Race Coverage

"...It's Never Goodbye."....

Wednesday, 17 October 2018 23:10

By Simone Lundquist (sisterswhotriblog.com)

Sometimes I like to think that someday I’m going to have a future where my triathlon season never ends. It’s the fantasy of waking up every single morning and getting to train and continue to compete as my job, but for right now it’s still a dream in the making. Every year I have to say, “See you later,” to a sport that I really love and something that brings me so much joy which seems to get harder every single year. All I want to do is keep improving and working harder, but it’s always nice to know that there’s another year and another season. Although it seems far away until the next competition, there is always something to work on in the off season, and there is always something that keeps you motivated throughout the year. One thing that I know for sure is that it’s never goodbye.

Triathlons basically take up my entire summer as our family tries to fit in at least 10 in a year. It’s my only focus and priority for the summer, but as the school year comes along I have to balance a start to a cross country season and an end to a triathlon season. I don’t get to have the entire focus that I usually get in the beginning of the year for my last races, but I still try to fit in time to train for them between practice and school. With the business of the school year I had not thought much about my last race going into the weekend. There was a little bit of worry in my head because I did not get as much time for biking and swimming as I would have liked, and I also did not mentally prepare like I usually get to in the summer. I also thought of these disadvantages as advantages because even though I had not biked in a while maybe that meant my legs would feel fresh, and even though I didn’t focus on the race the day before maybe that meant I wouldn’t stress as much. With everything spinning through my mind I tried not to worry or stress so I just pushed all of my thoughts aside....

The night before my race I got to pack my bag again and I got a little sad because I knew this would be my last race in Minnesota for a while. I tried to just enjoy every moment and then I tried to get some very needed sleep. Waking up at 6:00 didn’t seem so bad after having to get up early for school each morning, so on the day of the race I felt awake and ready. The drive was fast and easy, and when we arrived the sun was shining, the music was blaring, people were laughing, and everyone was enjoying their last pre race fun of the season. I got to talk with friends that I had made in the tri community and I got to enjoy the atmosphere of everybody having a good start to their day. The weather was absolutely perfect because there was a little bit of a breeze and because the race was in the morning it was still pretty cool. It did not take me long to set up my transition area after a whole season of mastering it, so I took the extra time to get in the water and warm up for my race. I had a feeling as I was entering the water that day that I would break through a barrier in my race. READ MORE