After what seemed like an eternity, the triathlon season has finally begun! The busy off season sports and even busier school year seemed to take up all of my time and energy. It became difficult to find the time to even think about triathlons let alone finding the time to properly train for them. Although it was frustrating at times not being able to find the time to train the way I would have liked to, it was still a wonderful year with many accomplishments and happy memories.
The week before the Buffalo Triathlon I almost forgot that I would be competing. All of my time and focus had been on my track team as we were approaching sections that same weekend. As much as I wanted to work hard and focus on my first triathlon of the season, I knew that I had made a commitment to my team and my focus would have to be on our track meet. It all paid off because on Saturday I got to see my 4×800 team win our section race and qualify for the state championship. The celebrating was short lived as my family had to go home and get some sleep for the early morning ahead of us.
When I woke up on Sunday morning I questioned why on earth I would sign up for a triathlon the day after my section track meet. My legs felt like noodles when I tried to stand up and I was simply exhausted from spending the whole day on Saturday out in the heat. I took extra time to sleep in which did not allow me a lot of time to get checked in and set up transition. It all went by very quickly and before I knew it I was putting on my wet-suit and getting ready to do a warm up swim.
I knew that the water would not be a comfortable temperature but I did not think that it would feel like the Arctic Ocean. Although some people thought that it was comfortable, I quickly ran out of the water and waited for my wave to start. Once I heard the 3 2 1 GO!, I braced myself for the water and started swimming as quickly as I could to warm up. The swim seemed to go by very quickly and the water temperature did not seem so bad towards the end. When I stood up to run into transition I felt like the whole world was spinning, but I tried to keep running and regain my balance.
I somehow managed to hop onto my bike and stay upright. The bike course was wonderful and well marked with lots of volunteers directing traffic and telling athletes where to go. The hills seemed steeper than I remembered, but after 12.25 miles the hills were done and it was time to get running. I felt like my legs were heavy and tired from the day before, but I was grateful that it was not as hot as Saturday had been. The run course was all down hill and then all uphill, so it was fun to see who had the strength to push up the final hill and into the finish line.
As I finally made it up the lengthy hill I ran towards the finish line and completed my first race of the season. I did not have a lot of fight in me that day and I was pretty unprepared, but I was very grateful that I got to have the Buffalo Triathlon be the season opener for me. The people were kind, the atmosphere was full of energy, and the food was fabulous afterwards. I am hoping to not be as tired for my next race, but it feels good to have the first one in the books. I can’t wait to start training for the sport I love and continuing to put in the work and effort to achieve my goals. Thank you Buffalo Triathlon for being a great way to start my 2019 season!