uphill and downhill, I start to see people biking back. That means I’m almost to the turnaround. After a while, I come to a hill and climb it. At the top, I see the turn around in the distance. I get closer and see Hunter and Karen Nickel turning around. I get to the turnaround and turn. It is a little flat then it’s downhill. I enjoy the downhill and go fast. There are some uphills, but not as many this direction. I enjoy it and then I see Suzanne going towards the turnaround and wave. After a little bit, I see Caryn G also and wave. I keep biking through the hills enjoying it and also fueling at the same time.
I get to about two miles left and know it’s almost all downhill. At about a mile left I know I’m close. I bike a little bit and see the downhill to transition. I slip my feet out of my bike shoes and coast down. I get to the dismount and jump off. I run into transition and put my running shoes and hat on.
RUN
I run out of transition and Ariel and dad tell me I am 40 seconds behind Hunter. I know I can catch him. I see him running up the hill in front of me. I run past his sister Ashley and his mom Andrea. They cheer me on and tell me to catch Hunter. I get to the top of the hill and feel good although I don’t feel like I am in my running mode. That is probably because I just got off the bike. I am gaining distance and am close to Hunter now. I pass him and tell him good job.
I keep running on a windy road and pass a girl in pink who could be in my age group. She tries to stay with me but falls behind. I hit the bridge and get into my running mode. I feel completely comfortable. I run across the bridge and hit an uphill. It is not painful, and it almost feels like I’m running on a flat road. After running uphill for a bit I see the aid station and turnaround up ahead. I get to the turnaround and grab some water. I drink some and pour the rest on my head.
The next 1-1/2 miles is all downhill and flat. I start running downhill and feel great. I run down and see Hunter. We are both tired and give each other a thumbs up. I coast all the way down to the bridge and start to run across. I pass a grown-up friend of my parents, Noel Kosiek. She tells me to try to catch a girl up ahead. I ask where and she says she is around the corner. I pick it up even though she is probably too far ahead. I get to the turn and have the winding road back to the finish. I am feeling strong and tired. I soon see the turn into the park. I don't see any girl though. I turn and run down the downhill. I pass Ashley and Andrea and they cheer me on. I can now see the finish line and run fast in. The gravel is a little slippery though when I am running. I finish and point to God. He helped me finish strong.
Praise The Lord For He Is Good His Love Endures Forever.
